content(wiki): purge v0.1 Sova/Van Maanen residue (#865)
Spring-cleaning accumulated v0.1 vertical-slice residue across the wiki. Scope per Jeroen's pre-decisions on 2026-04-21: - Delete outright: wiki/star-systems/GJ-35/sova/ subtree (5 files + 2 dirs) — v0.1 Station Sova / Transit District content. - Strip example blocks in authoring guides and _templates/ that cited dropped v0.1 NPCs (Kael Davan, Sera Venn, Nils Davan, Devra, Torek, Renn, Pell, Tav, Lera Sessik, Sabel). Replaced with short "v0.1 examples removed — D-122" notes pointing authors to the active NPC roster. - Rewrite canonical-lore references file-by-file: faction pages, technology pages, contraband pages, concepts pages, corp pages that cited v0.1 names/places. Preserve institutional/structural content, drop specific-name citations. - Commission name drift: replace "Concord Commission" and "Assembly Commission" with "the Lattice Commission" (D-193) throughout. - Van Maanen's Star cultural references: the canonical in-game name is Vuurkloof. "Van Maanen's Star" is retained only as an astronomical designation (glossary + GJ-35 Calibration Note). All cultural/system references converted to Vuurkloof across culture-authoring-guide, cultural-generation-guide, founder-gates, and star-system adjacent-system descriptions. - Strip `v0.1` from faction/triangle frontmatter tags (8 files). - wiki/triangles/hub-power.md and wiki/factions/the-ring.md: rewritten using role-name exemplars (Ring Coordinator / Shift Supervisor / THE FRIEND) instead of named v0.1 NPCs. Triangle pattern preserved as a structural reference. Also applies drive-by Commission drift fixes and minor cross-ref updates to canonical corps (gate-corporation, mastroianni-vehicle-group, stalownia-kowalski, prometheus-labs, ferreira-monteiro, vins-de-grand-vide, and 13 others). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Claude Opus 4.7
@@ -58,9 +58,9 @@ Clone bodies are not all equal.
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**Enhanced clone:** Improved biological specifications — better muscle density, faster neural pathways, optimized organ function. Available through institutional channels (military, intelligence, wealthy dynasties) or high-end private providers.
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**Custom bodies:** In the wider Settled Reach, some individuals change body specifications with each transfer — different appearance, different physical capabilities, different sex. Identity becomes fluid when the body is replaceable. This is more common in cosmopolitan core systems than in working-class stations like Sova.
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**Custom bodies:** In the wider Settled Reach, some individuals change body specifications with each transfer — different appearance, different physical capabilities, different sex. Identity becomes fluid when the body is replaceable. This is more common in cosmopolitan core systems than in working-class freight stations.
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**v0.1 scope:** Clone transfer is referenced technology, not a gameplay mechanic. No character dies and is re-embodied during the vertical slice. But the *possibility* of death-as-information-loss shapes how the player treats risk, and backup status shapes NPC behavior (someone without a recent backup is more cautious).
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**Scope:** Clone transfer is referenced technology, not a gameplay mechanic. No character dies and is re-embodied during the vertical slice. But the *possibility* of death-as-information-loss shapes how the player treats risk, and backup status shapes NPC behavior (someone without a recent backup is more cautious).
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---
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@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ Clone transfer is not free. Backup storage requires institutional infrastructure
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**Institutional access:** Commission employees, Concord Assembly staff, military personnel, and corporate workers typically have backup coverage as an employment benefit. Their backups are regular, their clone bodies pre-grown, their transfer priority high.
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**Civilian access:** Independent workers, freelancers, and small-business owners must pay out of pocket. Backup frequency drops with income. A dock worker on Station Sova might back up monthly — or less. The cost is a line item they weigh against food, rent, and lattice maintenance.
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**Civilian access:** Independent workers, freelancers, and small-business owners must pay out of pocket. Backup frequency drops with income. A dock worker at a mid-Reach freight station might back up monthly — or less. The cost is a line item they weigh against food, rent, and lattice maintenance.
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**The uninsured:** Some people in the Reach have no backup at all. Death, for them, is final. This is rare but not unknown, particularly on frontier stations or among populations that reject the technology for cultural or philosophical reasons.
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@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ Most people in the Settled Reach say yes. The legal system treats the transferre
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But not everyone agrees. Some philosophical and religious traditions hold that the transferred individual is a copy, not the original — that something essential is lost in the gap. The Guardians of Autonomy (see [Severance Technology](severance-tech.md)) incorporate this skepticism into their broader critique of lattice-mediated identity.
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On Station Sova, this debate is abstract. People here worry about backup costs, not metaphysics. But the philosophical undercurrent exists, and it surfaces in unexpected places — a dock worker who insists on doing dangerous work precisely because their backup is stale and death would mean something, or an NPC who becomes reckless after a recent backup because they feel temporarily invincible.
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At a working freight station, this debate is abstract. People here worry about backup costs, not metaphysics. But the philosophical undercurrent exists, and it surfaces in unexpected places — a dock worker who insists on doing dangerous work precisely because their backup is stale and death would mean something, or an NPC who becomes reckless after a recent backup because they feel temporarily invincible.
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---
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@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ From D-008: "Death = information loss, not game over. Memory cell backup system
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## Mechanical Integration
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**v0.1 Scope:**
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**Scope:**
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- Clone transfer is lore and NPC dialogue content, not a playable mechanic
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- No player death-and-resurrection cycle in the vertical slice
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- Backup status may appear as NPC behavioral context (cautious vs. reckless correlating to backup freshness)
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@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ Founder gates predate human settlement of the Reach. They were discovered, not b
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- Whether the gates serve purposes beyond transit (communication, observation, something else)
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- Whether the Interstitium (see below) is an artifact of gate technology or something independent
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These questions are academic in Van Maanen's Star. Workers on Station Sova don't think about Founder Gate metaphysics. They think about freight schedules.
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These questions are academic in any working freight district. Workers don't think about Founder Gate metaphysics. They think about freight schedules.
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---
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@@ -55,9 +55,9 @@ These questions are academic in Van Maanen's Star. Workers on Station Sova don't
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The space between gate endpoints — the transit experience itself — is called the Interstitium. Travelers report it as brief: a moment of disorientation, a sense of distance compressed, then arrival. Some describe it as darkness. Some describe light. Accounts vary in ways that resist standardization.
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**In gameplay terms:** The Interstitium is the experience of crossing between star systems. In the wider Settled Reach, this is a regular occurrence — merchants, travelers, military, diplomats all traverse founder gates. In v0.1, the player never leaves Van Maanen's Star, so founder gates are referenced in dialogue and lore but not directly experienced.
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**In gameplay terms:** The Interstitium is the experience of crossing between star systems. In the wider Settled Reach, this is a regular occurrence — merchants, travelers, military, diplomats all traverse founder gates. In district-level gameplay, founder gates are referenced in dialogue and lore but not directly experienced.
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**Cultural significance:** The Interstitium is one of the few shared experiences that resists technological explanation. In a civilization built on understood technology, the gates are a reminder that not everything is known. Some cultures treat transit as mundane. Others invest it with spiritual significance. Van Maanen's Star's pragmatic culture falls firmly in the "mundane" camp.
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**Cultural significance:** The Interstitium is one of the few shared experiences that resists technological explanation. In a civilization built on understood technology, the gates are a reminder that not everything is known. Some cultures treat transit as mundane. Others invest it with spiritual significance. Vuurkloof's pragmatic culture falls firmly in the "mundane" camp.
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---
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@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ The Settled Reach exists because founder gates exist. Human civilization spread
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- Controlling a gate doesn't mean controlling transit — the gates don't have off switches — but controlling the infrastructure around a gate (stations, docks, inspection points) means controlling what moves through
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- The Concord Assembly's authority rests partly on its management of gate-adjacent infrastructure
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**Van Maanen's Star** sits at the intersection of three regional trade routes — not because of strategic planning, but because the founder gate network happens to connect Van Maanen's Star to three directions. This accident of alien infrastructure made Van Maanen's Star a logistics node.
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**Vuurkloof** sits at the intersection of three regional trade routes — not because of strategic planning, but because the founder gate network happens to connect Vuurkloof to three directions. This accident of alien infrastructure made Vuurkloof a logistics node.
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---
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@@ -90,19 +90,19 @@ The Settled Reach exists because founder gates exist. Human civilization spread
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## Dual-Lens Significance
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Founder gates are not directly present in the v0.1 gameplay space — the player never transits one. But they shape the world the player inhabits.
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Founder gates are not directly present in the district-level gameplay space — the player never transits one. But they shape the world the player inhabits.
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**The smuggler** knows that contraband arrives through the founder gate network from other star systems. The supply chain starts somewhere outside Van Maanen's Star — Syndic-adjacent manufacturing in another system, routed through founder gates to reach Sova. The smuggler understands their position in a supply chain that spans star systems, even if they've never left Van Maanen's Star.
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**The smuggler** knows that contraband arrives through the founder gate network from other star systems. The supply chain starts somewhere outside the current system — Syndic-adjacent manufacturing in another system, routed through founder gates to reach the district. The smuggler understands their position in a supply chain that spans star systems, even if they've never left the system.
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**The detective** knows that the investigation doesn't end at Station Sova. The off-station coordinator (Sabel) operates through the founder gate network. Following the supply chain to its origin means following it through founder gates to other systems. In v0.1, that's beyond scope — but the detective's case file knows the thread doesn't stop here.
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**The detective** knows that the investigation doesn't end at the station. The off-station coordinator operates through the founder gate network. Following the supply chain to its origin means following it through founder gates to other systems — beyond scope at the district level, but the detective's case file knows the thread doesn't stop here.
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**The larger implication:** Founder gates connect the v0.1 setting to the wider Settled Reach. They're the promise that there's more out there — more systems, more factions, more complications. The ring on Station Sova is a local operation connected to an interstellar supply chain. The story doesn't end at the system boundary.
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**The larger implication:** Founder gates connect any district-level setting to the wider Settled Reach. They're the promise that there's more out there — more systems, more factions, more complications. A local ring is a local operation connected to an interstellar supply chain. The story doesn't end at the system boundary.
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---
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## Mechanical Integration
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**v0.1 Scope:**
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**District-level scope:**
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- Founder gates are referenced in dialogue, monologue, and lore — not traversed
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- `world.syndic_supply_chain` fact references off-system origins (KnowsDetails: "serial number patterns suggest two sources")
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- `contraband.supply_chain` fact traces cargo arrival through interstellar routes
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@@ -116,7 +116,6 @@ Founder gates are not directly present in the v0.1 gameplay space — the player
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**Cross-References:**
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- [Span Gates](span-gates.md) — Intra-system transit (human-built)
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- [Van Maanen's Star](../world/van-maanens-star-system.md) — Gate network connections for v0.1 setting
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- D-008: Action pillar (multiple maps connected by wormholes)
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- D-019: 3D cutscenes for key moments (wormhole traversal)
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- D-005: Core concept (wormhole network as traversable infrastructure)
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@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ Think of it as the nervous system of a station. The lattice is the individual's
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**Environmental Data:** Station status, atmosphere readings, power grid status, gate cycle schedules. Background information that most people ignore until something goes wrong.
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**Entertainment & Social:** Music feeds, news tickers, social channels. The ambient hum of connected life. Lera's bar runs Meridian music feeds. The news ticker that delivers wow moment #5 runs through Meridian.
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**Entertainment & Social:** Music feeds, news tickers, social channels. The ambient hum of connected life. The district bar runs Meridian music feeds. The news ticker that delivers wow moment #5 runs through Meridian.
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---
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@@ -55,9 +55,9 @@ Meridian coverage is not uniform. This is load-bearing for gameplay.
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| **Maintenance Corridors** | Degraded | Intermittent connectivity, delayed messages, patchy location data | Real-time tracking unreliable, professional toolkits offline |
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| **Between-Wall Spaces** | Minimal or Absent | Little to nothing | Everything — effectively off-grid |
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**Why the gaps exist:** Station Sova is 140 years old with layered construction. Meridian infrastructure was installed for the station as designed, not as it was subsequently retrofitted. Older sections between construction eras were never properly wired. Maintenance corridors have basic repeaters that degrade over time and get low priority for replacement.
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**Why the gaps exist:** A working freight station is 100+ years old with layered construction. Meridian infrastructure was installed for the station as designed, not as it was subsequently retrofitted. Older sections between construction eras were never properly wired. Maintenance corridors have basic repeaters that degrade over time and get low priority for replacement.
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**Why the gaps matter:** The smuggling ring operates in Meridian dead spots. Corridor B-7 has zero Meridian signal — no tracking, no surveillance, no logged communications. When NPCs need to discuss something they don't want recorded, they go for a walk to the "quiet spots." The ring's entire operational infrastructure depends on these coverage gaps.
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**Why the gaps matter:** The smuggling ring operates in Meridian dead spots. Restricted maintenance corridors have zero Meridian signal — no tracking, no surveillance, no logged communications. When NPCs need to discuss something they don't want recorded, they go for a walk to the "quiet spots." The ring's entire operational infrastructure depends on these coverage gaps.
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---
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@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ The further information travels from direct perception, the more the Meridian me
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**Knowledge Graph:**
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- `location.surveillance_gaps` — Meridian coverage gaps as discoverable knowledge (detective: KnowsOf when augmented lattice detects gaps; smuggler: KnowsDetails from operational experience)
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- `location.corridor_b7_restricted` — Direct confidence gates monologue: "Zero Meridian signal in this section"
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- `location.restricted_corridor` — Direct confidence gates monologue: "Zero Meridian signal in this section"
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**Perception System:**
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- Meridian feeds are one input to the insert minimap (D-013)
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@@ -130,8 +130,6 @@ The further information travels from direct perception, the more the Meridian me
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**Cross-References:**
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- [Neural Lattice](neural-lattice.md) — Individual interface to the Meridian
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- [Severance Technology](severance-tech.md) — Technology that blocks Meridian functions
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- [Sova Transit District](../world/sova-transit-district.md) — Coverage map for v0.1 setting
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- [Station Sova](../world/station-sova.md) — Station-wide infrastructure context
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- D-017: Perception modes (camera feeds, tracking via Meridian)
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- D-018: Three-range sound model (long range = Meridian-mediated)
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- D-013: Diegetic insert navigation (Meridian-fed waypoints)
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@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ Neural lattices exist on a capability spectrum. Tier determines what perception
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| **Analytical** | Advanced pattern recognition, multi-feed synthesis, forensic capability | All Enhanced modes + anomaly flagging, manifest cross-referencing | Investigators, Commission liaisons, senior institutional roles |
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| **Higher** | Biononic integration, enhanced spectrum perception, passive environmental scanning | Thermal imaging through walls, extended spectrum, passive scanning | Military, intelligence operatives, ascended individuals |
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**Note:** "ANA-touched" capability (pattern recognition across all feeds, predictive awareness) exists in the wider Reach but is not present in the v0.1 setting. Station Sova's population is Baseline through Analytical.
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**Note:** "ANA-touched" capability (pattern recognition across all feeds, predictive awareness) exists in the wider Reach but is not present in most working freight districts. A typical mid-Reach freight station population runs Baseline through Analytical.
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---
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@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ The lattice enables multiple perception modes — different ways of observing th
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- **Anomaly flagging:** The lattice cross-references observed data against expected patterns and highlights discrepancies. The detective's lattice flags manifest weight mismatches. The smuggler's doesn't.
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- **Multi-feed synthesis:** Combines multiple perception inputs into a unified analysis. Camera + audio + tracking data merged into a single picture.
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### Higher Modes (not in v0.1)
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### Higher Modes (not in standard freight district settings)
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- **Thermal imaging:** Heat signatures through walls. Body count without identity.
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- **Extended spectrum:** Perception beyond visible light.
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- **Passive scanning:** Environmental data without active queries — the lattice listens to everything.
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@@ -91,9 +91,9 @@ The lattice enables multiple perception modes — different ways of observing th
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Your lattice tier shapes how others treat you and how you experience the world.
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**A Baseline dock worker** on Station Sova sees the freight bay with their eyes, checks manifests on a wall terminal, and navigates by memory and habit. Their lattice provides Meridian messaging, basic navigation, and not much else. They know what they see and what people tell them.
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**A Baseline dock worker** at a mid-Reach freight station sees the freight bay with their eyes, checks manifests on a wall terminal, and navigates by memory and habit. Their lattice provides Meridian messaging, basic navigation, and not much else. They know what they see and what people tell them.
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**An Enhanced freight scheduler** has professional toolkit overlays — container tracking, schedule management, weight-to-volume cross-checks. They see the same freight bay but with a data layer on top. Discrepancies that a Baseline worker wouldn't notice become visible. This is why Maret Korr, processing manifests, can see the weight mismatches but can't unsee them.
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**An Enhanced freight scheduler** has professional toolkit overlays — container tracking, schedule management, weight-to-volume cross-checks. They see the same freight bay but with a data layer on top. Discrepancies that a Baseline worker wouldn't notice become visible. A manifest clerk with Enhanced capability can see the weight mismatches — but can't unsee them.
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**An Analytical investigator** arriving at the same freight bay sees a crime scene. The lattice flags anomalies automatically, cross-references NPC behavioral patterns against baseline data, and processes audio for stress markers. The detective doesn't just notice things — their lattice tells them what to notice.
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@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ The neural lattice is where the game's two playable characters diverge most shar
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**Perception System (D-017):**
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- Lattice tier determines which perception modes are available to a character
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- Each mode is an observer query against the information boundary system
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- v0.1 implements: natural vision cone + basic audio indicators + insert minimap
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- Initial implementation: natural vision cone + basic audio indicators + insert minimap
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- Additional modes (camera feeds, tracking, thermal) are milestone features
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**Entity Attributes:**
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@@ -179,7 +179,6 @@ The neural lattice is where the game's two playable characters diverge most shar
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- [Lattice Components (Contraband)](../contraband/lattice-components.md) — Unlicensed aftermarket modifications
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- [Medical-Grade Replacements (Contraband)](../contraband/medical-grade-replacements.md) — Diverted healthcare components
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- [Severance Technology](severance-tech.md) — Counter-surveillance tech that blocks lattice functions
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- [Station Sova](../world/station-sova.md) — Commission presence and enforcement gaps
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- D-017: Perception modes as character-build system
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- D-013: Diegetic insert/POI navigation system
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- D-037: Contraband specification
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@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ It is illegal because it doesn't just break rules — it breaks the infrastructu
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**Lattice disruption:** Temporarily blocks or degrades neural lattice functions in a localized area. People in the affected zone lose perception overlays, Meridian access, professional toolkits, and tracking signatures. Enhanced and Analytical lattice users lose the most — they're accustomed to data layers that simply vanish.
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**Meridian blackout:** Creates zones where Meridian infrastructure cannot maintain coverage — not because of aging hardware (like Corridor B-7's natural dead spots), but because active countermeasures are jamming the signal. Severance-created blackouts are more complete and more controllable than infrastructure gaps.
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**Meridian blackout:** Creates zones where Meridian infrastructure cannot maintain coverage — not because of aging hardware (like a maintenance corridor's natural dead spots), but because active countermeasures are jamming the signal. Severance-created blackouts are more complete and more controllable than infrastructure gaps.
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**Signature masking:** Spoofs or suppresses individual lattice signatures, making a person invisible to Meridian tracking. The individual still has a functioning lattice — they just don't appear on anyone else's queries. They become a ghost in the system.
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@@ -70,9 +70,9 @@ Severance technology is associated with the Guardians of Autonomy — a decentra
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---
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## Severance in the v0.1 Setting
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## Severance in the District Setting
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Severance technology appears in v0.1 as the ring's scariest cargo — the thing that elevates a local smuggling operation from grey-market commerce to something with political implications.
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Severance technology appears in the ring's cargo as the scariest element — the thing that elevates a local smuggling operation from grey-market commerce to something with political implications.
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**What the ring carries:**
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- Primary contraband: [unlicensed lattice components](../contraband/lattice-components.md) (aftermarket mods)
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**The escalation:** Lattice components are commercially motivated — people want better capability. Medical-grade replacements are morally sympathetic — people need healthcare. Severance equipment is politically charged — someone wants to undermine institutional oversight. The progression from "grey-market commerce" to "political threat" is the escalation that makes the ring's cargo portfolio increasingly dangerous.
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**The smuggler's realization:** Most ring members handle lattice components and don't think too hard about the sealed containers Nils won't discuss. The discovery that the ring is also moving Severance equipment is the moment the smuggler questions how deep the operation goes and who's really behind it. This is the contamination seed — the thing that connects a local smuggling ring to something larger.
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**The smuggler's realization:** Most ring members handle lattice components and don't think too hard about the sealed containers the coordinator won't discuss. The discovery that the ring is also moving Severance equipment is the moment the smuggler questions how deep the operation goes and who's really behind it. This is the contamination seed — the thing that connects a local smuggling ring to something larger.
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**The detective's discovery:** Finding Severance equipment in the ring's inventory transforms the case. Manifest fraud is a Category 3 violation. Severance distribution attracts intelligence-level attention. The detective's case changes from "local contraband" to "potential threat to institutional infrastructure" — and with it, the stakes of every decision they make.
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@@ -89,11 +89,11 @@ Severance technology appears in v0.1 as the ring's scariest cargo — the thing
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## Dual-Lens Significance
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**The smuggler** initially doesn't know Severance tech is in the ring's cargo. When they discover it (through the sealed containers, through Nils's evasion, through the supply chain traces), the question shifts from "am I comfortable with what we're doing?" to "am I comfortable with what we're involved in?" Lattice components serve the community. Severance equipment serves... whom? The Guardians? Someone else? The smuggler's trust in the ring's purpose begins to crack.
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**The smuggler** initially doesn't know Severance tech is in the ring's cargo. When they discover it (through the sealed containers, through ring leadership's evasion, through the supply chain traces), the question shifts from "am I comfortable with what we're doing?" to "am I comfortable with what we're involved in?" Lattice components serve the community. Severance equipment serves... whom? The Guardians? Someone else? The smuggler's trust in the ring's purpose begins to crack.
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**The detective** recognizes Severance technology as an intelligence-level threat. Its presence in a small station's smuggling ring raises questions that extend beyond the district: Who is supplying it? Through what channels? Is this distribution network or is it targeted deployment? The detective's institutional training tells them to escalate. Their personal investment in the case tells them to keep pulling the thread. This tension — follow procedure or follow curiosity — is the detective's version of the smuggler's trust crisis.
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**The convergence:** Both characters, from opposite sides, arrive at the same unsettling realization: the ring is connected to something bigger than anyone on Station Sova understands. Severance technology is the thread that, if pulled, leads beyond the district, beyond the station, beyond the system.
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**The convergence:** Both characters, from opposite sides, arrive at the same unsettling realization: the ring is connected to something bigger than anyone in the district understands. Severance technology is the thread that, if pulled, leads beyond the district, beyond the station, beyond the system.
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---
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@@ -101,18 +101,18 @@ Severance technology appears in v0.1 as the ring's scariest cargo — the thing
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**Knowledge Graph:**
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- `contraband.severance_tech` — Confidence progression:
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- Suspects: "Sealed containers Nils won't discuss. Heavier than lattice components."
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- Suspects: "Sealed containers the coordinator won't discuss. Heavier than lattice components."
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- KnowsOf: "Severance equipment. Counter-surveillance tech. Illegal across most of the Reach."
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- KnowsDetails: "Guardians of Autonomy supply chain. This isn't local — it's connected to something bigger."
|
||||
- Serves as contamination seed for storyteller expansion beyond v0.1
|
||||
- Serves as contamination seed for storyteller expansion beyond the district arc
|
||||
|
||||
**Narrative Function:**
|
||||
- Escalation mechanism: elevates the ring's threat profile from commercial to political
|
||||
- Trust fracture: triggers the smuggler's questioning of the ring's true purpose
|
||||
- Case transformation: changes the detective's investigation from local to systemic
|
||||
- Expansion hook: connects v0.1 content to the wider Settled Reach
|
||||
- Expansion hook: connects district-level content to the wider Settled Reach
|
||||
|
||||
**v0.1 Scope:**
|
||||
**Scope:**
|
||||
- Referenced in dialogue, monologue, and investigation — not directly deployed as a gameplay mechanic
|
||||
- Severance-created blackouts are not present; only natural Meridian dead spots
|
||||
- The *existence* of Severance tech in the cargo is the narrative payload, not its use
|
||||
@@ -123,7 +123,6 @@ Severance technology appears in v0.1 as the ring's scariest cargo — the thing
|
||||
- [Neural Lattice](neural-lattice.md) — The technology Severance disrupts
|
||||
- [Meridian](meridian.md) — The network Severance blocks
|
||||
- [Severance Equipment (Contraband)](../contraband/severance-equipment.md) — The physical cargo profile
|
||||
- [Sova Transit District](../world/sova-transit-district.md) — Natural Meridian dead spots vs. Severance blackouts
|
||||
- D-017: Perception modes (Severance disables lattice-dependent modes)
|
||||
- D-037: Contraband specification (Severance as tertiary contraband)
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
|
||||
---
|
||||
title: "Span Gates"
|
||||
description: "Human-built intra-system transit gates — the freight chokepoints through which smuggling operates, and the source of Sova's omnipresent hum"
|
||||
description: "Human-built intra-system transit gates — the freight chokepoints through which smuggling operates, and the source of any freight district's omnipresent hum"
|
||||
slug: span-gates
|
||||
category: technology
|
||||
status: canonical
|
||||
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ cross_refs: []
|
||||
|
||||
Span gates are the intra-system transit backbone of the Settled Reach. They connect locations within a single star system — station to planet, station to orbital platform, orbital to orbital. Where [Founder Gates](founder-gates.md) bridge the void between stars, span gates handle the daily logistics of moving people and cargo within a system.
|
||||
|
||||
In Van Maanen's Star, span gates are infrastructure the way roads are infrastructure: essential, taken for granted, and noticed only when they stop working.
|
||||
In any freight system, span gates are infrastructure the way roads are infrastructure: essential, taken for granted, and noticed only when they stop working.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -33,23 +33,23 @@ In Van Maanen's Star, span gates are infrastructure the way roads are infrastruc
|
||||
|
||||
Span gates create stable transit corridors between two fixed endpoints within a star system. Transit is near-instantaneous — step through one side, emerge at the other. The technology is human-built — derived from the Veil Institute's study of alien horizon station architecture. The Institute reverse-engineered the principles governing short-range aperture formation during the early settlement period and licensed the technology to what became the gate construction corporation, which now owns and operates span gate infrastructure across the Reach. The engineering is well-understood, reliable, and old. No one in the Settled Reach remembers a time before span gates.
|
||||
|
||||
**Gate cycles:** Gates operate on predictable cycles. During peak shifts on Station Sova, the Sova-to-Van Maanen's Star Prime gate cycles every 4-6 minutes. Off-peak, every 12-15 minutes. Each cycle moves a fixed volume of cargo and/or passengers.
|
||||
**Gate cycles:** Gates operate on predictable cycles. During peak shifts at a busy freight station, the primary gate cycles every 4-6 minutes. Off-peak, every 12-15 minutes. Each cycle moves a fixed volume of cargo and/or passengers.
|
||||
|
||||
**The hum:** Span gates produce a low-frequency vibration — a bass hum that varies in pitch with transit volume. On Station Sova, the gate hum is omnipresent. It's the ambient soundscape of the district. Workers tune it out. New arrivals notice it immediately. The hum rises during peak freight cycles and drops to a low throb during night shifts.
|
||||
**The hum:** Span gates produce a low-frequency vibration — a bass hum that varies in pitch with transit volume. At a busy freight station, the gate hum is omnipresent. It's the ambient soundscape of the district. Workers tune it out. New arrivals notice it immediately. The hum rises during peak freight cycles and drops to a low throb during night shifts.
|
||||
|
||||
This sound is the first thing the player hears on arrival (wow moment #1). It never stops.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Van Maanen's Star Gate Network
|
||||
## Typical Gate Network (Freight District)
|
||||
|
||||
| Route | Type | Primary Use | Cycle Time |
|
||||
|-------|------|-------------|------------|
|
||||
| Station Sova <-> Van Maanen's Star Prime Surface Depot | Freight primary | Cargo transfer, surface-to-station logistics | 4-6 min (peak), 12-15 min (off-peak) |
|
||||
| Station Sova <-> Orbital Manufacturing Platform 3 | Component transfer | Parts and assemblies for light manufacturing | Variable |
|
||||
| Station <-> Surface Depot | Freight primary | Cargo transfer, surface-to-station logistics | 4-6 min (peak), 12-15 min (off-peak) |
|
||||
| Station <-> Orbital Manufacturing Platform | Component transfer | Parts and assemblies for light manufacturing | Variable |
|
||||
| Additional intra-system routes | Various | System commerce and passenger transit | Various |
|
||||
|
||||
**Transit volume:** High freight, moderate passenger. Van Maanen's Star's span gates run continuously during standard shifts. The system's prosperity comes from moving things between places — span gates are the mechanism.
|
||||
**Transit volume:** High freight, moderate passenger. A freight system's span gates run continuously during standard shifts. The system's prosperity comes from moving things between places — span gates are the mechanism.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -57,13 +57,13 @@ This sound is the first thing the player hears on arrival (wow moment #1). It ne
|
||||
|
||||
Span gates are chokepoints, and chokepoints create opportunities.
|
||||
|
||||
**Legitimate cargo** arrives through the Sova gate on scheduled freight cycles. Manifests are filed in advance. Containers are logged. Inspectors (like Torek Lintar) check cargo against documentation.
|
||||
**Legitimate cargo** arrives through the gate on scheduled freight cycles. Manifests are filed in advance. Containers are logged. Inspectors check cargo against documentation.
|
||||
|
||||
**Contraband** arrives mixed with legitimate freight. The volume of cargo moving through a busy span gate makes item-by-item inspection impractical. Inspectors work from manifests and spot-checks. The ring exploits this: contraband lattice components packed into containers whose manifests show "standard components" with doctored weight data.
|
||||
|
||||
**The timing window:** Gate cycles create predictable surges of activity. During a peak-cycle arrival, dozens of containers come through simultaneously. Processing bottlenecks force prioritization. Inspectors focus on flagged shipments. Unflagged containers — the ones with carefully doctored manifests — move through with minimal scrutiny.
|
||||
|
||||
This is why Voss's shift scheduling matters: he creates understaffing during high-volume gate cycles, widening the inspection gap that the ring depends on.
|
||||
A compromised shift supervisor creates understaffing during high-volume gate cycles, widening the inspection gap that the ring depends on.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ This is why Voss's shift scheduling matters: he creates understaffing during hig
|
||||
- Off-peak: low throb, almost subliminal, the sound of infrastructure idling
|
||||
- Post-transit: brief ozone scent that fades quickly, a faint crackle of dissipating energy
|
||||
|
||||
**Visual:** Span gates on Station Sova are industrial installations — large, utilitarian, built into the freight bay architecture. No decorative elements. Cargo conveyors feed directly to and from the gate aperture. Safety markings. Warning lights during transit cycles. Workers move around gates with practiced indifference.
|
||||
**Visual:** Span gates at a freight station are industrial installations — large, utilitarian, built into the freight bay architecture. No decorative elements. Cargo conveyors feed directly to and from the gate aperture. Safety markings. Warning lights during transit cycles. Workers move around gates with practiced indifference.
|
||||
|
||||
**The feeling:** Span gates represent the mundane miracle of the Settled Reach. Instantaneous transit between a station and a planet's surface — and it's boring. It's commuting. The extraordinary made ordinary through 180 years of daily use.
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -93,14 +93,14 @@ This is why Voss's shift scheduling matters: he creates understaffing during hig
|
||||
**Sound System (D-018, D-038):**
|
||||
- `amb_station_base.ogg` includes span gate vibration as primary ambient element
|
||||
- Gate hum pitch varies with transit volume (game-time driven)
|
||||
- Post-transit ozone is a sensory detail for monologue, not a separate audio asset in v0.1
|
||||
- Post-transit ozone is a sensory detail for monologue, not a separate audio asset in the initial build
|
||||
|
||||
**Knowledge Graph:**
|
||||
- `world.shift_schedule` — Gate cycle timing connects to shift operations (smuggler: KnowsDetails; detective: learns through observation)
|
||||
- `investigation.cargo_anomaly` — Container processing delays traced from gate arrival timestamps
|
||||
|
||||
**Spatial Design:**
|
||||
- Span gate is a fixed location on the freight bay level (Level 1) of Sova Transit District
|
||||
- Span gate is a fixed location on the freight bay level of the logistics hub
|
||||
- High-traffic chokepoint during shift transitions
|
||||
- Sightlines from the observation gallery (Level 3) to the gate area enable surveillance gameplay
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -108,10 +108,6 @@ This is why Voss's shift scheduling matters: he creates understaffing during hig
|
||||
|
||||
**Cross-References:**
|
||||
- [Founder Gates](founder-gates.md) — Interstellar gates connecting star systems
|
||||
- [Sova Transit District](../world/sova-transit-district.md) — Gate location in v0.1 setting
|
||||
- [Van Maanen's Star](../world/van-maanens-star-system.md) — System-wide gate network
|
||||
- [Station Sova](../world/station-sova.md) — Gate infrastructure details
|
||||
- D-036: Sova Transit District setting (gate cycles, freight logistics)
|
||||
- D-038: Audio scope (station ambient includes gate hum)
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user