Infomatrix

The Infomatrix (also known as IM) is the technology that connects a great deal of computer technology in the 41st century Orion Arm. While most anyone has enough knowledge to look up a good deal of information via this technology, it takes one equipped with a datajack to fully utilize the potential that the technology offers.

The current Infomatrix standard has been around for nearly five hundred years now, and has still managed to stay current to modern technology with various modifications. Some experts have noted the extraordinary period of time this network has worked, and over the years new standards have been proposed, but they do not seem to catch on or are inferior to the current system.

History of the Infomatrix

 * 3507: First iteration of the modern Infomatrix becomes operational on Sivad. The network is weak, at first, and is plagued by competition from the older data networks as well as general instability. The primary advantage offered by the system is more efficient long distance communication ranges.
 * 3527: After twenty years, the new Infomatrix becomes the standard for data on Sivad, seeing numerous upgrades and augmentations that have improved the functionality of the Sivadian data network.
 * 3570: New neural interfacing technology allows a more direct experience with the IM with only a small implant that can be located just about anywhere on the body, rather than on the head where it used to be required.

Life in the Infomatrix
Life in the Infomatrix is often a difficult to describe experience for those who are not equipped to perceive the medium directly, like those who have datajacks. Entities within the medium are perceived as data, rather than having a physical form, meaning is given through the datajack, but is still perceived as data rather than having true 'visual' qualities. Information and others moving about have an ethereal quality to them, as they do not collide, simply pass through each other. Contact with other entities and networks has been described as telepathic by psionists who have used the technology.

Entities of the Infomatrix

 * Autonomous bots: These are programs that have achieved a limited form of complexity, allowing them to perform operations of their own accord. They are often bound to an actual sentient user, however, and spend most of their time offering services within the network.