Editing Black Box

{{Update Needed|[[Heir to the Dragon]]|[[Jihad Conspiracies: Interstellar Players 2]]}}
A '''Black Box''', also known as a '''Fax Machine''' or '''K-series transmitter''', is a special type of faster-than-light communications device, operating through the same hyperspace medium used by [[Jump Drive]]s and [[hyperpulse generator]]s.  Initially discovered by the [[Star League]], it would be rediscovered by [[Archon]] [[Katrina Steiner]], her lover [[Duke]] [[Arthur Luvon]] of [[Donegal]], and [[Morgan Kell]] of the [[Kell Hounds]] mercenary unit.  Black boxes would become a critical means of communication for the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] and its allies, but began suffering severe technical problems in the 3140s.

== History ==
Black Boxes were first proposed to the [[SLDF]] Communications Command in [[2572]] as an alternative to the "[[Pony Express]]" system of communications then in use. Developed under the codename [[Project TRANSIENT]], prototype units were delivered in [[2580]] to the SLDF's Rim Worlds commanders during the [[Reunification War]]. The devices were able to pass small amounts of data (~200 kilobytes), usually inputted in a fax-type manner,<ref name="CSSBp6">''ComStar'', p. 6: "The Rise of Blake - Linking the Stars"</ref> to other Black Boxes within a hundred light years. The relatively fast speed, compared with the common transmission per [[JumpShip]], and the small size of the messages relegated them only to the most important traffic. But after years of development on a small budget, Project TRANSIENT was terminated in [[2614]] and following the appearance of the much more capable [[hyperpulse generator]] in [[2630]] the SLDF Communications Command ordered all the Black Boxes collected and dismantled, but until then all worlds of the [[Star League]] received an exemplar.<ref name="CSSBp6"/> The official reasons given for dismantlement were that Black Boxes would interfere with HPGs and [[K-F Drive]]s, reasons that were later disproven. Circa [[3150]], Dr. [[Melir Radis]] raised the possibility, based on Star League records, that Black Box cross-interference led to their abandonment.<ref name=S5BB>''Black Boxes'' in ''Shrapnel'', Issue #5</ref> At least one device survived into the [[thirty-first century]].<ref name="H:RWp25>''Historical: Reunification War'', p. 25: "Top Secret - The Black Box"</ref>

General [[Aleksandr Kerensky]] and the SLDF took several faxes with him in [[Operation EXODUS]], and one was provided to an operative placed on the [[SLS Hermes]] during the [[Prinz Eugen Mutiny]].<ref>''Fall from Glory'', p. 46</ref>

How Katrina Steiner came to discover this technology is unknown, but when she returned from the [[Periphery]] after her one-year disappearance in [[3005]] she brought back an example.<ref name="H:Wo3039p68">''Historical: War of 3039'', p. 68: "Communications"</ref> (More recent speculation is that Katrina and her companions stumbled across the device in the remains of the SLDF [[Seventeenth Royal Mechanized Infantry Division|Seventeenth Royal Division's]] headquarters on [[Taran's World]]. This facility was struck by a dirty bomb and SLDF engineers simply bulldozed the site and buried it in ferrocrete.)<ref name="H:RWp25"/>

When the Lyrans allied with the [[Federated Suns]] to form the [[Federated Commonwealth]] in [[3020]], one of the secrets shared with the Suns was the existence of the black box technology.  Working in conjunction with the [[New Avalon Institute of Science]], the [[Department of Military Communications and Research]] was born, and in November [[3027]] demonstrated the use of the black boxes for military communication.  Within months the Department was distributing dozens of black boxes to military commands throughout the [[AFFS]] and [[LCAF]].  Black boxes would prove instrumental in the [[Fourth Succession War]], especially when [[ComStar]] instituted a communications blackout within FedCom territory on false pretenses.<ref name="H:Wo3039p68"/>

However, during the war the [[Draconis Combine]] was able to recover several black boxes, and would use them during the [[War of 3039]].  While not completely lax in their encryption protocols, neither the Lyrans nor Suns believed that the Combine had access to their technology, and so many of their messages were intercepted and used against them during the war.<ref name="H:Wo3039p68"/> ComStar also became aware of the black box technology, and stepped up efforts to target members of the Department of Military Communications.<ref name="20YUp16">''20 Year Update'', p. 16: "Department of Military Communication and Research"</ref>  Realizing that their enemies had access to their technology, FedCom redoubled their efforts to encrypt their transmissions, though it would not be until [[3051]] during the [[Clan Invasion]] that the Combine formally revealed its own possession of black boxes.<ref name="H:Wo3039p68"/>

Black Boxes were used by [[Interstellar Expeditions]] who possessed a few dozen of the devices, and [[Brooklyn Stevens]] who misappropriated one from them.<ref>''The Hunt for Jardine''</ref>

The [[Umayyad Caliphate]] and [[Nueva Castile]] both possessed at least two each of the K-0 or 1 series devices (described as not encrypted) but just prior to the [[Jihad]] they were all stolen.<ref>''A Distant Thunder''</ref>

Black Boxes were not directly affected by the events of [[Blackout|August 7, 3132]]. However, their increasing use after the Blackout came with growing problems of redirected, garbled, and de-encrypted messages, which became regular occurrences by [[3147]]. Dr. Melir Radis theorized that Black Boxes created ripples and waves across their limited hyperspace frequency, interfering with each other and making the transmission of any message a gamble. He discovered Star League research indicating the same problems occurred in their time, with data indicating that the ripples could take over a century to dissipate.<ref name=S5BB/>

== Operation ==
Unlike an HPG, a black box radiates a signal that propagates outward through hyperspace, like ripples in a pond.  However, it was believed by Star League scientists that this phenomenon would interfere with the workings of jump drives and HPG transmitters.  These black boxes, while only the size of a briefcase and so much more portable, could not compare to HPGs in terms of speed or size of message that could be transmitted, which prompted their initial abandonment.<ref name="H:Wo3039p68"/>

When rediscovered and adopted by FedCom, all black boxes were fitted with a self-destruct and tracking device.  These safeguards were assumed to be enough to prevent their misuse, however the events of the War of 3039 would prove otherwise.  Since its adoption, a number of different black box models have produced.<ref name="H:Wo3039p68"/>

=== K-0 Series ===
The original black box from [[2580]], these devices could send a message no more than two hundred kilobytes of data at roughly ten light-years a day, with a maximum range of a hundred light-years.<ref name="HB:HDp181+">''Handbook: House Davion'', pp. 181–183: "Black Box"</ref><ref name="H:RWp25/>

=== K-1 Series ===
The first FedCom improved production model from [[3027]], it was implemented and used during the Fourth Succession War. It increased the speed and range to twenty-five light-years per day and two hundred light-years respectively.<ref name="HB:HDp181+"/>

=== K-1A Series ===
Introduced in [[3035]], the K-1A improved the device's range to four hundred and fifty light-years.<ref name="HB:HDp181+"/>

=== K-1B Series ===
As the first Draconis Combine built model, the K-1B, from [[3041]], has a range of two hundred and fifty light-years.<ref name="HB:HDp181+"/>

=== K-2 Series ===
The K-2 was introduced in [[3042]], improving message speed to fifty light-years per day and including a hardwired encryption feature, a result of [[DCMS]] eavesdropping.<ref name="HB:HDp181+"/>

=== K-3 Series ===
The K-3 was introduced in [[3044]], increased range to five hundred light-years, and is the first model with dual-channel capability.<ref name="HB:HDp181+"/>

=== K-3A Series ===
The K-3A is the second Draconis Combine built model, and has similar capabilities to the K-3. It was introduced in [[3052]].<ref name="HB:HDp181+"/>

=== K-4 Series ===
A true revolution in black box technology, the K-4 was introduced in [[3048]] and increased message speeds to one hundred light-years per day with a range of six hundred light-years.  It also increases the size of the data packet that can be sent, allowing four megabytes of data to be transmitted.<ref name="HB:HDp181+"/>

=== K-5 Series ===
Introduced in [[3054]], K-5 black boxes have a range of eight hundred light-years, with a propagation speed of one hundred and fifty light-years per day.  It can send up to thirty-five pages of text, and have a capability to handle four channels.<ref name="HB:HDp181+"/>

=== K-6 Series ===
Introduced in [[3061]], K-6 black boxes have a range of one thousand two hundred light-years, with a propagation speed of one hundred and eighty light-years per day. It can send up to fifty pages of text, and have a capability to handle nine channels.<ref name="HB:HDp181+"/>

==Notes==
During the Dark Age, only the [[Federated Suns]], [[Lyran Commonwealth]] and [[Republic of the Sphere]] states (and, to a lesser extent, the [[Draconis Combine]]) possessed the Black Box technology; ComStar did not appear to have it.

== References ==
<references />

== Bibliography ==
* ''[[20 Year Update]]''
* ''[[ComStar (sourcebook)|ComStar]]''
* ''[[Handbook: House Davion]]''
* ''[[Historical: Reunification War]]''
* ''[[Historical: War of 3039]]''
* ''[[Shrapnel (magazine)#Issue 5|Shrapnel, Issue 5]]''


[[Category:Technology|Black Box]]
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	A '''Black Box''', also known as a '''Fax Machine''' or '''K-series transmitter''', is a special type of faster-than-light communications device, operating through the same hyperspace medium used by [[Jump Drive]]s and [[hyperpulse generator]]s. Initially discovered by the [[Star League]], it would be rediscovered by [[Archon]] [[Katrina Steiner]], her lover [[Duke]] [[Arthur Luvon]] of [[Donegal]], and [[Morgan Kell]] of the [[Kell Hounds]] mercenary unit. Black boxes would become a critical means of communication for the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] and its allies, but began suffering severe technical problems in the 3140s.		A '''Black Box''', also known as a '''Fax Machine''' or '''K-series transmitter''', is a special type of faster-than-light communications device, operating through the same hyperspace medium used by [[Jump Drive]]s and [[hyperpulse generator]]s. Initially discovered by the [[Star League]], it would be rediscovered by [[Archon]] [[Katrina Steiner]], her lover [[Duke]] [[Arthur Luvon]] of [[Donegal]], and [[Morgan Kell]] of the [[Kell Hounds]] mercenary unit. Black boxes would become a critical means of communication for the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] and its allies, but began suffering severe technical problems in the 3140s.