[Crunch]

>>>>>[Pull the other one. It's got bells on.]<<<<<

     --Mr. Fabulous (12:41:45/12-08-2075)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[Yeah, that's what I thought. Last thing you remember it was somewhere around November 2, 2064, I'm guessing? Unfortunately, there's no easy way to say this, but your mind has been separated from your body. You're a ghost in the machine now.

And don't laugh, Fabulous. There's still people who were trapped online by the Crash that are 'waking up' inside the Matrix, even a decade after it happened.]<<<<<

--Kusanagi Motoko (13:46:23/08-12-75)

[Chrona]

>>>>>[What? a decade? You can't be serious. I don't. No. No. No.]<<<<<

     --UserAcc173 (19:14:15/12-08-2075)

>>>>>[UserAcc173 has received time out from Host VU93 for excessive use of the Log Out command.]<<<<<

[Maddoux1]

>>>>>[So, I was hoping I wouldn't have to ask, but... what exactly is a ghost in the machine?]<<<<<

     --C.E. (22:43:43/08-12-2075)

[Kylen]

>>>>>[You remember that big crash a couple years back? A lot of people were still jacked in when it happened, and not all were consumed by the worm. Some unlucky (or maybe lucky) buggers wake up still connected, even though their real body died..or if he's a little lucky, his family had the money to keep his meat alive hoping he'd wake up.

They say, in some corners, a lot of 'feral sprites' that 'mancers go on about might be left over from those poor souls, gone insane from the changes and fear.]<<<<<

     -- Card (1:30:03/08-13-2075)

[Maddoux1]

>>>>>[The one back in '64?  Man, I was eleven when that happened.  Drek, that's just a nightmare to think about.  What can be done for them?]<<<<<

     --C.E. (3:38:02/08-13-2075)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[No, ghosts in the machine are not in any way sprites, Card. If you had to classify them, they would be a type of AI. There are many ghosts lingering in the Matrix, and not all of them were created by Jormungand. There are rumors of 'Alice of Wonderland' going back decades, possibly even to the time of Echo Mirage. A ghost in the machine is formed when a person undergoes severe trauma while connected to the matrix. This could be a run-in with Black IC, or a violent or painful death in the 'real' world. Not everyone who dies while jacked in becomes an 'e-ghost', as they are sometimes called, and not every e-ghost's body is dead. No one knows the specifics about it. I've talked to a mage, and he said it was similar to how no one knows exactly how ghosts are formed in the material plane.

As for what can be done for them? Nothing. Best you can do is try to keep them in one place, and give them counselling until they're able to accept their new condition, and learn to live with it. Most, however, don't get that counselling, and many of them show signs of madness, some going so far as to become similar to feral or xenosapient AIs. For those of us who make the Matrix our home, it is a horrible thing to watch. Other than trying to give them counselling, the only thing you can truly do for them is give them peace, finding their 'core', and destroying it. In other words, killing them. Again.

I'm not sure of the specifics, but Alice of Wonderland was an urban legend from the days of the old Matrix. It is said that she had her own digital 'plane' that she could control at her will. From what few accounts I could gather, she was nice enough, except when it came to the Azzie board member, Thomas Roxborough. No clue what that is about, but she appeared to have a major grudge against him. Again, though, this is all hearsay. But AIs and the otaku were hearsay and urban legend once upon a time, too, so I can't count it out entirely.

It is also said that Captain Chaos, the administrator of Shadowland Seattle, is out in the Matrix somewhere as an e-ghost. And there's also Cerberus, the e-ghost of the dragon Eliohan, who is confirmed as working at NeoNET with Celedyr.]<<<<<

--Kusanagi Motoko (05:11:32/08-13-75)

[Maddoux1]

>>>>>[Ok, so that goes far beyond my knowledge and understanding of technology.  Should we... well, I'll ping ya privately.]<<<<<

     --C.E. (4:19:57/08-13-2075)

[Longshot23]

>>>>> [In Renton (big surprise), just south of Four Lakes. The place was apparently a wargaming facility.
Heavily corrupted, huh? So that's what the towers were - digital masks. I thought connections got screwy, couldn't get hacker to check 'cos they were busy.] <<<<<

-- Longshot (04:31:25/08-13-2075)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[Fascinating. And it was run by the Human Nation, you say? I wouldn't be surprised if the 'wargames' were actually a hide-in-plain-sight training ground. Much of the tactics one would use with such games translate directly to the battlefield, which is why armies and police forces around the world have used war games and simulators for over a hundred years to prepare their troops for combat.

It interests me, though, that the Brat'mael were able to get their hands on that information. Wonder if they were led to the site?]<<<<<

--Iceblade (05:57:23/08-13-75)

[Longshot23]

>>>>> [I'd say yes. I have the strongest impression my team was, and also we were sent in because a preferred option wasn't available. All the raids were likely the end results of some long running recon and/or spook ops. Although, with NIJ and NKT there I have to wonder if one of them followed the other. The site skimped on astral security in favour of meat guards and drones. I don't know Speretheiel, so I don't know what the Brat'mael were yelling about - although I think I once caught 'NiFairra' in a yell. Could mean nothing or anything. No recordings, sorry] <<<<<

-- Longshot (09:45:02/08-13-2075)

[Mirikon]

>>>>>[That's a shame. I always have a simrig running when I'm on the job. First, a recording helps in figuring out what the frag happened when things go crazy like your run did. Second, if I come across additional paydata (such as seeing a certain celebrity slipping off with someone for some 'fun') that's free nuyen. Third, it helps me analyze my work, and my team's work afterwards. Learn from any mistakes you made, and take note of anything that went well for future reference, etc. Same reason any sports team watches trid of last week's game.

Of course, when you're done with them, make sure to delete anything incriminating, or move it to a secure offline storage. Don't carry around things that can be used to screw you hoping a hacker won't get past your team's firewalls and start rummaging through your stuff.]<<<<<

--Iceblade (11:11:11/08-13-75)

[Crunch]

>>>>>[Different strokes for different folks I suppose. Most of my family contacts would object in urgent terrms if they spotted a guy wearing a wire. At the very least it would be a breech of etiquette, at the worst a casus beli. Goes to show the importance of knowing your audience I suppose.

Kind of like the guy who brought an emotitoy to a meet with Jenny "The Taxidermist" Milligan. They were scraping pieces off the wall for weeks.]<<<<<

--Mr. Fabulous (10:19:34/08-13-75)

[Longshot23]

>>>>> [Well, I'll just have to mark it down under 'lessons learned'. But the chances of stumbling across something possibly comparable would be pretty thin. Also, wireless functionality seemed to be barely there, on site.] <<<<<

-- Longshot (10:36:37/08-13-2075)

[DWC]

>>>>>[Spotted a guy wearing a wire?  You do know that 1975 was a hundred years ago, right?]<<<<<

--Vice (11:49:11/08-13-75)