Jump Gates

Jump gates led directly to humanity's golden age, but just like all technology associated with psionics, they also contributed to humanity's greatest catastrophe. Burnt-out remains of gates are occasionally found throughout the galaxy, but despite our efforts, we're no closer to recreating them.

Gateway Technology

Jump gates were ancient psi-tech superstructures that could teleport ships to a receiving gate elsewhere in the galaxy. The gates were massive rings at the edge of stellar systems, each housing every amenity travelers would need, along with living quarters for employees.

Developed by the Psionic Authority, jump gates opened the door to the second wave of human expansion across the stars, and ultimately to humanity's golden age. Yet in supplanting older technology, they also opened the door to the Silence, the dark age following The Scream.

Life on the Gate

Life on a jump gate was similar to that on today's space stations and rest stops, only with a greater focus on psionics. In order to teleport ships, the gates relied upon a team of master

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teleporters, their abilities amplified by the gate's psitech. Without these psions, the gates couldn't function.

Psions were common in other positions, as well.

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Precogs on staff prevented issues before they happened,

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telepaths managed morale and watched over guests,

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telekinetic engineers more safely maintained equipment inside and out, while

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biopsions were required in the event of medical emergencies on board.

Inorganic Intelligences were likely also common, but there's less said about them in surviving records. It's likely virtual intelligences ran basic functioning like checkouts, timetables, and alerting systems, while expert systems handled janitorial work and rudimentary maintenance.

For the average traveler, however, life on the gate was temporary. Wait times for connecting flights were rarely more than a couple hours, and the sheer size of the gates meant even repeated visits to the same one felt entirely different.

Interstellar Transformation

Jump gates ushered in the second wave of human expansion across the stars, allowing us to travel farther than ever before. This lead to a time commonly called humanity's golden age, with easy travel, advanced technology, and a post-scarcity society in which all basic needs were met.

Spike drives became antiquated and obsolete, and eventually all production of new Spike Drive ships ended. Such progress has been common throughout human history, and nobody could have predicted the catastrophic implications of this particular progress.

In the Scream, Metadimensional Energy surged through all psitech, destroying most of it. it also surged through the minds of psions, killing any that didn't go Feral. The loss of the gates, and lack of non-psitech alternatives, is the biggest contributing factor to the Silence, the period of isolation following the Scream.

Though remains of gates are found and brought in for analysis, no lab or other institution has been able to reliably recreate the psitech behind them. Knowing the cost in lives it took for the Psionic Authority to fast-track psitech, many wonder if that's what it would take to recreate the technology, and if such a cost is truly worth the outcome.

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Timeline

2275

Psionic Authority is founded for psionic research

2316

First jump gates put into use

2665

The Scream destroys all Jump Gates

Common Crew

Engineers

Maintain all mechanical systems of the gate

Security

Ensure the safety of all guests and employees

Vendors

Manage shops, restaurants, and other locations

Medical

Tend the health and wellbeing of guests and employees

Teleportation

Handle all transit and receipt of ships

Guest Services

Address all guest concerns, issues, and requests