Dutch Courage

WC NT communication

After the flood and the war, most communication infrastructure was destroyed. The instable soil was not inviting to make a new underground infrastructure of cables and wires. Instead, the government and some private enterprises decided to build a wireless computer network (Wireless Computer Network Technique or WCNT: “WéCé-Enté”).

There are two different kind of networks. One works with stand-alone computers (SAC), the other is a wired network of a mainframe and several connected terminals. Both SACs and mainframes write their data on tapes. These tapes can be cassettes of the vintage but revived “music cassette” standard or the bigger and larger tapes for 8-track tape-recorders. Both kinds of tapes are compatible with an audio-signal.
All SAC users and all mainframe operators have a small broadcasting- and receiving station. On radio-waves they transmit the data on the tapes. These audio-signals can be received and recorded with a normal ghetto-blaster. This way, there is a wide wireless network to share information.

Now everyone can use these broadcasting techniques as long as the power in the region works. Some were transmitting unwanted data all day into a wide area, these persons got to be known as SMAC (Shithead Motherfucking Amateur Communicators). They still raid the frequencies and are wanted badly by the FIOD, more dead than alive.
Normally the ones who want to share their data first try to set up a connection with another data-station. Some have a network of friends and already know the frequency on which their friends broadcast, others browse and use the frequencies to set up new contacts.
This goes on the side of the broadcaster with the words: “Breaky breaky, this is data station X, do you read me?”
The answer of the receiver will be: “Data station Y reads you loud and clear. Please come in X.”
The following communication settles the set up of the transmission: what data there is to get, how long the broadcasting will last, sometimes it is a more social conversation. Each sentence will be ended with an “over” to indicate the frequency is open for a reply. At a given point, the data-file tape will be broadcasted. After the transmission of the file, there will be another contact on the same frequency to inform both sides about the end of file.
A data-station usually has an archive of so called QSL-cards, these decribe the names of the datastations one has had contact with or wants to contact, the frequencies they use, the time they are on the are and usually the kind of data they have in store. Wonderful artwork completes the cards. Datastations can give these cards to potential users too, and these might reproduce or swap the cards to get a private archive of “favorites”.

For larger files, usually transmitted to and from mainframe-tapes, one can contact the mainframe operator and ask for a clear frequency. Tuned in on the frequency, one can send the data without interruption for hours straight. The frequencies are managed by hand, and the lower frequencies are used for data stations further away. However, due to atmospheric disturbances, these transmissions are not always the most reliable.
A high frequency network has been planned: in that network, some broadcasting stations will transmit data all day to other stations, allowing a quick and reliable matrix of data for everyone to tune in. There will be kilometres (technicians talk about megametres and gigametres) of tape with data stored in so-called data warehouses. Critiques of the government and paranoid citizens will tell you that everything ever broadcasted will be stored there, even your digital love letters. Attacks with huge magnets on the test station have taken place recently.

Of course, the FIOD, one of the main supporters of the project, wants the data to stay secret. They have found several ways to scramble the signal and use irregular frequency-changes based on random security codes. Others, who don’t have the right software to do so might play their tapes backwards when transmitting. The human ear cannot hear that, but a computer will. More wealthy broadcasters use a noise signal over the actual signal and the receivers use a equalizer to filter the data from the noise. Other audiotechniques to veil the content are less common.

A lot of old persons tried to transmit the so-called MP files over the WCNT out of nostalgic memories of peer-to-peer music exchange. These antique audio files took too much from the mainframes, the transmission lasted for days in several cases. Most mainframes will refuse to receive or transmit those files. Instead, they will tell, the broadcaster can transmit the normal audio-signal of the music, so the transmission will take no longer than the piece of music actually is.

So far, most users of the WCNT are content with the work-around solution following the disasters of the Flood. Many of them think the work around is better than what has been the standard from before the Flood. The network is more flexible because wireless, even with the oldest ghetto-blaster one can receive and save information, and inter-human contacts have gotten better due to the break-contacts. It’s more difficult to shut down a data station, even though the signal can be easily located.