Portal station

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The development of portal technology by Empirical Industries revolutionized the public transit system in Cardinal. While buses still exist and still operate on certain routes, airplanes and other forms of long-distance mass transit have practically disappeared. The portal system ties all cities in Cardinal with populations of at least 150,000 together, and major cities often have numerous regional portal stations scattered throughout them for internal transit. They also operate to provide transport to Earth's space stations, ARCHIE III and Empirical's EIS-4. Interplanetary travel is even accomplished by the portals, with travel to New Vegeta and New Namek possible via portal.

To a certain degree, portal technology has also revolutionized the shipping industry. Special extra large diameter portals are used for shipping commercial goods from place to place, and this technology is especially leveraged within Empirical for shipping goods between facilities. Numerous shipping companies have, unfortunately, been driven into bankruptcy by this development, although there are still many couriers and smaller shippers who deal with intracity transport in ways that fixed locales such as portal stations cannot.

Portal Routes

Not all portals connect to all other portals. For instance, subsidiary portal stations in Central City all connect to each other, but only a few have portals going to, say, ARCHIE III. Generally, for travel to far-flung places, one takes a portal to a primary station, and then to their eventual destination. One important exception is the portal to New Vegeta -- permission must be gained to take that, by a visitor's visa (most often gained by visiting the New Vegetan consulate in Central City), and by attending a lecture on the dangers of Saiyan society prior to travel.

Similarly, a portal route connects Cardinal to D'hennex, and a required class on the dangers and societal mores of D'hennex and its countries must be completed (and a waiver signed) before would-be travellers can cross into that land, through the Alaran Outpost where Empirical Networks has installed its facility. Another facility has also been established in Azshar, as a fortified trade compound, and similar requirements are made of would-be travellers before they cross into that desert land, as it is a most dangerous place.

Travel to New Namek, while a much safer place than New Vegeta, still requires a lecture on the natural hazards of the planet, simply because they are so much different from those of Earth.

Using the Portal Network

While it is possible for mortals to use the portal stations for local travel without registering, power wielders are required (and mortals are recommended) to actually register with Empirical Networks. This grants a small discount on prices, as tickets do not have to be printed, but are instead electronically registered to the identification card that is provided, and opens up the possibility of travel to further places. All destinations requiring lecture classes to travel to (ie, D'hennex, New Vegeta) require registration.

If the traveller also owns a registered PAD (one that is sufficiently secure to be only reasonably usable by them) then they can actually have their registration linked to that as well, rather than have to also carry a separate card. In fact, with the appropriate work done, they can even purchase tickets in advance with their PAD, and proceed directly through the portal when they arrive, greatly speeding their travel.

Portal Stations of Note

Central City has the largest portal station on Earth -- the Grand Central Station of portal stations. Contained within the large building are dozens of portals -- large circles of stone and steel, that, when active, are filled with a shimmering field of opaque violet energies. In order to use a portal, unless otherwise specified, a ticket must be purchased. Ticket booths are all around the station, as well, and are largely automated procedures, controlled by a low-level submind of the artificial intelligence that operates the facility. Upon approach to a portal, with an appropriate ticket in possession, the portal will automatically open and admit the ticket-holder, instantaneously transporting them to the destination portal. The ticket is thereafter useless -- recycling bins for used ticket stubs are placed at all portal stations, as littering is frowned upon by Empirical Industries.

The portal stations link in an interconnected network between all major cities of Cardinal, as well as general access to other Earth landmasses, and the ARCHIE III and EIS-4 space stations. There is also a portal connecting the New Vegetan Capital to the network, and a portal in an Empirical enclave on New Namek. The prime stations of the network are in Central and West cities, and they are commonly used as public transit between cities, for a nominal fee (cheaper than an airplane, about the same as a long-distance bus ride). Subsidiary portal stations abound in the major metropoli, and are often used as public transit inside the city, again for a nominal fee (comparable to a regular city bus ride).

Defenses

The portal station has mortal security officers that deal with any mortal problems. For power wielders, they will typically call on Empirical Security, often in the form of either Black Valkyrie guards using powered armour, automated defense drones operated by artificial intelligence, or the Psionic Militia. In extreme cases, Alothin himself may appear to guard his investments. As all of the above security forces have very low response times, as they are often in the vicinity of portals, and need no ticket or key, response to a powered attack is usually measured in seconds, if that. It is Not A Good Idea to attack a portal station directly, in other words.

It is not generally known, but each portal incorporates a low-grade artificial intelligence (That is to say, a mind with 'only' the mental intelligence of an above-average human, a perfect memory, and unflagging attention to duty.) for security reasons. One submind operates to identify the ticket that the user is holding, and key the portal appropriately to transit them to the correct place. The AI serve to prevent traffic accidents, with one person emerging as another enters a portal, and bumping into each other. Most importantly, however, the AI serve to power down the portals safely when powered-level combat occurs. Disrupting a portal ring can result in dire effects. To date, however, not a single one has been so disrupted, and due to the efficiency of Empirical Security teams, it does not seem likely that one ever will.