Because at the volume needed, they are only pseudo-random, and can be deciphered eventually. Once you crack the pad sequence, you can now generate the 1TP for any step in the sequence.
Cash in Traveller
- Thread starter Ambassadore G'car
- Start date
Because at the volume needed, they are only pseudo-random, and can be deciphered eventually. Once you crack the pad sequence, you can now generate the 1TP for any step in the sequence.
Seems to me you're making an awful lot of assumptions. How do you know what the volume needed is and how do you know that 3000 years from now crackers will have the advantage over encrypters? According to Wikipedia, "In cryptography, the one-time pad (OTP) is a type of encryption, which has been proven to be impossible to crack if used correctly." I don't know what the qualifier implies, but I did say "a scheme similar to one-time pads". Some sort of two-part verification system that requires the two parts to be transferred separately.
Unprovable assumption as to how much banks can afford in defense (and how much defense costs).aramis said:
Unprovable assumption as to how much time a cracker needs to break encryption.
A bank's purpose is to make money. If they can do it by loaning money at interest, they will. If they can do it by charging service fees, they will. If they can do it by charging people for keeping their money safe, they will.
Assumption that the funds transfer systems in present use are the only ones possible. Self-evidently interstellar banks won't make use of systems that require instant communications to work.
Hans
IMTU bank accounts(and other computer sites, such as personal websites for instance) are often opened by reading the DNA of the user. The advantages of this would be obvious. It also leads to interesting thoughts such as the fact that the ability to make a copy of a VIP's DNA would be an intell asset.
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In my Proto-Traveller Homebrew Universe, I've kept things pretty cash-oriented on worlds with C-ports or worse.
Worlds with A or B ports IMTU offer a little more flexibility, at least for smaller transactions: If Freen Greely, Interstellar Adventurer, has had an account with the Zebulon 3 branch of Galactibank for more than a few weeks, Galactibank will have shared that information with its other branches within the subsector and beyond. If Mister Greely has remained in good standing, and if he hasn't been moving faster than the bank's couriers, he'll almost certainly be able to access modest sums (say, up to 10% of his account) from any branch without much trouble. If he's accessing millions, well, he's going to have to wait for an advance transfer of the funds to take place, and that'll take however many weeks it'll take for the couriers to get from where he is to Zebulon 3 and back. Of course, if he knows he'll be heading to the shipyards of New Bristol to buy that new yacht he's been itching for, he'll have the bank work the transfer in advance, and the local branch will probably have his money there before he arrives.
Planets off the beaten track aren't going to be in the loop, though. If Freen wants to go into the hinterlands to buy whatever it is he's buying in the hinterlands, he's going to have to bring cash.
Starships IMTU won't need to carry lots of cash if they're merchants doing milk runs between a handful of civilized (read, "A or B port") systems. If they're regulars in port, they'll have local accounts established, and probably will have good relationships with their bankers in each port of call.
On the other hand, tramp Free Traders dicing with death on with unrefined fuel on backwater worlds won't have the benefit of these networks - especially if they aren't working a route, but plunging further off into the boonies. These guys need to keep cash on hand for everything, because they can't wait for their credit checks to go through. Cargo needs buying, crews need paying.
Worlds with A or B ports IMTU offer a little more flexibility, at least for smaller transactions: If Freen Greely, Interstellar Adventurer, has had an account with the Zebulon 3 branch of Galactibank for more than a few weeks, Galactibank will have shared that information with its other branches within the subsector and beyond. If Mister Greely has remained in good standing, and if he hasn't been moving faster than the bank's couriers, he'll almost certainly be able to access modest sums (say, up to 10% of his account) from any branch without much trouble. If he's accessing millions, well, he's going to have to wait for an advance transfer of the funds to take place, and that'll take however many weeks it'll take for the couriers to get from where he is to Zebulon 3 and back. Of course, if he knows he'll be heading to the shipyards of New Bristol to buy that new yacht he's been itching for, he'll have the bank work the transfer in advance, and the local branch will probably have his money there before he arrives.
Planets off the beaten track aren't going to be in the loop, though. If Freen wants to go into the hinterlands to buy whatever it is he's buying in the hinterlands, he's going to have to bring cash.
Starships IMTU won't need to carry lots of cash if they're merchants doing milk runs between a handful of civilized (read, "A or B port") systems. If they're regulars in port, they'll have local accounts established, and probably will have good relationships with their bankers in each port of call.
On the other hand, tramp Free Traders dicing with death on with unrefined fuel on backwater worlds won't have the benefit of these networks - especially if they aren't working a route, but plunging further off into the boonies. These guys need to keep cash on hand for everything, because they can't wait for their credit checks to go through. Cargo needs buying, crews need paying.
That would only apply if going outside the Imperium. Member planets would probably be easy with this as it is their currency too. At least one of their currencies.
