Why is the ATC part of this process?
TL;DRATC exists because UEE security forces control the permanent stable jump points and players can't attune their jump drives without permission; this covers UEE-controlled space only, and other systems are still to be determined.
I mean, the ATC is there for the permanent stable jump points. They're there because the powers that be, in this case the UEE security forces that are controlling this to maintain law and order in the system, they have set up shop and they are controlling people's jump drives. So they can't attune to the portal within that sector unless they give them permission. And that's the whole purpose of the ATC. It's like your jump drive on your ship, when it comes within the radius of these stable, controlled jump points, it's controlled by ATC. You literally can't attune to the jump point unless ATC gives you the right to do so.
I think that's probably the biggest disconnect. One of the newest pieces of information that came in the episode is that there are two distinctly different kinds of jump points. Before, we had this distinction of sizes, but they were all considered to work the same. Now there's two functionally different ones. They're both generated by spooling up your drive in general, but one is, like you said, the highway. It is a civilized, tamed experience by humanity or the Xi'an or whatever system you're going to. And the other one is still akin to the Old West. There's no ATC, there's no anything; you find it, you spool it up yourself, go in, who knows where you end up kind of thing.
And I think that's a good point, is that for right now we're just talking about UEE-controlled space. The way jump points work in other systems, that's very much TBD.
We are talking about this specific jump point between Stanton and Pyro. Obviously there's a tremendous narrative reason why the UEE would not want this jump point to just be open.
Yeah, it's their border. They protect their border. I mean, obviously, past experience demonstrates they're not very good at protecting their borders. But as Rick said, they might come from somewhere else. And they're actually really good with this jump point. It's just that the other ones come from somewhere else.
Thanks to jump points, the universe is a bit of Swiss cheese, right? But the stable ones, those that they know about, those that are consistent, those are the ones that they can at least maintain some control over. That's where they invest.