comStar Firewall alert - PhaseThrough

Matrix phenoMena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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termine this type: metasapient, protosapient, or xenosapient (see
p. 167-168). This will help define the AI’s personality, interests,
and goals. In most cases, an AI’s motivation is driven by its former
programming. For example, an AI that evolved from a data mining
program might work as an information broker.
AIs have an overall rating that defines their general power
level, typically ranging from 3 to 6 (and sometimes higher). They
have Mental attributes to reflect their individual character and
they use skills and programs for their daily life in the Matrix. Like
agents, they use the Response and Signal attributes of whatever
node in which they happen to be. Their Firewall and System attributes
are based on their rating.
Most programs “carried” by an AI (those listed in the descriptions)
are inherent to their being; they were acquired when the AI
evolved to sentience and are an integral part of the AI’s code, like natural
abilities. These programs are subject to the same rules as a hacker’s
programs, but they may not be copied or cracked and they do not suffer
from degradation. They are each considered to have the Ergonomic
and Optimization program options (p. 114-115) and so do not count
towards processor load (the AI counts as a single program) and may
exceed the AIs System rating. They are always loaded.
AIs may acquire, carry, and use additional programs, just like
an agent’s payload. Payload programs count towards the node’s
processor limit as normal. AIs may carry Common Use, Hacking,
and Agent Autosoft (p. 112) software, and may also take advantage
of program options. Unless otherwise noted, AIs follow the
rules given under Autonomous Programs, p. 110.
AIs are more than just metahuman hackers or agents, of
course. They are a part of the Matrix and have deeper insights
into the nature of the digital world than a flesh-and-blood hacker
can ever have. Their familiarity with the digital realms provides
them with certain special abilities, which are handled as qualities
unique to AIs (see Positive AI Qualities, p. 168, and Negative AI
Qualities, p. 170).
My Home is My castle
Like every sentient being, AIs need a place they can call home
somewhere in the Matrix. They often choose the node in which they
were “born” as their home node. If it is not possible for them to live
there, they try to find another node that is similar to their birthplace.
An AI that was born in a water-distribution control node will always
choose a node that has similar functions (like a GridGuide control
node). Unfortunately, these nodes are often owned by corps or governments,
which leads to conflicts between the rightful owner and
the new resident. Some corps and governments, though, have recognized
the immense advantage of letting AIs reside in their nodes,
and thus try to entice them in, granting the AI digital and physical
protection in exchange for optimizing the node.
When an AI inhabits a node, it subconsciously (or in some
cases, intentionally) affects and changes the node’s structure. Drivers
are rewritten, iconography and resolution are improved, resource
allocation is optimized, and the AI harmonizes its own program
structure with the node, creating a synergistic effect. As a result, the
Response, Signal, System, and Firewall attributes of such “home
nodes” are increased by a modifier equal to the AI’s rating divided
by 2 (round up). The process of optimizing a home node does not
happen overnight, however. Roll an Extended Test using the AI’s
Intuition + Reality Filter (10, 1 day). The AI must be present in
its home node every day for a minimum of 1 hour to maintain the
effect, and it can only maintain one home node at a time.
AIs must have a home node. Every week an AI goes without
one, it permanently loses 1 rating point.
ai combat
AIs fight like hackers, meaning that they use their skills and
programs and the attributes of the node that they currently occupy.
AIs prefer to fight in nodes with high ratings, as this grants
them an advantage. In nodes with low ratings, they will act like
cold-blooded animals in a refrigerator: sluggish and vulnerable.
An AI’s Matrix Condition Monitor is equal to half its System
rating plus 8 (supplemented by the Redundancy quality, p. 169,
if applicable). If the damage track is filled, the AI doesn’t die—it
is disrupted and will immediately start a process called “realigning,”
in which the core structure of the AI starts reassembling its
higher functions. The realignment process immediately takes over
all available processing resources in the node, diverting cycles to
the AIs reconstitution. During this process, the AI copies random
data input from every source to which it can connect. Visually,
this process is quite apparent—the “light” in the node dims and
the “air” fills with code fragments that are sucked into a vortex
where the AI used to be. While this process is active, every further
attempt to attack the AI is assimilated into the realigning process.
In fact, all activities in the node are hampered: apply a negative
dice pool modifier equal to the AIs rating for the duration.
During realignment, the gamemaster makes a Rating x 2 (3
Combat Turns) Extended Test. Each hit heals one box of damage
Unwired
Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9