@orrery @kelseyhusky I was going to ask something along these lines--specifically their power processing. electric, organic/chemical, combustion, nuclear? changeable as situations warrant?

@troodon @orrery NFC is touch to touch between platforms and is used when the rest of the pack is supporting platforms in need. Data can also be exchanged, but since the transmission rate is slow, it is usually used for specific hex-codes that match up to certain emotional and physical status markers. (its also good for being a hard to intercept comm-channel, since the meaning is processed through pulse-width modulation)

@troodon @orrery Direction connection are what the charging cradles are for, and there are a few options at Gateway: Exposed pods, enclosed chambers, and extension/uplink cables on retractable reels so they don't create tripping hazards

@troodon @orrery Fuel consumption is just plain eating and drinking. Platforms have a reasonably robust processing system that can convert food and drink to energy. KA-33, being the engineer/nerd she is, has also developed an easily synthesized substance that gets produced at Gateway for the majority of the pack. The recipe for PackFuel is also etched onto each platform's ID plate, so that if the platform is ever recovered, friendly races can provide.

@troodon @orrery Repairs, refits and construction is all handled in a dedicated deck of Gateway station. KA-33 calls it PlatformOps, BotOps, or HuskyOps. mAI usually calls it a mess. There are assembly platforms, diagnostic station, static- and dust-free clean rooms for circuit assembly and testing, access to KA-33's main core, and the central nexus for the Rho-tunnels. This is also where the Prime platforms (except for Axiom-Prime) hang out.

@kelseyhusky @orrery this is all really fascinating, and is making me think of doing a similar Q&A thing about Johmarr...

@orrery Platforms have multiple methods of recharging or acquiring energy: Ambient trickle, NFC Induction, Direct connection, and fuel consumption. Ambient recharging is the slowest and least powerful, relying on peltier/thermal gradient scavenging and high-efficiency photovoltatic panels. This is basically their emergency backup and is dedicated to maintaining power to core consciousness supporting systems including the entangled repeater to link the platform back to the pack.

@mawr IO thought I described this earlier, but I guess not!

The pack has lots of ways of exchanging data and communicating: Speaking (vibrating air through membranes for tone and shaping phonemes through mouth, tongue and teeth position.) Playing sounds over speakers (close to speaking, but the mechanics are different), holographic projections for pictograph/hieroglyphic cultures, and also as an augment for body language cultures (cont)

@mawr (cont) Shifting color on enabled external plates. For distance comms, different EM types are used depending on urgency and security concerns. Normal communication operations are on standard subspace FTL systems. The realtime mesh PackNet uses for KA-33's distributed consciousness relies on WhiteRadio. WR uses spin encoding of three subatomic particles called impious chronons: eclectic, reverse entropic, and pan-neurotic. (cont)

@mawr (cont) PackNet is secured by both passphrase and a shared 2048-byte encryption cipher. A dedicated 4096-byte key is used for all secure signals between KA and mAI.

In interesting feature of WR is that the longer distance the signal has to go, the shorter the communications lag. 1 LY gives you a 2 second delay, 5 LY has only a 1.25 second delay.