Teleporters

Overview

Teleporters work by breaking an item down at an atomic level, essentially vaporising it, and sending the information about it through space at light speed. The information is then reconstructed at the receiver and a replica is made. Due to the inherently violent way the information is sent, the Kepek Commonwealth has ruled teleportation can only be used on non-living or non-organic items. Even sending dead organic material has been outlawed, especially products that are meant to be consumed, as there is a high likelihood of bacteria and other contaminants getting trapped within the material as it is being reconstructed.
Teleporters come in 4 varieties:

Long-range

There are only a few long-range teleporters in existence, and most of them can be found on Interstellar Colony Flagships and a select few space stations, such as the Bektep Space Station. These teleporters work by breaking down whatever is put into the teleportation pod and using a smaller version of a Warp Drive to send the information through hyperspace as a light beam and reassembling it on the other side. this allows the information to travel distances that could take millions of years to be transported at light speed in a matter of seconds or minutes. The reason they are so rare, however, is that creating safe and stable openings to hyperspace on a moving ship, station or even planet is nearly impossible, and trying to do so will usually result in the rift staying stationary while the environment continues to move (e.g. because it is in orbit), sucking up or even destroying parts of the structure around it in the process. Because of this, both the station or ship the teleporter is on has to come to a complete stop before anything can be sent, and has to remain there until the package arrives at the receiver, a very difficult feat to do on space stations in particular. Because of this, these teleporters are to be used in emergencies only, and only if no other options are available.

Mid-range

Mid-range teleporters send the information between sender and receiver in a beam of light through regular space. As with long-range teleporters, they break down whatever is in the pod and the light beam carries the information at light speed to the receiver. This makes them great for sending items within a star system, but anything further than that can take a very long time and risks the information being corrupted or scrambled before it reaches the receiver.

Short Range

Short-range teleporters are the most common type and are used in the transport of many day-to-day items. They work much the same way as mid-range teleporters, but only have a range of a few thousand kilometres or less. They are less dangerous and harder to scramble than their mid-range counterparts.

Single item Teleporters

Single item teleporters are smaller, more specialised teleporters that are built into a specific item. Instead of putting an item inside a teleport pod, these single-item teleporters can be installed into any item and will only teleport that item when activated. When installed, a button can be pressed on a connected device and it will summon the item it is installed into. Some common uses for this include being installed into easily lost items such as keys or a holodisplay remote, as well as for many types of accessibility devices like prosthetics, to allow them to be taken off and stored somewhere safe regardless of where the user is. These have similar ranges to Short-Range teleporters, usually several hundred to several thousand kilometres.

Social Impact

The invention of teleportation allowed for more rapid expansion of the Kepek Commonwealth in particular, meaning colonies could be created in more far-off and remote locations, and they wouldn't be completely cut off from the rest of the commonwealth. It has become so commonplace that most Kepek struggle to imagine a galaxy without it.

Laws, Restrictions and Regulations

While all but long-range teleportation is safe and easy to use, there is still a number of laws, regulations and restrictions imposed on the creation and use of teleporters. The major ones that are enforced by the entire Kepek Commonwealth include:

Transportation of Organic goods or materials is prohibited

As mentioned above, the teleportation of organic goods and materials, that being anything that is or was alive in any capacity, is strictly prohibited. The main reason for this, at least with still-living creatures, is that the teleporter will kill anything it's used on in a spectacularly painful way. The reconstruction process of the replica often doesn't work properly (as liquids like blood are often not able to be contained during the process and spill) and the replica, even if everything arrives in perfect condition, will usually already be dead. For things that aren't alive anymore, such as meat and plant-based food products, the main concern is hygiene, as contaminants often end up sealed inside the item. This can include anything from bacteria and other things you would expect, to dirt and dust. Some items were also found to have arrived with mutated cells, which if ingested could be potentially hazardous to the Kepek's health. For all these reasons, it was decided that organic materials should remain to be transported the old fashion way.

All Short, Mid and Long-range Teleporters need to have some kind of pod or guard around them

All modern short, mid and long-range teleporters have a pod or container that holds the items about to be teleported. This pod is a relatively new addition, only being implemented around 50 Bektep Orbits ago. Prior to this, the items being teleported were usually just placed on a flat surface or pad. The reason why it changed was due to an accident involving a Kepek child who slipped and fell into the beam of an active short-range teleporter. The child's legs fell in and were amputated (or rather vaporised). The child survived and recovered, but it prompted major rule changes about teleportation safety. It was legally required after that that all short, mid and long-range teleporters have some kind of pod or guard to prevent any accidents.

Related Vehicles

• Interstellar Colony Flagship