Bioneural Gel Packs




Bio-neural circuitry represents the next evolution of computing in the 24th century. It is advanced computer technology that uses synthetic neural cells for data processing. This makes bio-neural circuitry able to mimic brain functions, and thus able to organize and process complex information faster and more efficiently than traditional optical circuitry.

Bio-neural gel packs are flexible, liquid-tight packages which contain bio-neural circuitry suspended in a gelatinous organic medium. Hence the nick-name "gel packs." They allow for convenient management of bio-neural circuitry, as they can be replaced as needed. Gel packs can also be banded together with old-style isolinear chips to form a top notch computer system due to a metallic interface bar at the top of the gel pack that can be plugged into the ship's systems, meaning that it can be swapped as easily as an isolinear chip. Gel-packs were introduced on Starfleet vessels beginning with the Intrepid class.

The neural fibers in an individual gel pack are capable of making billions of connections, thus generating an incredibly sophisticated and responsive computing architecture. This kind of organic circuitry allows computers to "think" in very similar ways to living organisms; by using "fuzzy logic", they can effectively guess the answer to complex questions. The gel packs can operate independently of other systems or, if necessary, they can use isolinear cores to perform number-crunching operations and for data reference. Gel packs are used in systems throughout the ship, but their principal function is to make instantaneous navigational computations. For example, they can calculate course corrections in real time for optimal fuel consumption.

However, gel-packs suffer from one main problem not inherent in isolinear chips. They are vulnerable to viral and other infections, which could make the packs non-functional.


Information partly from Computer Core Cump and partly from the Star Trek Encyclopedia.

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