Field Walls
Overview
Field Walls are large-scale, holographic barriers that mark the outer boundaries of districts and other secure locations across Greater Atla. They appear as ghostly walls of light stretching into the sky, projected from emitter posts placed at fixed intervals along district perimeters.
The system monitors any attempt to pass through these barriers, instantly detecting intrusions and relaying critical data to Local Authority and Gate Patrol units for rapid response.
History & Development
Origin: Field Walls have been integral to district integrity since the founding of GATA and the induction of the first districts beyond Atla. Today's Field Wall emitter posts are the product of a Research Corps project to create a highly efficient, non-physical boundary that could provide comprehensive detection and scanning capabilities.
Early Prototypes: Initial prototypes using simple motion-sensor arrays resulted in many false positives, spurring the initiative to be passed to the Research Corps to explore advanced holographic projection and interferometric detection.
Widespread Adoption: As districts proliferated, Field Walls became the de facto border-wall standard due to their low maintenance compared to physical barricades and their unparalleled scanning precision.
Design & Functionality
Emitter Posts:
Power Source: Each post houses a compact fusion cell that powers the high-intensity light emitters.
Projector Array: These projectors emit overlapping streams of coherent photons, forming a luminous net with neighboring posts. Phase interference patterns give the wall its semi-translucent, “ghostly” appearance.
Holographic Projection:
Coherent Light Net: The beams interlace to create a continuous barrier. Although it appears permeable to the naked eye, any disruption in the interference pattern is immediately detected.
Detection & Scanning
Real-Time Sensing:
Interferometric Sensors: Each emitter array constantly measures changes in amplitude, phase, and polarization of the light waves. When something crosses, even minuscule disturbances are flagged to Local Authority, Gate Patrol, and Sentinels.
Edge Computing: The posts are equipped with hard coded modules that locally process sensor data to identify false alarms (e.g., wind-blown debris, rain), and can synchronize with nearby Sentinels, Gate Patrol, and Local Authority systems.
Topographical Mapping:
Multispectral Pulses: When a breach is detected, the system emits pulses across multiple spectra (infrared, ultraviolet, etc.). This information is used to build a 3D topographical model of whatever crossed the barrier.
Phase-Conjugate Holography: By analyzing how signals bounce back, the Field Walls reconstruct a high-resolution volumetric snapshot revealing fine details like concealed cargo, biological signatures, or structural anomalies.
Enforcement & Regulation
Immediate Response:
Gate Patrol: Armed with handheld “mappers,” Gate Patrol is automatically notified when an intrusion is confirmed. They receive a real-time 3D model of the crossing entity, enabling swift interception.
District Accountability:
Local vs. Central Jurisdiction: Incidents involving district citizens and incidents in the interior of the Field Wall are typically handled by local governments, though the Second Quorum reserves the right to intervene if district standards fall below acceptable levels. Incidents on the exterior of the Field Wall fall under the jurisdiction of Gate Patrol and may require intervention from Angelis forces.
Challenges & Criticisms
Civil Liberties: Some critics argue that the walls’ high-resolution scanning infringes on privacy protections outlined in the WPP.
Maintenance Costs: Although cheaper and less labor intensive than physical fortifications, installation and maintenance of emitter arrays and fusion power cells can represent a significant cost for more geographically expansive districts.
Future Enhancements
Solid Holograms: Research into static-powered physically interactive emitters could allow walls to temporarily “solidify,” providing direct obstruction to intruders.
Quantum Entanglement Networks: Rumors suggest that GATA is testing Quantum Seed entangled sensor grids, enabling more secure, instantaneous signaling across Field Wall networks.
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