Introduction
Chances are anyone reading this has read and used to some degree the Cyberpunk 2020 Netrunning rules. If you are reading this it means you are interested enough in an alternative that you decided to look at a file labeled alternate Netrunning rules or something similar. There are several problems with the neturunning section of the rules book. First it offends me technically. The primary target audience of this article are people who cruise the web on a regular basis. I assume you know something about computers, which makes you a step above the person who first penned the image used for a model of cyberpunk netrunning or the people who converted it originally into a rules system. Secondly as written in CP 2020 the net exists for the sole purpose of allowing netrunners to plunder data fortresses. While this is slight exaggeration, it isn’t that far off of how things are represented. Another reason I’m going through the trouble of writing this article is to streamline the gaming system, however since it is hidden in this horribly long and convoluted article it probably won’t come across as any simpler.
Lets start back at the most basic concept of Netrunning, the Ihara-Gubb Transformation Algorithms. The I-G transformation is an interface that takes incoming data a turns it into visual representation. This raises the question
whatever for? You must remember that there are two types of traffic on the Net, Legal and Illegal. 99.9% of the traffic is definitively of the Legal variety. What do they use the I-G Transforms for?
Legal Users
Legal users aren’t going to want to do anymore in 2020 then they do now to access net resources. In fact they will do quite a bit less. When a legitimate user decides he wants to know about say “Novell acquisitions in the last 5 years.” From the users perspective he will simply state his request and a list appears. The user then can ask for further manipulation, extrapolation, or detail about the data.
Let’s look under the hood. The computer send a query to a GRS (Global Resource Service.) There are 20 GRS computers spread across the world, they are essentially a huge index of documents on just about any subject. The GRS employs state of the art database techniques to produce a custom list for every request. (The GRS has programs running 24/7 finding computers and asking what documents they have to export.) As soon as this list is in hand the computer starts retrieving all of these documents using natural language processors and expert systems to correlate and build a body of knowledge and provide enough information to the user not to appear trivial, yet not overload him. (This is not possible given today’s processor speed
and power, however, these things tend to increase exponentially, so it is not out of the question for the capability to exist in 2020.) Among the data retrieved are links to any VRs that may be relevant. For example, Novell maintains a public relations VR in it’s Santa Monica office, a link to this and any other relevant VRs would appear, probably in a second “screen.” More data can be represented by using the I-G algorithms to graphically represent data. These are actually a subset of the I-G transforms, the full set only being found in true netrunning decks and security
consultants tool boxes (netrunning decks.) This graphical data can be manipulated by word, gesture, and to some degree thought. This manipulation is achieved by Complex expert systems. Thus is the Web of 2020.
Let’s not forget that computer have some limited uses outside of netsurfing and file serving. Someone has to create the documents to be shared, and I understands corps
do all sorts of work with computers: Word processing, spreadsheets, databases, etc. While there exist experimental versions of all of these applications that will pull data directly from the brain without any subvocalization (yes this means what you think it does in the realm of interrogation) very few people have the control or skill necessary to use these programs. Word processors take subvocalized dictation with incredible voice recognition and word matching accuracy. For spreadsheets and databases you just point (with a finger, nothing so clumsy as a mouse) at a field and announce a new value. Thus is computing in the ’20s.
Netrunners
Netrunners are those individuals who find the GRS and the associated returned data much to limiting. It seems some computers/companies/people are keeping data to themselves. Netrunners tend to bypass the GRS and associated directions on where to find data. Thus the job of a netrunner to get the information is much more arduous, however they have a tendency to get information not found on the GRS. I.e. Information that isn’t announced as existing.