Take 1XP for keeping it in character ... PocSec updated

Add to gear: Psyche (blister pack) 7/8 ... PocSec updated

Researching the contract:
Pop Pills 14:55, Today: Mr. Johnson rolled 5 using 2d6 ((3,2)).
Fail The drug has no effect, mark 1XP ... PocSec updated

Citation Needed 14:52, Today: Mr. Johnson rolled 13 using 2d6+1 ((6,6)).
Boxcars! Something good happens
Take 1 Prep


Maybe washing down the pill with a long tug off a bottle of Ol’ Nick’s wasn’t the wisest choice, but as luck would have it, even without the drug’s effect, you found exactly what you needed to know:

>>>>>excerpt from Liáng-Meier Digital obligation pursuant to the agreement with California Free State Department of Motor Vehicles for the provision of digital and matrix support:

In that the aforementioned service provider agrees to undertake, on behalf of the procurer of services, an obligation to provide digital and matrix support to the Services Division (hereafter known as ‘the division’) such that the division may provide, in a digital or matrix environment, the following to other divisions and sub-divisions of the department as designated by the procurer at the time of ratification of this agreement:
-support to digital and matrix based architecture as outlined in Appendix 3 to Annex B of this agreement
-group and user interface management
-workflow management
-print spooling and production management
-data security and intrusion countermeasures

Pertaining to subsection 3 of chapter 4 of the agreement...<<<<<

Yeeesh.  Reading this makes being shot at and getting blown up by insurgents seem not so bad.

So yeah... all that to say services is probably where you want to go...

So, services it is!


[Bonus bit of detail about Venom: he has a very small tattoo, sloping up on his left ribs (often blocked by his arm) that reads "Clare Middleton, I Love You Will U M***** Me? " with the asterisks representing unclear or blurry writing. It's a variation on this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/..._You_Will_U_Marry_Me (except in Shadowrun's timeline they kept the "Claire Middleton" and the "Marry" got blurred by a vandal so it could possibly say "Murder". It's a not-uncommon "I'm from Sheffield" thing, and one of the few identifying marks he has from his old life) ]
This message was last edited by the player at 05:14, Thu 20 Jan 2022.

super cool detail... is the ink muddled because of the injury or is it a stylistic choice?

:: HUD ::
>>>Node: Services (tag: Services SAN)
>>>System Rating: RED
>>>Alert Status: NONE

Prep: 1

Wearing the DMV worker avatar and armed with the passcodes from the shattered construct, it’s easy to slip past the Services Kiosk (Access IC - nuisance) and into the Services SAN. It’s just and drab and boring as everything else in this system. Grey walls, grey carpets, three grey doors...

...but the SAN isn’t responding to the passcodes. You must need some kind of administrative access to bypass the SAN credentials checks.

”Is there something I can do for you user name undefined? asks a remarkably familiar looking construct.

Take over the SAN to learn more?

Walk past the construct like you own the place and just pick a door at random?

Take over the SAN, to learn more, please.

[About the 'muddle': In our timeline, the graffiti originally read "Clare Middleton, I Love You, Will U Marry Me?". It became something of a civic monument- like a symbol, in the decaying post-industrial city, that someone was staking a claim on the future and reaching out for someone. It's visible for miles, from the right angle in town- commuters arriving by the main train station could see it clearly. Urban legends sprung up about who the proposer was, who Clare was, etc. Eventually the building it was on was bought up by people who kept the "I Love You, Will U Marry Me?", but erased "Clare Middleton" for what they felt was privacy reasons. They promote it and even lined it with neon so it's even more visible.

I'm just making up the small difference that (in the SR timeline) the "Clare Middleton" stayed up, and also some second vandal came in at some point, tried to paint "Murder" over "Marry", and the whole thing looks like two words written over each other and fixed badly.  Venom's tat replicates what the graffiti now looks like. Stylistic choice, you might say. ]
This message was last edited by the player at 22:33, Thu 20 Jan 2022.

Sling Code
18:50, Today: Mr. Johnson, on behalf of Venom, rolled 9 using 2d6+1 ((6,2)).
Weak Success

The SAN bends to your will, but the construct looks up and says flatly "That's not permitted here user name undefined

>>>Alert Status: PASSIVE

Or ... use 1 Prep to bump 9 to 10 Strong Success

The SAN bends to your will. For a microsecond it seems that the construct is going to say something, but suddenly another user enters the SAN. The construct turns to the newcomer and asks: "Is there something I can do for you class one driver's license holder M345-0978-456, Sykes, Wanda?

>>>Alert Status: NONE

Take a consequence or burn your Prep?

Burn the Prep ("Get this over with, quick and quiet.")

Venom stays still as "Wanda Sykes" does her business.

(I'm guessing he wouldn't recognize the name, unless she's an active comic in the 2050s, or... wait, she worked for the NSA before she was a comic. Crap. Playing the odds- hold still, hope for nothing to happen or even being noticed, until she leaves. He does note the number, though...)
This message was last edited by the player at 03:36, Fri 21 Jan 2022.

With Sykes, Wanda distractingly the service agent, you discreetly download a report on the SPU.

Door #1: Security Node ... rating red ... function: store inactive IC ready to respond to irregular activity in the system

Door #2: Process Node ... rating red ... function: sub-routines and permissions controlling user and group access

Door #3: Control Node ... rating red ... function: sub processor and master controller for a variety of attached devices

So- stepping OOC for a second: If I understand what you said, just there, I can use Door 2 to get myself permissions before going to Door 3?

That would work. Tidy solution that really only requires you to hack the Process Node to pretty much get the keys to the kingdom...

You could also go for the direct approach and own the print controllers to inject your code... Control Nodes are generally less protected then Process Nodes...

Or you could find the database and stuff the fake data right into it... Datastores get pretty good protection too, probably somewhere between the Process and Control node in a system like this.

Well, this may be an entertainingly-bad decision, so here's the thought process:

-It's been smooth and quick sailing so far. I've got the time to do this properly, no rush jobs.
-If I don't get greedy now, I can use these accesses later as a permanent backdoor- always useful- or just sell off the access through Kali for extra dosh, if I don't want to be holding the bag.

He's going with Door Number Two!

Through the grey door, walking down a grey hallway into a drab grey office with another service agent construct waiting dutifully.

”Is there something I can do for you used name undefined?”

If you didn’t know any better, you would think it was the SPU again.  Minimal effort put into making this system.

The shining red armor of the Renraku Samurai v2.35 (Blaster IC - Peer) sitting idle in the corner is a helpful reminder that you have in fact entered the process node.

:: HUD ::
>>>Node: Process (tag: Services Process Control)
>>>System Rating: RED
>>>Alert Status: NONE

:: WARNING: Intrusion-countermeasures detected ::

The IC program is idle, but you’re one misstep away from a fight... how do you play it?

Sucker Punch you have the drop and can get a shot in before the IC is active.

Nothing to see here play it cool, spoof the node and get what you came for.

Venom was just thinking how shockingly sloppy this system was, when he saw the Samurai. Drek.

He got his composure back- this was like a bouncer at a pub- just sat there unless there was trouble, not really patrolling. (Except a pub with an expensive bouncer, you skipped, and a target with good security, you kept.) He took a breath and let it play out.

[ he does two things- play it real cool, get the job done, but also- keep an eye out for anything in the 'room' that looks valuable as a secondary target to grab.

His plan is in this order- spoof the node if possible.

If not, try again.

If that's not possible, take down the security if there's no witnesses.

If it's a fight with reinforcements coming, that's stupid- his plan is then to grab something valid but completely unrelated and make a break for it, to throw suspicion off of what they were actually doing, so a next try is possible
This message was last edited by the player at 20:47, Sat 22 Jan 2022.

Outnumbered and facing a tough fight if this goes poorly, this might be a time you would consider an Edge Boost

Edge Boost a point of Edge may be used before a roll to make the PC boosted.

Boosted there are no specific modifiers for any moves, although when a PC is boosted  they are unable to fail.

This sounds good. Please do.

Sling Code
20:02, Today: Mr. Johnson, on behalf of Venom, rolled 8 using 2d6+1 ((6,1)). boosted
Weak Success

Edge 2/3

:: HUD ::
>>>Node: Process (tag: Services Process Control)
>>>System Rating: RED
>>>Alert Status: NONE

:: WARNING: Intrusion-countermeasures detected ::

You snag access to the process node and begin creating a new profile for yourself, complete with administrator access to the Services SPU.

Ignore Access IC and Take +1 forward in any node attached to the Services SPU but...

The construct looks up and says flatly "That's not permitted here user name undefined

>>>Alert Status: PASSIVE

...and the Samurai remains at rest... for now

[Here's where Venom would probably know something I wouldn't- the "That's not permitted here"- is the operative word 'permitted' (ie, it's just not a function that can be allowed) or 'here' (Ie, I could do it somewhere else?) ]

Nah, just some in character color.  I certainly didn’t meant to hide any meaning there.

But...

Since Venom hadn’t designed the system, it’s hard for him to tell what the programmers meant by the phrase. He had what he came for and can almost hear Kali telling him to shake it off and slip the node before tripping that IC.

Maybe it was something, but even odds it was just lazy programming to cut costs and the construct is simply using a stock phrase to indicate that a user has attempted to make the node do something it isn’t designed to do.

In terms of game mechanics, you got the access privileges you wanted, but it came with a complication because of the weak success (triggered an escalation in alert status).  Hope that all makes sense?

Right then- if I have the right authorizations (I do, right?), I'll have him stick to the plan and go to Door #3.

Back through the SPU and past the ubiquitous service agent construct...

"Is there something I can do for..."

Not waiting to exchange pleasantries, you shoot down the dataline through door #3.

:: HUD ::
>>>Node: Control (tag: Services Control)
>>>System Rating: RED
>>>Alert Status: NONE

:: WARNING: Intrusion-countermeasures detected ::

Another drab grey room, but this one ends at a balcony overlooking a hub that opens onto over fifty catwalks, each leading to a different device node.  Looks like every camera, printer and vending matching in the DMV office out there in the meat world is routed through this node.

"Is there something I can do for you administrative rights user?

Game On!

Time to carry out the plan. This should take some doing, so Venom mentally broke it down into a few smaller steps.

Step Zero would be making sure the coast was clear- no "eyes" on him or what he was about to do. Then....

First, he would s(t)imulate a typical "system pause". (That is, these systems seem to have constant 'time-outs' that amounted to short microcrashes. He just meant to trip one that was going to happen anyway. This would be just seconds in meat-time, but an eternity to him.)

Second, a time bomb. He would first 'drop the updates': A more modern "Ecofont" printing scheme, producing the same results with fewer resources, for one- it would also speed up the printing process just enough to make it worthwhile.

A smoother process for forms. This would, of course, cause just enough of a logjam at the processing end to allow him to introduce the files he was meant to 'drop', and with a little tweak, it would allow authorized user-verified files to shoot through without further challenge (something he wished he could see the desk-operators' reactions to- at least two less 'are you suuuures?' per interaction). This would let his work go through with the hundreds of updated files, without arousing suspicion.

He then gave the credit to a random IT firm contracted to the FreeState... innnnn let's see: Sacramento. (He didn't know them, but he suspected they'd do the opposite of finger pointing when business opened the next day and they got hefty completion bonuses for overdue work. Nobody would look that in the mouth. And any further questions would go to them.)

Finally, he set the whole thing to 'go live', pause and all, on his mark.

When this was set, he contacted Kali and told her "Stand by for justice!". It was a favorite movie line of his- she'd know it meant to be ready. When he gave the word to go, she'd input the "new files" from her end and.... voila.

Now to make the world safe for bureaucracy...

It was a solid plan and with administrative privileges, it would take a major miscalculation for it to fail...

Sling Code
20:32, Today: Mr. Johnson, on behalf of Venom, rolled 3 using 2d6+1 ((1,1)).
Take +1 forward: 4
Snake Eyes, something bad happens!
Take 1XP PocSec updated

...and sometimes you get beaten by bad luck.  Just as Venom was about to exploit that system pause, a security decker (Peer) happened by the control node.

"Well now, what have we here?" said the glittering silver spider baring her fangs.

Combat!
Venom [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] - Hardening 1
Spider [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] - Hardening 1

[As the OOC newb, here, what are my options? Is combat on, and I just have to choose what I'm trying to do, or is there an option to bluff Venom's way out?]

No problem. Decker stuff can be challenging even for experienced players in a table top game.

I see matrix systems kinda like a straight up D&D type dungeon crawl. Every node is a possible trap, treasure or monster encounter. To use the dungeon crawl analogy in this case: you’re basically picking the lock of a treasure chest in an empty storage room when the captain of the guard enters the room looking for a flagon of ale and catches you red handed. It would be tough to talk or bluff your way out of this one (but not impossible).

This is a good chance to work through the combat mechanics too. It’s your Prelude scene, so we’re not playing for keeps yet. A one-on-one fight where you have a friend close by to bail you out if you get in over your head is a good place to take a few practice jabs at a fairly benign target. The original player had a few ideas for programs. You can find them in your PocSec thread. Give them a look and let me know if you want to use one of those or reconsider your toolkit.

Okay then, if I'm reading the PocSec thread right, what I think I want to do is Rock & Roll (it's proverbial Go Time), but for a bit of style, I'm going to start with Hog, to crash a program on the Spider's deck.

If possible, I'd like to crash their ability to "call for help" for a little while (alter the Alert Status, etc).
This message was last edited by the player at 05:32, Tue 25 Jan 2022.

Pulling aside your coat, a little glass piglet jumps from your pocket and charges the spider...

Rock and Roll
23:10, Today: Mr. Johnson, on behalf of Venom, rolled 10 using 2d6+1 ((4,5)).
Strong success

...and, turning into a glazed ham, dives into her gaping jaws. Her laughter, like nails in a chalkboard, quickly subsides “Clever...” she growls, raising up on her pair of hind legs...

with a strong success, you are not exposed to a threat move, so that’s this round of combat resolved (quick and easy, no dice crunch).

The spider is closing for an attack... Combat continues!

Venom [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Spider [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]