Neuromancer
Chiba City. Not my idea for a great vacation spot, but a gold mine
for hackers like me... and I needed the money. Actually, this place was
once a great hangout for Cyberspace cowboys, now Chiba is falling apart.
The days of the great cowboy raids are over; it just got too dangerous out
there in the Matrix, the giant, electronic web of information. I'm still
not sure how it happened, but all of a sudden, cowboys started dropping out
of action faster than mice at a cat convention. Sure, you can always have
your dead brain kick-started by some stranger who'll charge you literally an
arm and a leg for your resurrection; assuming, of course, they find you.
But hell, after one of two flatlining experiences any sane man'd quit...
but I needed the money.
I'm Dixie, Dixie Flatline. I'm leavin' my story behind here, hopin'
come cowboy finds it and can make use of it if I die. I'm going in to face
the toughest combat of my life, but I better start at the beginning.
I wandered into Chiba with no cash and half the population after me
for credits I owed. I stopped off at a bar called the Chatsubo, owned by
this guy named Ratz who had a sarcastic remark for everything. I ordered
the spaghetti dinner which tasted like raw rattlesnake and smelled worse.
I was about to leave when, in a not-so-polite way, Ratz expected me to pay
for it. Luckily, the Chatsubo had a PAX machine on the wall. So I quickly
logged on and read through all the messages. There were several pages of
them. One message from Matt Shaw listed link codes for databases such as
cheapo, for the Cheap Hotel, regfellow, for the Regular Fellows, and
asanocomp, for Asano's.
I noticed a message from some guy named General Armitage who was
willing to pay me if I answered his ad with my ID Number. I don't
generally like giving out my ID Number to strangers, but I was broke and
really didn't want to trade in my intestines just yet -- besides after
Ratz's pasta, I don't think they were worth anything. This guy seemed a
little flaky but honest and he mentioned cowboys and cyberspace, so I sent
him back a message. As I went to my bank account to get Ratz's 46 credits,
much to my surprise was ten grand sittin' there from my new best friend,
General Armitage. General A wanted me to meet him at the Matrix Restaurant
but I wasn't sure, at the time, where that was. He probably wanted to buy
me dinnfer to celebrate my answerin' the ad. Ratz was naggin' me about his
dough so I tossed him the cash.
"Thanks, friend artiste," replied Ratz. "Shin came by but he didn't
want to interrupt your beauty sleep. He still has your deck."
I hated that sarcastic tone in his voice but I appreciated the
message. I really needed a deck. Our idle chit chat was interrupted by
some guys form the Health Department who came in and closed down the
Chatsubo and consequently saved hundreds from food poisoning.
I had some money now but I needed more, lots more. Now I ain't the
greedy type but I can tell you Chiba is an expensive place to hang out. So
I got to thinkin' -- where does someone go for money? A bank, right? So I
decided my next step was to find me a banking database to satisfy my
financial situation.
I passed by the Body Parts store -- no need to stop in there... I was
very proud to have all of my body parts -- and a donut shop, where a fleet
of cop cars were parked out front. Not that the cops were after me, but I
decided not to stop in because after the spaghetti, I was a little leery of
food. I kept cruisin', passing by Microsofts, a software store run by some
wimp named Larry Moe. He was the kind of guy, when younger, was the last
one to get picked for teams in dodge ball and the first one out. I stopped
in at his store to warm up a little bit. A cold wind had been blowing
through Chiba that day and I was numb to the bone.
"I'll warm you up with a flamethrower if you don't get out of here,
pal," he snapped when I told him why I had stopped in. He was sold out of
all his software anyway, so I quietly stepped back out. "Better not to
cause a scene," I thought to myself. Anyway I walked on and noticed a
massage parlor on the corner of the street (I made a note to myself to stop
in there later).
I found Shin's pawn shop on the next corner and stopped in to pick up
my deck. Shin's an interesting fellow; not the type I'd invite to an
afternoon garden party, but he seemed to know how to get a hold of some
hardware that ain't all that readily available. I knew I'd be needing a
deck to get into databases even though I couldn't afford a cyberdeck. I
picked up my Yamamitsu UXB equipped with comlink 1.0 which would do me fine
for right now, but I knew it took comlink 6.0 to reach cyberspace. I
checked out Shin's inventory, but really didn't see anything. When I was
leavin', Shin mumbled something to me in Sprawl then locked the door. I'm
not all that bilingual, but I can tell you he was glad my deck was out of
his shop. I wasn't too offended, mainly because I didn't understand it.
So I blew it off and set out in search of any link codes, passwords or info
I could get my hands on. I've included a map in here of downtown Chiba, at
least the places I came across, that might help.
My next stop was at the House of Pong. It's been a while since I had
been in Chiba and things had changed. I walked in expecting to go a couple
of rounds of table tennis and instead, met a crazed monk named Nolan who
wanted to know if I had seen the Holy Joystick.
"The Holy what?!!" I laughed.
Nolan got this solemn look on his face and started rhapsodizin' about
a long road for students on the quest for the Holy Joystick.
"Holy Joystick! Now I have heard everythin. What kind of a place is
this?" I don't know exactly what I said, but he was offended and kicked me
out mumbling something more about my being unworthy of the quest.
I went down to the end of the street to Crazy Edo's. Edo fancies
himself a patrician of hi-tech and loves to eat smelly fish eggs. He told
me his prices were low and he could beat the prices of the other major
hardware store in town, Asano's. I told him I was just browsing and checked
out his stock. But before I left, he mentioned he could get me comlink 2.0
if I brought him some caviar. It sounded like a good trade to me and I
went off in search of caviar.
I started makin' notes to myself at this point (like Edo - caviar and
Nolan - joystick) because you never know how much you're gonna have to
remember. I wandered up to the Matrix restaurant and I wasn't even to the
door when I got picked up by a lawbot for associatin' with that general on
the PAX, Armitage. They said they'd arrested him and now they had me. So
much for democracy and presumed innocent until proven guilty. I have no
idea what Armitage had done, but I should have known that you don't just
get ten grand for nothin'. They sent me to a justice booth. Those lawyers
there wanted to charge 250 credits to defend me. I don't think it would
have done any good -- I was still fined 500 credits... but it seemed like a
small price to pay for the ten thousand I had already gotten.
I paid my fine (which by the way, is irrevocable) and I kept an eye,
rather my nose out for caviar. Suddenly I remembered -- it struck me like
a thunderbolt -- the massage parlor! Maybe they serve caviar to their
customers. But the minutes I walked in I got that feeling that this was
the kind of place someone could get into a lot of trouble. I was there
just long enough to find out they didn't have caviar, but they did have the
link code for the Panther Moderns, chaos and the password mainline, and the
lawbots which heavily patrolled the place.
I listened to the compujudge's lecture about being a model citizen,
then headed back to the parlor for... (well, let's just say some
entertainment of the physical kind) and maybe some more link codes and
passwords. I met Akiko again. She told me another link code, bozobank for
the Bank of Zurich Orbital, but then that darn lawbot showed up. As you
could guess by now, this gettin' arrested stuff was a little more than I
could take, although lookin' back on everything I kinda laugh.
When I was young, I was a well-behaved kid, never got into trouble --
I tried, but never really got into serious trouble. And the other night
when I was talkin' to my Ma, and told her about gettin' arrested, she said
with a little disappointment, "Are ya happy now, son? Ya got yerself a
record."
I decided the message parlor was not worth the hassle anymore although
I wondered how that place ever made any money with the people always
gettin' dragged downtown.
I walked down the street to get as far away as I could from the
parlor. The street came to a dead end at the spaceport just ahead. On one
side of the street was the Maas Biolabs, but the doors were locked. I
looked around, there was no way to get in. It had been awhile since I had
been in Chiba but this part of town looked familiar. Then I remembered. I
turned and walked across the street to the warehouse, with a smile as big
as Texas across my face. I went through the doors, down the hall and
knocked on another door.
"Enter," said the elderly voice.
I opened the door; an old man was sittin' behind a big desk, cluttered
with junk. He was pointing a gun at me.
"Julius Deane," I said, "put that thing away before you hurt yourself.
Seems you haven't changed much. You know just enough to make you paranoid,
huh?"
Ole Julie lay down his pistol, and grinned his pink grin. "Dixie,
what are you doing in town?" His grin changed to a devilish laugh. "What
do you want, cowboy?"
"Me? Want somethin'? How about a joystick or some caviar?" Julias
shook his head no but offered to upgrade my cryptology chip, if I had one.
"No such luck, Julie," I said. "Maybe another day. I'll be seeing you
around." And with that, I left.
I couldn't make up my mind if today was a good or bad one. I stopped
off in the Gentleman Loser for a drink. Then I'd decide. This bar wasn't
all that crowded -- I found a seat right off -- but didn't need it 'cause
there was a PAX machine on the wall and I wanted to check out any new
messages on the bulletin board.
One said that a woman named Shiva at the Gentleman Loser had a guest
pass for the Matrix Restaurant. I found her sitting at a booth in the
corner.
"Hey, geek!" she yelled. "C'mere! I got somethin' for ya!"
"Whatever it is, I hope it's not contagious," I cleverly responded.
"Anonymous was here earlier. If you're a friend of his, you know what
I've got for you."
One of the messages for me on the PAX was from Anonymous Bosch. It
said that he'd borrowed a cryptology skill chip from me and that I could
pick it up at the Gentleman Loser. Frankly, I don't ever remember owning a
crypt chip, but why complain? Shiva gave me the chip and when I asked her
about the Matrix guest pass, she gave me that, too. Glancing around the
room, I also noticed that some of the booths came equipped with cyberjacks,
my way into databases and eventually cyberspace.
Right now I'd say, yup, this had been a good day. Feelin' lucky I
decided to chat with Shiva. I pulled one of those lines they used back in
the olden days. "Hey, baby, let's get outta here and go back to my place."
She smacked me good with a right hook. After everybody stopped starin' at
me, I went to the bar and ordered another drink. Nope, this hadn't been
that great a day after all. But in Chiba City, it never is.
I finished my drink and headed for Julius Deane's place. After being
publicly humiliated I might as well upgrade my cryptology chip. Julie
charged me 5000 credits for his efforts and it was only up to level three.
I went back to the Gentleman Loser armed with my deck, comlink 1.0 and an
upgraded cryptology. I made my way through the crowd, and watched some
poor sailor go flyin' over a table from Shiva's right jab as I went to the
back wall to a cyberjack.
When I jacked in, it prompted me for a link code. I tried bozobank,
then chaos. Both times it flashed incompatible link (I hate when that
happens). Then I tried cheapo. It worked! I was in the database and the
intro message said the first level password was guest. Perusing the main
menu I decided to order some room service then take a look at my bill. I
almost fell out of my booth -- Cheap Hotel had caviar! I quickly paid my
bill (they wouldn't let me order until I had paid up) and ordered some
caviar.
By this time I was back to feelin' like it had been a good day after
all. I went down to the Cheap Hotel, got my caviar then went to see Crazy
Edo at his Used Hardware Emporium. He was so excited about the fish eggs
and I was even happier about gettin' rid of them. He installed comlink 2.0
in my deck then raced to the back room for some cream cheese and crackers.
I was tired and should have gone to sleep but I wanted to check out
comlink 2.0 at the GL. I tried bozobank, no luck. But this time chaos
worked like a charm and using the password mainline I was in to the
Panther Moderns database.
There were several things there and my gut instinct was to write 'em
down. First, fungeki was a password at Hosaka. Another said Larry moe had
a coptalk skill for sale. Modern Bob heard I was in town and to welcome me
back he said he would give me some link codes. So I wrote back to him,
"Hey, Bobby boy! What is the link code for the SEA?" His returned message
explained that the code for the Software Enforcement Agency was soften.
I exited the message board and looked at the software library. Only
one program interested me there, comlink 3.0. I quickly downloaded it and
left the Panther Moderns database. It cost money to link into databases so
I tried to spend as little time as possible in each one. I tried soften
with comlink 3.0 and I got the opening title page for the Software
Enforcement Agency. But, without the password, I couldn't get in.
So, as much as I dreaded seein' that little weasel again, I went to
get the coptalk from Larry Moe. After arguin' and threatenin' to beat his
pea brain to scrap metal, Larry sold the skill to me for 100 credits.
Thinking that the Panther Moderns might be able to help me, I decided to
ask Larry about them, using a bribe for incentive.
"I'll pay you 100 credits for a meeting with them," I offered. He
took my money and examined it to make sure it was real.
"What a rube! You really think I'm going to let you just walk in
there?" He laughed arrogantly. "But thanks for the donation, man!"
I wanted to throttle his puny neck on the spot, but noticed a security
cam on the wall. I'd been arrested enough times already and decided to
leave, vowing to get back at him some way, some other time.
I went outside, implanted my chip. I have decided it doesn't matter
what hour of the day it is, there's always a cop at Donut World. I cruised
over there to test my coptalk skill. If I could fool those dough-eatin'
boys-in-blue, I could fool anybody. I sat down next to one SEA officer and
started askin' him questions like we were old buddies.
"Finnegan, old pal!" he answered. "I didn't recognize you." I knew I
had him fooled. If only my coptalk skill wouldn't face away, I could learn
a lot.
"The coded Fuji password is aburakkoi," he was saying, "they haven't
changed it in years."
He also told me the link code for the Tactical Police was keisatsu and
the coded password for the SEA was smeegldipo. I used my cryptology skill
and discovered that smeegldipo decoded to permafrost.
Things were goin' pretty good now and cyberspace was just beyond the
horizon for me; at the end of the rainbow, that's where I'd find my pot o'
gold. At the Loser cyberjack I had no problems gettin' into the SEA
Database with soften and permafrost. I was able to upgrade my coptalk
skill to level two here, and found comlink 4.0 in their software library as
well as some weird program called sequencer 1.0. I downloaded and jacked
out.
Unable to log onto any databases with the link codes I'd rounded up so
far, I decided to snoop around Chiba for more information.
My Irish accent was pretty good now so I went to see my friend at
Donut World to relieve him of any more vital information. He flapped his
gums about snorskee, the encode password for the Tactical Police. He also
told me that Shiva had been questioned at the Gentleman Loser about the
Loser Database. I really didn't what to talk to Shiva again after I crashed
and burned on the first try, but I got that gut feelin' again and figured
the Loser database was important.
I used my cryptology skill and did some quick decoding. Snorskee
turned out to be supertac while aburakkoi became uchikatsu. Frankly, I
wondered why they even bothered to encode that last one.
I then found Shiva, she was sittin' by herself. Not surprisin', eh?
I just up front asked her, standing in a ready-to-duck position, what she
knew about the Loser database. She told me that loser was the link code
and wilson was the word. At first I thought she was calling me a wilson so
I took a few steps back and rattled off a few choice insults.
"You truly are a wilson, aren't you?" she said, walking away. It was
only then that I realized she was giving me the first level password to the
Loser database, wilson.
I was humiliated, twice in the same night, in the same bar, by the same
woman. I sauntered back to my booth and logged into the Loser database.
Most messages were worthless, but one had the link code for the Eastern
Seaboard Fission Authority, eastseabod. I also found the link code for
another bank, Bank Gemeinschaft, which was bankgemein. Once again, I tried
bozobank and also bankgemein, but neither worked. My only choice was to
log onto eastseabod but realized that I had no password. Then I remembered
sequencer 1.0. At the opening screen of Eastern Seaboard, I used sequencer
and it found the password, longisland. There were two messages: one which
revealed that loser was a password for the Loser database as well as the
link code (pretty tricky, eh?), and one which said that Finn at Metro
Holografix had a joystick. The software library had comlink 5.0 which I
quickly added to my software collection. I had to erase several lower
level comlinks; they were of no use to me now.
Again, I logged onto the Loser database, but this time with the second
level password, loser. It gave me access to a new bulletin board which
told me to ask somebody named Lupus about banks and that einhoven was an
encoded password for Bank Gemeinschaft.
With comlink 5.0 I could get in bankgemein with the decoded password
verboten. However, I still needed a bank account number from which to
transfer funds. I thought I had used all link codes. As a last resort I
flipped through my notes and found two database link codes I had seen a
long time ago on the PAX, regfellow and asanocomp.
With these clues and my skill, I found three more link codes,
hosakacorp for Hosaka, musaborind for Musabori, and fuji for Fuji. That
last one made me feel stupid for hacking it in at the link code request.
I logged onto Fuji using uchikatsu, and discovered that Larry Moe was
working for them. I wrote down his ID number, 062788138, thinking it might
come in handy.
I didn't find anything at Musabori, so I went into the Hosaka Database
using fungeki. there I learned that Hosaka was in fierce competition with
some company named Tozoku, also known as Yakuza, a Japanese criminal
organization. I added my name to their list of new employees; if I
couldn't download money I'd settle for picking up a paycheck.
Not wanting to miss out on the obvious link codes again, as I had with
Fuji, I hacked some link codes in unsuccessfully until I tried yakuza which
I had seen in the Hosaka database. An opening screen came up and I used
sequencer to find the password, yak. Eureka! These I found comlink 6.0
and I knew I was not far from cyberspace.
A note in the Hosaka database had mentioned that they needed comlink
6.0, so I linked back on using hosakacorp and uploaded comlink 6.0. They
were so happy, they game me 7500 credits for it. I think I was even more
happy. Out of curiosity, I logged into the Tactical Police database,
keisatsu, and discovered warrants out for the arrest of several Chiba city
residents. Because I had level two access with supertac, I also had the
power to edit these warrants. This was my chance to get revenge on Larry
Moe, so I decided, "What the hell?" and put his name on their list.
With comlink 6.0, I was finally able to get into bozobank using
sequencer once again. I couldn't figure out a way to download any funds
so, on the advice from the streets, I set up a Swiss bank account. The
account number is 712345450134.
I went back into Bankgemein and tried to transfer funds again, but I
still don't know an account number at the bank. I tried 71234340134, but
of course that was my Bank of Zurich account number, not Bank Gemeinschaft,
and once again I was unable to download credits from a bank.
I left the Gentleman Loser disappointed and wandered around Chiba
City. I found myself in front of Larry's Microsofts and decided to step in
to see what had happened to my old "friend." To my surprise, the Tactical
Police had done their job and arrested Larry Moe, because he was nowhere to
be seen, and the door behind his counter to the Panther Modern's meeting
room was open.
I stepped around the counter and into the meeting room. A funny
looking dweeb introduced himself as Lupus Yonderboy. "Matt Shaw says
you're all right," he sneered. "So talk. What do you want to know?"
I asked him if he had any skill chips and he told me that he'd sell me
an evasion chip for 2000 credits. That seemed a bit steep to me, but he
told me it was necessary for survival in cyberspace, so I bought it. I
asked him about several locations in Chiba City, but the only one he could
help me with the Sense/Net. he told me he could sell me a security pass
for the that building for 4000 credits. I couldn't afford that, and
besides, I didn't really need to get in there. On my way out, I remembered
a message about Lupus knowing about banks. When I asked him this final
questions, he said, "I've been siphoning from account number 646328356481
for years."
It was getting kind of late and I decided to go to the Cheap Hotel,
where I got my room. My "room" was really just a place to sleep and
resembled a coffin. However, it was equipped with a cyberjack, and
although I had wanted to wait until morning to log onto the Bank
Gemeinschaft database, I found myself too excited to sleep. So I jacked in
and entered bankgemein once again. This time when I tried to transfer
funds, I had an account number, 646328356481. It had 30,000 credits in it
all of which I transferred to my bozobank account number 712345450134. Now
I had the money for a cyberdeck. I slept well that night.
The next morning I went to Asano's to buy a cyberdeck. I couldn't
afford the top-of-the-line Ono-Sendai Cyberspace V11, but I could afford
the Samurai Seven. Asano told me to try Metro Holografix for software, so
I decided to go see Finn.
Finn, whose head really does look like it was designed in a wind
tunnel, sold me a good icebreaking ware called Drill 1.0. When I asked him
about skills, he told me he'd sell me ICEbreaking and Debug. Both sounded
important to me for cyberspace, so I purchased both of them. Remembering
that Finn also had joysticks, I asked him for one so I could help those poor
Pong Monks. He sold me one for just twenty credits.
The Pong Monks were very excited about the joystick I gave them, and to
show their appreciation they gave me two new skill chips, Zen and
Sophistry. I wanted to ask them what the skills did, but they ignored me;
they were too excited playing pong with their new joystick. Worshipping a
computer game seemed like a ridiculous thing to me, but who was I to
criticize others. At least they had a direction, a purpose to their lives.
I felt pretty good about entering cyberspace now, but I thought I
might need a few more skills. Remembering Julius Deane, the man who seems
to know all, I went back to him and asked about skill chips. For 1000
credits each, he sold me Psychoanalysis, Phenomenology, and Philosophy. I
had heard rumors that artificially intelligent programs (AIs) existed in
cyberspace and could be dangerous. My gut feelin' told me they might be
useful in combats with AIs.
With my guest pass for the Matrix Restaurant, I stopped by for some
food. As a youngster my mother had often warned, "Never go into cyberspace
on an empty stomach."
At my table I overheard a conversation between a guy named King Osric
and another named Emperor Norton. They were talking about battling ICD in
cyberspace and such when they caught me eavesdropping. I asked them if
they had any skill chips they wanted to sell me.
"Have I got chips!" he said. "I've got Logic, Software Analysis, and
Musicianship. For you, a bargain. $2,000 each!"
"Get serious," I said, "I could get those off street for a lot less
than that." I started to turn, pretending I was leaving.
King Osric jumped up from his table and grabbed my arm. "Wait. Sit.
Sit. You look like you could be a good customer. For you, a discount. At
$1000 each."
I nodded in agreement. "Okay, I'll take Logic and Musicianship. And
I want some upgrades. At a discount." Osric hesitated, then gestured "why
not?" As I was leaving I heard Osric tell Norton, 'Why is he a cowboy? He
could've been a lawyer. His mother would've been proud."
Satisfied now that I had the right skill, warez, and deck to enter
cyberspace, I set out for the Cheap Hotel to jack into cyberspace. As I
jacked my deck in at the Cheap Hotel using comlink 6.0, I could feel my
surroundings slowly fading away. Thoughts started drifting into my mind,
lights flashing, geometric forms taking shape, and slowly, a matrix
descending down over the top of it all. It's a feeling I can't explain, a
sight without words to describe it. When you experience the hallucinogenic
effects of cyberspace yourself, you'll know what I mean. Without know why,
I knew I was on a grid, a grid with coordinates.
As I drifted around the matrix, I felt edges where I could go no
further. It seems cyberspace was divided into zones and you couldn't
travel from one to the next. I tried at several places but the barrier was
just too strong. So I relaxed my mind and went back to the geometric shape
that was closest to me when I first jacked in. Cautiously I entered into
it and saw that it was protected by a layer of ICE circling at its base.
The hum of the ICE made my nerves rattle at the ominous sight of the
glittering base.
Painstakingly, I examined the electric blue ICE, searching for signs
of weakness. Now was the time to use my ICEbreaking skill and any
ICEbreaking warez I had. I sent Drill 1.0 in, but soon countered sending
out attacks on my deck. Fortunately, my shielding was pretty good and I
could absorb several attacks. I kept sending Drill 1.0 in eventually the
ICE cracked.
I drifted through the crack and found myself in the Cheap Hotel
database. I was given the highest level access possible and could edit my
bill from here without paying anything. I had already paid my bill, so I
exited the database. It was costing me money to be in cyberspace and I
watched my credits slowly drain away, but I had enough to spend quite a
long time in cyberspace. I was still looking for cash, though, enough so
that money would no longer be a concern to me for the rest of my days. It
might have been wishful thinking, but I'd come this far and things were
looking good.
Throughout my travels in cyberspace, I mapped the locations of all the
databases, their coordinates and zones, I've included my map of cyberspace
in this document as well as their coordinate locations. I traveled to
every database and you may wish to do the same, but I'm leaving notes here
only on the ones of interest so you can skip over the worthless ones.
In the first zone (I'll call it Zone 0), one database to go to is the
Panther Moderns. There I found blowtorch 3.0, decoder 2.0, and a virus
called thunder head 1.0. A virus is a one shot deal so I downloaded
several of them.
Two AIs turned up in this zone as well. The first was named Chrome at
the Psycho database at coordinates 96,32. It was my first AI and I had no
idea what to do. Through the crack in the ICE, a huge holographics face
appeared. It spoke to me a psychiatrist to a patient, and slowly I felt it
draining my constitution. At first, I tried some warez on him but quickly
realized they were worthless. So I turned to my skills. I tried Logic and
a few others without effect until I tried Psychoanalysis. It came back and
told me Chrome's weakness was Philosophy so I hit him with that a few time
and he yelled "Psychopath!" at me.
I still didn't seem to be hurting him too much though. I was pretty
close to being flatlined when I tried Zen which fully restored my
constitution. I soon realized that Logic, Philosophy, Phenomenology, and
Sophistry and the four AI skills which do damage to the AI after being hit
by its weakness. I had to use Zen again, but was soon able to defeat
Chrome by rotating my skills again him. He told me that I would die like a
worm with his lasts words, but he was the one out of commission now, not
me. After the combat, I noticed my four AI skills had gone up to level
two.
The other AI was Morphy at the World Chess database at 160,80. He
didn't seem too much of a problem after I discovered that Logic was his
weakness but I don't think I woulda been able to get past him without
raising my AI skills to level two. I guess I was just lucky to have bumped
in to Chrome first. Morphy was storing away a program called Battle Chess
4.0. I didn't know what it did, but I downloaded it anyway. I figured it
might be useful later on. Some of my warez had been bugged in my AI
combats, so I jacked out of cyberspace to debug them. besides, I had been
to every database in Zone 0 and I was ready to move on to the only other
jack I knew of, the Gentleman Loser's Zone. I left my room at the Cheap
Hotel and went to my favorite booth at the Loser. The lights around me
faded, and I felt the rush of cyberspace coming on. I was now in Zone 1
and I went to the Loser database first since it was right in front of me.
It seems like you always arrive in front of the database where you jack in.
The Loser ICE was a little more difficult to crack. Inside I found another
virus called injector 1.0 and a program called slow 1.0 which literally
slows down the ICE attacks.
Two AIs were here. The easier one was Sapphire at Citizens for a
Freematrix. it seems that Freematrix was a trap to catch unsuspecting
cowboys who downloaded its software, all of which was no good. Sapphire's
weakness was Sophistry and the Freematrix base exists at 352,112.
The other AI is Hal at 448,32 in the NASA database. I discovered his
weakness was Logic and I easily destroyed him. He was even packin' away
some good warez. Python 2.0 turned out to be another virus while blowtorch
4.0 and decoder 4.0 were more powerful ICEbreakers. There wasn't much else
in this zone so I jacked out with my new warez and debugged my damaged
ones. I got rid of some of my lesser warez (such as decoder 2.0) so that
my deck would have plenty of room for new ones.
I'm now digressing from my story a bit to talk about ICEbreaking
strategies and the AIs.
When I first enter a new database I sometimes use a probe to determine
ICE strength and the such. However, this wastes time and I usually exit
from the combat immediately afterwards to avoid counterattacks. When I'm
ready to fight, my first course of action is to activate my ICEbreaking
skill, then send in slow. I'll then send in a virus followed by my
ICEbreaking warez. If my virus runs out, I'll send in a different one. As
with combatting AIs, it's generally a good idea to use several warez rather
than just one. Each time you use one it seems to lessen its effect. For
example, blowtorch 3.0 seems to behave like blowtorch 2.0 the next time.
You may find better way and warez for combatting ICE; this is just the way
I operate.
There also seems to be a ranking of warez as follows:
level one: blowtorch, decoder, hammer
level two: drill, doorstop
level three: depthcharge, logic bomb, concrete
So, using this chart, drill 2.0 (2.0 x lvl 2 = 4) has the same impact
as hammer 4.0 (4.0 x lvl 1 = 4). Obviously, a program such as depthcharge
8.0 carries a lot of punch.
For the AI message buffers contained in databases with AIs, I have
gathered that the AIs do communicate with each other and have plotted to
take control of the Matrix. The two most powerful AIs, Neuromancer and
Greystoke, are competing to be the controlling AI. Each is trying to sway
the weaker AIs to ally with it. I see this as a positive thing because
united, the AIs would be quite formidable, but divided, they could be
played against each other and destroyed.
With my ICEbreaking skill up to two and my AI skills up to five, I
felt I was doing well. I was running a little low on funds, though, and
decided to go to Hosaka to pick up my pay check. It turned out that the
check was for ten thousand credits, an amount which would go a long way in
cyberspace. But more importantly, a cyberjack awaited for me on one wall.
I jacked my deck in and faded into Zone 2. There were four bases
here, but only two are worth mentioning. The Hosaka database had hammer
4.0, concrete 1.0, injector 2.0, and slow 2.0. I downloaded all of them
and erased slow 1.0 and injector 1.0 since I had no use for them anymore.
At the Musabori database, it was easy to break through the ICE, but
there was an AI in there who turned out to be Greystoke. I could find no
weakness in him and was rapidly being flatlined, so I had to use my
Evasion skill to get the hell out of there. It was pretty close and I was
almost flatlined, so I jacked out of cyberspace to rebuild my constitution
and debug my warez.
Unable to find any more cyberjacks in Chiba City, I went to the space
port and took the first flight to Zion Cluster. The flight was very short.
In fact, the stewardess talked throughout the entire flight.
On Zion was some guy who spoke some strange dialect that was hard to
understand. As he babbled on about demos and banks I began to think he'd
blown a few too many brain cells.
I interrupted him. "So what do you know about banks?" He looked at
me, blinked, then gestured for me to continue. "In particular?
Gemeinschaft."
He told me that the vault code was BG1-66. there was a lot of dub
music being played by the Rastafarian populace around and, felling
gratitude to the old man for helping me, I decided to try my musicianship
skill and play some dub. I must have done OK because he said he liked my
music and sent me on a shuttle called the Marcus Garvey to Freeside with
another guy named Maelcum. He wasn't a very talkative fellow, which was
good. I didn't want to hear what he thought about demons and evil spirits.
Freeside was the home of several banks. The first one I came to was
the Bank of Berne. A rude secretary was ready to throw me out until I told
her that I wanted to open an account there. She didn't believe that I had
the money, but she left to get the proper forms for me to fill out anyway.
She was gone an awfully long time, and I noticed that the door to the
manager's office was slightly ajar. So I went in and found it deserted.
However, there was a cyberjack on one wall.
I jacked in and found myself in Zone 3 in front of the Bank of Berne.
Altogether there were five databases here, and all were important. Below
is my suggested order for visiting them:
1) Free Sex Union at 288,208. There's an AI named Xaviera in there
whose weakness was Phenomenology but not much else. You'll need to take
her out first, though, to build up your AI skills.
2) Turing Registry at 432,240, allows you to upgrade your AI skills
and Psychoanalysis.
3) D.A.R.P.O. at 336, 240, has thunderhead 3.0, injector 3.0,
concrete 2.0, and drill 3.0.
4) Screaming Fist at 464,160, has slow 3.0, depthcharge 3.0, python
3.0, a strange program called KGB 1.0, and armorall 1.0 which lets you
build back your deck's shield to full strength when it's low or gone. You
get as many uses of armorall as its version number, i.e. 2.0 gets 2 uses.
5) Bank of Berne at 336,160, contains another AI named Gold whose
weakness was Philosophy. This bank database contained a way to transfer
funds. Fortunately, one message in the base revealed an account number,
121519831200, and the new authorization code, LYMA1211MARZ. I was amazed
and overjoyed to find 500,000 credits in the account which I transferred
into my bozobank account number 712345450134.
After exiting from cyberspace, I debugged my softwarez once again and
logged into bozobank to download my 500,000 credits. I left some in the
bank just in case I got flatlined so that Chin wouldn't get it all. I
finally had all the wealth I could possibly need. Money would no longer be
a concern for me.
I was ready to leave Chiba once and for all and start living the good
live, when I thought about the AIs and how they were trying to control the
Matrix. I had a chance to do some good here, some real good. And I had
accumulated quite a bit of power as well as wealth. I might be the last
hope for cyberspace, and I couldn't let it go. I would try to destroy the
scheming AIs and keep cyberspace safe for cowboys.
Now that I had the cash, I could afford the security pass for
Sense/Net that Lupus was selling in the Panther Modern's meeting room. The
four thousand credits he charged no longer had any meaning to me. I went
to Sense/Net and jacked into cyberspace before the security robot could kick
me out. I arrived in Zone 4 in front of the Sense/Net database and went
in. There I found the numbers of several ROM constructs that could be
checked out at Sense/Net. I got the number for ROMBO, 5521426, and left
the database.
The only other database in the zone was Gridpoint, a cowboy hangout,
which contained thunderhead 3.0, hammer 5.0, armorall 2.0, and a program
which would temporarily stun the ICE called jammies 3.0. At lower levels,
jammies didn't work too effectively, but 3.0 could be used to get in a few
free shots before the ICE attacked. I left cyberspace and gave the
security pass to the security monitor in Sense/Net. It gave me access to
the ROM construct library, and I checked out ROMBO with the number I had
learned in the Sense/Net database. I plugged my ROM construct into my
Samurai Seven and went back to freeside.
The other main bank on Freeside was Bank Gemeinschaft. There was a
warning on the outside saying that intruders into the vault would be
terminated. I laughed to myself at the warning knowing that I had the
vault code, BG1066. There wasn't anything else in the vault but a cyberjack,
so I logged in.
I arrived in Zone 5, which contained five databases. Two of the bases
were banks, Bank Gemeinschaft and Bank of Zurich Orbital, and I had been to
the highest levels in both of those, so there was no reason to go to either
of them. Bell Europa, another database, didn't contain much of value and
could easily have been skipped. The most useful were Nihilist at 416,368
and I.N.S.A. and 448,320. Both contained valuable warez that were
necessary for my survival in future combats. Python 5.0 turned out to be
as potent a virus as I was to find the rest of the way, and I downloaded
several of them. Slow 4.0 proved to be important as well, and with
armorall 3.0 I could restore my deck's shields to full power three times.
Satisfied that I had accomplished all that I could in this zone, I exited
cyberspace and left the Gemeinschaft vault.
I had now been everywhere in Chiba City and Zion and everywhere on
Freeside except the Villa Straylight. So I went there hoping to find a
cyberjack and a way to destroy the AIs. Little did I know that from here
on out, every database that remained contained an AI.
The Villa Straylight was a usual which contained a pedestal in the
middle of the room. On the pedestal was a bust with ruby eyes which spoke
to me. "In this room lies death, my friend. This is the road to the land
of the dead. Marie France, my lady, prepared this road, but her lord
choked her off...."
I tried to ignore it, but it wasn't easy to avoid its deathly stare.
The base of the pedestal contained a cyberjack. I felt myself being of
energy as I remained in that room with the bust and knew that if I didn't
get out soon, I would fall unconscious. So much was goin' on in my head
and the voice kept getting louder. "Stay and become a ghost, a thing of
shadow in the land of the dead. Keep me company. Become a sphere of..."
I jacked into cyberspace and felt the rush of pure stat entering my
mind as I drifted into an alternate state of consciousness. I found myself
in Zone 7. Somehow, I had managed to skip Zone 6. Knowing that I was not
yet prepared for the final zone, I searched for a way out of Zone 7.
Unable to find any breaks in the invisible barrier, I activated my ROM
construct, ROMBO, who turned out to be no help at all. I had been to all
the locations around and there were no more cyberjacks. He just verified
there were no ways out of Zone 7. I had him analyze my software, but most
of them I already knew. However, neither of us knew what Battle Chess 4.0
and KGB 1.0 were for. ROMBO proved to be quite worthless and I'd suggest
you check out another ROM construct if you have the chance. Hell, if I
don't survive, you might even find me in there. Attempting to find a way
into Zone 6, I tried Battle Chess... nothing happened! Then I tried KGB
1.0. I started moving through cyberspace. I had no control over where I
was going, and I soon passed on right through the barrier around Zone 7.
The program took me into Zone 6 and sent me straight toward a
database. I had no idea what I was getting into, but I felt ready for the
challenge. It turned out to be the KGB database (makes sense) guarded by
an AI named Lucifer. The warez in this database were incredible, and I
felt certain that with these warez, I could crack any database. It
contained slow 5.0, armorall 4.0, and depthcharge 8.0 just to named a few.
The only other database in Zone 6 was that of Maas Biolabs. It was
guarded by an AI named Sangfroid whose weakness was Phenomenology. There
were no warez inside the base, but there was a way to unlock the front door
and turn off the alarm at Maas. Since I had never been inside Maas
Biolabs, I thought I might get in now, but I was anxious to finish the task
at hand, and so I left Maas behind. Besides Lupus had said that Maas is
protected by a poisonous gas, and to survive in there, you need to buy a
gas mask from Julius Deane, by asking him about hardware. From the
reports, it seems you would have access to cybereyes, the equivalent of a
deck but with a little more RAM. I personally was quite satisfied with my
Samurai Seven.
I exited cyberspace and found myself back in the Villa Straylight. I
was getting weaker in there so I made my way to the exit. The voice was
still talking in that lifeless, entrancing tone. "...your consciousness
divided like beads of mercury..."
I fell to my hands and knees and crawled out of there with the last of
my strength. I collapsed in the hallway outside. A few hours passed
before I was back to full strength and I was able to debug all my warez.
When I had finished, I charged back into the Villa Straylight and jacked
into the final zone, Zone 7. I was ready for it now.
The first database I went to was Phantom at 320,464. The AI in there
was named Phantom; he was not hostile nor did he attack me. In fact, it
seemed as though he wanted to play a game of chess. Aha! Battle Chess
4.0! Perhaps he just wanted Battle Chess 4.0. As soon as I sent him the
game he let me enter the base. It seems he had once been a great chess
master, but had gone quite crazy. He mentioned he had the program Turing
had made to destroy Greystoke, hemlock 1.0. I left the Phantom database
then, confident that I could destroy one of the two most powerful AIs,
Greystoke.
Before I left Zone 7, however, to go kill Gretystoke, I checked out
the other two databases with probe. The one at 432,464 was Allard
Technologies. Neuromancer was in there, so I decided to pull out and wait
on that one. I knew Neuromancer would be my toughest challenge, and I
wasn't ready for him yet.
The other database there was Tessier-Ashpool, which contained an AI
named Wintermute whose weakness was Sophistry. I thought that Wintermute
might be easier than Gretystoke, even though I had hemlock 1.0, so I
decided to take out Wintermute. Combats against these AIs were getting
tougher. Sometimes they were so strong, their strength indicators went off
the chart. But my skills were getting better, too. It was a race to see
if my skills could advance quicker than they could increase their strength.
With Wintermute, the strongest ally of Neuromancer, gone, only Greystoke
and Neuromancer remained... I was confident.
I left cyberspace once and went to Musabori, where I jacked in. I was
back in Zone 2 and the ICE around Musabori was easy to crack. But when I
got through, Greystoke was waiting to greet me again. This time I was
prepared for him though and I sent him a present, hemlock 1.0. He had no
defense for this attack and fell apart before my very eyes. Greystoke was
no more. In the database was a program called Kuang Eleven 1.0. ROMBO nor
I knew what it did, but I had a strong suspicion. Since Greystoke and
Neuromancer were enemies, Greystoke was probably working a program to
destroy his adversary. Kuang Eleven 1.0 might just be that program. I
jacked out of cyberspace and went to the Cheap Hotel to sleep. I wanted to
be fully aware for my confrontation with Neuromancer the next day.
So here I am, leaving this by my bed in case I don't come back to tell
about my victory over Neuromancer. If I'm not so lucky, well, I hope this
account will be of use to somebody else someday so that cyberspace can
become a safe place for all. Good luck!
Before I go, though, I want to tell you about the dream I had last
night. In that dream I was on a deserted island, and my life was slowly
draining away. I'd be dead soon if I didn't do something. Without knowing
why, I used my AI skills, and after the third one I was able to escape. I
escaped into cyberspace and Neuromancer was there. My Kuang Eleven 1.0
hurt him but did not kill him and I still had to use skills to beat him. I
don't know if this dream meant anything, or if any of it will come to pass,
but I'll remember it... just in case.
Useful numbers
Your BAMA I.D. Number: 056306118
Larry Moe's I.D. Number: 062788138
Account at Bank Gemeinschaft: 646328356481
Account at Bozobank: 712345450134
Account at Bank of Berne: 121519831200
Authorization code for Berne: LYMA1211MARZ
Vault code for Gemeinschaft: BG1066
Dixie Flatline's Number: 0467839
Toshiro's Number: 6905984
Rombo's Number: 5521426
Skill Chips
Name Person Use
Coptalk Larry Moe talk to cop at Donut World
Evasion Lupus Yonderboy run from AI combat
Cryptology Shiva decode encoded passwords
Hardware Repair Shiva fix decks with hardware failures
Bargaining Julius Deane buy back body parts at a discount
Philosophy Julius Deane AI combat skill
Phenomenology Julius Deane AI combat skill
Psychoanalysis Julius Deane AI weakness detector
Icebreaking Finn makes ice easier to break
Debug Finn fixes bugs in software
Sophistry Pong Monks AI combat skill
Zen Pong Monks Heals you constitution in AI combat
Logic Emperor Norton AI combat skill
Software Analysis Emperor Norton gives brief description of software
Musicianship Emperor Norton play dub at Zion to reach Freeside
Places to go, people to meet
Asano's (Asano) - Insult Crazy Edo and get reduced prices on hardware.
Bank Gemeinschaft - Use security code BG1066 to enter vault.
Bank of Berne (Secretary) - Tell her you want to open an account to enter
the manager's office.
Body Parts Store (Chin) - Buy and sell body parts; use Bargaining skill
chip to get discounts.
Chatsubo Bar (Ratz) - Use the PAX machine to pay bill and learn; how to
earn 10,000 credits by sending I.D. number 056306118 to General
Armitage; about cryptology skill chip and Matrix Restaurant guest pass
you can get from Shiva at the Gentleman Loser; your BAMA I.D. number
is 056306118 from the banking information; link codes for Cheap Hotel,
Regular Fellows, Consumer Review, Asano's, World Chess, IRS and
Citizen's for a Free Matrix; Shin has your deck.
Cheap Hotel - Buy caviar from room service to give to Crazy Edo for comlink
2.0.
Crazy Edo's (Crazy Edo) - Trade the caviar for comlink 2.0.
Donut World (Cop) - use coptalk skill levels 1 and 2 to find: the link code
for the Chiba City Tactical Police database and encoded second level
password snorskee; encoded second level Fuji password aburakkoi;
encoded Sea password smeegldipo; that Shiva knows about the loser
database.
Gentleman Loser (Shiva) - Get the cryptology skill chip and guest pass; buy
Hardware Repair skill (optional) and ask about "loser" to get link
code and password.
House of Pong (Nolan) - Trade the joystick for Zen and Sophistry skill
chips.
Hitachi (Nurse) - Sell lungs for experiment.
Hosaka - Pick up pay check.
Larry's Microsofts (Larry Moe) - Buy Coptalk skill chip.
Maas Biolabs (robot) - Use gas mask to survive guard virus and obtain
cybereyes.
Massage Parlor (Akiko) - Buy information: the link code and password for
the Panther Moderns and the link code for Bank of Zurich Orbital.
Matrix Restaurant (Emperor Norton) - Buy Logic, Musicianship and Software
Analysis skill chips; ask about "upgrade" to upgrade skills and learn
passwords by asking about "password."
Metro Holografix (Finn) - Get ICEbreaking and debugging skills; buy a
joystick by asking about "joystick."
Panther Moderns Meeting Room (Lupus Yonderboy) - Get security pass for
Sense/Net, Evasion skill chip and bank code.
Security Gate - Enter as Hitachi volunteer or as a Hosaka employee.
Sense/Net (robot) - Give security pass and ROM construct I.D. number to get
a ROM construct; Dixie Flatline: 0467839, Toshiro Mifune: 6905984,
Rombo: 5521426.
Shin's Pawn Shop (Shin) - Get UXB deck with comlink 1.0. If you don't have
the cash, you get it for free.
Streetwalker - Learn where high tech locations are and the justice link
code.
Warehouse (Julius Deane) - Get gas mask by asking about hardware, get
Philosophy, Phenomenology, Psychoanalysis, and Bargaining skill chips;
upgrade Cryptology skill; ask about Fuji, the encoded password is
dumbo; Hosaka, the encoded password is vulcan; Musabori, the encode
password is pleiades; Hitachi, the password is genesplice; Tozoku, the
link code is yakuza.
How to Get Each Comlink
Comlink 1.0 Pick up deck (UXB) at Shin's Pawn Shop
Comlink 2.0 Buy caviar from Cheap Hotel room service and trade it with
Crazy Edo for comlink 2.0.
Comlink 3.0 Visit the massage parlor and ask to buy some information.
The first clue you receive has the link code and password for
the Panther Moderns database where comlink 3.0 is
located.
Comlink 4.0 It's at the SEA. Ask for Modern Bob on the Panther Modern's
message board for the link code. Ask the cop at Donut World,
using the coptalk skill from Larry Moe, for the encoded
password. Use cryptology level 2 to decode smeegldipo.
Comlink 5.0 Using coptalk level 2 at Donut World, you learn that Shiva
knows about the Loser database. Ask shiva about loser. She
will give you the link code for the Easter Seabord Fission
Authority. Ask Emperor Norton at the Matrix Restaurant
about "password" for the ESFA password. Comlink 5.0 is at
the ESFA.
Comlink 6.0 Read the first message from the president of Hosaka. It tells
about a Japanese company named Tozoku which is running them
out of business. Since Julius Deane knows about Japanese
companies, ask him about Tozoku. He gives you the link code
so you will need to use sequencer 1.0 for the password.
Comlink 6.0 is at Tozoku.
Databases Accessible By Comlinks
Asano's Comlink 1.0 Required
link code: asanocomp
passwords: (1) customer (2) vendors (3) cyberspace only
value: learn link codes: fuji, musaborind, hosakacorp
warez: none
coordinates: 16,112
AI: none
Bank Gemeinschaft Comlink 5.0 Required
link code: bankgemein
passwords: (1) eintritt (2) verboten
value: transfer 30,000 credit from account number 646328356481
coordinates: 304,320
AI: none
Bank of Zurich Orbital Comlink 6.0 Required
link code: bozobank
passwords: no password, use sequencer
value: set up account number 712345450134
warez: none
coordinates: 336,368
AI: none
Central Justice Comlink 6.0 Required
link code: justice
passwords: no password, use sequencer
value: learn about justice system
warez: none
coordinates: 416,112
AI: none
Cheap Hotel Comlink 6.0 Required
link code: cheapo
passwords: (1) guest (2) cockroach
value: pay/edit bill, order caviar from room service
warez: none
coordinates: 112,112
AI: none
Chiba City Tactical Police Comlink 4.0 Required
link code: keisatsu
passwords: (1) warrants (2) supertac
value: put Larry Moe's name on warrant list and his I.D. number
062788138
warez: none
coordinates: 288,112
AI: none
Citizens for a Free Matrix Comlink 5.0 Required
link code: freematrix
passwords: (1) CFM (2) cyberspace only
value: none
warez: blammo 1.0 (all other software is incompatible with decks)
coordinates: 352,112
AI: Sapphire (weakness: sophistry)
Consumer Review Comlink 1.0 Required
link code: consumerev
passwords: (1) review (2) cyberspace only
value: learn about various decks and cyberspace capability
coordinates: 32,64
AI: none
Copenhagen University Comlink 6.0 Required
link code: brainstorm
passwords: (1) perilous (2) cyberspace only
value: learn best icebreaking programs: good - hammer, decoder,
blowtorch; better - drill, door stop; best - logic bomb,
concrete, depthcharge
warez: probe 4.0 (level 2), jammies 1.0 (level 2), doorstop 1.0
(level 2)
coordinates: 320,32
AI: none
Eastern Seaboard Fission Authority Comlink 4.0 Required
link code: eastseabod
passwords: (1) longisland (2) cyberspace only
value: get comlink 5.0, learn "loser" password, learn Finn has a
joystick
warez: comlink 5.0, thunderhead 2.0
coordinates: 384,32
AI: none
Fuji Electric Comlink 3.0 Required
link code: fuji
passwords: (1) romcards (2) uchikatsu
value: learn Larry Moe's I.D. number 062788138
warez: none
coordinates: 112,240
AI: none
Gentleman Loser Comlink 4.0 Required
link code: loser
passwords: (1) wilson (2) loser (3) cyberspace only
value: learn eastern seaboard link code; eastseabod, learn encoded
second level password for bankgemein -> einhoven
warez: blowtorch 1.0, hammer 1.0, probe 3.0, slow 1.0 (level 2),
injector 1.0 (level 2), drill 1.0 (level 2); all other
software is incompatible
coordinates: 416,64
AI: none
Hitachi Biotech Comlink 3.0 Required
link code: hitachibio
passwords: (1) genesplice (2) biotech
value: text
warez: none
coordinates: 32,192
AI: none
Hosaka Comlink 5.0 Required
link code: hosakacorp
passwords: (1) biosoft (2) fungeki (3) cyberspace only
value: employ self to enter hi-tech zone and get money, upload
comlink 6.0 for credits, learn about tozoku imports and yakuza
warez: comlink 5.0, slow 2.0 (level 2), hammer 4.0 (level 2),
concrete 1.0 (level 2), mimic 2.0 (level 2), injector 2.0
(level 2)
coordinates: 144,160
AI: none
IRS Comlink 3.0 Required
link code: irs
passwords: (1) taxinfo (2) audit (3) cyberspace only
value: text
warez: jammies 1.0 (level 3), hammer 2.0 (level 3), mimic 1.0
(level 3)
coordinates: 272,64
Musabori Comlink 5.0 Required
link code: musaborind
passwords: (1) subaru (2) cyberspace only
value: text, AI message buffer (level 3)
warez: kuang eleven 1.0 (level 3)
coordinates: 208,208
AI: Greystoke (weakness: hemlock 1.0)
NASA Comlink 6.0 Required
link code: voyager
passwords: (1) apollo (2) cyberspace only
value: text, AI message buffer
warez: python 2.0, blowtorch 4.0, decoder 4.0
coordinates: 448,32
AI: Hal (weakness: logic)
Panther Moderns Comlink 2.0 Required
link code: chaos
passwords: (1) mainline (2) cyberspace only
value: earn about Lupus and Gemeinschaft, get comlink 3.0, learn
link codes from Modern Bob for sea and Hitachi
warez: comlink 3.0, blowtorch 3.0 (level 2), decoder 2.0 (level 2),
thunderhead 1.0 (level 2); all other software is incompatible
coordinates: 224,112
AI: none
Psychologist Comlink 1.0 Required
link code: psycho
passwords: (1) new mo (2) babylon (3) cyberspace only
value: see yakuza, AI message buffer (level 3)
warez: none
coordinates: 96,32
AI: Chrome (weakness: philosophy)
Regular Fellows Comlink 1.0 Required
link code: regfellow
passwords: (1) visitor (2) cyberspace only
value: learn second level password for Cheap Hotel, learn how to
use Scout 1.0
warez: scout 1.0, battle chess 2.0, probe 3.0 (level 2); all other
software is incompatible
AI: none
Software Enforcement Agency Comlink 3.0 Required
link code: soften
passwords: (1) permafrost (2) cyberspace only
value: get comlink 4.0, upgrade coptalk to level 2, upgrade coptalk
to level 4 (level 2 access)
warez: comlink 4.0, sequencer 1.0, thunderhead 2.0 (level 2)
coordinates: 352,64
AI: none
Tozoku Imports Comlink 5.0 Required
link code: yakuza
passwords: (1) yak (2) cyberspace only
value: get comlink 6.0
warez: comlink 6.0, blowtorch 1.0, decoder 1.0, blowtorch 3.0
(level 2), drill 2.0 (level 2), acid 1.0 (level 2)
coordinates: 480,80
AI: none
World Chess Comlink 1.0 Required
link code: world chess
passwords: (1) novice (2) member (3) cyberspace only
value: earn 550 credits playing chess, AI message buffer (level 3)
coordinates: 160,80
AI: Morphy (weakness: logic)
Databases Accessible Through Cyberspace Only
Allard Technologies
value: use 3 AI skills to escape island/prison
warez: none
coordinates: 432,464
AI: Neuromancer (weakness: kuang eleven 1.0)
Bank of Berne
value: transfer 500,000 credits to bozobank account number:
121519831200
warez: slow 3.0, probe 10.0, armorall 1.0
coordinates: 336,160
AI: Gold (weakness: philosophy)
Bell Europa
value: text
warez: thunderhead 4.0, acid 5.0
coordinates: 384,288
AI: none
D.A.R.P.O.
value: text
warez: thunderhead 3.0, injector 3.0, jammies 2.0, concrete 2.0,
drill 3.0
coordinates: 336,240
AI: none
Free Sex Union
value: text
warez: none
coordinates: 288,208
AI: Xaviera (weakness: phenomenology)
Gridpoint
value: text
warez: thunderhead 3.0, injector 3.0, jammies 3.0, hammer 5.0,
armorall 2.0
coordinates: 160,320
AI: none
I.N.S.A.
value: text
warez: injector 5.0, armorall 3.0, hammer 6.0, doorstop 4.0, logic
bomb 3.0
coordinates: 448,320
AI: none
KGB
value: text
warez: slow 5.0, jammies 4.0, armorall 4.0, injector 5.0, probe
15.0, concrete 5.0, logic bomb 6.0, depth charge 8.0
coordinates: 112,416
AI: Lucifer (weakness: logic)
Maas Biolabs
value: unlock door to lab, turn off alarm
warez: none
coordinates: 112,480
AI: Sangfroid (weakness: phenomenology)
Nihilist
value: text
warez: python 5.0, acid 3.0, slow 4.0, logic bomb 3.0
coordinates: 416,368
AI: none
Phantom
value: has program to destroy Greystoke
warez: hemlock 1.0
coordinates: 320,464
AI: Phantom (weakness: logic or Battle Chess 4.0)
Screaming Fist
value: text
warez: KGB 1.0, easy rider 1.0, python 3.0, slow 3.0, armorall 1.0,
depthcharge 3.0
coordinates: 464,160
AI: none
Sense/Net
value: learn ROM construct I.D. numbers: Dixie Flatline - 0467839,
Rombo - 5521426, Toshiro Mifune - 6905984
warez: none
coordinates: 48,320
AI: none
Tessier-Ashpool
value: text
warez: none
coordinates: 384,416
AI: Wintermute (weakness: sophistry)
Turing Registry
value: learn about AIs, upgrade AI combat skills to 5, upgrade
psychoanalysis to 4
warez: none
coordinates: 432,240
AI: none
