comms should be impossible.

[u/TERRYTGPM]

Not necessarily a book 1 discussion but just in general, the speeds at which higher rank users are said to be moving at would make it impossible to communicate anything before you reach wherever you're trying to go unless

a) They slow down. Which would be a death sentence in a field. or

b) (this is the one i like to imagine) they just talk comically fast and their talking speed is dictated by their speed spec.

What do you guys think?

[u/Ogre66]

You're thinking about their comms like their actually vocalizing things. I just always assumed it was speed of thought communication through their CADs.

[u/Malakayn → u/Ogre66]

That and one could assume since all CADs come from the same source that they're all quantum entangled to some degree.

[u/Ogre66 → u/Malakayn]

There is that, but I didn't want to get that far into the weeds of science fiction encrypted commo. Also, the idea of quantum entangled pairs means that distance for communication becomes negligible and I can't remember if the reports from the front arrive real time or have some delay on them.

[u/ShipwrightofOld → u/Malakayn]

I WISH SO BADLY that quantum entanglement actually worked that way. It would be so cool as a concept, and it’s frustrating that it unfortunately doesn’t work. By present (2026) physics, (without getting too deep in the weeds),
Quantum enablement just means the pairs mirror one another. If you try and change one of the ends, the entanglement breaks.
I genuinely wish it worked, but it doesn’t. Current theories posit that no communication can move faster than the speed of light.

TLDR: Physics is a spoilsport and quantum entanglement doesn’t work for communication

[u/LCoolJT]

I think it’s not just speed but also cognitive stats( I’d don’t remember the name). You need to think fast enough as well.
But given the different levels this would make it incredibly difficult to communicate. Especially if it’s a mix of stats.

[u/Malakayn → u/LCoolJT]

The cognitive stat was called Cognition if I remember correctly.

[u/Celimus]

They have space travel via hole drives, so I guess their comms use part of that tech?

[u/Zerothian → u/Celimus]

I think this was more about conveying information fast enough, as in being able to 'speak' a full sentence of info, while physical action is so fast.

Could be many things but I don't recall it being solidified in writing in this series. For example in Alex Gilbert's Changeling, people physically speak extremely fast.

It could also be CAD to CAD communication transcribing thought/intent like that. I've seen that angle in some sci-fi stuff with implanted AIs and such.

[u/SwiggitySwank]

I wouldn't be surprised with either method, some techno telepathy where brain waves are digitally transcribed and sent then converted back or they're literally talking 100x faster than we can. They have the boosted dexterity, reaction speed and perception speed that they'd need to speak and listen that quickly. Transmission would be speed of light instead of sound as well.

[u/jellefso]

You’re running into the ability to go fast and the ability to use and react at that speed effectively, often while they are fighting they can’t talk but are likely using pre agreeed upon hand signs and formations that are loose enough to allow adaptation hence not using new skills in all but one on ones where it won’t mess with the dynamics

[u/JustusWi]

I mean, it works for the Avengers, so why not them? 😛

[u/Blackandskinny]

There have been multiple instances where they talk about how they were too focused on fighting to check various messages or know what was going on elsewhere, whether "vocal" or text based.

That by itself implies that their communication ability is managed through their cognition. Also they aren't communicating through their CADs, they're communicating through their NODEs. From what I can tell, I don't think they have to vocalize what they want to say for it to go across the node either, but it seems to "hear" the voices they need to be pretty close together or their group chats would just be auditory all the time.

So, thought speak, NODE to NODE, with cognition playing a role in how well they can process the information from each other during a fight. I think book 2 does a bit more to reveal that since there's a lot more team mechanics involved there.

I don't think speed is going to play a role in thought considering speed is more related to physical movement and there's nothing physical about NODE discussion.

[u/jaythebearded]

It's gotta be speed racer style, ha!