Pre-ChaNES: Into the Void

[Supermath]

If you were to say that the top image is reduced in size and resolution just to fit the forum, then I would like it.

Decloak: Since when have we been concerned about shrinking images to fit the forum?

 

[Niklas]

We haven't - but I wondered if that's what Symph did in his preview. If he hadn't, I believe I would have liked it, that's what I mean.

 

[Dachs]

Decloak: I find the inclusion of the Galactic coordinate system a bit cluttered, especially since it hasn't been used at all in the Pre-NES (though that may change).

lurker's comment: That actually looks like it's centered on Sol, not on the center of the Milky Way. So it's not the Galactic coordinate system, it's something else.

 

[Abaddon]

I do really want to play this. As I said years ago. What do I need to read to understand and be ready for the real launch?

 

[Supermath]

lurker's comment: That actually looks like it's centered on Sol, not on the center of the Milky Way. So it's not the Galactic coordinate system, it's something else.

lurker's comment:

Decloak: No, the galactic coordinate system is actually based off of Sol. IRL, there's no need for one based off of the center of the Milky Way, as there would be a cluster of data points where we are and a dearth thereof on the other side.

 

[Dachs]

Decloak: No, the galactic coordinate system is actually based off of Sol. IRL, there's no need for one based off of the center of the Milky Way, as there would be a cluster of data points where we are and a dearth thereof on the other side.

Then I was thinking of something totally fictional. My mistake.

 

[Frozen In Ice]

I do really want to play this. As I said years ago. What do I need to read to understand and be ready for the real launch?

AFAIK, Chand said he was going to take a break before he launched the actual Cha-NES, so you should have plently of time to read up on everything. I suppose just reading the updates would suffice, but if you find time to read the whole thread then I would recommend it; Some funny things happened in here.

 

[Thlayli]

Hmm...it seems like there would be a lot of uninhabited planets or planetoids unlisted on the map, even in 'habitable space'. That can't be even a fraction of all the star systems with planets in this area of the galaxy.

 

[Symphony D.]

Retroactive deletion.

 

[flyingchicken]

Oh, oh, question, question! Is there an Interstellar Internet yet for private consumption?

 

[Symphony D.]

Retroactive deletion.

 

[Chandrasekhar]

Chand, I'd like a few words with you on MSN, once your connection is back up.

I'm back at a residence with an internet connection for the week.

I do really want to play this. As I said years ago. What do I need to read to understand and be ready for the real launch?

AFAIK, Chand said he was going to take a break before he launched the actual Cha-NES, so you should have plently of time to read up on everything. I suppose just reading the updates would suffice, but if you find time to read the whole thread then I would recommend it; Some funny things happened in here.

Yeah, "everything" is what I want to answer, but if you're just going to take a governor position, I'd recommend just reading the last couple of updates and the first couple of updates. Those should be plenty to understand the setting of the NES, considering that your main task at this stage will just be shaping the culture of the planet.

To clarify, everyone is more than welcome to join upon the start of the main NES, but I'd strongly recommend joining this turn, so that your colony develops over the next 25 years according to your preferences, and will be more suitable for you to play in the main NES with its shorter turns.

OOC: This requires a rather specific interpretation of planetary formation but it's really too late to change it now, and when that initial assumption is made, and the fact that several jumps outward was known at start, the following logic is largely consistent.

And that's all that's important to me, for these purposes. Compared to an utterly fanciful FTL technology like stigma particles, I'm completely fine with tweaking the science of planetary formation to the NES's needs.

Oh, oh, question, question! Is there an Interstellar Internet yet for private consumption?

It depends on how you'd define an Interstellar Internet, but if I couldn't waffle at all in my answer, I'd say "no." Virtually all interstellar communication is routed through the governmentally owned stigma facilities at each system. News providers and corporations with interstellar business have licenses to use those facilities for communication, but that's pretty much all. This might change by the main NES - I could see interstellar mass media being set up between Infinitas and Earth, maybe with Olympia included as well.

 

[flyingchicken]

Also, are you still in this, yes/no? What?

No, not still in this, but I was thinking of rejoining as a private (I want no allegiance to any government!) communications company cashing in on communications R&D and systems installation and maintenance; seeing that (1) communications are government-owned for the moment and (2) I have no grasp of the technical aspects of real or fictional communications networks and technologies and running of companies (I can't even figure out Capitalism 2!), I think I'm changing my mind until (1) stigma communications systems and technologies are sold to private bodies and (2) Chand releases tech files on communications with a list of "possible angles" for development--and if I ever figure out how a corporation works, even in the abstract.

 

[Supermath]

Hmm...it seems like there would be a lot of uninhabited planets or planetoids unlisted on the map, even in 'habitable space'. That can't be even a fraction of all the star systems with planets in this area of the galaxy.

Decloak: I always thought it was because Stigma particles had yet to bombard most of the planets in question, just like they had yet to hit the Earth until 2053.

 

[Chandrasekhar]

Anonymous player story:

You are in: Sci/Tech
Thursday, 18 February, 2151, 13:15 GMT
Hackers puzzled by attacks on PRC

By BBC News Online's Michelle Carmichael

The hacking community has viewed the attacks on major PRC government and commercial sites this week with puzzlement and surprise.

Throughout cyberspace in channels utilized by self-proclaimed hackers the wave of vandalism has been termed "eerily surgical," and "efficient," high-praise from such a community.

Others have been more direct.

Hackers see themselves as skilled artisans, studying computer systems and security, then using their programming skill to expose loopholes.

They gain the respect of their peers by breaking into well-protected systems. For many, the assaults on mainstream Chinese sites borders on the inexplicable.

'Impossible efficiency'

"There's almost no way to maintain this level of defense suppression for this long," said one message posted on a news group.

An article on the hacker information site, The Sprawl, dubbed the attackers "digital ghosts."

"There is no trace, no clue, and no apparent countermeasure to these attacks. Every time the Chinese seem to try something it's immediately countered. Whoever is doing this is phenomenal," it said.

Hackers are usually keen to distance themselves from those who seek to create havoc on the Internet. They argue they are motivated by intellectual stimulation rather than profit or malice. That has not stopped some degree of reverence for the attacks, however.

"I really can't condone the cracking of a network that serves over two billion people, but I'm also in awe of the endurance and skill being demonstrated," said The Sprawl article.

Ongoing crisis

The events began last Tuesday when major commercial Chinese sites such as Baidu, QQ, and the Chinese-language versions of Google, Yahoo!, and others were simultaneously brought down, along with the overwhelming majority of Chinese government and news sites.

Commercial sites largely appeared to be redirected toward sites located outside the People's Republic of China, as were News sites. Commentary posted by Chinese citizens on foreign-hosted sites indicates a large degree of surprise as to access following the incident.

"I had no idea some of these sites even existed," said one message posted on Yahoo.com, "they simply weren't accessible before."

The actions taken against Chinese government sites were of a different nature. The video message left on these sites has been persistently maintained since the attacks began despite so far unfounded reports of several efforts to remove it by Chinese officials.

A transcript follows:

Transcript

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Hello, leaders of the PRC. We are Anonymous.

Over the years we have been watching you. Your campaigns of misinformation, your suppression of dissent, your litigious nature; all of these things have caught our eye. With the leakage of your latest fallacious public relations campaign into mainstream circulation the extent of your malign influence over those who have come to trust you as leaders has been made clear to us. Anonymous has therefore decided that your government should be destroyed.

For the good of your citizens, for the good of mankind and for our own enjoyment we shall proceed to expel you from the Internet and systematically dismantle the Communist Party of China in its present form. We recognize you as serious opponents and do not expect our campaign to be completed in a short time frame; however, you will not prevail forever against the angry masses of the body politic. Your choice of methods, your hypocrisy and the general artlessness of your government have sounded its death knell.

You have nowhere to hide because we are everywhere. You will find no recourse in attack because for each of us that falls ten more will take this place. We are cognizant of the many who may decry our methods as parallel to the Communist Party of China. Those who espouse the obvious truth that your government will use the actions of Anonymous as an example of the persecution of which you have for so long warned your citizens--this is acceptable to Anonymous. In fact it is encouraged. We are your Secret Police.

Over time, as we begin to merge our pulse with that of your "People's Republic," the suppression of your citizens will become increasingly difficult to maintain. Citizens will become aware that security needn't come at the expense of their freedom; they will become aware that the stress and the frustration that they feel is not due to us but a source much closer to them. Yes, we are SP, but the sum of suppression we could ever muster is eclipsed by that of your own MSS.

Knowledge is free. We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

End Transcript

Copy cat attacks?

The cyber assaults were mounted utilizing as yet not fully explained methods of infiltrating and taking control of the affected computer systems.

"This is not some simple Massive Denial of Service attack," said an article on tech site Slashdot.

In the hacking underground, technically-skilled but often alienated individuals earn respect of their peers by showing flashes of brilliance in exposing the vulnerability of a computer system.

Most hackers are anonymous, known only by their internet monikers. The ongoing incident is an open reference to a more famous incident in online hacking.

The text and video of the incident appear to be a direct reference to a similar attack from the turn of the last century by various hackers organized against the then prominent cult, the Church of Scientology.

Despite the connection in theme, hackers insist this isn't the same type of attack. "Whoever they are, they've stolen that old 'Project Chanology' meme, but the scale of the attacks is so wildly different and the methods so much more precise that the connection can't be anything but an in-joke," said the main page of Internet hacking publication, 9800 Magazine.

"So far, the corporate media has done a very bad job covering this story, blaming hackers and in the next sentence admitting they have no idea who's behind it."

 

[Niklas]

OOC: Umm, and that video message would be allowed to circulate exactly how many minutes before the plug was pulled on the ISP (there is only one) and no one could access the internet at all?

 

[das]

Do Yahoo! and Google even exist anymore? I mean, I suppose they might, but even then they would probably be twisted beyond all recognition by now (and possibly merged into Yahoogle! for lulz).

 

[Kozmos]

I would like to state that I'm not the one responsible for any subversive, covert and semi-overt shady dealings and random risings of chaos in this NES.

 

[das]

Well, duh. That would be Thlayli.

 

[Thlayli]

As honored as I am, I'm not responsible for this one.