The River

[ghost whistler]

The makes a bit more sense. The only issue I see with that is with verisimilitude - Earth as we know it does not exist within the setting, but all of these Chinese terms do. I could that if there was an Earth and at sometime Chinese culture became the defacto culture of humans and thence spread across the galaxy, but I think using specific terms from a place, people, and time that never existed stretches the suspension of disbelief.

That's just how the setting is. It's like characters in star wars saying 'oh hell' and indeed speaking english :P

It's the nature of the setting. I get that won't appeal to everyone, but hey.

[ghost whistler]

Though I'm not the biggest fan of nanotech as a setting concept (because it just seems too easy to explain things by way of magic machines in your blood, the air, the sky), I came up with a new version of the galactic computer environment, or space interweb, if you prefer!

Essentially a cloud of nanites pervade the air. These machines can be accessed in two ways: a traditional hardpoint interface (for the peasants), or a 'cyberjack' implant for those that can afford and are allowed to have such things. The latter allows peoplpe to wirelessly access the internet that's in the air (i'm not a futurist nor a scientist nor a technologist).

These nanites contain the internet as an ephemeral 'spirit medium' and relay information from place to place by relays through hyperspace (otherwise ALL OF SPACE AND EVERY PLANET would be smothered in this, which seems a bit weird).

Ultimately this probably quite bizarre idea is just set dressing. It doesn't change the function, but allows the galactic interweb to be decentralised and to appear more in tune with a fantasy vibe. This could be instead called the Cloud of Heaven.