Shadowrun Legends: Born to Run by Stephen Kenson

Author:Stephen Kenson [Kenson, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Catalyst Game Labs
Published: 2018-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

After getting a steaming soykaf latte and a doughnut from the Stuffer Shack on the corner, Kellan settled herself in her sleep coffin, sitting cross-legged on the temperfoam padding, her hair brushing against the ceiling. She took her well-used Fuchi DataBook out of her bag. The computer had outlasted the company that made it by a few years, and though it was nowhere close to top-of-the-line, it would do until she had a chance to get something better. She’d cut her teeth on it, and the shape of its keyboard was familiar to her fingers.

She plugged the small computer into the power and data ports in the coffin, slotting her credstick to start the flow of energy and information. The flatscreen on the wall showed the credit slowly ticking off. Rolling out the dataBook’s flatscreen, she booted the computer and settled down to surf the Matrix. The trouble with having access to a tremendous amount information was that there was a tremendous amount of information, most of it completely useless. The Matrix was like an ocean of data, wider and deeper than any physical sea. It took a measure of skill, time and patience to sift through the waves of data to find exactly what you were looking for.

Like every other kid who went to school, Kellan had learned about the Internet, the precursor to the Matrix. It had consisted of a mismatched network of slow computers linked by antiquated voice communication systems. The computers required special adaptors just to send data over copper wiring never intended for such use. It was crude, slow and, from the sound of things, not all that useful.

The Crash changed all that. In 2029, a computer virus of unprecedented virulence struck the Internet, wiping out information, corrupting backup systems and even burning out hardware. It spread like wildfire around the world, carried by the interconnectivity of the communications systems, and it devastated the network wherever it went. The virus mutated and adapted to successfully attack new systems as it encountered them. It thwarted every attempt to purge it, infecting every computer with which it came into contact. The world telecommunications system practically collapsed.

Then the United States government activated a top-secret team of cyberspecialists named Echo Mirage. Using cutting edge neural interface technology, they were able to directly engage and destroy the virus. Though it cost the lives of most of the cybercommandos, the threat was ended.

From the ashes of the Internet arose a new telecommunications grid, designed to take full advantage of digital technology and new optical computing tech. It took years to build it but, by the time Kellan was born, the Matrix had been part of everyday life for almost a generation. She could hardly imagine a world without immediate access to vast amounts of data. All you needed was a computer or a terminal and a place to jack in.

The Matrix created a new breed of computer hackers, called deckers. Just as the hackers in their time embraced the newest

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