Snake! Kernel! Panic!

Snake! Kernel! Panic!
Date 2082-05-11 GM OrionsRequiem Location Resonance Realms Status Threat Level: Medium
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Cecelia Cross Cross Applied Technologies	Gianelli Family
Vip3r	Bl4ckM4mb4
Casualties and losses
	Bl4ckM4mb4, Three Registered Sprites
Vip3r's fourth submersion.

Summary

Cecelia Cross sends Vip3r after a file in the Resonance Realms, but she isn't the only interested party.

The Meet

Cecelia calls Vip3r to E-Vue with the offer of a job. She arrives to a strange scene: there's no line outside the club for once, and it appears to be closed. Confused, she calls Cecelia to ask what's going on, and she assures Vip3r that it's okay to come in; she's doing some maintenance on the host. Upon entering, she finds Cecelia supervising a number of other technomancers who are working in AR with the assistance of various sprites, and when she stands next to her to watch them, she informs her that these are some of the recently-awakened Otaku who have been under Cross's care.

Cecelia then invites Vip3r into her office, where she shares a bottle of high-end white wine with her and tells her about the task she has for her. She first asks Vip3r if she's familiar with the Endless Archive--which she is, having visited on a previous submersion--and then tells her that she's been approached by the Eighty-Eights Triad with a request to find a pre-crash membership list that includes members' family names, history, and locations. Given Vip3r's experience with and knowledge of the Triad, Cecelia decided to outsource the task to her. Vip3r finds the request strange, since the Eighty-Eights have an unusually high population of technomancers in their ranks, and asks if Cecelia knows why they were approaching her for it rather than handling the matter themselves. She reveals that the Triad has actually approached her about recruiting from among the former Otaku. Additionally, they've mentioned that the Gianelli Family has been poking into their business, and that time may be of the essence as they seem to be interested in the same document Vip3r is being sent to retrieve so that they can use it to target their members and begin retaking territory in Tacoma.

Vip3r agrees to the task, but before undertaking her mission, she asks Cecelia if she can propose a mutually beneficial agreement to her. Vip3r knows about two MCT corporate citizens who are assigned to highly secretive projects--likely against their wishes--who need to be extracted, and will need somewhere to go after that where they will be well-protected. Their knowledge and ability will serve Cross's pro-virtuakinetic interests well, and will likely help to expand their influence. Cecelia agrees, and assures her that "if there's one thing Cross is good at, it's protecting what we care about." Satisfied with her response, Vip3r prepares to submerge.

Cecelia directs her to E-Vue's basement, where medical staff observe a few other technomancers in Valkyrie modules and sensory deprivation tanks. Vip3r messages

The Endless Archive

Though the Archive is familiar to Vip3r, she's no less awestruck by it than when she first arrived. She spends a moment taking it all in before starting her search; as with the last time, she can't seem to find any discernable pattern in the method of organization there, so she goes to ask one of the sprites for assistance. It introduces itself as Kazaa, and enthusiastically agrees to help her find the document that she describes.

Whether the trek through the vast, winding halls of the Archive takes minutes or days is difficult for Vip3r to tell, but Kazaa eventually finds a trid file that it shows to Vip3r. It cycles through trid footage of a few Eighty-Eights members and events, lingering a few moments on one of David Yang's Matrix game streams, before suddenly dashing off to another part of the library. Viper races after it, and it finally stops, declaring that it's found where the file she seeks is kept. There's a problem, however; that particular file is missing, and a few related ones nearby have been vandalized with a mark that looks like a snake, of all things, and very differentde. from her own. The sprite offers to let her take these files if she offers information in return, and she gives the sprite a brief lesson in the Triad codes and hand gestures she knows. Delighted with the trade, it hands over the files, and Vip3r uses the resonance signature to track the other technomancer out of the Archive and into another Realm.

Kernel Panic

The data trail left by the other technomancer leads to Kernel Panic, a realm of Resonant chaos that overwhelms the senses. Vip3r finds it beautiful despite its discordance, and once she adjusts to its strangeness it doesn't take her long to find her mark: a technoshaman called Bl4ckM4mb4, with a towering snake persona accompanied by a trio of snake sprites. The file she wants is open in front of him, and as he reads through it, Vip3r takes advantage of his distraction and the realm's chaos to fire off a forked data spike at two of the three sprites, severely weakening one and blasting the other apart.

Rewards

Brilliant Heuristics - 5 RVP
Unique Avatar - 5 RVP
+1 Chip on Cecelia Cross
Submersion Discount!
6 Karma
2 CDP

Game Quotes

GM: "You know what's nice? There's no God in the Resonance."