Seattle GridGuide Host
Description
GridGuide is a city's traffic control system, managed by a central host that sends routing data to vehicle autopilots and can track or control them in the event of an emergency. Contrary to the snazzy name, GridGuide is not a corporation, but a service provided by a corporate contractor; Seattle's GridGuide service is provided by Mitsuhama Computer Technologies. Because devices slaved to this host are ubiquitous in the Seattle Metroplex and easily accessed by hand, it's not hard to hack in. As a result, GridGuide hosts typically operate under Equipment Management Transfer Protocol (EMTP), more commonly known as an "industry host." See the next section for more details.
Scaffolding
The GridGuide host icon looks like a wheel with the Mitsuhama diamond at its center. When approached, it plays a jingle and displays the GridGuide logo as the wheel spins.
Customer Service
| Type | Rating | Attack | Sleaze | Data Processing | Firewall | IC Tray |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destination | 8 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 13 | Patrol, Bloodhound, Tar Baby, Track, Killer, Blaster, Shocker, Probe |
Inside, users will find themselves in a sleek, polished corporate reception area. Virtual customer service representatives are always ready to help Seattle's vehicle owners register their cars with GridGuide. There is also a live traffic report feed that can be accessed from here, with the option to download the GridGuide traffic app for updates on the go.
IC Behavior
Patrol and Bloodhound will be running at all times. As a destination host
Devices
Slaved to this host are all public power grid devices in the Seattle sprawl. This may sound like it's a very important host - that's correct. Because it protects so many important devices across the entire city-state, it's configured as an industry host, meaning that there are no direct connections inside. All slaved devices get to defend with the host's attributes. Furthermore, because there are so many icons to go around, a player looking to hack a specific device may need to perform a quick matrix search based on some info they already know about what they're looking for.
Spiders
A reasonably well-equipped spider will be on duty in the HQ host at any given time. They are reasonably well equipped and trained, but not exceedingly so, as this is only the local host for an A-rated corp.
HQ
| Type | Rating | Attack | Sleaze | Data Processing | Firewall | IC Tray |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 10 | Patrol, Blaster, Tar Baby, Track, Marker, Killer, Acid |
At the location corresponding with the Bellevue HQ in the Power node's landscape, there is a long, wooden shed. It will look plain from the outside, but someone knowledgeable about Salish culture will know that the Salish don't care for displaying status symbols on the outsides of their houses. This is the icon for the HQ node, which is nested inside the Power node. The inside is made to look like the inside of a Salish shed, which consists of multiple rooms and fire pits along with crests, carvings, and totemic paintings.
IC Behavior
Patrol will be running at all times. If the host is alerted, it will deploy the highest IC in the load order (see IC Tray, leftmost is highest priority). IC follow normal behavior patterns.
Devices
This node protects the security devices at the Gaeatronics Bellevue headquarters, including cameras and drones. Unlike the Power node, this host does allow direct connections to slaved devices for users inside the host. In addition, any merchant, employment, or operational records in use can be found here.
Spiders
A security decker and a security rigger will be here as well as any employees currently working.
Physical Integration
This host has prolific physical integration. Numerous devices all across Seattle are slaved to it - more than can be reasonably guarded. As a result, getting a direct connection is quite easy. Once inside, however, all devices are protected by the host's attributes, so it's not like some two-bit decker who climbs an electrical pole can cause a city-wide blackout. Furthermore, the devices in the Gaeatronics HQ are in a nested host, so getting a backdoor into that will require hacking a device at its physical location rather than any device in the city. Anyone who does will be rewarded, though, as the HQ's host is a standard data host.
Foundation
This host's foundation is of tremendous importance, as the Slave node allows any user to apply marks that persist despite reboots, and again, this host protects all public power infrastructure in Seattle and the Gaeatronics Seattle HQ. As a result, the foundation is checked weekly for anchors during routine maintenance. Lives are on the line, not to mention the power grid contract for the city-state, so expect opponents to guard the foundation vigorously.