One of the assumptions in the book is that an instantaneous form of communications has been developed. It has essentially infinite range, huge bandwidth, is totally secure and error free. Pretty good, eh? Way sci-fi.
Nobody I know seems aware that the Chinese put up a quantum communications satellite last August. I just found out myself.
Here is a report from January this year saying it's working fine!
Eeeeek!
So, NASA, DARPA, Prez Trump.... where's the U S of A's response? In A Reluctant God, the "Quantum Statistical Network" was a huge military edge.
(Seems like if one wants to spend a bunch of buck$ on Defense, this would be a starting point.)
Should you get a copy of the book - GREAT idea! - you can read all about the "Quantum Statistical Network" in the "Historical Notes" at the end.
Wait, There's More...
Just as the Chinese seem to be skipping past us (see above), the good guys - the U.S., Canada and Switzerland - are pounding more research stakes into claims rich with quantum gold. To accomplish the communications marvels fictionalized in "quantum statistical networks," gazillions of atoms must be "entangled" (look it up), and that's what is happening. Right. Now.
Read about it here.
