DataKrash!
{Apartment 0923, Megabuilding H10, Little China, Watson}
...
'Datakrash, yeah, I heard about it mentioned in the wiki. It was the reason that the majority of the data stored on the Net was lost.'
"Before we talk about the Datakrash and its effects. We need to look at how and why it happened. The DataKrash happened on June 3, 2022. In 2022, the world was going through what we call the Fourth Corporate War. It was the start of the fourth corporate war, unlike before the threat of the Net was a real thing as Netrunner, now equipped with Cyberdecks, had a lot more control over how they could influence data, making it easier to extract information from even secure servers."
"This resulted in both sides of the war hiring influential netrunners to protect their assets and, at the same time, attack their enemies. The lines were blurred in the war, and any necessary means were taken to ensure success. Militech was hired by Otech to ensure the safety of their data, and the easiest way to do that was to neutralize the influential netrunners on the other side."
A picture of a man with blurred features appeared on the screen; his facial outline was visible, but Militech most likely kept his actual facial identity a secret.
"This is Rache Bartmoss, one of the most influential netrunners of his generation. He was hired by Otech to aid our defense efforts in the war. While Netrunners were an important tool, they were mainly responsible for monitoring data and inducing tactical breaches to ensure the success of ground operations. While quite advanced technology wasn't as advanced back then, most of the fighting was still done by tanks and missiles." The lecturer continued before he pointed to the photo once again.
"A covert op team from Arasaka executed Bartmoss while he was still in the Net, giving him a chance to release the horror that Bartmoss had planned as a contingency plan." The lecturer finished in a grave voice as the screen once again became dark. The picture of Earth once again appeared on the screen, this time with no satellites hovering above it.
"What Bartmoss left behind in his final moments in the net was a virus. A self-repairing virus that strongly resembled his avatar and developed by a mysterious and unknown algorithm held a surprising amount of autonomy and intelligence. They were dubbed as R.A.B.I.D.s (Roving Autonomous Bartmoss Interface Drones). They were capable of killing AIs and other programs, and the more intelligent interfaces they killed, the quicker they multiplied, taking over the NET soon."
"The first casualties were Arasaka and their affiliates, but over time, these R.A.B.I.D.s evolved and started targeting anyone that came in their way. Their numbers soon reached hundreds of thousands, far surpassing the Netrunners that could defend against them, and they took over the NET. The NET that we knew back then ceased to exist as servers were turned offline and satellites were shot down to stop their spread. Within a span of few months, decades of advancement was thrashed down, and all data was lost."
The picture of Earth made sense; while its earlier iteration had hundreds of satellites floating around, this picture seemed more desolate and sad.
"The Datakrash put the advancement of the world at risk, as only air-gapped networks and data remained alive. Thankfully, Militech and many other corps employed these features and thus remained unharmed. Soon, Citynets would emerge, as they would only serve as connections inside a city and were air-gapped before being connected to the large NET that was now running on servers in abandoned cities like Pittsburg. The situation of the NET remained the same as the 4th Corporate war continued. Without the threat of the NET, the war was more brutal than any before."
The lecturer shifted, and a red wall appeared on the screen. The pixelated wall brought back memories for me as I remembered interacting with it in the game.
"The Blackwall: While some hailed Netwatch for saving the world from the rabid virus, their plan was a lot more sinister. While it might not have been ethical, Militech and many Corps had been trying to sneak into the old net to look for uncorrupted data. The advent of the Blackwall was sudden, as the whole old net was pushed behind this new algorithm that kept anyone at bay. Militech lost 71 netrunners that day."
Sadness and anger welled up in me—or, to be more accurate, the body that recorded this BD. They must have been fanatics of corps ideology to react that way.
"Still, Netwatch managed to become successful once the NET was back. Although it was very empty, just about 21% of the data remained uncorrupted. However, this data was scattered across the NET, making it difficult to start diving again as the punchback of this old data could fry and overheat your cigs. Still, technological advancements followed, and now all of your Operating systems come with a buffer. These are the amount of stress your OS can handle before it begins frying your brain, forcing you to jack out. We'll talk more about your Cyberdeck in the next lesson."
"While the Blackwall marks the beginning of the new NET, its infallibility is always in question; keep that lesson in mind that while the NET is safe now, it could change at any given moment."
...
The BD stopped as I jerked back awake. My vision swam a little as my senses returned. The cold metal pressing against my head reminded me where I was as I plugged the wire from the back of my head. The lesson list was obscured with a more important notification, one that I had been waiting for.
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[100 {Netrunner} EXP gained]
[{Netrunner} skill created at Level 0]
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[100 {Intelligence } Exp gained]
[100 {Netrunner} EXP gained]
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[100 {Intelligence } Exp gained]
[100 {Netrunner} EXP gained]
...
' 300 Exp. One more lesson should do it,' I thought as the red notifications vanished. I looked around the room, and after making sure that nothing much had changed, my vision turned back to the second lesson. Without much fanfare, I clicked on the second lesson and waited to be blasted by the white light.
...
'It's the same person.' I concluded as the recording began. This time, the room was a little different, but still, there were no props. The lecturer seemed the same, and he began speaking soon after I was done with the initial survey.
"In the last lesson, you were aware of what happened to the Old NET. While that isn't a topic of discussion in today's lecture, today, we'll talk about the Cyberdeck." The lecturer picked up a tablet and showed it to the class. A feeling of interest surged through my body as I leaned forward.
"This is a Cyberdeck that I told you about in the 2020s. It is a compact version and has a decent amount of capabilities, but ultimately useless as the buffer size of this thing is practically zero compared to even the most basic OS today. Each and every one of you must have a Cyberdeck OS connected to your cerebral cortex. Even the most basic OS now has capabilities to interact with your deck, so you don't have to worry about upgrading so soon. But it is recommended that you get a Cyberdeck that would allow you to have more buffer size and RAM." He pointed toward the back screen, and detailed specs of a cyberdeck appeared behind him.
"This is MiliTech Paraline Mk.4, the best that you can buy in the open market. It has a RAM capacity of 9 and a Buffer of 8. With this, you wouldn't have to worry about anyone hacking you, as the buffer allows you to install some pretty good ICE that could handle any attempts to breach your system." After promoting his company, Cyberdeck, the lecturer returned to the point.
I resisted the urge to scoff before realizing it wouldn't matter even if I did, as I was in a braindance. 'I still remember Alt just burning through Arasaka agents in one of the endings. With their cream of the crop hardware and ICE breached through in an instant, I'm pretty sure Militech isn't that far advanced over Arasaka.'
While cool in the game, the scene, along with the Blackwall powers we gain during rescuing Songbird, makes it clear that the danger presented by the rogue AIs of the Blackwall is quite large, which is exactly what I'm preparing against. Hopefully, with maxed-out skills in Netrunning and Programming, I would find a way to deal with something like that.
"As you can tell, I'm talking a lot about RAM and buffer size, so let's discuss them. Most of you are aware of how RAM functions. It is the unit of memory that quickhacks and other subroutines use to neutralize somebody." The lecturer paused for a moment before a combat scenario started playing on the screen.
"For example, you are fighting against someone, and you have a quickhack called Reboot Optics. It is one of the common quickhacks that you'll likely encounter on your own. The quickhack normally costs 2 RAM per target to function. So when you hack someone, you lose 2 RAM simply for the program to run; now, before that, the target ICE comes into effect. In order for a successful breach, your Buffer and ICE need to neutralize their security protocols. The time taken to launch a quickhack depends on that."
'Huh. So, in the end, it is a specs war. I was hoping I wouldn't have to spend money on a new OS, but it seems like that won't work.' I watched the scene where it showed the time difference taken to hack someone depending on your Cyberdeck and the opponent's Cyberdeck.
"While Quickhacks are a good way to breach through ICE, someone with military-grade implants and better ICE might be able to completely negate the Quickhacks before they even begin and trace them back to you. So beware before you target anyone." The screen switched off.
"Those are the combat-focused scenarios in the real world. But diving into cyberspace comes with challenges of its own. While Quickhacks and subroutines involve real-world combat, the combat in cyberspace is done using Daemons. Daemons are programs given identity through your cyberdecks extra ports to have their own icons. The number of Daemons you can have active at a time depends on the number of extra ports you have. These ports can be increased by a lot, but that means using heavy machinery to help you, which would require you to remain in one place. Hence, most of the advanced Netrunners you see that are responsible for defending a place are always jacked into big machines and Cyberdeck expansions."
"Though ultimately, a netrunner skill depends on the primary daemons they have, which they multiply to defend or attack a network. Now, before you ask, the new NET is different from the old. The old one didn't have any barriers, and everything was connected. The net is now made up of closed-off intranets called NET Architectures, which a Netrunner must physically get close to access points. You can dive into a NET architecture by linking to these access points, but be careful and don't dive into any port you see. The ICE and daemons defending a place can be unpredictable."
"This is all for the Cyberdecks. Upgrade your decks to your suitable standards before the next lecture to begin diving into Cyberspace."
The lecture ended, and my senses were dumped back into my body. Before I could groan, though, a new batch of knowledge was downloaded into my brain. I closed my eyes and brought up this new knowledge that was now seared into my memories. My experiences of diving into the NET and how to deploy daemons and breach through a security protocol were now brimming into my mind, and even though none of it made sense, I knew how to do it.
As I opened my eyes and leaned back, it felt like I didn't know the language but somehow understood what directions to follow. I looked at the time. It was almost 2 a.m. A sense of fatigue was now crashing down on me, and my mind was a little muddled. The reason behind not understanding what I had to do was clear to me.
'Thankfully, I bought the programming course. Couldn't the Militech employee have told me that Programming knowledge was a prerequisite to this course?' I grumbled as I pulled the data cord from the back of my head, and with a flick, the wreath vanished into my inventory. I looked at the unopened box and sighed; pushing it away, I curled onto the bed and prepared to sleep.
'I'll look through this in the morning.'
Sleep claimed me as soon as I closed my eyes, which felt weird, but a sudden screen appeared in front of me. My mind and consciousness were suddenly fully awake.
It was the same clock that had been in the game. With a timer asking me how long I wanted to sleep.
'A controlled sleep function?'
...
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AN - I hope I made sense about the Cyberdeck! For barebones purposes. RAM is like Mana used to cast spells, and Buffer is like M.defense. It blocks a percentage of damage and makes it harder and longer for the magic to work!