"Riding the Wave: New Equipment for Cyberpunk Adventures", © 1989,
1998-2005 by Lester W. Smith, originally appeared in
_Challenge_ #40 (pages 38-43), and is reproduced here with the
author's permission.
Text-entry and HTML by:
Steve C.
One of the most important themes of the cyberpunk genre is the rapid pace at which technology changes. Characters in cyberpunk stories are continually encountering new developments in equipment. Often such items are held by the opposing side in a conflict, and the protagonists are forced to match their outmoded equipment against them. At other times, a character will stumble across a prototype of some new item or program and be able to use it for himself, until it, in turn, becomes outmoded by even newer developments.
In running cyberpunk adventures, it is important for the referee to imitate this technological change by continually confronting his PCs with new equipment. It is with that in mind that the programs and devices described in this article are offered. Each item listed here is given a basic description, followed by specific rules and statistics for using it in 2300 AD (with the Earth/Cybertech sourcebook) and in R. Talsorian's Cyberpunk role-playing game.
The four programs described here are all fairly powerful, and the referee may wish to reveal them one at a time over a course of several adventures. The first two are simply differing methods of attacking the power supply of a computer system, such as a corporate mainframe. The second two deal with the concept of artificial intelligence, typically abbreviated as AI in science fiction literature.
Artificial intelligence is a common concept in the cyberpunk genre, as could only be expected once the idea of a direct mind-to-computer interface has been established. The AI program described below are both based upon self-replicating mathematical models that can incorporate input into their matrices and adapt themselves to it. In effect, these programs can "learn" how best to tackle a problem to which they are assigned.
The problems with such programs are threefold. First, they are of such complexity that they are extrememly expensive. Not only is a lot of time and expertise required to create the programs in the first place, the fact that they are somewhat rare serves to inflate the prices they command. Second, AI programs typically require a lot of memory to store. For cyber jockeys, this translates into less space remaining in a cyberdeck for other programs that might be needed on a run. Finally, the mathematical models upon which these AI programs are based are prone to crashing unexpectedly. A healthy program "pulses" in seemingly random patterns, indicating its openess to further input. An unhealthy program crashes in one of two ways: It either enters a "lapsing" pattern in which it fades to nothing, or it enters a "loop" from which no exit is possible (although any files stored in a "looping" program can be read and copied).
The final program described here provides the possibility of living personalities being recorded in compter programs. Again, this is a fairly common topic in the cyberpunk genre, but a cyberpunk referee will want to carefully consider the implications in his own campaign.
Surge is a one-use program designed to destroy the contents of computer systems. The user of such a program must first work his way to the core of the target system, then access the system's power supply and initiate the Surge program. Once this has been accomplished, the Surge program draws a heavy load of power and blasts it throughout the system, destroying itself, along with any programs and files that it encounters. Do not use Surge if you plan to loot the system afterward; chances are there may be nothing left to loot.
2300 AD: Once the mainframe portion of the target system is accessed, the cyber jockey using Surge initiates the program and sets it to delay firing for any desired numbber of turns and initiative points. For example, a Surge program might be activated at initiative point 6 of one turn and be set to fire three turns later at initiative point 2. The delay feature of the Surge program is intended to allow the cyber jockey time to exit the system before the blast.
Surge programs are available in different levels of effectiveness. For each level that a particular program is rated, it will releas 100 Offensive points from the target system's energy source. These points flash through the system like a flood of water through the corridors of a building. Where they reach a branching of paths, they will divide as evenly as possible and follow all available routes. For example, if a 300-point Surge encountered a four-way branching, it would release 75 points into each of the possible routes.
Whenever the Offensive points from a Surge program encounter a program or file, they automatically do damage to that target's Volume. Offensive points used in such an attack are used up. To demonstrate, if 75 points of a Surge encountered a program with 50 points of Volume, the 50-point program would be destroyed, and 25 points of Surge would continue onward. If the remaining 25 points of Surge were then to encounter a file with a Volume of 60, the 25 points of Surge would be used up, and only 35 points of the file would remain. (If Offensive points from a Surge program encounter a cyberdeck, they first do damage to its Defense, of course).
Surge programs require 10 points of storage Volume in a cyberdeck for each level of effectiveness. Price: Lv 450 per level.
Cyberpunk: To use a Surge program, a cyber jockey must work his way to the target system's central processor. Once there, he can initiate the program and set it to fire any number of phases later, in order to allow him time to exit the system. When the program fires, it flashes throughout the computer system, attacking everything it encounters with its Strength rating. For this purpose, information files are considered to have a strength of 1 to 3 (referee's option, depending upon the importance of the file). The Surge program can only attack once each program or file it encounters. Surge programs are available in levels I to VII, with Strength being equal to level number. The cost of the Surge program is $250 p/lvl.
Like Surge, Leech is a program that attacks a computer system by way of its power supply. But whereas Surge causes that power supply to spike through the system, destroying most everything in its path, Leech merely blocks off the power supply to the computer system, draining strength away from the system's protective programs.
2300 AD: After reaching the mainframe of a target computer system, a cyber jockey identifies the computer's power source and activates his Leech program. The effect of the Leech is to weaken the cyberspace combat abilities of all opponents who draw power from the system. In game terms, this means that task rolls to evade or attack such opponents are one level lower (Difficult becomes Routine, etc.), and task rolls they make to evade or attack you are made at one difficulty level higher (Difficult becomes Formidable, etc.). Leech takes up 25 points of Volume. Price: Lv 3500.
Cyberpunk: To use a Leech, the cyber jockey makes his way to the central processor, identifies its power source, and initiates the program. While the Leech is in operation, all programs powered by the system (including those of on-staff Netrunners) have their Strength rating reduced by two points. If this reduces a program's Strength rating to 0 or -1, that program crashes. Leech programs cost $2500.
Idiot Savants are limited AI programs specially designed to make use of the AI's adaptive characteristics. An Idiot Savant will completely change its configuration to best attack any problem to which it is set. This means that one Idiot Savant program can adapt itself to perform the functions of several different specialized programs. At one point, an Idiot Savant might be used as an infiltration program, then later become a pure attack program, and finally become a stealth program.
But as has been mentioned before, AI programs based upon self-replicating mathematical models are prone to a crash. In game terms, this tendency is simulated by making a 1D10 roll at the end of any run in which an Idiot Savant is used, to determine if the program crashes. If the number rolled is less than the program level, the program falls into a lapse pattern and dies; if the number rolled is exactly equal to the program level, the program enters a loop pattern and locks up; and if the number rolled is greater than the program level, the program pulses and can be used again.
2300 AD: The strength of Idiot Savant programs is rated in levels from 1 to 5. Each level requires 7 points of Volume for storage. The program's level can be added to any one of a cyberdeck's basic stats: Speed, Accuracy, Offense, Defense, or Volume. It takes one action to change an Idiot Savant program from one configuration to another.
Note that if the program is used to add to Volume, considerably less Volume is gained than was taken up by the program originally, but this can still be a handy place to store those few extra points of a file that would otherwise be too long for open Volume. Also note that if a program configured as Volume loops after the run, the information stored in it can still be read and copied to empty Volume. Price: Lv 500.
Cyberpunk: An Idiot Savant can be of level I to V and can mimic any of the following programs: Data Wall, Code Wall, Hammer, CodeCracker, Invisibility, Speedtrap, and Killer. It takes one phase for an Idiot Savant to be reconfigured to any one of these programs.
The level of the Idiot Savant program is its Strength as any of these programs. Because of the complexity of Idiot Savant programs, each level of such a program takes up one of the five slots available in the cybermodem. For example, a cybermodem loaded with a level III Idiot Savant would only be able to carry two other programs. Idiot Savant programs cannot be loaded into Demon programs.
Cost for an Idiot Savant program is $400 p/lvl.
In the middle decades of the 20th century, a few people attempted to cheat death by having their bodies frozen before all signs of life were extinct. It was their hope that in future ages, when medical science had been improved, they could be thawed and brought back to life. With the development of direct brain-to-computer interface, a new method of cold storage has been developed, the recording of brain activity in a computer program. People who have such recordings made hope that one day medical science will be able to grow clones of their original bodies and graft their recorded personalities into those clones.
Because of the incredible number of connections in the human brain, only very sophisticated AI programs are complex enough to record brain activity. But as explained previously, AI programs are very prone to crash. In the case of the Cold Storage program, there is a chance that the program will crash at any time it is used, including just after the initial recording procedure as well as the (as yet hypothetical) grafting procedure. For this reason multiple recordings are usually made, in the hope that at least one will remain viable throughout the entire process. It is possible for such a recording to be accessed by a cybermodem, allowing a cyber jockey to communicate with the recorded personality, for instance, but this use also runs the risk that the program may crash immediately afterward.
A referee can use Cold Storage programs in his cyberpunk campaign in a number of different ways. First, a personality recorded on such a program might have information that the player characters need, and the recording could therefore become the object of an adventure in the cybernet. Alternatively, the PCs might come across one or more unused programs and record their own personalities on them, in hope of ensuring their survival in cyberspace, even if their bodies die during a later adventure.
The PCs might find these programs during a cyberspace run, or they might take physical possession of a computer that contains the programs. It is even possible that the PCs might run up against a plot to attempt to transfer the recorded personality of some ruthless person onto the brain of a drugged or comatose victim.
2300 AD: Cold Storage should be extremely rare in any 2300 AD campaign, and its existance should be considered a secret carefully protected by Earth's very wealthiest members. The chances of the PCs stumbling on such a program in cyberspace should be very unlikely; recorded personalities are stored in the most carefully guarded of systems. The chances of the PCs purchasing such a program should likewise be extremely rare, as is reflected in the price listed below.
Whenever a Cold Storage program is used in any manner, a check should be made to see if it crashes immediately afterward. The target number to be used for this check is 8. As with the Idiot Savant program, above, a roll below the target number means the program lapses, a roll of exactly the target number means the program loops (and another recording could be made from this one), and a roll above the target number means that the program pulses and remains viable.
The Cold Storage program requires a Volume of 80. Note that while such a program could be recorded in pieces (such as in three Second String programs), it can only be run (to copy a personality, graft that personality to a living brain, or allow that personality to be communicated with) in a system that can contain it as a whole. Price: Lv 10,000,000 or more.
Cyberpunk: The sample adventure in R. Talsorian's Cyberpunk role-playing game mentions an optional "black program" known as Soulkiller, which erases the personality from the victim's brain and stores it in a huge database. The Cold Storage program could serve as that database. In such a case, the Strength and cost of such a program are considered to be separate from those of the Soulkiller. The Strength of Cold Storage is 8, as described above, and its cost is $2,500,000.
The equipment described here includes items that player characters might purchase and use, as well as items that they will likely only encounter on the opposite side. Most of these items are relatively rare. Not everyone on the street would be in possessin of a balloon cam, for example. For this reason, when the referee first introduces these items into his cyberpunk campaign, he should try to make them something of a surprise.
A ballon cam consists of a small video camera mounted on a tiny blimp (approximately 50 cm in length and 20 cm in diameter), with a miniature computer programmed to control the blimp's movement. Typically, a ballon cam is programmed to maintain a particular position in relation to some moving object, such as a person. As the person moves, the blimp moves with him, and the camera records whatever the person encounters.
The uses for such a camera are many. Besides their attractiveness for making personal video tapes, ballon cams can be fitted with transmitters to allow constant surveillance of individuals, such as parolees, or to provide moment-by-moment reports from roving newspeople, police, and military teams. With the addition of flexible plastic video screens mounted on the blimps' sides, ballon cams have also become popular among members of the entertainment industries, to whom image is exceedingly important. A pair of ballon cams hovering over a person's shoulders, vid screens glowing with images of his face (suitably enhanced by the cameras' computers), can add a lot of glamor to that person's presence.
2300 AD: Besides the normal advantages of having an imager at hand to record events, in certain circumstances, the referee might wish to add a bonus to the Eloquence (because of the emotional impact) or Renown ("He must be famous; look at all those cameras.") of a character who is accompanied by one or more ballon cams with vid screens. Of course, in other situations, ballon cams may draw unwelcome attention.
Cyberpunk: Ballon cams are especially popular among Medias and Rockerboys. A ballon cam can allow a Media to record events while keeping his hands free for other tasks, such as holding weapons. Ballon cams with vid screens can add to the Attractiveness of Rockerboys, giving them a bonus at task attempts involving this statistic. Other character types can use ballon cams in the same ways, if the referee agrees. The cost for a basic ballon cam is $1300, or $1800 for a ballon cam with a projecting screen.
Another item that is very popular among entertainers is the hologram recorder and projector. With this item, a larger-than-life replica of a performer can be projected on stage, aiding greatly in conveying the performer's facial expressions to a larger audience, for example. Smaller replicas can be of use to enhance a person's impact in more intimate settings, much as images are used on the vid screens of balloon cams.
Because of their weight (typically about 60 kg) and their energy requirements, hologram recorder/projectors are not very portable, and their projection range is usually under 10 meters. This limits their usefulness to static locations. As well, holograms do not convey the sense of solidity that a real object would, and they are especially faint in strong light. Despite these facts, however, there have been instances of police assault teams carrying hologram projectors to sites where gunmen have holed up and using holograms to draw the criminals' fire temporarily.
2300 AD: As with balloon cams, in the right circumstances, hologram recorder/projectors can add to a character's Eloquence statistic. Creative players may be able to think of other uses for holograms as well.
Cyberpunk: Holograms from this piece of equipment can add to the impact of a character's presence, giving a bonus to Task Attempts involving the use of Attractiveness. Other possible effects are left to the discretion of the referee. Hologram Recorder/Projectors cost $1500.
The mimicker is a rather rare bionic enhancement that enables its user to reproduce the voices of other people. This piece of equipment is grafted directly onto the larynx, where it stimulates the necessary tension in the user's vocal chords. Because the larynx is very close to the surface of the throat, the mimicker apparatus is obvious to any close inspection.
Each mimicker can record and store up to six different voices, and a character can have as many as three mimickers installed. With a minimum amount of training, a user can learn the nerve impulses necessary to stimulate the mimicker to play a voice from memory or to record a new voice. Mimickers come with a sample selection of famous voices already installed.
The normal muscle movements of the throat provide the power necessary for mimicker operation.
A mimicker cannot fool a voice analyzing machine, and some voices are virtually impossible for some larynxes to produce. (For example, a very petite woman would be unable to produce a very bass voice).
2300 AD: Mimickers are considered to be legal bionics, and they have begun to show some popularity among actors and singers. However, legislation is in process in a few nations that may require mimickers to be registered with the national government. A character with a mimicker installed should gain a bonus of one to task rolls involving attempts to disguise himself as a known figure, and a bonus of three when simply trying to disguise his own identity.
Cyberpunk: A mimicker adds a bonus of two to Task Attempts involving the Disguise skill when attempting to impersonate someone else and a bonus of four when simply trying to disguise his own identity. The cost for a mimicker is $800.
The biocaster is a tiny cybernetic unit designed to be grafted into the brain of any animal massing at least 2 kg, for the purpose of broadcasting that creature's visual and aural activity. The unit was originally designed to produce nature films from an animal's perspective, but it has since found some use in reconnaissance work. A person tuned into a particular biocaster unit is merely a spectator, he has no control over the host animal's actions. But some creatures, such as dogs and dolphins, can be trained to follow preestablished patterns of travel, making them excellent perimeter guards, for example.
Biocaster units have a broadcast range of approximately 300 meters. They are battery powered and require a fresh battery approximately every 1000 hours.
2300 AD: Biocaster units are one form of bionic equipment that is often used by government agencies.
Cyberpunk: If you can keep an animal alive on the streets of the city, you might find a biocaster unit to be of some use. A biocaster unit costs $900 (plus the cost of the animal), with an additional charge of $150 for battery replacements.
Slaver is another cybernetic implant intended for use in animals. It draws its name not from the fact that it enslaves the animal, but from the drooling that accompanies its use. Slaver stimulates the rage center of the animal's brain, causing behavior similar to that of an animal infected with rabies. The behavior remains in effect for the duration of the time the implant is keyed on (by radio control) and disappears when the implant is turned off.
A common use of this implant is in guard dogs that already have biocaster units implanted.
Such an animal can be stimulated to berserk fury upon the command of a remote operator who is monitoring its patrol by means of a biocaster.
Because of the very small amount of power used by this device, it is able to operate indefinitely from electrochemical processes in the host animal's brain.
2300 AD: In most countries on Earth, laws prohibit the use of slaver. For this reason, it is typically only available from black clinics.
Cyberpunk: A Slaver unit costs $3500, plus the cost of the animal.