Communication
Since the rise of the internet in the late 20th century, one of the highest marks of civilization has been the ability to community almost instantaneously on a global scale. Exchange of information in such vast amounts, without any true borders, led to advancements in many fields, and the evolution of a kind of 'global conscience'. As the colonists began their expansion on New Horizon, they tried to mimic this phenomenon, keeping the flow of information as free and open as possible between various settlements as they sprung up.
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It soon became apparent that New Horizon had many different problems to contend with if a global form of communication was to ever be achieved. To this end, the world leaders set to work exploring their various options.
Wireless Communication and Satellite Networks.
Early on, it was discovered that the atmosphere of New Horizon was, for lack of a better term, hostile toward radio transmissions and similar communications. Short range transmissions could be sent and received with little hassle, but ranges beyond a couple of miles proved nigh insurmountable without massive energy expenditures. The hope was that a dedicated satellite network would be able to solve this problem. Three satellites were commissioned to begin this new network. After placing each in stable orbit, the colonists discovered that signal degradation was so horrendous that transmission of any relevant data was almost impossible.
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Signal inhibiting factors included the usual ones such as atmospheric turbulence and New Horizon's bizarre magnetic fields, as well as the moon's odd spacial geometry which seemed to indicate that at any given time portions of the moon are dipping into subspace. Even then, scientists still could not explain the amount of signal loss that occurred during transmission. It was as if something about New Horizon itself simply tore transmissions apart piece by piece. If this discovery wasn't bad enough, transmission errors and signal interference led to the spontaneous manifestation of thousands of bugs and hundreds of computer viruses which infected any system linked into the satellite network.
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In the end it was determined that the current technology to try and bypass these errors was prohibitively expensive for use in simple communications satellites. As such, most satellites that now orbit New Horizon are of the weather and research variety, requiring massive amounts of power to transmit a strong enough signal to overcome the interference. Even then, these satellites must also contain extra reserves of fuel to maintain their orbits during the deep winter which occurs every five years. This is because gravitational fluctuations between Nastrond and Epsilon Eridani III threaten to drive the satellites off course.
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With Satellites and wireless communication being prohibitively expensive or nearly impossible to maintain, colonists sought other options.
Fiber Optics and Standard Cable Networks
In a second attempt at mass communication, great lengths of fiber optic cable and standard transmission cable were strung between growing settlements to form a communications grid. Transmission speeds were exceptional due to advancements in optic technology, and information began to flow freely between the settlements. It was thought that the problem of global communication had been solved until better technology became cheaper.
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The excitement was short-lived, however, as massive signal blackouts began just a couple of months after the grid's implementation. Entire towns were cut off and no mechanical reason could be found for the problem. Unlike the technical issues faced by wireless technology, these issues stemmed from an organic nature. It seemed that local fauna discovered the cable network shortly after it's creation, and deemed it an agreeable source of food. Attempts were made to protect the cable placements, but in the end it was deemed impossible to keep continent spanning streams of cable protected from all the wildlife that wished to consume it.
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With conventional options quickly dwindling, research began to find other means of communication. This research eventually culminated in the creation of the Yggdrasil antenna.
Yggdrasil
Since technology seemed as though it was doomed to perpetually fail, one group of scientists turned toward organics in search of an answer. They started simply enough, with an apple tree. As New Horizon's indigenous lifeforms seemed to avoid apple trees, the scientists hoped that this trait would carry through into the final product.
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In the 21st century, the creation of synthetic organisms saw the rise of microbes and bacteria custom built to serve a specific purpose. Among these were organisms designed to feed off of oil and other waste, bacteria which could be subsequently used to clean up such waste in the event of spills or other disasters. Now, this technology was turned to a larger scale.
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Using Synthetic DNA as well as samples from both Earth and New Horizon, scientists handcrafted an organism to meet their needs. Yggdrasil, taking it's name from the world tree of mythology, is indeed a tree, but it is so much more. Yggdrasil has a nervous system composed of refined nerve tissue and organic fiber optics which twines throughout the entirety of the tree. The bark is an alloy rich layer that not only protects the internal 'meat' of the tree from the elements and wildlife, but also shields signals transmitted along these passageways.
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The entire tree is a sensory organ, optical, electrical, tactile, harmonic and many others. It is designed to process, store and transmit information throughout it's entire structure. Cybernetic ports implanted into the tree allow one to not only read the natural information that the tree is bringing in, but to also transmit their own information.
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The experiment was an astounding success, creating a bio-mechanical antenna with unheard of transmission and retention capabilities that could be interfaced with standard computer software through the use of specialized implant ports. Not only could casual communication take place worldwide over such a network, but the sensory capabilities of the Yggdrasil itself allowed complex studies of the air, soil, water and even deeper layers of the moon's crust as the root system progressed. One tree is enough to cover an entire city with its sensory relay.
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With one tree fully grown, the process of expanding the communication network began. Harvested clippings from Yggdrasil were used to grow great lengths of cable which was stored on massive spools to be strung between settlements underground. These spools earned the nickname 'Spools of Knowledge'. The alloy rich bark of Yggdrasil allowed these specially grown cables to be welded directly into the tree, forcing the tree to grow along the new line and incorporate the new connections.
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Entire branches from Yggdrasil were transplanted from the main tree to outlying settlements where they grew into trees of their own once they were welded into the network of their parent tree. As all the Yggdrasil in the world come from one plant, the connected antennae are considered the largest organism on New Horizon.
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Despite the apparent technological utilization of Yggdrasil, it is still a tree. Yggdrasil has flowered twice since it's creation, once every fifty years. The massive organism produces fruit similar in size and shape to pumpkins, which hang from the branches like traditional apples. These fruit are extremely rich in vitamins and minerals and are considered a delicacy when they are available. All the seeds from these urdfruit, as they are called, are used to grow saplings which can be transplanted to other cities to be welded into the network.
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No one knows why, but occasionally a cable root between cities will breach the ground creating a Yggdrasil grove. These places are said to have a barely audible buzz of crackling energy and transmitting information. They attract wildlife that appears more curious than anything. Thankfully, Yggdrasil have not found their way into any local animal's main diet. Most damage to the tree heals naturally.
Yggdrasil "Locality"
The collective Yggdrasil network and all relevant connected systems are known as the Yggdrasil Locality, or simply the Locality. Inside of the short scale transmission range for a Yggdrasil antenna, which is usually about the size or the surrounding city, data transfer speeds are almost instantaneous. Long range transmission are nearly as fast, but first require about a five minute buffer period before transmission. This period includes processes such as data collation and virus scan.
Every city with approximately two thousand people, or with a gross local income of 250,000,000g has its own Yggdrasil. It takes all requested inbound/outbound data packets and makes them into a single massively compressed data file. This file can then be transmitted to a receiving location where it is decompressed and each packet is sent to the proper recipient.
On the Locality, there are many data hubs. These are similar to internet websites back on Earth, but there is often a mirrored hub in each city. Local updates to each hub will post immediately while long distance updates are subject to the five minute buffer period. This same time frame applies whether it's something as simple as an e-mail to send or as complicated as the entire native visual encyclopedia.