The Commonwealth Dispatches (nation maintenance)

[Kostemetsia]

from OFFICE OF THE FIRST COUNCILOR
to EXTERNAL AFFAIRS > DEPUTY CONTROLLER
cc FIELD XENOLOGY COMMISSION > DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
cc FIELD XENOLOGY COMMISSION > DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
cc FIELD XENOLOGY COMMISSION > NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTRE > DIRECTOR
cc INTELLIGENCE SERVICE > PRESS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION > CHIEF
on 2300-Apr-2 at 09:10
concerning "Various Artists"
message security black-1 / executive confidential

Morning team,

I hope that this message reaches you well. You will notice that Marina and I have been whispering for a few weeks. This is what about.

CIS Press Bureau and FXC Internal Liaison have conspired, it would seem, to come to my door and to inform me that various executive orders in the 2283 series - which ones you will by now have guessed - are out of date, and to request, with considerable vehemence and in no uncertain terms, that I do something about it. This has happened repeatedly since my inauguration. Christopher and Marina - I do still love you dearly but you will need to wait until I have had my face pasted back on.

The crux of the issue is this: that the standard information package, the Factbook, distributed through our diplomatic stations to our partners abroad, and through Rivulet, is in some sections underweight (e.g. crucial economic information) and in others overweight (e.g. the minutiae of our electoral history); moreover, that due to the said executive orders nobody has sufficient editorial oversight to remedy this.

With Marina's extensive advice, I have decided to:

• Turn over editorial control to a joint EAC / FXC team (Michael please keep Alaina abreast of this), and
• Set up an additional information stream, the Dispatches.

The Dispatches will be short-form documents - some essays, some articles, some statistical digests and abstracts, some excerpts from cultural works - which will hopefully serve to give our partners abroad (PA?) some idea of who we are - make the average ambassador/hive speaker/eight-winged slaver creature feel as if they know us at some level deeper than the surface, which will hopefully have a subconscious effect on how confident they feel negotiating with us, which we can then work on. There are a variety of other reasons which I will speak to you all personally about but this is the main reason that this appealed to me.

Emily Sinclair is my personal hero - despite our political differences - and I know that her work has traditionally been considered Holy Writ. I confess to some reluctance overriding her even under these circumstances. However - times have changed and we must change with them. This administration will most certainly preside over more first contacts than any administration prior. I cannot sufficiently emphasise how important it is, not just for me but for all of us, that they be triumphs.

As always, only the best regards -
Marion

---

from FIELD XENOLOGY COMMISSION > EXTERNAL LIAISON
to You!
on 2300-Apr-9 at 00:00
concerning "Commonwealth Dispatches - Welcome and Contents"
message security black-0 / eyes only

Welcome to the Dispatches portal, [USER_NAME_OR_HONORIFIC]!

The Commonwealth Dispatches program is an initiative of Commonwealth External Affairs Control and the Commonwealth Field Xenology Commission. Initiated April 2300, the Dispatches will supplement your Factbook with in-depth internal coverage of the Commonwealth, detailed retrospectives and analysis pieces, and cultural exhibits of all kinds (including music, literature, visual art, cinema and many more). Items will be in standard Commonwealth media formats - if you are experiencing difficulty, please contact External Affairs Control's technical support office through your embassy or consulate, or, if you are pre-contact, please contact the FXC Chief Relay Administrator assigned to your government.

Stay tuned for regular updates!

Index
#001: Concept glossary

[updates pending]

[Kostemetsia]

#001: Concept glossary

This is marked as a DYNAMIC DISPATCH. Watch this space for updates.

DI
See direct input.

Direct input
The Commonwealth-specific meaning of this phrase refers to an interface which directly links an intracranial device and a conventional computer system. The interface is mediated by riders in the palm of the hand; the hand is wrapped around a metallic DI adaptor attached to the system core. Use of DI is uncommon, for several reasons: (a) it is slower and less precise than more conventional input methods like typing; (b) the mediation of the electric field through intervening dermis is considered quite uncomfortable and will often induce temporary but uncontrollable tremors in the hand; (c) ICDs can usually communicate remotely. DI is used as an emergency backup when neither conventional input nor remote communication are available.

Eaglet
A pejorative term of Hadassahan origin, referring to Yelanese and Mescalerans, who are popularly perceived as overly gung-ho and adventurist.

ICD
See intracranial device.

Intracranial device
Also known as ICD. A small computer implanted in the brain which networks with the rest of the nervous system through riders. Provides a heads-up display, communication, image capture and storage, and basic personal computing capability. Available to all Commonwealth citizens who are of age.

Rider
A peripheral to an intracranial device, interfacing with an individual nerve pathway or group of pathways. Common examples of riders include optic nerve riders, which inject the ICD heads-up display directly into the optical datastream; nooceptor riders, which can lessen or completely block pain for some time; and medical riders, which listen to neural traffic in order to direct in situ medical cybernetics.

Rivulet
A program operated by the Commonwealth Field Xenology Commission, cooperating with selected pre-contact governments to provide high-level officials and diplomats with anonymised, restricted access to the internet.