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Infomorph vulnerabilities.

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Sat, 2009-12-19 18:54
#1
Sunchaser Sunchaser's picture
Infomorph vulnerabilities.
I'm wondering what I can do to an infomorph whose node I just hacked with an admin account. I know I can crash the infomorph or play with peripheral systems. But could I delete the crashed infomorph or cancel its reboot attempt so it doesn't go live again? Can I re-program it while its down? Since I have a admin account can I just downgrade the native infomorph's status to user account or less? Can I force him out of his home node? Secondly is there any way for a infomorph ego hunter to 'capture' the infomorph target and transport him back through the mesh? Third...is there going to be a mesh book anytime soon? The mesh seems like it would be a fascinating world to explore with a whole bunch of hidden nooks and wild places. Thanks for any help.
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Sat, 2009-12-19 18:55
Sunchaser Sunchaser's picture
Re: Infomorph vulnerabilities.
I suppose the same questions could apply to muses and AIs.
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Sun, 2009-12-20 20:45
The Sandman The Sandman's picture
Re: Infomorph vulnerabilities.
Until somebody from the actual design team jumps in, I would assume that at a minimum you could do the digital equivalent of any of the psi-gamma sleights to an infomorph who you've hacked. Although I would say that to do them with any degree of success should require that you've actually written or acquired a specific program dedicated to that purpose; otherwise, you would be limited to extremely crude measures such as deleting the infomorph altogether.
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Sun, 2009-12-20 23:02
Zophiel Zophiel's picture
Re: Infomorph vulnerabilities.
Sunchaser wrote:
I'm wondering what I can do to an infomorph whose node I just hacked with an admin account. I know I can crash the infomorph or play with peripheral systems. But could I delete the crashed infomorph or cancel its reboot attempt so it doesn't go live again? Can I re-program it while its down? Since I have a admin account can I just downgrade the native infomorph's status to user account or less? Can I force him out of his home node? Secondly is there any way for a infomorph ego hunter to 'capture' the infomorph target and transport him back through the mesh? Third...is there going to be a mesh book anytime soon? The mesh seems like it would be a fascinating world to explore with a whole bunch of hidden nooks and wild places. Thanks for any help.
In order: Yes and yes if you're an administrator. No if its an infomorph. The only way to "reprogram" an infomorph is with psychosurgery. Even though transhumanity can back up a mind, they don't understand the code on a level that lets them decompile, edit and recompile it. AGI's and Muses could be reprogrammed with appropriate skill rolls. Yes, although you can expect it to be a contested roll since the owner is likely to resist. Yes and no. You can delete him, or make a copy to any other node where you have appropriate permissions. The two in conjunction would qualify moving. Again, expect resistance. When it comes to capturing egos, a couple of ideas spring to mind. One is to drive it into a system that you can disconnect from the mesh and carry away. Another is to shut the ego down, make a copy and delete the original.
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Mon, 2009-12-21 02:21
Sunchaser Sunchaser's picture
Re: Infomorph vulnerabilities.
Zophiel wrote:
AGI's and Muses could be reprogrammed with appropriate skill rolls.
Did you mean an AI and not an AGI? I always thought that AGIs were as difficult to program as human infomorphs.
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Mon, 2009-12-21 03:31
Zophiel Zophiel's picture
Re: Infomorph vulnerabilities.
Actually, you're right. Please note that all of this is just my opinion based on how the rules seem to interact. Put a slightly different way, Alpha and Beta forks have to be reprogrammed with psychosurgery. Anything lower can be reprogrammed.
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Mon, 2009-12-21 11:03
Sunchaser Sunchaser's picture
Re: Infomorph vulnerabilities.
Zophiel wrote:
Please note that all of this is just my opinion based on how the rules seem to interact.
Understood and thanks to all those who take the time to reply. Even if I don't get an 'official' reply its all still useful in establishing a rules baseline for a foggy area of the rules.
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Mon, 2009-12-21 15:37
Iv Iv's picture
Re: Infomorph vulnerabilities.
Quote:
Secondly is there any way for a infomorph ego hunter to 'capture' the infomorph target and transport him back through the mesh?
I'd like to add a question following this one : how would the ego-hunter prove the deletion or capture of a non-backuped ego ? Basically, how do ego-hunters prove their kills ? Is it all based on trust ? do they have an "after-sale policy" to hunt down all backups that could emerge ?
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Mon, 2009-12-21 16:20
Sunchaser Sunchaser's picture
Re: Infomorph vulnerabilities.
Maybe the ego hunter is required to hand over, [i]on the spot[/i], an alpha fork for interrogation regarding the hunt? Or at least all XP files regarding the hunt for verification? These options wouldn't seriously inconvenience an infomorph ego hunter and would show that he made all legitimate attempts to bring down his bounty?
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Fri, 2010-01-22 17:42
RobBoyle RobBoyle's picture
Re: Infomorph vulnerabilities.
Zophiel answered all the node hacking questions as I would have. Re: ego hunters proving their kills -- this might rely on proving the target's ego ID (p. 279), but having a whole lot of backup documentation and other evidence probably helps.
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Rob Boyle :: Posthuman Studios

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