Laser Receptive Fabric

When Star Army Intelligence created the Encrypted Laser Transmitter they needed to create something that field agents could use to receive transmissions from the device. They needed something that could blend seamlessly into an undercover operatives clothing, but also something that they could change the size of for operatives that weren't undercover. After many different ideas, Laser Receptive Fabric was finally settled on as the choice.

During production, strands of x-ray sensitive photo-cells were laced into the fabric. They were designed to be as tough as fabric, as well as indistinguishable from the fabric without computer aid. The fabric can be produced in any color needed, as well as any shape needed. It can be made as a patch for clothing (both to cover holes, as well as a rank-like patch), can be an article of clothing, or can even be made into a section of clothing. Furthermore, it can be produced separately and wrapped around a hard board or similar object and be used as a pad to receive data.

The pad however is not a computer and thus has no processing capabilities. During initial trials SAINT discovered that the cells often picked up ANY x-ray transmissions that were pointed at it, including rays from solar giants. There was so much noise that it couldn't pick the transmission out of the static. A heuristic program was then written for datapads. The program runs in the background and sorts out the information silently. In order to access the information, the agent must first key in a password at the datapad's home screen (note, there is no visual cue for password key, rather the program passively listens for it), then mentally connect with the pad and enter a second password. The program will then direct download the data into the user's mind. If the user is unable to mentally connect due to physical limitations, they can do a fingerprint scan and the data viewed on the screen for 30 seconds.

Somewhere on the fabric is a length (size varies based on need) that can slide into a datapad. For non-covert operations this might be obvious and quite long, for covert operations this might be something only a few centimeters long hidden in a pocket. Once connected the fabric draws off of the power of the datapad, as well as using its background resources for processing the incoming data. The size of the fabric affects the amount of power drawn, but lab tests have shown datapads connected to 3 yards of this fabric to last about 5 hours before needing a recharge.