Let’s talk about “inaccesible partition” and “satellite relay”. If I don’t misunderstand, they are negative tags. Like cortex bomb. Am I right ? So I feel strange they are present like options PCs can choose when creating an equipment (wich will never happen). I guess they are ideas for the MC. So I guess if PCs don’t want to go under the knife to avoid any immediate risk, they can ask corpos, they won’t make the move and avoid any Cred cost, but they will be +owned and maybe the MC will add one of the following tags : inaccessible partition, satellite relay, or cortex bomb. Am I right or totally away from the concept ?
Let’s talk about “inaccesible partition” and “satellite relay”.
Let’s talk about “inaccesible partition” and “satellite relay”.
They can be positive. Having an inaccessible partition means that you can’t access the data, sure, but it means people will pay you to move data for them because you are “secure”. Not as sure on satellite relay, but wouldn’t that mean that you could transmit/access data from anywhere?
It’s not only you can’t access the data. It says : “it has a courier mode in which the implantee can’t access the data being recorded, stored or transmitted.”. I understand it like a bug, something to spy on you. For satellite relay, we talk about backdoor frequently used by corpos. Well, that is what I understood but I may be wrong, english is not my native language so…
Does it help to say that Johnny Mnemonic has an +inaccessible partition and that +satellite relay is a similar idea? They are options that open up certain story roles: “I want to play a data-courier”; “my job was to infiltrate places so that corporate drone operators could get a better signal”.
They’re probably not going to be chosen very often, but they evoke very specific cyberpunk tropes. They could definitely be given as negative tags by the MC in the way you describe!
Johnny Memonic is indeed the classic example of ‘+inaccessible partition’. He can transfer file storage that no one has access too between interested parties with them having no worry that he will try to use it or sell it because only the 2 parties involve have the access codes nessecary to access and download it.
Also +satellite relay technically means you always have internet connection, and can jack in anywhere you can get enough sky to sync up to a network.
Dana, you were right ! Thanks 🙂
Similarly, it gives you a place to store stuff that you might not want to HAVE in your cybereye. Malware in your ears would suuuuuuck. Access goes both ways.
I remember asking what the inaccessible partition was when Hamish ran a game for me once (I think it was Origins? Maybe Gamex). 🙂 If you aren’t very familiar with the genre (as I wasn’t at the time) you might not know what it is.
That was even more of a problem when the tag was just ” +inaccessible “!
Understood. So satellite relay is like the linked tag but for more open situations ?
It certainly could be. It would very much depend on how the character defined what that relay is doing and what purpose it serves.
The obvious example for the satellite relay is the Infiltrator providing the Hacker with access to a system that’s not remotely accessible.
I could also see re-interpreting the tag for “it has no wireless capability, so if you want to hack it, you need to get fictional contact.”
And satellite relay is basically an always-on connection that doesn’t rely on wifi or even cellular data (or whatever else portable devices will use in the Near Future. Again, it would require some deliberate positioning for the MC to counteract that aspect of the device. Definitely some foreshadowing.