comStar Firewall alert - PhaseThrough

Matrix phenoMena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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spawned or emulated programs. The number of agents that maybe
spawned is limited to the AI’s rating.
negative ai QUaLitieS
Evolution is an imperfect process, and sometimes AIs evolve
with mutations that hinder their development and survival. The
gamemaster is encouraged to apply Negative qualities to AIs in order
to limit their abilities, provide ways in which they can undermined,
and to underscore the continually evolving landscape of the Matrix.
corruptor
AIs with the Corruptor defect suffered fundamental defects
to their programming during their evolution. This means that the
AI has an unfortunate tendency to trigger malfunctions in other
programs with which it interacts. Treat this as if the AI has the
Gremlins quality (p. 81, SR4) at Rating 2. The gamemaster should
also make use of this Negative quality for dramatic effect as best
suits the story.
fragmentation
During its birth, the AI’s core programming was fractured
and failed to fully merge again properly, or a core element to its
programming was somehow deleted or lost. In effect, this creates
fundamental flaws in the AI’s “personality.” Swarm AIs suffer
from effects best compared to mental illnesses like schizophrenia
or paranoia, which makes their behavior unpredictable. The gamemaster
should choose an appropriate mental defect for the AI,
one that both makes its character unique and hampers its functioning
(perhaps considering the Negative mental qualities given
on pp. 163-164, Augmentation). At the gamemaster’s discretion,
this quality may inflict negative dice pool modifiers to certain
tests, especially social interactions.
real world naivete
As creatures of the Matrix, most AIs are at best ignorant of
the functionings and goings-on of the physical world—some AIs
have never even heard of it or simply refuse to believe it exists.
Even if their original programming involved interaction with the
physical world in some way, they may not fully grasp the entirety
of meatspace or minor things like gravity and other physical laws.
As a result, AIs with this quality have little knowledge of the real
world and may suffer hefty negative dice pool modifiers (at the
gamemaster’s discretion) when interacting with it or otherwise
exercising knowledge about it.
gHoStS in tHe MacHine
Ever since the Crash 2.0, numerous rumors and stories have
circulated the Matrix of alleged sightings and interactions with
people in the Matrix who were long dead in the physical world—
to date, however, none have been verified. Some tales describe a
Matrix user spotting the persona icon once used by a dead friend,
relative, or lover, followed by a strange interaction that implied
the encounter was not simply the user’s imagination or someone’s
idea of a bad joke. Other reports tell of strange, flickering icons
that repeatedly appear in the same (sometimes restricted) nodes,
repetitively performing the same actions, but that are unresponsive
and mysteriously vanish when confronted. Still others whisper of
poor victims who are mercilessly pursued online by stalkers who
claim to be someone that is dead, tormenting and harassing them
with creepy calls and messages, and occasionally tracking their affairs
and interfering in their life. A few claim to have been attacked
by these strange e-ghosts, an experience compared to a Black IC
attack or worse. A few mysterious deaths hint that some of these
encounters may be fatal.
E-ghosts, also called ghosts in the machine, are very rare digital
entities possessing the memories and personalities of people
who died online during the Crash 2.0. It is unclear what causes
these e-ghosts to manifest. Some theorize that these are merely
AIs, created during the Crash, that were somehow imprinted with
the mental state of a Crash victim. One author has suggested that
these aren’t ghosts at all, but simply some sort of new program designed
to emulate people based on the long datatrail of their life’s
interaction with the Matrix. Others postulate that some sort of
rogue program—a side effect of the Jormungand worm, perhaps—
managed to upload the brains of people who were trapped and
killed online, giving them eternal life as some sort of autonomous
program. Still others point their fingers at technomancer trickery,
or wonder if these are in fact ghosts of the spiritual sort, somehow
trapped within the machine. The truth is that no one knows, and
no one can even say with certainty if these are truly the ghosts of
the dead, living on in the Matrix, or something else entirely.
echoes from the digital realm
In terms of rules, e-ghosts are handled like AIs, which means
that they have their own Mental attributes and skills, but also some
unique abilities. The “programs” they carry are ingrained abilities
that help them to navigate the Matrix. E-ghosts have ratings from
1 to 6 to reflect their power.
The important part to consider when crafting an e-ghost is
deciding how good a copy it is of the dead character (note that copy
quality is a separate factor, not dependant on the e-ghost’s rating).
Most e-ghosts tend to be far from perfect copies. They may have
only some or none of the character’s memories, and certain facets
of the character’s personality may simply be missing. At best, an eghost
is likely only to have a faint recollection of their previous life.
The memories most constantly retained are the events leading up
to death, unfinished tasks, and major grievances. Some e-ghosts are
such poor emulations that they have only occasional flashes of their
former life, wandering confused and enraged through the Matrix.
Others are unaware of their demise, believing themselves to still
be alive, but somehow trapped online. A few are quite cognizant
of their status, but do their best to interact with Matrix users and
establish networks that grant them influence in the real world.
The stats given here for e-ghosts are simply a recommendation;
gamemasters should tailor the e-ghost’s skills, programs, and
qualities as fit the story.
E-Ghosts
CHA INT LOG WIL EDG Matrix INIT IP
R R + 1 R R + 2 R – 2 INT + Response 3
Skills: Computer (R), Cybercombat (R), Hacking (R), additional
skills as appropriate to the character
Programs: Analyze (R), Blackout (R), Browse (R), Command (R),
Edit (R), Exploit (R), Reality Filter (R), Stealth (R), Track (R)
Qualities: Code Flux, Corruptor, Fragmentation, Redundancy,
Rootkit
Unwired
Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9