comStar Firewall alert - PhaseThrough

Uv nodeS—at tHe edge of reaLitY
In hacker nodes across the world, starry-eyed icons listen
awestruck to tales of encounters with the holy grail of system
sculpting: ultraviolet nodes. Ultraviolet (UV) nodes are legendary
locales where the processing power, data capacity, simsense output,
and sensorial rendering is so concentrated that the VR resolution
advances beyond realistic and high-definition and into the hyperreal.
Accessing a UV node is an experience unlike any other in the
Matrix—more akin to entering an alternate reality than immersing
yourself in VR.
The resources and skills to craft a node of this potency are
rare and far between, and are reserved for critical and secretive
projects behind deadly corporate firewalls, far from prying eyes.
Only a few dozen such nodes are rumoured to exist, and typically
they require much effort to maintain. Rumors persist, however, of
spontaneously appearing UV nodes in certain high-density information-management
systems, or of UV nodes somehow crafted by
the likes of AIs as personal domains.
The hyper-reality of UV nodes is not without its danger—yet
another reason they are hidden from the public. They are valuable
for their ability to simulate realistic and flexible conditions,
especially environments that might normally be hazardous to
metahuman life.
Uv node requirements
The construction of a UV node requires state-of-the-art
components and software with dedicated support systems, and is
no light undertaking. The minimum Response and System ratings
needed is 10, representing a pinnacle of processing ability and an
OS customized and optimized for high-resolution graphic displays,
physics, and other details of a realistic virtual environment.
To fully experience a UV node, a user must be running with
hot sim. Accessing such a node with AR or cold sim VR is underwhelming,
and simply misses out on the node’s potential (similar
to a normal node in these regards). Many UV nodes, however, are
configured to block AR and cold sim users.
Beyond reality
The metaphor enforced by a UV system is overwhelming—reality
filters automatically fail, and all iconography is
automagically converted to fit. When a UV node is accessed, the
simsense signal is automatically amplified, elevating the virtual
environment to the point where it seems more real than reality.
Persona icons are usually discarded; instead, users typically
appear as their normal selves (a sim reading of their personal
mental image), adapted to fit the node’s metaphor. Software,
complex forms, and even echoes are also converted, taking on
the appearance of gear appropriate to the environment. Agents,
sprites, AIs, and e-ghosts are translated as devices or creatures
fitting the metaphor.
Due to the hyper-real nature of UV nodes, characters use
their physical skills and abilities as if they were acting in the real
world. If a character’s Attack program appears as a handgun in
the node, for example, he may fire it using Agility + Pistols rather
than Cybercombat + Attack. At the gamemaster’s discretion,
some software may provide the character with skills he doesn’t
normally possess (Stealth providing Infiltration or Shadowing
skill, for example). This allows the gamemaster to run the UV
Unwired
e-gHoSt cULtS
Along with the reports of e-ghosts circulating
the Matrix are more subdued whispers of cults
whose seek the special sort of immortal status
that e-ghosts have obtained. Some of these cults
promise to lead their followers to immortality if
the users obey their orders. Others have formed
to serve existing e-ghosts, in the hope that their
service will be rewarded. One such rumored cult is
the Moebius Cluster, allegedly comprised of scientists
from various fields and led by an e-ghost
named Neurosis, who are researching self-motivational
robotic units. Another rumor tells of a
Matrix wetwork ring called Last Byte, led by an
e-ghost called Nergal who appears on numerous
police wanted lists around the world. According to
whispered stories, Nergal’s trademark is to convert
his victims’ bodyguards into assassins, and
then leave them to take the fall.
node as if the characters were in physical reality. Characters may
still perform Matrix actions, but when possible these should
be interpreted as “physical” actions. Magic, of course, does not
function in UV nodes.
As a result of a UV node’s potent sim signals, damage dealt
within the node is applied directly to a character’s Stun or Physical
Condition Monitor in the form of dangerous biofeedback, similar
to that inflicted by Black IC.
It is rumoured that some UV nodes possess the capability
to alter subjective time, slowing it down or speeding it up, so
that an hour spent in a UV node could seem like 10 hours or
10 minutes.
Back to reality
Due to the overpowering simsense connection that UV
nodes require, it is next to impossible to block the sim signal out
and sense, move, or react to the physical world. Even attempting
to do so is difficult, requiring a Willpower + Logic (4) Test, and
even then the modifier to meatspace actions is –8 rather than the
usual –6.
For the same reason, dumpshock suffered when accessing a
UV node is stronger than usual, inflicting 8P damage and doubling
the duration of disorientation.
Uv addiction
The simsense signal transmitted by a UV node is equivalent
in strength—and addictive potential—to a BTL sim. Every time
a user logs off from the UV node, roll an Addiction Test (p.247,
SR4) to determine if they have picked up a habit. Addiction to a
UV node is the same as BTL addiction—a character who can’t get
one can satisfy their fix the other way.
Note that UV nodes are not just addictive to metahumans—
AIs, e-ghosts, and even sprites can become addicted to a UV node.
In their case, the addiction is in part due to the peak simsense signals,
and in part to the feeling of freedom and power provided by
a UV node’s high system ratings.
Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9
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Matrix phenoMena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .