Lore for IC Channels?

Alisaie

So, this is probably a very newbie question (just joined the game last night!), but what's the in-game explanation for channel-based communication?  How are characters able to communicate with people over long distances?

Aeldra

I don't know for exact game lore (relatively new myself), but ingame they are called 'aethers' by most people and as you get increasing ability to communicate from planes further out and to people further out, I would assume that the channels are explained by being strands of the aether that connect to different people (also, if you teleport to someone, you find a specific strand of aether that leads to that certain person and follow it).

Lerad

Most people think of it as telepathic communication, but with an infrastructure unrelated to the in-game psionic telepathy. 

The elder god stories have had instances were they were described in a way that seemed to me like how radios might work, only it's embedded in your mind and operated instinctively. That's just my own interpretation, though, and might be wrong, so feel free to take it with a grain of salt.

Everiine

Yes, while it's never explained, the existence of the communication aethers is well known and attested in the lore. The Elder Gods used them to communicate with each other, and Globglob was a news aether broadcaster who covered news stories like Project Cosmic Hope.

Enyalida

Being a member of an org means more than just reciting some oaths and pledges. Each member is attuned to the unique 'vibration' of their particular nexus, allowing them to link with it to draw power from it. This attunement is what creates the general 'channels' of communication for mortals on the scale of CT and GT - You're all on the same power wavelength. 

Alisaie

Thanks for the info!  Definitely useful for when I start getting into rp.  

Saran

Yeah it's pretty firmly psionic, though verbal as opposed to say the words appearing in your consciousness or something more esoteric.

It seems likely that it's some remnant of divine power, there's heaps of explanations that you could throw out there, one that comes to mind is that it could be something that Xyl cooked up, and somewhere (probably in Mount Avechna let's be honest) there's some central mainframe that holds the entire aetherwave network together like some giant irc server.

Tylwyth

I don't agree that it's "psionic" but it is "mental" in that you "hear" people speaking, but no one else not on that aether does.

And since you can't "emote" I assume it only does words and not ideas or emotions. I assume it broadcasts "subvocalizations" and that's about as "psychic" as it gets. Well, unless you get tainted, like the Tainted Broadcasting Center. 

Saran

Tylwyth said:

I don't agree that it's "psionic" but it is "mental" in that you "hear" people speaking, but no one else not on that aether does.

And since you can't "emote" I assume it only does words and not ideas or emotions. I assume it broadcasts "subvocalizations" and that's about as "psychic" as it gets. Well, unless you get tainted, like the Tainted Broadcasting Center. 

Psionic is the term for mental powers :P Wiki claims that it is to imply "paranormal powers of the mind made to work reliably"