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Matrix topoloGy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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and present the user only icons useful to him. A data search in
a node might be represented as a large list of information flying
around the icon of the user, while other personas looking at the
icon might not be able to see the list, depending on their Analyze
program. On top of that, Matrix users are able to use reality filters
(see Reality Filter, p. 226, SR4) that override the given theme of a
node with their own sculpting.
Every Matrix user has to take the subjectivity of the Matrix
into account when he surfs virtual reality. Everything is purely
symbolic. It is, for example, not possible to hide behind a large data
file that is represented as a big pile of paper. This big pile of paper
might appear as a little envelope to another user with a reality filter
or might not be visible at all to others.
Though VR sculpture can also be viewed via AR (in a manner
more akin to looking through a two-dimensional window than
immersing into a three-dimensional environment), this is usually
avoided in favor of simple icons and window interfaces.
MetapHorS
The environment of every node, network, and grid is
sculptured according to a certain metaphor. The owner of the
grid, network, or node decides what kind of theme to employ
and how the substructure of the theme should look to Matrix
Unwired
users. For example, the group that runs the Seattle
Matrix decided to give it the famous “Emerald
City” metaphor.
A metaphor applies not only to the visual components
of the Matrix, but also to all the other senses,
especially hearing and smelling. This means that the
medieval metaphor of a castle not only incorporates a
large virtual castle you can see and walk into, but also
includes the sound of birds flying around you and the
smell of home-baked bread. One might think that
this is merely fancy, useless stuff, but an experienced
Matrix user can get information from all of it. The
bread, for example, could be a representation of a
finished process, the smell reminding the system
administrator to initiate another process. The song
of the bird could be the alarm of IC that just spotted
an intruder, and so forth. In the completely different
theme of a high-tech temple, a finished process
might be represented by a product materializing in a
replicator device straight out of science fiction. The
silent alarm of the IC could be a flashing line on the
walls of the temple.
However, more than just visual information
is governed by the metaphor. The physical laws
of a Matrix environment are also shaped by its
theme—how heavy things feel, how light bends,
what topology a room has, and so forth. You could
be in a room that bends back into itself where you
arrive at the same place if you just go straight ahead.
Or you could be on the surface of a large planet
where everything feels twice as heavy. Or you may
look into a mirror that does not show everything
mirror-inverted.
restrictions for Metaphors
Metaphors cannot do everything. A metaphor cannot keep
a Matrix user from the task he could normally do. If a user has
access rights to a certain file, and the metaphor says that it is in
a room without a door, the user will be able to access it anyway
by simply beaming there. Such behavior is judged to be very bad
coding, and good sculptors and metaphor designers try to avoid
such things at all costs. A less severe example is a metaphor that
does not allow icons to fly in a locale where they would have to be
able to fly to perform some action. This could be as trivial as a piece
of data represented by a book standing out of reach high on a shelf.
Rather than keep the book from the user, though, the book would
just beam into the hand of whoever had the proper access. A final
example is the visibility of icons. The metaphor could say that they
are completely invisible, very small, or somehow obfuscated. If the
persona interface decides the user could easily see them, though,
they are replaced by something more visible.
icons
Every icon in the Matrix represents data, a construct, a program,
or a portal (see Portals, p. 58) to a node. There are of course
other objects in the Matrix that do not represent anything other
than decoration, but they are not called icons. The tree in front of
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