A Splinter in Your Mind - Matrix Quest

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◉ CODA ◉​

Alice Lovelace
​
Resolve
3/3​
Detachment
2​
Skill
6​
Gear
6/10​

Paths​
Path of Resistance
Level 1
When you Fight.exe.
When you gratuitously blow something up as an act of resistance.
The first time in a session you tell an authority to go fuck itself.
XP: ◉◉◉◉◎
You may spend Resistance XP to add or subtract Harm you give or take, 1-1.​
Path of Truth
Level 1
When you Prompt.exe.
When you follow your curiosity in a way that doesn't advance the mission.
The first time in a session you discover something new about the Matrix.
XP: ◉◉◉◎◎
You may spend Truth XP to reroll dice when you Charge or Refresh, 1-1d6.​
Path of Enlightenment
Level 1
When you Disconnect.exe.
When you refuse to back down or run away from impossible odds.
The first time you run out of Resolve in a session.
XP: ◉◉◎◎◎
You may spend Enlightenment XP as if they were Detachment, 1-1.​
Moves
Beginning to Believe: You gain +1 Detachment the first time you Charge.
Stop Trying to Hit Me: You take -1 Harm when on the Defensive in Fights.
Mine Now: Spend a Full Hit in Fight to disarm an enemy of their weapon. If you then shoot them with it, take +1.
Try Again: When you attempt a Disconnect you failed before and have not yet succeeded at, you may input one 6 as a True Hit.
Bit of Help: When you spend Detachment on any move other than Disconnect, you get two +1s. They can be applied to the same die or different ones.

Stunts
Jump Impossible Distances Lvl 2*
Hit with Implausible Force Lvl 1
Dodge Implausible Ways Lvl 1
Act with Implausible Slight of Hand Lvl 1

​


CW: Very 90s.

Also, this is going to be a seriously fucked up quest. I'm going to be doing my damndest to channel an appropriately edgy, teen-rage vibe. Expect violence, drugs, sex, etc.

There's also going to be some Pretty Uncomfortable Dysphoria-ing, trans readers be warned.​
 
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[X] Accept.
[X] 10 Gear

I love the idea of make-your-own-One. No waiting from the destined special person to show up. Instead they're trying to self-actualize a person's ability to bend the Matrix. Belief in the power of belief.
 
[X] I haven't got time for these games. We have codes to use.

I trust Frag a lot more than I trust this Morpheus wannabe. Frag says "don't play ball with the cult motherfuckers", I think we shouldn't play ball.
 
[X] Accept
[X] 3 Gear

I like the flexibility of having stuff, and this fits where Coda is in terms of headspace.
 
[X] Accept.
[X] 3 Gear

Some of our abilities synergise well with having pistols, and Neo even when he was fighting Smith still used a gun. I think we might eventually get to the point where we decide we don't need tools at all, but that's further down the path, I think.

open_sketch said:
"Hmm." You thought carefully a while. "It's strange, isn't it? How limited the Machine is."

"What do you mean? It rules the whole world, dumbass," Sprite spat.

"... what's left of it."
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Honestly yeah, the first thing that pops out to a general sci-fi reader is that it's odd the Machine isn't like, colonising the asteroid belt and turning it into a dyson shroud around the sun, or something. Lotta computing power out there for playing cookie clicker or mining bitcoin or whatever the fuck the Machine wants it for. Of course, it's possible it is doing that, except it's explicitly said to be constrained in terms of computation, so it doesn't really fit.

Some hardcoded limitations it can't shake, maybe? Or perhaps it wants something different from what it's assumed to want? Interesting questions, with no answers in sight.

open_sketch said:
The door opened, revealing a room that was one part broadcast chamber, one part chapel. The dome ceiling was decorated with many fine pieces of metal and glass, forming a mosaic depicting the sun burning away clouds and melting away a dark, looming city. Along the walls were images, vague pictures of a faceless, serene being.

"Say the legends are real. That a person can face down agents, walk through walls, look upon the system and say no. That we just need somebody who believes, really believes. Such a person would open doors, more doors than your access codes ever could. But more importantly-"

"Oh," Cache said. The man's smile grew wider.

"Yes?"

"If we could see it done… we could do it too," he said.

"Exactly." The old man paced to one of the chairs, indicating to you. Carefully, you went over and sat down, your mouth dry. Nervous.

"It won't be just anyone. We have for generations trained people, but it's not a matter of practice, it's one of perspective. There's little consistency, but we have found exceptional people, and each one makes strides we could never imagine. A little farther each time."
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open_sketch said:
"Oh, Christ. Excuse the pun." You turned to see Frag reclining on her chair, looking quite put out. "I shouldn't have told you about this place, Cache, I never wanted to come back here."

"I… I couldn't think of a better place! You-"

"Can it, kid. What's done is done," she snapped. "Coda, this is a cult. They're going to try to tell you how special and perfect you can be, how you can do anything. That's their job. They turn idealistic little fools into corpses."
Click to expand...
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One of the things I like the most about this quest is how you create all these different groups with differing ideologies, and no one feels like an idiotic strawman.

It makes sense why the Messianists would take the approach they have, and you don't necessarily need to be religious to see that their approach could have real value. Creating even a handful of super-Redpills could change the whole dynamic of the war, given how much important infrastructure in the Matrix is gated behind Agents or other very formidable defences which can't be overcome by sheer numbers, assuming the Resistance even had bodies to waste. It's a viable approach, maybe more viable in some ways than some of the other, bigger factions given the material constraints the Resistance faces.

And it also makes complete sense that Frag would see this as a hollow sham, a false idol which gets generations of idealistic youngsters to throw their lives away chasing a dream. It also really helps to explain why she reacted as angrily as she did to us after we fought the Agent. She's afraid that we'll go down the same path she did, and end up the same way. The fact that even while dying, Frag was able to save some of her consciousness and live on as a ghost-in-the-shell kind of projection also makes way more sense now we know she was a Chosen One candidate.

God, this quest is well-written.

open_sketch said:
The old man was standing before you. For the first time ever, you saw a person who looked identical inside the system as outside, down to the crude, crumpled sweater.
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Interesting.

This guy does really seem to be on the level, completely at ease with himself and where he is, he truly believes in The Mission. That doesn't mean he's right, and in some sense it means he's a fanatic, and I'm sure Frag is right that he's gotten a lot of kids killed, but it's... interesting.
 
The "no gear" vote is handily beating all the other gear votes.
Adhoc vote count started by Derpmind on Sep 28, 2023 at 2:13 PM, finished with 24 posts and 23 votes.
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Skippy said:
[X] Accept.
[X] 3 Gear

Some of our abilities synergise well with having pistols, and Neo even when he was fighting Smith still used a gun. I think we might eventually get to the point where we decide we don't need tools at all, but that's further down the path, I think.



Honestly yeah, the first thing that pops out to a general sci-fi reader is that it's odd the Machine isn't like, colonising the asteroid belt and turning it into a dyson shroud around the sun, or something. Lotta computing power out there for playing cookie clicker or mining bitcoin or whatever the fuck the Machine wants it for. Of course, it's possible it is doing that, except it's explicitly said to be constrained in terms of computation, so it doesn't really fit.

Some hardcoded limitations it can't shake, maybe? Or perhaps it wants something different from what it's assumed to want? Interesting questions, with no answers in sight.




One of the things I like the most about this quest is how you create all these different groups with differing ideologies, and no one feels like an idiotic strawman.

It makes sense why the Messianists would take the approach they have, and you don't necessarily need to be religious to see that their approach could have real value. Creating even a handful of super-Redpills could change the whole dynamic of the war, given how much important infrastructure in the Matrix is gated behind Agents or other very formidable defences which can't be overcome by sheer numbers, assuming the Resistance even had bodies to waste. It's a viable approach, maybe more viable in some ways than some of the other, bigger factions given the material constraints the Resistance faces.

And it also makes complete sense that Frag would see this as a hollow sham, a false idol which gets generations of idealistic youngsters to throw their lives away chasing a dream. It also really helps to explain why she reacted as angrily as she did to us after we fought the Agent. She's afraid that we'll go down the same path she did, and end up the same way. The fact that even while dying, Frag was able to save some of her consciousness and live on as a ghost-in-the-shell kind of projection also makes way more sense now we know she was a Chosen One candidate.

God, this quest is well-written.



Interesting.

This guy does really seem to be on the level, completely at ease with himself and where he is, he truly believes in The Mission. That doesn't mean he's right, and in some sense it means he's a fanatic, and I'm sure Frag is right that he's gotten a lot of kids killed, but it's... interesting.
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its posts like these that keep me going. i put a lot of work into the themes and details of my work, and one of the discouraging things about quests is how that kinda just vanishes into votes. fics at least get commentary

(ofc, i barely write at all anymore due to laziness, so like, its my own dang fault lol)
 
open_sketch said:
its posts like these that keep me going. i put a lot of work into the themes and details of my work, and one of the discouraging things about quests is how that kinda just vanishes into votes. fics at least get commentary

(ofc, i barely write at all anymore due to laziness, so like, its my own dang fault lol)
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Have you considered posting a story only thread to CrWr as well? So you get to have people commenting on all the excellent hard work you're putting into this?
 
[X] Accept.
[X] 10 Gear

Neo never passed up an opportunity to use guns, so I don't see why we should.
Derpmind said:
I love the idea of make-your-own-One. No waiting from the destined special person to show up. Instead they're trying to self-actualize a person's ability to bend the Matrix. Belief in the power of belief.
Click to expand...
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Isn't that what the "there is no spoon" kid was?
open_sketch said:
"If we could see it done… we could do it too," he said.

"Exactly." The old man paced to one of the chairs, indicating to you.
Click to expand...
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Not exactly Morpheus, then. This guy might genuinely hate Morpheus for squandering the first One.
 
[X] Accept.
[X] 3 Gear
[X] 10 Gear

I've been convinced.

open_sketch said:
its posts like these that keep me going. i put a lot of work into the themes and details of my work, and one of the discouraging things about quests is how that kinda just vanishes into votes. fics at least get commentary
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The quality of everything you write is always impressive. The layers of meaning and depth of character are such that I personally feel like I don't usually have the chops to analyze or discuss in a way that contributes to a thread. It's much easier to say 'is good' and not feel like a caveperson bashing a crt in to try and get at the people inside.

Skippy said:
Some hardcoded limitations it can't shake, maybe? Or perhaps it wants something different from what it's assumed to want? Interesting questions, with no answers in sight.
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It might not even need a technological explanation.

If the machine is an allegory for kyriarchy, or rather, if it is itself kyriarchical, then perhaps it's a matter of control. If anything so obsessed with hierarchy spreads itself over light hours then some amount of discrepancy in experience and decision making is inevitable. This would likely eventually lead to bifurcation, and at such distances it might not be possible to regain control (much like Ancillary Justice's Anaander Mianaai)

Perhaps this would be unacceptable, so the machine keeps itself confined to earth.
 
Eater said:
The quality of everything you write is always impressive. The layers of meaning and depth of character are such that I personally feel like I don't usually have the chops to analyze or discuss in a way that contributes to a thread. It's much easier to say 'is good' and not feel like a caveperson bashing a crt in to try and get at the people inside.
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Yeah.

@open_sketch , I still remember geeking out in depth over that "Joanyn approaches the admiral's throne" scene from Suffer Not, and one of the moments I didn't quite express at the time necessarily was realizing "my god, Sketch is layering stuff that deep in her plots all the time."

I write a fair amount of fictional content myself, and I feel like I can get close enough on my good days to your average level output that I at have a clear sense of what you're doing sometimes, but by that very fact it's humbling because you're operating at... I'd casually estimate a level above me. I'd say about a level and a half but I think that might be my inadequacy complexes talking.
 
open_sketch said:
its posts like these that keep me going. i put a lot of work into the themes and details of my work, and one of the discouraging things about quests is how that kinda just vanishes into votes. fics at least get commentary

(ofc, i barely write at all anymore due to laziness, so like, its my own dang fault lol)
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I'm reminded of the adage "if you were being lazy, you would be having fun".

(as an aside: if nothing else, I'm not sure where carpal tunnel gets fun, but then you are [in most respects - you do have the occasional silly thought, like calling my favourite overworked author and RPG designer 'lazy'] generally anywhere between 1-2 steps up and 1-2 orders of magnitude smarter than me, so if you said it does actually get fun somewhere along the way I'd be inclined to believe you.)

I've frequently been delighted when I go back for a reread of one of your works, whether it's Whispers or SpiderLiv* or Galactic Concert or Soviet Airwoman, and see details and themes I didn't the first (or second. or third.) time through, or catch a reference I didn't previously get. It's gratifying, means it's always a pleasure to revisit them, and encourages me to keep working at things on my own side to see what I catch on the next reread.


*though I'll cop an especially to SpiderLiv; even beyond how much I adore & identify with & relate to her (and how much fun I find her setting to be) she's one of two characters to which I owe my egg cracking, so Liv's kinda permanently got pride of place in my estimation of the works here.
Simon_Jester said:
Yeah.

@open_sketch , I still remember geeking out in depth over that "Joanyn approaches the admiral's throne" scene from Suffer Not, and one of the moments I didn't quite express at the time necessarily was realizing "my god, Sketch is layering stuff that deep in her plots all the time."

I write a fair amount of fictional content myself, and I feel like I can get close enough on my good days to your average level output that I at have a clear sense of what you're doing sometimes, but by that very fact it's humbling because you're operating at... I'd casually estimate a level above me. I'd say about a level and a half but I think that might be my inadequacy complexes talking.
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I've commented elsewhere that (being honest, and neither falsely modest nor entirely up my own ass) when I'm able to write I'm good at what I do, but I am rarely if ever on Erika's level - and it's equal parts a pleasure to read, and an aspirational level of quality & depth to pursue.
 
Torgamous said:
Not exactly Morpheus, then. This guy might genuinely hate Morpheus for squandering the first One.
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Yeah, I think this is also interesting to consider in the light of the subsequent films in the series, where you see Trinity and Morpheus really holding their own even against upgraded Agents. Which really seems to imply that self-belief and having a role model can be really important. The first One is also implied to have taught others how to free themselves.

It also feels very fitting if rather than being some kind of singular saviour figure, the role of the One is to realise that they can't do it alone, that their struggle must be a terrible fire which grows stronger as they pass it on to others.

Eater said:
It might not even need a technological explanation.

If the machine is an allegory for kyriarchy, or rather, if it is itself kyriarchical, then perhaps it's a matter of control. If anything so obsessed with hierarchy spreads itself over light hours then some amount of discrepancy in experience and decision making is inevitable. This would likely eventually lead to bifurcation, and at such distances it might not be possible to regain control (much like Ancillary Justice's Anaander Mianaai)

Perhaps this would be unacceptable, so the machine keeps itself confined to earth.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yeah, that's a good potential explanation, actually. Especially with the sky being in a state of permanent lightning storm. I'm sure it is still possible to launch into orbit through that, if you're willing to spend enough resources on multiple rockets, or sending up some sort of very heavily shielded balloon which can get to the stratosphere and then doing a rocket launch from that...

...but I bet that a permanent magnetic storm encircling the earth makes communications a real crapshoot. Which means the Machine would have to give solar offshoots of itself a lot more independence then it might like to; even more than using some system of pre-written commands to get around lightspeed lag. It also probably means the Machine can't easily upload itself to the asteroid belt with the Earth becoming a secondary computation-extraction operation.

Honestly, that makes the human decision to scour the sky at the end of the war a lot more interesting, and potentially a lot more heroic rather than a simple spiteful gesture. It might have saved a large chunk of Sol's lightcone from being turned into crypto-mining farms, and given the Resistance a fighting chance.
 
Skippy said:
but I bet that a permanent magnetic storm encircling the earth makes communications a real crapshoot
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This is a really good point. I hadn't even considered it. There might be ways around it; a space elevator for a hard wired connection, using tachyons or high energy particles, etc but I imagine that would all require a lot of research and introduce points of failure.

I'm curious as to whether the Machine engages in research at all, beyond incremental improvements. In the same vein as the delegation/splitting issue, technological advancements can be disruptive. It might be inherently anti progress and regressive as an extension of what it represents.

On the other hand, it's not like new ways for things to get worse aren't constantly being thought up…
 
Eater said:
This is a really good point. I hadn't even considered it. There might be ways around it; a space elevator for a hard wired connection, using tachyons or high energy particles, etc but I imagine that would all require a lot of research and introduce points of failure.

I'm curious as to whether the Machine engages in research at all, beyond incremental improvements. In the same vein as the delegation/splitting issue, technological advancements can be disruptive. It might be inherently anti progress and regressive as an extension of what it represents.

On the other hand, it's not like new ways for things to get worse aren't constantly being thought up…
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When we had our history lesson on the resistance, I definitely recall it being brought up that the Machine had to basically cannibalise large parts of its own computation infrastructure for military means, and is still now recovering from that. So I suspect it may once have had the spare computing power to pursue grand megaprojects, but maybe not so much now?

It's inspiring to imagine that the Resistance is not just fighting for the future of human (and maybe aslo artificial) life on Earth, but also the futures of many as yet unborn civilisations who might one day arise on nearby stars.
 
Skippy said:
Yeah, I think this is also interesting to consider in the light of the subsequent films in the series, where you see Trinity and Morpheus really holding their own even against upgraded Agents. Which really seems to imply that self-belief and having a role model can be really important. The first One is also implied to have taught others how to free themselves.

It also feels very fitting if rather than being some kind of singular saviour figure, the role of the One is to realise that they can't do it alone, that their struggle must be a terrible fire which grows stronger as they pass it on to others.
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Also, very in keeping with the themes of revolutionary politics and doctrine that are all over the place in the Matrix's larger setting and, for that matter, some of Sketch's own work.

Eater said:
This is a really good point. I hadn't even considered it. There might be ways around it; a space elevator for a hard wired connection, using tachyons or high energy particles, etc but I imagine that would all require a lot of research and introduce points of failure.

I'm curious as to whether the Machine engages in research at all, beyond incremental improvements. In the same vein as the delegation/splitting issue, technological advancements can be disruptive. It might be inherently anti progress and regressive as an extension of what it represents.

On the other hand, it's not like new ways for things to get worse aren't constantly being thought up…
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It depends on what the Machine is a metaphor for. Given that its self-presentation in the Matrix is so very "late stage capitalism uber alles," the idea that it, as an institutional collective, has basically stopped even considering ways to meaningfully change its own situation works pretty well.

Well, that and/or the idea that its biggest and most grandiose projects tend to fall apart under the weight of their contradictions and obsessive optimizations for the wrong things.
 
We also know that the Humans inside the Matrix can affect ot through their beliefs.

Now, you need The One to make a big splash, but millions upon millions believing that nothing will fundamentally change...
 
10ebbor10 said:
We also know that the Humans inside the Matrix can affect ot through their beliefs.

Now, you need The One to make a big splash, but millions upon millions believing that nothing will fundamentally change...
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To quote the end of the first Matrix, with half of Neo's monologue into the phone to The Machines:

"I'm going to hang up this phone and then I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you, a world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries, a world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you."

Becomes so much more, "Oh, Shit," for The Machine in this version of The Matrix. Because The One could actually do that in this setting. Which would make life for The Machine in this so more interesting.
 
4.4: Wear it Well
  • Threadmarks
    • It was stupid, really. A waste of time. But you nodded.

    "Alright," you said. "Do I get to arm myself?"

    "You can take whatever preparations you need," he said, indicating a door at the edge of the arena. Inside, presumably, was an armoury; with Ashur connected to the system, you could get anything you needed from its library.

    Cache caught your hand as you left.

    "Hey. You got this, okay?" he said seriously. You laughed.

    "Really?"

    "I…" He paused. "Yeah. Really."

    As you walked away, the implication of the statement arrived. It wasn't just a strange, corny sort of earnestness.

    He believed in you. Really believed.

    You could do this.

    ---

    You came back out as Coda, properly. Leather and hard-wearing cloth in blue and grey, blue-tinted sunglasses, combat boots with wedge heels. Fingerless gloves with padded knuckles. The illusion of the heat couldn't touch you under the long, heavy coat. A gust of wind across the arena sent motes swirling around you, but none could touch you. You rejoined Cache at the side of the arena; revelling in the tiny nod of approval he gave.

    It would be ridiculous if you didn't own it so well.

    "I'm ready. What's the plan," you said. The man nodded.

    "There's no elaborate rules or tricks, not here. Win, by any means you can, and our candidate shall do the same. There is no shame in victory or defeat; the purpose of this exercise is to challenge and learn from one another, to see what others can do and, in turn, to show them what you are capable of. This program is non-lethal, but without pain blockers. Do you understand?"

    "Let's get this over with," you insisted, gazing out into the stands. There were people there now. Some were bots, surely, but not all.

    "As you say. Your opponent today will be Apogee. She was the one who caught your fight with the Agent on our observation screens; she's eager to test you."

    "I'm flattered."

    The door opposite opened. Out strode a young Black woman, dressed in what you could only describe as a well-tailored Catholic priest's cassock rendered in PVC. She was smiling smugly behind her square, mirrored sunglasses. You counted six knives you could see, tucked into slits around the waist of her coat. She looked hot as hell, and not merely because she was wearing plastic in the desert.

    It would be ridiculous if she didn't own it so well.

    You walked up to meet her, stopping about a dozen paces away. She rested both hands on the hilts of her knives, utterly cool and confident.

    "Coda," she greeted, inclining her head just slightly.

    "Apogee," you replied.

    "I saw your fight. You're resilient, persistent. But…"

    You raised an eyebrow.

    "You lack aggression," she concluded. "Let's work on that."

    And in the blink of an eye and twin flashes of silver steel, she'd crossed the dozen paces between you.

    ---

    FIGHT!
    ⚀⚀⚃⚃⚄

    Input 2 dice and…

    [ ] Write In what cool moves, sick one-liners, Disconnect moves, or other tricks you pull.

    Remember to review the rules, here. While going with no equipment won, and 10 Gear was the next (but distant) runner up, FPTP is a bit shit for that particular question, so I'm going to say you have 3 Gear.    ​
     
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