SURGE: In early March Surge talks with Nobody more extensively about ROCK's computer system. (I'll include it down below.)
SURGE: "So I think we will need to break into this warehouse area. As I have mentioned once I get full access to my VR powers I can send that image of myself inside. As ROCK has two human interfaces you and I can come as well. I'm not sure how tough the ICE is in there but I don't want to be reckless. Once my VR powers are fully available I suggest we go in and get into that area."
..........
SURGE: "I recommend we go ahead and call down now. There is only one remaining mystery that we have yet to tackle. I have deeply explored ROCK's computer system. You may have noticed to two stations in the Avionics room and at the Astrogator control station on the bridge. Both have a VR interface for people to use."
SURGE: "Inside this system is a wealth of information on the professor and his life. I will explain this in full detail but I want to first mention about the ICE I encountered. ICE, is a term used for intrusion countermeasures, which is simply tough AI for providing security. ICE can be very potent, including deadly, so you must be careful if you encounter it. The fact that it is inside suggests there is something of value, more so than the other records I found. I will want to find out what. If this ICE is beyond my abilities then I will work diligently until I can overcome them."
..........
You have spent the last month examining ROCK's computer and electronics
gear. Up until this time, your investigations into the computer's
software have been through an old-fashioned keypad/monitor (K/M)
interface, as well as a thorough examination of the hardware. ROCK
does have a VR interface as well that you haven't yet used. The VR
interface can be used from the computer station in the Avionics room
and from the Astrogator control station on the Bridge.
It is because of the VR interface that Surge is not all that surprised
that he has not yet found any personal logs or files in the computer.
Such files are often very difficult to find among the
three-dimensional, spider web-like maze of a neuro net when using an
old-fashioned K/M interface. To find these files, you have to be
incredibly patient (and lucky) with the K/M interface, or you have to
go in through the VR interface.
The question is, do you want to go in through the VR interface now, or
wait until your imperial net persona is up to par. If you go in now,
you are using the characteristics and abilities of the VR interface.
If you wait until your imperial net persona is at full strength, then
you are using the characteristics and abilities of the persona.
The VR interface looks pretty nice but has all of the limitations of a
"strap-on" interface. It is not going to be as fast or as powerful as
some high tech hacker with a datajack installed in his skull.
Presumably this shouldn't matter if you are just going into the
computer system on ROCK to look around unless you think that there
might be some IC (Intrusion Countermeasures; aka ice) installed in
which case you will have to somehow defeat or bypass them. In VR
networks, everything is analogic. Defeating ice means using some sort
of attack power to "kill" the ice, or issuing a valid bypass code. You
haven't found anything to lead you to believe that there might be ice
in ROCK's VR network but that doesn't mean there isn't. If you hacked
into a modern company's computer system using a K/M interface, you
wouldn't necesarily expect to find any clue that their VR net was
protected by all kinds of ice, including black ice (black ice has the
ability to possibly kill the intruder, rather than just kill their icon
and force them out of the system).
............
On the 26th of February, you strap on the VR set and enter ROCK's VR
network. Before doing so, you poked around in the VR software and saw
that several icons were available for use. All seemed designed around
a specific culture or time period that was unrecognizable to you
(1920's Earth). The available icons fell into three different
categories; a man, a woman, and a girl. It seems obvious that they
were for the family that lived here. You chose a male icon.
You appear in a stately office that seems to fit the culture/time
period of the icons. The office has the old world feel of leather of
wood. It is a large office with a narrow spiral staircase or iron
leading up to a balcony level that is lined with books. A desk sits in
the center of the room. You do some examination of this room and find
that the books are not just for show. They are actual data stores.
You hold some hope that you will find some journals or logs in this
room but decide that, for now, you will simply look around the network.
You go through the door and search out the rest of the house. It is a
large house with many bedrooms. There are also many servants but all
of the ones you encounter are simply computer simulations, though very
good ones with a large array of conversational responses.
Until you enter a small classroom on the third floor. There is a
teacher sitting behind the desk at the head of the classroom. There
are six desks for students, all unoccupied. At first you assume that
the teacher is just a simulation as well but, being thorough, you check
anyway by questioning it. It's either a very good simulation, or
something else. You question it further and, after some time, conclude
that it is a daemon. It's purpose seems to be to teach. You wonder if
the computer is simply able to teach new skills or if the purpose of
this daemon goes much deeper. In any event, it is something to pursue
at a later time.
By the time that you have finished searching the house, you have found
two other daemons. One is a garbage daemon, a familiar process used to
cleanup old, unwanted files, and a messenger daemon, presumably
designed to be sent out into the imperial net to deliver a message.
The garbage daemon takes the form of a lowly servant, while the
messenger daemon takes the form of a young boy hanging out just outside
the house.
The house is on a crowded street with many other houses, all very close
to one another. All of the houses look large and rich. In the near
distance you can see the city skyline rising up behind the houses
(think of 1920's New York City).
You quickly learn that most of the other houses are simply computer
simulations. They cannot be entered as their interiors have not been
rendered. You find two exceptions and, from the contents of the two
houses, quickly conclude that one is the personal space of the little
girl, filled with typical little girl simulations, and the other was
probably for the professor's wife.
The city itself seems fairly well rendered though there is not a lot of
depth. Most of the buildings cannot be entered because their interiors
have not been created. Similarly, there are a lot of people on the
street but most of them don't answer even a single question meaning
that they have been rendered visually, but nothing more. As you are
making your way towards the downtown area, you feel like you are being
watched. You stop and look around, looking for some sign of
non-simulation code. Your move was sudden and, as you turn around, you
see that one of the simulations is looking at you with something
greater than should be possible for a simple visual rendering. You
quickly approach the man but, by the time you reach him, the simulation
seems to be nothing more than what it seems. You wonder if you were
imagining things.
Somewhat more alert, you continue. You find a huge library that is
fully rendered. It is nothing more than you expect. You already know
that ROCK's computer has huge reference area and this is simply the VR
version of it. There are numerous librarian daemons who happily fetch
reference works for you if you ask. A good search daemon.
You spend a couple of weeks examining ROCK's VR net. You find an
international airport that is closed and recognize it as ROCK's
imperial net portal. Opening the airport would mean activating a
communications link to an imperial net provider who is equipped with
radio communications data links.
Towards the middle of March, you finds signs of organized crime in the
VR net. At first you are somewhat amused that the professor would go
to such a level of detail as to create crime figures in his network.
That amusement quickly changes to alarm when you realize that the
criminal element is more than it seems.
You are walking through the warehouse district. One of the warehouses
is guarded by heavyset men is suits carrying blackjacks. You walk up
to question one to find out if this is simply a visual simulation or if
it has programed responses. It is neither. Nor is it a daemon. It is
ICE! "What's the password to get in?" it asks.
Judging from its obvious weaponry, it seems likely that it is probably
not black ICE. You stop and take stock of the situation. Your icon
carries a cane; an analogy for an attack program though not a powerful
one. Your icon also wears an ancient magical amulet; a defensive
program. On the other hand, there are three of the mafia types
guarding the building that you can see. Three separate defensive
programs. The professor would obviously know the password. You don't.
Fortunately it does not attack when you fail to give the password.
Another analogy. If you give the password, it opens the door for you.
If you don't, it simply blocks your way. You have little doubt that it
will attack if you try to enter.
..................
You continue to explore ROCK's computer using the VR interface. The
professor's virtual study yields a veritable treasure trove of
information about psionics. From his notes and journals, you can see
that he spent a lot of time in the Zhodani Consulate examining the
Zhodani use of psionics. He was there legally, with permission from
both the empire and the Zhodani Consulate. His notes indicate that he
would "take on the persona" of a Zhodani citizen. He had five distinct
personas that he could assume, one at a time. He could only change his
personas on ROCK and you eventually learn that changing personas meant
going to the "teacher" daemon on the third floor. A persona was
apparently a complete overlay of the professor's personality to the
point where the professor acted in all ways like the persona he
assumed. The personality overlay was so deep that the professor would
actually believe himself to be the new persona. However, the software
allowed for a trigger so that the professor could come out from under
the persona at a predetermined time or when a predetermined event took
place. The five personas are:
1. Aspiring Intendant. This person is seeking to be made part of the
intendant class of Zhodani culture. This is normally not possible
unless he has psionic abilities which surely would have been noted when
initially tested as a child. Nevertheless, this type of socially
upward mobile ambition is common within Zhodane, and petitioners like
this are common within society. Such an individual can meet higher and
successively higher officials within the government, and with
sufficient force of will, the person moves upward through various
levels of government as he tries to have his petition granted.
For the professor's purposes, this personality allows him an easy
excuse to meet the various officials at all levels of government.
2. Aspirant's Companion. The individual is a friend or acquaintance
who has come along for support of an aspiring intendant.
The professor's notes indicate that this overlay was used to allow
someone to travel with him in Zhodani culture. It has been used by his
wife, his daughter and the occasional colleague that accompanied him on
one of his many trips to the Zhodani Consulate.
3. New Talent Seeking Recognition. Some Zhodani citizens feel that
they have psionic talent that did not show up in testing. Often they
are convinced that their talent is an important one in need of
training, and that they will have great psionic powers if they can only
recieve that training. Such an individual is continually attempting to
demonstrate some psionic talent. Often the purported talent is simply
an ability to read facial expressions, or an expression of extremely
good dexterity. Nevertheless, officials will pay some attention to
this sort of demonstration in order to assist anyone who actually
deserves help.
The professor finds this personality useful in provoking reactions from
local populations.
4. Tourist. The tourist guise is an ideal personality to enable
someone to move freely in society, especially if the individual is from
the local world.
The professor maintains personality overlays for tourists from the
worlds of Zeycude, Cronor, Atsa, and Gesentown.
5. Meddling Busybody. Even though a meddler may seem offensive to
some, the personality is often accepted as legitimate where some other
personality might be suspect. The meddler imposes himself on others
around him and forces some actions of a trifling nature.
The professor has used this personality occasionally to provoke
reactions from experimental subjects.
..........
You also find some notes that indicate that the professor has had
continuing correspondance with various sociologists from the University
of Cronor and the University of Cipango (both in the Zhodani
Consulate). They have shared his results, and have shared the results
of their research with him.
There is also an indication that he has visited the campuses of each
university when he has passed through their systems enroute to Zeycude.
................
You investigate the personal journals of the professor. While his
investigations took him back and forth between the empire and Zhodane a
number of times, the last entries in his journal indicate that ROCK had
arrived in the Zeycude system. The date is October 13th, 6563. His
journals indicated that he had picked up a Professor Duscisd of the
University of Cronor when they had stopped there. Professor Duscisd (a
Zhodani) would be observing Professor Ricket's methods while in the
Zeycude system. For his personality overlay, the professor chose
Aspiring Intendant while his wife would accompany him as an Aspirant's
Companion. Lisan, the professor's daughter, would remain onboard ROCK.
The expected length of the initial study was to be two weeks. The
trip down to Zeycude would be via transport arranged by Professor
Duscisd.
You find nothing else in the professor journals after they departed
ROCK, but you decide to investigate the girl's house in the VR net.
There you find that Lisan was not a great note taker but there are a
few notes about calls to ROCK from Professor Duscisd dated after
October 13th. In all cases, the notes indicate that everything is
going okay. The last entry is dated October 26th.
.......
GM: You find a little more information on Professor Duscisd. The
information includes contact information for him at the University of
Cronor.
GM: ROCK's computer does have Starship Pilot and Astrogator skill so it
is definitely possible that it could be programmed to fly by itself.
GM: You entered the prison in January of 6564. You don't know how the
girl got into the cold sleep chamber but the cold sleep machine
indicates that she began cold sleep on October 27, 6563.
Date time line:
Prof & Wife depart for Zeycude: 10.13.6563
Lisan's last entry: 10.26.6563
Lisan entered cold sleep: 10.27.6563
We entered prison: 1.01.6564 (ship must have been here (or shortly
afterwards) according to Ray)
Today's date: March 6567
|