THis is a map of the internet I found on Wikipedia. The nature of it has me thinking that this could in fact be the best model for the cartogrpahy of the Federation we've ever seen.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Reminds me a bit of the map that Masao made a while back...
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
I should also amend my statement. It is in fatc a map of about 40,000 nodes representing a mere 2% fo Das Intarweb.
Posted by bX (Member # 419) on :
I still have a problem with nodal maps for astrogation, mostly that the lines between nodes A) obscure a lot of the map and B) imply that the route from point A to point G-seventeen-stroke-9 follows the branches when really you could point your starship directly and get there. It does help quite a bit with perspective however.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Of course you can POINT it that way...the question remains, though, are you still in Federation space if you do so.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Also, if you accept the theory of "subspace highways" (or whatever), then the shortest distance is not a straight line, either.
Anyone remember the old pseudo-technical description of Andromeda's slipstream travel? I think that would apply even more to this type of map.
Posted by bX (Member # 419) on :
Regarding territorial claims, I'm quite certain that the Federation would take issue with a Breen cruiser parked a few lightyears off the route between Sol and Vulcan. Obviously on the scale of interstellar empires strict border enforcement would be next to impossible. Although the very concept would likely be in question, for treaty purposes, it might be convenient to consider "controlled space" as extending a certain number of parsecs in all directions around a given star system.