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synodiporia_ooc2018-04-29 01:47 pm
powersthatbe) wrote in synodiporia_ooc2018-04-29 01:47 pm
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DIGITAL FRONTIER: LEGACY MODE - JAUNT INFO
May 7 - June 16
In the Network, more than a dozen Systems flourish - independent nations connected by high-speed data lines, overseen by Programs - humanoid beings made of pure information, each with its own Purpose and Priority in the System.
Only twice in the history of the Network has a System fully fallen to viral corruption - first the ZODIAC, and then the Grid. Five cycles ago, an expedition from other Systems managed to restore the Grid under very strange circumstances - but the rest of the Network, unconvinced that the recovered Programs weren’t concealing viral influence behind their unnatural behavior and outlandish stories, has kept the Grid under strict isolation.
Until now. The Colossus, a System admired for its rugged survivalism and powerful military, is willing to take a risk on the Grid. The Colossus is sending its own team of soldiers and experts to attempt to recover the lost ZODIAC System. Their expedition travels on a large, encapsulated vessel called the Rejuvenator, specifically meant to be difficult to control, to have new Data and Programs uploaded to it remotely - but to be totally unable to send any data back without Colossus approval. If the mission fails, the Rejuvenator will never be allowed to return.
But all the fresh-trained Programs from the Colossus are untested. To give them the best chance at success, the Rejuvenator was sent first to the Grid, to take on a volunteer crew. If the ZODIAC Initial Probe fails, the Grid will remain under lockdown. But if it succeeds, and the Colossus Programs send back a positive report, the Network will consider opening their Ports to the Grid again, and letting its Programs rejoin civilization...
WORLD INFO
The Grid is one System on the Network - an independent nation-state - and it had been quarantined after viral programs called Automata overran and infected the native Cryptos. After leaving it long blocked off, a coalition of other systems sent two factions of Programs to explore the Grid - the Miners were archaeological programs, and the Defenders were protectors against the Automata.
Purpose is the vocation of a Program; and Function can refer either to a mundane job or, insultingly, a primitive Program who is little more than their job. Priority is the inborn hierarchy of Programs, and obedience to Priority is almost automatic - so if a Priority 1 Program gives orders, its followers with Priority 2-20 will find it instinctively difficult to disobey. The lower your priority, the harder it is to disobey.
The Defenders, being mostly higher Priority than Miners and paranoid about the dangers of Automata, made it very difficult for the Miners to fulfill their Purpose. However, a hidden group of Cryptos in stasis was uncovered, and with them a group of unknown Programs who lacked Purpose, Priority, or Function. They were referred to as Variables - and in fact, were the Investigators.
Cryptos, Defenders, Miners, and Variables all explored the terrain and fought Automata corruption in an attempt to uncover SAGE, legendary founder of the Grid, a User - a godlike being with the ability to create Programs and indeed systems - who had been corrupted and was imprisoned in the depths of the Grid. During the search, frustrated Programs tired of Defender tyranny founded a new faction, Revolutionaries, by learning to copy the Variables’ lack of Priority into themselves.
It was discovered by the Investigators that ROSE, leader of the Miners, was in fact the Arcana known as the Magician; that SAGE was the Hermit; and that Lovers and Devil had unleashed the Automata virus on the Grid in an assassination attempt when Hermit attempted to leave the Arcana’s game. At great cost, the Automata were defeated, SAGE rescued (losing his physical form in the process and gaining a lupine form made from salvaged data) & returned to the game, and the free but isolated system of the Grid was left behind.
Now, several cycles later (a unit of time about a year long; three millicycles are equivalent to one day), the Travelers return...