[Humor] Crypto in Traveller (a game)

[Jim Choate <ravage@einstein.ssz.com>]

Hi,

I thought I would pass this along to demonstrate that all uses of crypto are
not 'real world'...

Hope you enjoy.

                                                       Jim Choate
                                                       CyberTects
                                                       ravage@ssz.com

Forwarded message:

> To: traveller@MPGN.COM
> Subject: Re: Aperture Synthesis, Aegis
> Date: Sun, 26 Jan 1997 21:40:18 +0000
> 
> At 08:15 AM 1/26/97 +0000, you wrote:
> <snip>
> >For example, at 5 ls, you have ship A sending data to ship B, which has
> >to know "exactly" how long it took for the data to cross the gap, as
> >that's one of the parameters in the calculations. 
> >
> >If it's "exactly" 5 seconds, then each ship "combines" the data it
> >receives directly with the data received 5 seconds later from the other
> >ship. The combining involves various things like trig and other messy
> >stuff. But it all boils down to "A saw X1 from direction Y1 at time Z1, B
> >saw X2 from Y2 at Z2". You combine the info and triangulate. 
> >
> >So at 5 ls, you have a "data lag" of the 5 seconds it takes the signal
> >to cross the distance *plus* the processing time. 
> >
> >And since the distance *will* vary, even if only by a little bit, that
> >changes the point in the your datastream that you are comparing with
> >the datastream from the other ship.
> >
> 
> Could we presume that vessels operating together would have some type of
> synchronized timekeeping, such as an atomic clock, in each ship, with each
> message between ships being time & velocity stamped so that each receiver
> could adjust the data for integration to local data? 
> 
> We should also assume a really good (and closely gaurded) encryption on the
> interchanges, or enemy intercepts would be right dangerous.
> 
> Adventure possiblity: trying to obtain a given unit's encryption code or
> seeking to recover said code.