Unity Protocol

The Unity Protocol is the name of the sprawling artificial intelligence network responsible for maintaining the city of unity_metropolis on Traveller in the starshade.

'Unit' is the name colloquially given to the many robots live in the System and manage it, and the many alien races that live within the banner are usually referred to as the 'United' - even if that may not necessarily be the case.

The general appearance of the Unity Protocol is very muted in normal colours, using grey, white, and occasional licks of blue. Their logo consists of a picture of the Traveller with a stencil-like portrayal of the face of a Unit.

The 'Units' which people are likely to meet face to face appear to be robotic humanoids, with a human-like face made from a jelly solution and opaque eyes. They do not intend to unnerve people with their appearance, and they are known to adjust facial and bodily proportions to match the alien inhabitants of given districts.

For more on the Units which isn't covered here, as well as information for Rogue Units, consult Units.

The most curious component of the Unity Protocol is its relationships with other races who enter its system. Units appear to be happy to accommodate new races so long as there is available space throughout Starshade or in orbit.

The general process has been documented by foreigners as thus:

1. Meet and Greet
2. Discern Language (throughout proceedings)
3. Discern Physical Traits/dietary habits
4. Discern Mental Traits/special abilities
5. Discern ideal living space/find similar species
   • If no similar species can be found, Units let the person decide.

Spacefaring species who have heard of the Unity Protocol but stay away from it cite the shadowiness of their apparent motives, keeping interactions with Units and other Unit-controlled infrastructure to a minimum and trading directly with traders who work in independently owned space stations within Starshade's space.

Due to how the Unity Protocol is laid out and fundamentally architected for maximum efficiency within their own sphere, they are constrained to operating within their own system. Any Unit who passes beyond the system goes into a shutdown mode, disconnected from the central servers. This is believed to be a failsafe by proximity to prevent their spread across the galaxy, or a security feature to prevent tampering.

Another popular theory is that the servers remember all the information an individual Unit will need to know, and a severed connection means the Unit must now rely on any data stored internally. Reports of 'Rogue Units' wandering outside of Unity Protocol's borders, presumably disconnected from the central network relying on an internal storage. The Protocol offers their most handsome rewards to those who bring Rogue Units in.

Let it never be said that for the Units' open handedness with their land, resources, and living space, that they are pushovers. They take direct egress to people destroying their property (and individual Units are considered property) and will punish the wrongdoers to the fullest extent, by force if necessary.

For crimes perpetrated by people towards others with minimal Protocol property damage, the Units may assist with the local investigation by providing footage and metrics where possible to see that the crime is resolved in the perpetrator's local court of arbitration. It is impossible to bribe or fast-talk Units, and they see it as a grave insult to look the other way. Some people reckon that Units are naive to the realities of the rest of the galaxy, and that its only a matter of time until someone finds something they want.

Generally, outrageous actions by individuals can draw the Units' ire towards their whole species if incidents persist, leading to punishments ranging from indiscernable passive-aggressive behaviour and daily inconvenience, to full-scale neighbourhood eviction and resource deprivation.

For threats beyond the system which require further pursuit, the Protocol enlists the help of United People to enlist in the United Defence Directive. They reward those who bring their quarries to justice with some respect and the hunter's native currency in hand, intimately aware of their own limitation in going between systems.

• Property damage is highly frowned upon.
• Sabotage is met with stiff resistance.