The Digital Frontier.

[powersthatbe]

THE DIGITAL FRONTIER
April 5th-May 17th

Welcome to the Grid. Many cycles ago, the Grid was inhabited by Cryptos, a set of programs which lived in isolation, developing their own strange system architecture, rumors of which were the wonder of the Network. But something the Cryptos built took on a life of its own: a digital cancer, a virus which purged the Grid of all recognizable digital life-forms, leaving only ruins and terrifying monsters called Automata. For the good of the Network, the Grid was sealed off, locked away behind many firewalls.

But time went on, and other programs developed more advanced protocols. Curious about the knowledge of the Cryptos, they sent two groups of programs to try and recover any data they could from the Grid. The first group formed The Partition - a secure area, reformatted and isolated from the rest of the Grid by the finest security the Network can offer. The Partition guards all port access to the rest of the Network. If there’s a security risk, the programs there - Defenders - won’t hesitate to purge the whole Grid, no matter what data would be lost.

Outside the Partition, on the edge of the corrupted Waste Lands, are the recovery programs - Miners. They sift the code of the old Grid, looking for valuable data artifacts and reconstructing them, fighting Automata, risking the corrupting of their own data, or even de-resolution, in order to restore what the Cryptos lost.

Every program on the Grid has both Purpose and Priority - a function it’s meant to execute, and the authority to do it. But as the Miners working the Frontier recover more and more code, their Purpose - discovery - and the Defenders’ - protection - come into conflict. And the Defenders have the Priority - their root administrator has Priority 0, where the leader of the Miners has only Priority 1. A program of lower station is unable to deny or resist direct orders from a superior, and that’s where the trouble starts.

The paranoid Defenders have begun to refuse access to the network, except to those programs willing to risk the integrity of their code and show their ability to defend themselves in the ancient Games - lethal gladiatorial combat which tests the parameters of a program to destruction. The Defenders reason that any Miner who can defeat their security could stand firm against Automata intrusions as well… but although this keeps things secure, it also leaves the Miners trapped on the edge of the Waste Lands, and lately, a rebellion has been brewing, low-Priority programs willing to defy authority and take over the Partition themselves. Some say that attitude itself is proof of Automata corruption…

But then, at last, there’s a breakthrough. The Miners have found an intact data structure, unmistakably the system architecture of the Cryptos, hidden beneath loads of random junk data. And when they restored it, they found Cryptos waiting within, waiting in stasis for the chance to reclaim their system for themselves… and another group of programs, mysterious Variables without Purpose or Priority, totally unrecognized by the system. Even the Cryptos aren’t sure what they are…

The Partition claims they’re disguised Automata, and the rebel programs believe the Variables are free algorithms who might be the best hope to liberate the Miners from the Defenders’ restrictions. The future of everything the Miners have worked for hangs in the balance…

Exploration Mechanics | Glossary | Casting Call | Skills | Map | Calendar | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting

Comments

[neverfeltthatway]

Shuu will find a staunch ally and supporter in Armin. He is a level 3 priority program - Rose's lieutenant - and his purpose is to understand foreign systems. He all but reveres the cryptos, wants to learn everything about them - and although he's frustrated by the fact that none of them seem to want to talk, that won't stop him from defending and aiding the cryptos in any way he can.

When he's not busy being the most vocal and passionate voice in support of exploration and excavation, recruiting other programs and leading teams into the wastelands.

[morbirdinterest]

Oooh, awesome! Sounds like they'll have lots of things to talk about, including the search stuff. Isa will definitely appreciate having an ally among the programs now living in the Grid, to say nothing of the knowledge that Armin possesses.

[neverfeltthatway]

Point being it would not be difficult for him to have armin redirect the search in that direction. And as one of the leaders of the miners, he can bring a lot of programs with him, I imagine.

Unless Rose doesn't agree, I suppose. Oooh. That would be... interesting, if his loyalty to Rose conflicted with his reverence of the cryptos.

[morbirdinterest]

Oooh, yes, that would be interesting. Something to file under "potential future complications"?

[neverfeltthatway]

definitely.

Doesn't help that both Shuu and Rose are priority 1, either

[morbirdinterest]

Oohhhh yes I bet that won't help at all... I can't wait to see how the Jaunt unfolds, so many delicious possibilities keep cropping up. :3c