Reference: D

DaXfer: Data Transfer System

Early in mankind's occupation of the Lattice Worlds, a subsystem of the Teeg control programs in the Core computers revealed a communications link assigned specifically to coordinate one Lattice World's In Teeg with an adjacent Out Teeg. The link, operating at "teeg speed" (i.e., instantaneously), was quickly grabbed up by enterprising humans to be used as an all-purpose communications web. By tacking on extra signals, data of any type -- news, private messaging, etc. -- could be sent from one Lattice World to the next, with no delay. More carrier lines were instituted, allowing a basically-unlimited amount of data to be transferred throughout the Lattice. This system came to be known as the Data Transfer (DaXfer) System, and has given rise to the inclusion into many languages of the transitive verb "to dax," meaning to send data to someone by means of the system.

For nearly a century, chaos reigned as the links were abused and mishandled, until data systems engineer Hem Junxieo devised a system of coordination based on the inherent Seven Minute Limit of the Lattice World Teegs. The Junxieo Protocol was instituted to cycle Teegs through a regular rotation of connections: each Teeg connected for precisely seven minutes to the Lattice World to its north, then to its north-east, then to its east, and so forth, around each of the eight adjacent Lattice Worlds, the entire rotation spanning 56 minutes of time, and yielding an average transit delay of only 24.5 minutes per World. After the establishment of the Junxieo Protocol, the DaXfer systems enjoyed increasing use.

Recently, a more efficient protocol of Teeg coordination for both DaXfer transmissions and for vehicles travelling through multiple Teegs has been initiated, replacing the slower Junxieo Protocol. The LWA now fully enforces the Superior Traffic Protocol for all Lattice Worlds under its authority. DaXfer messages now average seven minutes per World transited.

Private parties, Lattice World stations, and other individual entities are assigned a unique DaXfer Address, which of necessity is propagated to and resides on all Lattice Worlds' Core computer systems. Each message sent via the DaXfer System is routed and rerouted through each intervening Lattice World's Core computers until it reaches its specified destination, where it can be retrieved by the proper party. The library of unique DaXfer addresses is now numbered in the septillions, and many Worlds (strictly against orders from the LWA's InfoTech Referential) cull their databases by erasing addresses that go unused for a period of time. The practice of culling DaXfer ID's leads to increased efficiency for those whose addresses are used regularly -- for others, of course, it leads to loss of data and communications. Some minor depressions and wars have occassionally been blamed on damaged DaXfer-address databases.