Unified technology
The below is the baseline levels of technology that most Nanotrasen stations operate on. A culmination of human ingenuity, and mingling with the technology of other races, has resulted in sweeping advances in technology compared to even decades before the present time.
Engineering
Nanotrasen ship and stations boast robust wiring and pipeworks. While daunting at first glance, practiced engineers have praised the practical, no-nonsense approach to atmospherics and electrical engineering across Nanotrasen designs. As for the main power source, Nanotrasen has four approved methods of main engines. Singularity engines were depreciated in recent times, due to the dangers inherent with the design. In it's place, supermatter engines rose up to become the standard. Pure morphium shards, bound with a lattice of phoron to serve as a catalyst, are placed in containment rooms, surrounded on all sides by dense windows composed of borosilicate glass. Phoron gas is then pumped into the room, and the crystal is stimulated by laser emitters, beginning the delamination process. This process produces radiation in large amounts, which is collected and turned into usable energy. It is worth noting that the crystal itself is incredibly dangerous; even brushing against it can 'dust' someone, a term to describe the complete decimation of a human on a molecular level, leaving nothing behind but a pile of inert dust. The dangers of rapid delamination are also present; if it fully delaminates, the crystal could explode in a mass-reaction, with effects ranging from incredible radiation leaks, to cratering entire sections of ships and stations.
As a consequence, some, but not all, Nanotrasen installations have opted for safer methods of power generation. On the rise is the return of nuclear fission. Fission reactors may be more complex to set up, requiring management of the fuel rods, tuning of energy collectors, and specialized safety gear, but the energy is clean burning, and radiation is entirely contained within the reactor room. As an alternative to an alternative, some ships have experimented with the R-UST engine. A fusion-based engine, the R-UST injects fuel rods composed of exotic materials, including morphium, to create a stable field surrounding a rapidly-fissioning core. As an aside, every station and ship carries a full solar panel array. These do not generate much power on their own, but they are infinitely less dangerous than the above methods of power generation.
Medicinal
Medical technology aboard Nanotrasen facilities is, sometimes hyperbolically, described as second-to-none. Utilizing tried-and-true medicine with advancements courtesy of Vey-Med and Zeng-Hu, employees aboard Nanotrasen installations can expect expedient medical care, compared to a conventional hospice or equivalent medical center. Hypospray injectors can instantly deliver vital medication to a patient. Advanced surgery suites and tools allow for procedures to be done in a fraction of the time. And chem-dispensers as standard can produce a theoretically infinite amount of healing medicine, for whatever may ail an employee. Theoretical technologies also show much promise, ranging from advanced surgical tools to reduce the steps needed in every procedure, cryostasis and even bluespace beakers to hold more reagents safely, and even medical beams capable of using self-replicating nanites, capable of being tuned to produce a specific chemical.
Perhaps the most advanced technology available, and one of some contention, is the resleever. By saving a brain (or equivalent) scan of a patient, the instillations Medbay can produce a fully-formed duplicate of the patient's body, and allow for the transfer of the consciousness to the new body. This process is, of course, not without it's faults; there is a period of immediate disorientation after resleeving, and the psychological effects of waking up in a body that is yours and, at the same time, not yours, may take their toll on a patients mind. Beyond this, there are questions surrounding the practice that are perhaps best left to scholars; is the soul a transmittable thing? If the soul is tangible, can it be copied? Or, when the original body dies, does the mind die with it? Is the mind not transferred, but simply copied? While Nanotrasen and it's medical affiliates have assured people that resleeving is a vital part of the ship's medical bay, the company has also offered employees a stipulation in their contract, should they wish to not undergo the procedure.
Security
Nanotrasen facilities are safeguarded by Security teams, and these teams are the ones most likely to utilize military hardware. However, what's used on Nanotrasen facilities has been balanced, both by the budget and concerns over destruction of property, with other concerns being tertiary at best. Even with generous licenses from Hephaestus, profit concerns come first. As such, laser weaponry is common aboard Nanotrasen facilities; it's cheap to produce, allows for quick recharging of weapon cells, and with less of a concern for 'spray and pray' tactics with most energy-based weaponry being single-shot, or semi-auto. Ballistic weaponry using homogenized designs are still common, however; shotguns used for repelling boarders, pistols loaded with flash or rubber bullets, and even limited amounts of military-standard assault rifles. Esoteric weaponry, like ion rifles and flash grenades, are also carried. Along with the weaponry, comes the armor; Security personnel can outfit themselves for any foe, with suits of flexible ballistic armor, less-than-comfortable riot armor for close encounters, experimental refracting armor to soak up energy weapons, and even armored voidsuits for repelling threats beyond the facility.
Beyond this, much of the weaponry aboard Nanotrasen facilities is a joint venture between R&D and Security teams. The experimental weaponry capable of being produced and tested by Science teams can be a major boon depending on the situation, ranging from non-lethal sound cannons and phase weaponry tuned to clearing out flora and fauna, to advanced energy rifles capable of refilling their power banks over time, and even fuel-rod cannons capable of wide-spread devastation. These tools, however, are to be heavily moderated, and Security is encouraged to keep Research teams busy, but not too busy.
Finally, there is the military applications of bluespace technology. Nanotrasen holds exclusive ownership of a staggeringly powerful weapon; the BSA cannon. Utilizing high-explosive shells, these cannons are capable of sending their ordinance at incredible speeds using the power of bluespace travel, allowing for instant results. Nanotrasen, for their part, has stated that such weaponry is only utilized in dire circumstances, and maintains exclusive ownership of the patent 'for everyone's safety', as such a weapon could be a powerful, if devastating, tool in any empire's arsenal.
Conventional
While the above might be well and good for their respective departments, what about the average stationgoer? What does the spacer have access to? Aside from benefitting from Nanotrasen's advances in engineering and medical technologies, civilians and workers aboard Nanotrasen facilities can enjoy a greater degree of connectivity, thanks to PDA servers, and the Exonet. Exonet is available aboard all major facilities, and allows for instant messaging and file-sharing. PDA servers are moderated by Nanotrasen, but are usually seamless, and only rarely fail as a result of mechanical failure.
Select Nanotrasen facilities are also host to a new type of transportation technology: the first consumer-grade teleporter system ever devised. Released in 2559 after a year of trial runs, the Mark 1 Translocation Device (simply referred to as a 'teleporter') works off of a peer-to-peer (P2P) system, connecting one teleporter to another over a signifcant, if limited, range. It utilizes an array of bluespace tunneling devices to transpose the location of the first teleporter with the second, forming a brief tunnel through bluespace between the two. The system is safety-graded for organic and inorganic materials, with a successful teleporter system recently installed in the Atlas facility, connecting it to the Nanotrasen-run spaceport of New Taran. A much larger teleporter system, the experimental Mark 2 Translocation Device, has been placed into trial phases, with one such example residing in the Exploration department of the Atlas facility. A larger example of the same technology behind the Mark 1, the 'gateway' has a much longer peer-to-peer connection range, but requires a substantial amount of power between both ends to maintain stability.
The 21st Century Revival
Visitors to Nanotrasen facilities may notice a certain theme to them. For all the advances that Nanotrasen has laid claim to, much of their technology can look archaic, even primitive. This is due to a prevalent culture that has been built up by the company, inside and out; the romanticization of the 21st century. Visitors can see it everywhere; in the clothing available, to the handheld tools available in toolboxes, to the PDAs that are clipped onto every uniform. It even extends to more advanced items, like the above mentioned military and medical technologies. One might wonder where the choice came from, to design technology to appeal to what is seemingly a niche clientele.
The true story begins some decades prior. After the company struck it rich and claiming mineral rights to dozens of sectors for their lucrative phoron deposits, the company had an altogether different problem; attracting employees. In the late 2400's, the waves of nostalgia felt for centuries past was felt in smaller circles, but savvier marketing types could see the wave building. In a risky venture, the company pushed forward with their plan to redesign their technology to be statements, in a way, to the triumphs of centuries past. This also had practical advantages; using fax machines and floppy disks would be more analog, which reduces the risk of possible subterfuge from potential rivals. And with the Syndicate rising up, concerns about corporate espionage were a top priority.
Now, nearly a century since that original decision, the somewhat outdated aesthetics of Nanotrasen's technology have become a sort-of staple. While it may be clunky, it possesses an old-world charm, which has been lost by most of the major players. It can bring a comfort to human visitors, knowing that whatever NT facility they work at, there will always be wood floors in the bar, there will always be a jukebox playing the classics, and they will always have a plastic PDA to clip onto their uniform.
Anthrochauvanism? Or just nostalgia?
Of course, this is little comfort to non-human visitors, and the style has had it's critics. The fairer criticisms argue that efficient, sleek designs should be more commonplace aboard Nanotrasen facilities, given the resources at their disposal. Furthermore, there is a distinct lack of cultural representation for non-human species. It can feel alienating, even to humans who weren't raised to 'remember the classics'. Harsher critics would claim that 21st Century Romanticism is actively harmful to other species. Claims of 'anthrochauvanism', or the right of humanity to claim the stars, have been tossed around, when it's not being described as simply 'speciest'.
Lore
| |
| Corporations | NanoTrasen, Frontier Megacorporations, Minor Corporations, The Syndicate |
| NanoTrasen Specific | NDV Marksman, Paracausal Monitoring Division |
| Other Organizations | ITV Talon, System Defense Force, The Orion Confederation |
| Worldbuilding | Extradimensional Mechanics, FTL Travel, Galactic Landmarks, Legends, Mysteries, and Rumors, Metaphysics and Paracausality, Technology of the 2500's, The Timeline |
| Contribution Data | Lore Submission Templates, Roadmap for Lore Development |