Nullon

At a glance

World Type: Rim quarantine, data-sanitation, and secure destruction hub
Primary Role: Court-ordered erasure, firmware quarantine, evidence cold storage, and safe disposal of contaminated tech and records
Constellation Link: Neutral utility node serving all constellations; high traffic from Human legal routes (Kedra), Synthborn compute (Brightline), and Keth navigation (Slipwind)
Reputation: Strict, procedure-heavy, zero tolerance for network leaks or chain-of-custody errors
Primary Imports: Seized servers and drives, corrupted beacons, counterfeit seal batches, contaminated tools, seized escrow keys, disputed identity packs
Primary Exports: Certificates of verified wipe, proof-of-destruction packets, repaired “clean” firmware images, quarantine rulings, integrity audits

Role in the galaxy

Nullon exists to isolate and clean dangerous or disputed information. Ports and courts send cargo here when records are corrupted, beacons are suspect, seals are counterfeit, or firmware shows tampering. The world runs air-gapped facilities where technicians hold evidence, verify hashes, and either restore clean images or destroy items under witness. Courts and escrow houses rely on Nullon when they need an outcome that cannot be challenged later.

History and USD markers

USD 0101.0–0102.x: Signal tampering and record corruption rise across lanes. The Central Authority, escrow houses, and inspector unions fund a neutral quarantine world.
USD 0103.0: Nullon begins operations with three pillars: Quarantine, Verification, and Destruction.
USD 0104.5: Kedra Courts recognize Nullon certificates as binding in tariff, debt, and identity cases.
USD 0106.0+: Brightline and Cache Vale establish mirrored liaison offices to manage clean-image releases and archive confirmations.

Governance and law

Trusteeship Board: Central Authority Prefecture (procedures), Escrow Houses Consortium (witness rules), and Inspectorate Union (tool calibration).
Quarantine Code: All incoming media, components, and documents enter air-gapped custody. No network bridge to off-world systems is allowed.
Witness Protocol: Any erasure or destruction requires multi-party witnesses (Authority, escrow, port inspector), a recorded hash chain, and a signed packet.
Appeal Path: A short window allows a court to freeze a process and request re-inspection. After that window, the result is final.

Economy

Nullon earns fees for quarantine storage, forensic verification, firmware repair, certified wipes, destruction, and training. Secondary sectors include calibration services, secure packaging, tamper-evident seals, and chain-of-custody logistics. Recovered metals and inert materials are sold only after full clearance. Bidding is regulated to prevent back-channel recovery of parts.

Ports and facilities

Quarantine First Port: Arrival berths with immediate network blackout, sealed cargo transfer, and crew isolation corridors.
Clean-Room Spindle: Tiered labs for drive imaging, beacon audit, and seal-batch testing; each tier is physically isolated.
Cold Vault Trench: Climate-stable bunkers for long cases, identity disputes, and court holds.
Proof Kilns: High-temperature destruction bays with mass tracking, residue sampling, and live witness feeds (local only).
Witness Halls: Rooms designed for multi-party observation and signing; no external links.
Calibration Yard: Meter, scanner, and seal-tester calibration under union oversight.
Dispute Plaza: On-site arbitration for release vs. destroy decisions to reduce off-world delays.

Standard procedure for visiting crews

Pre-arrival filing: Send case numbers, manifests, and court or escrow orders. Expect a return packet with assigned paths.
Berth and blackout: Dock, cut all long-range links, and move cargo under seal into quarantine custody.
Intake imaging: Record serials, weights, and initial hashes. Create a custody chain with time stamps.
Forensic step: Run clean-room tests: beacon integrity, firmware checks, seal chemistry, and document hash audits.
Ruling: Quarantine release, clean-image issue, or destruction order.
Exit packet: Receive certified results, custody logs, and authorization to update off-world records.

Common blockers: unstamped court orders, mismatched serials vs. manifest, or prior edits without a custody note.

Society and culture

Life on Nullon is orderly and quiet. Shifts are long and planned around witness windows. People value clear documentation, clean tools, and accurate timekeeping. Social spaces are small and simple. Schools teach chain-of-custody, seal handling, and air-gap safety from an early age. Public violations lead to suspension and retraining rather than fines, since mistakes can damage trust across the lanes.

Factions and actors

Trusteeship Board: Sets rules and audits compliance.
Vault Keepers: Operate the Cold Vault Trench and manage long cases.
Proof Office: Issues wipe and destruction certificates; defends their validity in outside courts.
Auditors’ Circle: Independent inspectors who can pause processes when they see risk.
Facilitation Clerks: Prepare packets and schedule witness panels.
Cache Vale Couriers (Liaison): Move verified images into long-term archive.
Brightline Mirrors (Liaison): Prepare clean firmware images and escrow-key resets.
Syndicate Shred Rings (criminal): Seek illegal identity resets or false destruction proofs; frequently targeted by stings.

Relations with other worlds

Kedra: Sends identity disputes, seal-fraud cases, and counterfeit batches. Accepts Nullon proof packets as binding.
Brightline: Provides verified compute for clean-image reconstruction; receives proof to unlock escrow gates.
Cache Vale: Stores final clean hashes and destruction packets for long retention.
Slipwind (Keth): Submits corrupted beacon sets and receives repaired, signed charts.
Talarq hubs: Supply refractory parts for the kilns and test stands.
Caraphex sites: Provide bonded labor under court oversight for non-forensic work.

Security and crime

Nullon focuses on process integrity. Risks include inside collusion, false witness identities, and stealth media with hidden power sources. The world uses layered checks: badge+biometric gates, tool calibration stamps, sealed carts, and randomized witness assignments. Any network device found in a quarantine zone triggers a full stop and an area purge. Blacklists are maintained for anyone who attempts to swap items or alter time stamps.

Technology and standards

Air-Gap Rule: No radio or wired bridge out of quarantine zones.
Hash-of-Record: Standard for every intake, step, and result.
Proof-of-Destruction Packet: Video, sensor logs, weight curves, residue analysis, and witness signatures in one file.
Clean Image Seal: Issued only when code and tables match trusted baselines with no unexplained deltas.
Tool Chain Stamps: Daily calibration marks tied to auditor logs.
Sealed Slot Drives: Certified single-use media for moving results between zones.

Notable locations

Gate Verge: The only area with controlled, short-range comms for hand-to-hand packet exchange with visiting officers.
Spindle Tier-3: Deep clean-room for beacon repairs; highest isolation level.
Trench 7: Oldest cold vault wing with long-term identity cases and legacy escrow keys.
Kiln Line C: Heavy destruction line for large reactor boards and beacon cores.
North Witness Hall: Standard room for multi-party panels; designed for quick setup and teardown.
Badge Court: Fast hearings for on-world violations of the Quarantine Code.

Risks and pressure points

Case overflow: Regional fraud waves can flood the vaults and slow rulings.
False packets: Criminals try to circulate forged proof files; the Proof Office runs random off-world audits.
Beacon contamination: A faulty clean image can spread errors across lanes; Slipwind liaison reviews all releases.
Labor abuse: Any bonded-labor misuse brings Trusteeship sanctions and outside oversight.
Tool drift: Missed calibrations can invalidate a week of work; strict schedules prevent this.