The Fabric
The Fabric was a simulated, networked environment developed as part of the Consciousness Retention Program (CRP), with the intent of delaying cognitive decoherence for humans or ex-humans over 250 years of age. The Coalition’s Center for Cognitive Security led the project, with several parties contributing to the system; Q Labs for the software platform and neural interface, Sektor Aerospace for the construction and deployment of the space stations; CORE Heavy Industries for the construction of the underground vaults; and Raven on both security and technical fronts, with Black Research handling critical consciousness integration subsystems. The environment hosted SI cores of individuals in massive consciousness vaults each designed to hold hundreds of millions of minds, in orbit or in facilities deep underground. The key idea of the program was to artificially slow cognition by a factor of ten, only running minds for one in every ten seconds, and allow humanity time to develop the technology required to cure decoherence. The simulated environments included 1:1 scanned replicas of various locations throughout the Solar System, including Earth and Mars.
Communication can occur between the real world and the Fabric; however, it is asynchronous due to the duty cycling. It is also possible for one to request their SI core be removed from the vault and placed in a synthetic body to allow for them to rejoin the real world; however, this results in losing one’s slot and returning would mean rejoining the waitlist for decoherence patients if one wanted to later reenter, and it also requires a multi-year recovery period due to the neural reconfiguration required for one to learn how to control a new synthetic body. In theory, SI cores of healthy synths can also be slotted into a Fabric rack to participate in the simulation, but this is rarely performed.
Partitioning
Because of data transmission delays resulting from distance and bandwidth challenges, the simulation had to run in partitions, which were served on different stations and facilities and each would provide a unique area of terrain. An individual would normally be confined to a single partition, but they could travel between partitions by requesting their SI core to be removed and slotted into a rack at a different partition. This would normally depend on a willing volunteer moving away from the partition, as all partitions were always at capacity.
Sektor Aerospace and CORE managed the logistics of transporting SI cores from vault to vault and from vault back to synthetic bodies, which needed to occur only on a 10-year basis, effectively allowing for once-per-year transfer, entry, or exit windows for Fabric inhabitants. This time delay was also critically important because Raven equipped the vaults with advanced defence systems to counter any potential terrorist attacks, something that could result in the loss of tens of billions of minds; the process to unseal and reseal a vault would be complex, lengthy, and require Raven involvement.
Some countries would run, or attempt to run their own simulation infrastructure outside the CRP program; the Thames Republic was an example of such a country, having developed a novel system with the joint cooperation of InterTeck, Sakura Cybernetics, and the Thames National Laboratories.