Within large computer systems (known as Mainframes) is created a 3-D virtual reality world, to allow much easier and smoother use of what the computer has to offer. The computers are maintained by people called 'Sysops', who can change or access anything in the computer, with no restrictions. To stop just anyone from doing this, computers have various 'Security Levels', each with a name and a set of abilities. Objects may behave differently to users at different security levels, and some objects may even be invisible to some. There is always a security level called 'Sysop', with no restrictions.
All senses are reproduced; with your eyes, you see the places you are in, and you can feel the squishy sponge that represents the file wipe function of the computer. You can smell the dust rising from the accounts ledger file, and hear the thunk as it hits the wall. Also, you can hear and talk to the user next to you, whose body and mind are actually two thousand kilometres away. Pain is also transmitted by the connection, but systems are available to try and filter out pain signals, preventing harm to the user.
Properly entering the 3-D world of the computer requires a cybernetic Computer Port; the actual connections are small phone-like sockets. The mainframe itself will always have a computer port on it.
Desktop computers don't have the capacity for a neural link, but they can be used to access a Mainframe. However, the experience isn't as good as connecting with a computer port. They will have a Computer Port socket on them, which can be used to transfer data only. If the computer is connected to a mainframe, however, then somebody with a computer port can plug in and enter the mainframe in virtual reality using it.
Objects can be the means of controlling devices connected to the system, such as a closed circuit TV system being represented by a TV with a knob to select which camera to use, or a link to another computer as a set of huge gates. The exact symbolism is up to the sysops.
They can also be Programs, to perform laborious tasks, generally styled to look like a machine or helpful, tiny, human. See below for details of what tasks they might perform.
Data is typically shown as sheets of paper or books.
People using the system are shown as a predesigned humanoid figure, created by the user to his taste. People may communicate with each other if they are in the same room. People using a non-neural-link interface will be stiff mannequins; people using a neural link are lifelike and look as much like people as they design their virtual reality form to be.
Doors, from room to room, are also objects. Often, they simply move the person to another area, but they can be set to only allow access to members of certain security levels.
Objects can look like anything, with no restrictions. So can places; infinite plains are quite fashionable.
Computers maintain a database of users, which specifies what security level each user has. To prove to the computer who they are, a user must tell the computer their username and password. But when you first connect to a computer port, the computer won't know who you are so you will have the security level of "Guest".
Legitimate users will know their passwords and so can gain access at their security level, but hackers will need to do one of the following to get beyond Guest:
Intelligent guessing of a username and password - the hacker must Save with Intelligence, plus a GM-chosen modifier reflecting the hacker's familiarity with the user being guessed. Only one chance is available, and failure may raise an alarm.
Finding them in the real world - perhaps interrogate a legitimate user, or perhaps an absent-minded user will have their username and password written on the side of their desk.
Finding the user database - usually this will be restricted to the Sysop security level only, but it's possible that some other security level may be granted access to it. If you can find a user login that can access the user database, you can create yourself a user login in it that gives you Sysop access and then log in as that user.
System security faults - the system software itself might have bugs that allow the user to change their security level, or to access an object outside of your security level. Each system has a Security Rating to reflect this, with 0 being somewhat cheapo and 10 being pretty damn good. To try to find a fault, the hacker must Save with Intelligence, minus the system's Security Rating. This may be tried repeatedly. Failure more then a few times may raise an alarm. When the alarm is raised, attack programs may be activated. See below.
Computers can be fitted with Modems, which allow them to be connected to other computers using hardwired long-distance links, or connected to the public network so that people can connect to them through it. Every modem is associated with a place in the virtual reality world; the modem will typically appear as some kind of door or gateway. People connecting in through that modem will appear wherever the door is, with a "Guest" security level.
Large computer systems have the following attributes.
| Name | Meaning / Typical Value |
|---|---|
| Speed | How fast it can process data. Typically above 100. When many users are in the system, the speed is divided up between them. |
| Storage | The amount of data the system can hold. Typically above 10,000Mb. |
| Security Rating | How hard it is to bypass system security, from 0 to 10. Generally about 5. |
| Access methods | All Computer Port sockets and modems. Each must have a starting location in the system, that people who connect through there appear at. |
Small single user computer systems only have Speed (rarely above 100) and Storage (rarely above 1,000Mb).
Each non-trivial operation a program performs has a Workload. To work out how many seconds it takes to perform the operation, divide the Workload by the Speed of the computer.
Data transfer: characters may want to transfer a file to or from their data cartridge adapter and the computer system. To do this, the size of the file in Mb times 10 is the Workload, and the speed of the slowest computer involved is used. If the user is accessing this computer from a gateway through another one, he must use the slower of the two speeds.
Commercially available programs - the 'rating' is the quality of the program, from 1 to 5.
Attack: this program attempts to generate a pain signal and feed it to a user, but so subtly that his filter systems do not notice it. Basically, roll 1D4 plus the Attack program's rating, while the defender rolls 1D4 plus their pain filter's rating. A draw or better means a hit. If the attacker wins, they can inflict 1D8 points of damage to the defender's Willpower attribute, and 1D10 Stamina. If Willpower goes below 3, the defender is unconscious, and unless a friend unplugs him, they will simply seem to freeze in the virtual reality world. A Willpower of zero means death. Attack software measures 1Mb per rating, and costs 2c per rating. It's illegal for people other than military forces to possess or use Attack software.
Data search: bring it into touch range of a file, and it will search it for a specific item of data. The program's size is 1Mb per Rating. Workload is the size of the file, times 50, divided by the Rating. Cost: 1c per rating.
Games: these are usually extremely realistic, as in INDISTINGUISHABLE from real life. People can completely lose themselves in them, while their external bodies die of malnutrition, and current Senate pressures are pointing towards legislation controlling this. Cost: rarely over 0.5c
Viruses: these nasty programs attach themselves to existing programs, so the next user to use them becomes 'infected'. Any programs he uses are also infected, ad infinitum. Often, riding on this reproductive mechanism, is a payload, set to screw up computer systems or just specific targets at a certain date - anything is possible, within reason. They generally add half a Mb to the size of a file, and cost from 1c upwards. It is illegal to possess or use them unless you're in the military.
Text: 1Mb = 10 paperback books
Databases: 1Mb = about 10,000 typical name & address records.
Spreadsheets: 1Mb = a HUGE amount of data. They rarely reach this size.
Graphics: 1Mb = an A4 page
Animation: 1Mb = 10 seconds of TV.
Sound: 1Mb = 1 minute of stereo hi-fi, or 5 minutes of simple mono sound.
These are supplied with new computer systems, and due to their nature, are guarded closely by the sysops. They MUST exist on the computer somewhere. If a hacker downloads a system utility, it will only work on computers of the same make with the same security level.
| Name | Effect |
|---|---|
| Trace | When pointed at a user, all their actions on the system and their point of entry are written onto a text file like a scroll which pops out of one end of it. Commonly shown as a pair of binoculars or a magnifying glass. |
| Dump | When pointed at a user, they will disappear and be dumped out of the system. If they came in by port, they will be back in reality, while if they came through another system using a modem, they will be sent back to there. Commonly shown as a gun or weapon of some type. |
| Map | This flat utility shows a 2D map of the system, with marks where users and objects are. |
| God | This utility is like a scale model of the system, showing all that is going on. The user can manipulate the model as if they were there, reaching in and moving things, and using their programs on objects within. They can pluck objects in and out of the map to their current location, causing them to grow or shrink to fit their new surroundings. |
| Lock | This utility surrounds an object, making it unaccessible to somebody without the correct password. If an incorrect password is used, it may be set to alert the sysops, erase the object it surrounds, or whatever. Commonly shown as a set of chains or a cage. |
| Janitor | This utility is commonly shown as a book, with a page for each method of access into the system. It describes whether the port is in use, and if so who is using it, and what they are up to. Also, it allows the user to dump any other user from the system. |
| Manager | This utility allows the creation and modification of security levels. Also, it can change the list of security levels that an object will work for, including doors. |
To illustrate how these elements are often combined, here is a typical commercial system.
| Model | Limtex BCS-84 |
| Speed | 1,000 |
| Storage | 900,000Mb |
| Security | 7 |
| Security levels | Guest, User, Executive, Scientist, Sysop |
| Name | VR Location |
|---|---|
| Public Modem | Reception |
| Ports on office desks | Reception |
| Port on the Mainframe itself | Sysop Only room |
| Modem with cable to research base on the Chaos Zone | Reception |
An infinite field of corn waves gently in a warm afternoon breeze. The sun is forever setting in a blue, cloudless, sky. Standing in a circle around the point of entry are upright black monoliths, with labels etched in them in neon blue - the doors.
| Destination | Access |
|---|---|
| Research gateway | Scientist or Sysop access only. |
| Leisure | All |
| Accounts | Executives only. |
| Sales | Executives only. |
| Public Relations & Marketing | Executives only. |
| Building Security | Sysops only. |
| Sysops Only room | Sysops only. |
The room is a cube of some 100m side, decorated on all sides by a checkerboard pattern. Around the walls are tapestries, depicting various exciting scenes; battles, motor races, etc. These are games, and activating them takes the user into the game.
Each of these three rooms is a tasteful, beige, massive office, where desks stand around, each protected by a Lock utility so only the desk's owner can do more than leave messages.
This area is a blueprint of the headquarters building floating in an infinite black void. Computerised security features like closed circuit TV, electronic locks, and the like are 3D objects sticking up out of the surface, to be controlled at will by the user.
The sysops are heavy metal fans; the area is an infinite metal plain studded with massive rivets, beneath a cloudy dark red sky. Posters, scanned in from concerts, hover vertically in a haphazard fashion. Near the door, a huge vault-like thing, stands a table supporting a God program. Shoved under the table are master copies of all the system utilities. Lying around are music files of heavy metal, some 100Mb in total.
These use a familiar point-and-click GUI rather than a virtual reality interface, and can be controlled by the supplied keyboard, mouse, and monitor. They still have Speed, and can use exactly the same data and programs as large systems, except that there are no security levels. A computer will often require a username and password to identify its owner to allow access at all, but once you're logged in, the whole computer is under your control. They are often connected to a mainframe, either with a direct link if it's nearby or via a modem. If connected to a modem on the public network, then it can be used to connect to any mainframe on the public network, and its owner (knowing the correct username and password) can connect into it via the network too.
Computers and commercial/industrial buildings are usually highly integrated with a local-area network; all equipment is computerised, and connected by radio or cable to the building mainframe. This includes industrial machinery, lights, door locks, and maybe defence systems. Also, public address systems and muzak are generated by the Mainframe. Freely available over the public communications network (like our phone network, including cellphone radio networks) is access to the Library of Titanium Central Knowledge Base, a vast artificial intelligence system connected to 12 Terabytes (million megabytes), upon which are inscribed all the recognised knowledge of Civilisation - history, records, sciences, names and addresses of citizens past and present, etc. The system is asked an English language question, and will do its best to respond. If it cannot find enough data in its knowledge base - and it can infer to an arbitarily deep level - it will respond with 'insufficient data'. It is also linked to the Library of Titanium Central Literature Base, the database of all known written books, but it cannot use this data as 'knowledge'; it is only data as far as it is concerned. In practice, this allows it to retreive specific books, or all books concerning a certain topic, or whatever, but it's up to the user to read the book to find the knowledge within.
Since the technology of computing was stolen from the USOC, all mountain computers are compatible with ours. However, they still use the Mountain language - so the technician may struggle to understand what everything means!