CORELINE (D20 Modern/D20 BESM Setting).

[Aquarius Alodar]

Beautiful, my man. Absolutely beautiful.

I'll see what I can cook up or adapt for the Cybermen.

'THIS IS PEST CONTROL.' indeed. Of course, a team headed by Sec (w/ certain......backup.....)might well be developing strategies for this.

 

[marcoasalazarm]

A friend of mine lent me a DVD with the (fandubbed) first 4 episodes of 'Code Geass'.

Heh. Not much really of a 'follow-the-villain' serieses, but there's a few ideas there.

Where would be a good beachhead for an attempted Britannian invasion, anycase?

 

[Aquarius Alodar]

A friend of mine lent me a DVD with the (fandubbed) first 4 episodes of 'Code Geass'.

Heh. Not much really of a 'follow-the-villain' serieses, but there's a few ideas there.

Where would be a good beachhead for an attempted Britannian invasion, anycase?

I shall answer that with another question, amigo: Where would the AOH's 'grandmaster', Jason D. Dexter, operate out of,d'you think?

 

[marcoasalazarm]

I shall answer that with another question, amigo: Where would the AOH's 'grandmaster', Jason D. Dexter, operate out of,d'you think?

Someplace far away and deserted (so to speak). Dunno... deep within the Nevada desert, New Mexico.... or the Minnesotan or Washington wilderness.

You know what, let's make it Minnesota. The AoH is all over the planet, so people think he's in the more 'obvious' places.

 

[marcoasalazarm]

Bump!

 

[marcoasalazarm]

Okay... bumping again.

 

[Aquarius Alodar]

Okay... bumping again.

(FYI: One of your sig quotes has been...off for some considerable time(dyslexia methinks) and runs as follows: Si vis Pacem, Para Bellum. Literally:If you wish for peace, prepare for war.)


As la muerte Mucho-coloreada puts it so well, if Fantastica is the land of stories......well, science fiction is conspicious by its absence of exclusion....which kind of explains the space station 'Ivory Magnolia' hanging in 'geostationary orbit' over the place, as of the current year. Strange thing is, though, no other artifical satelites are in orbit, but it seems to provide for transdimensional communications needs without missing a beat.

(Si... chew en esto, Senor Ende! )

 

[Socius]

Well, once work was out of the way I had time to work on this idea as well. It's cyberspace oriented, but hopefully someone can use it as a location for either an adventure or even a campaign.

-----

The Blue Pill/The Red Pill (Virtual Location/CyberBusinesses)

While the Visitation has considerably transformed the landscape and culture of the physical world, the domains of cyberspace have been affected as well. The relatively sudden influx of various advanced computing technologies and software have practically mirrored "the real world" in how vivid, breathtaking and yet frightening it has become. Indeed, the virtual world has taken on a unique sentience as countless types of Artificial Intelligence lifeforms find themselves in a vast electronic frontier incredibly different from what they remembered. Many have resumed what they remembered their existence was about, with the new terrain being anything from a minor nuisance to an unknown danger. And just as many have taken to exploring the strange new virtual world and find what they can make of it.

One result of such exploration are a pair of intricately tied virtual locations and cyberbusiness: The Blue Pill and The Red Pill. The two are not cyberbusinesses one would traditionally expect in the manner of eBay or Amazon.com; in fact there is no website at all for the Pills and conventional internet engine searches will only trip over the inevitable Matrix references. The Blue Pill and the Red Pill are literal cyberbusinesses that exist purely in cyberspace, made by AIs for AIs (and the occasional organic visitor).

Appearance and Location

Visually, the two Pills can literally take on the appearance of any building in the local system's architecture, anything from basic polygonal shapes to a corner café with mirrorshade windows, all the way to breathtaking near-photographic renderings of exquisite mansions. There will always at least be a hint of the appropriate color on the "building," regardless of whether or not there's any visible writing with the establishment's name.

The Blue Pill is a restaurant that can lead to several locations varying from family friendly casual dining joints with atmosphere reminiscent of places like Applebee's or Outback, specialty restaurants like sushi houses and churrascaria, and all the way to a virtually separate (partitioned might be a more accurate term) high-class five-star establishment with suitably opulent decor and menu- this part is known by AIs as La Pilule Bleu- depending on which part a particular AI or individual wishes to go to. All it takes is knowing which restaurant you want to be in before stepping through the virtual doorway and you're right in the reception area of the desired place.

The Red Pill on the other hand is a nightclub type establishment that branch into several depending on one's preferred music and social crowd. Anything from mosh pits and biker bars all the way to high society piano bars are available, again merely requiring which section you want to be in before stepping through the doorway.

Structurally, the actual location of the entire Pill domain is not fixed. In fact, the whole thing can cut and paste itself to any stable computer network that is confirmed to be nonhostile to its presence. The Pill Core (as the central heart of the whole establishment domain is called by its employees) is currently housed in a calm and benign sector of the legendary Darwinia virtual world, although it's quite capable of shifting location like a virtual Atlantis if severe trouble was to erupt there.

The Blue Pill and Red Pill buildings that manifest wherever are in fact portals that take visitors to the Pill Core itself, the assorted restaurants and clubs within linked to a vast and almost labyrinthine network of virtual pocket worlds that are interconnected through specific and carefully controlled (usually discreetly concealed with occasional security milling about) channels and ports in a computer simulation of Temporal Physics that would amuse many a Time Lord. At each Blue or Red portal there will always be a sign on a window or stand that lists the name of each pocket virtual world followed by a summary of each pocket world's theme and specialties. However, the listings will always include a word for the colors Blue and Red. Visitors will always return through the portal they entered through, although in some rare cases the portal will have closed or relocated and leave the customers stranded. Usually the portal will be quickly re-established, but sometimes they will be allowed to exit through a fresh one elsewhere if the point of origin is proven to be dangerous.

AIs in cyberspace have no trouble at all finding the portal buildings whenever the mood strikes them. People in the living world however have to overcome being able to interact with cyberspace to begin with, as well as being able to track down the virtual buildings themselves after getting past the first problem. An ability to jack in to cyberspace is the most direct way of overcoming that problem, although that comes with inherent expenses and dangers.

A much safer but much less effective way of visiting the Pills would be through certain online games/utilities such as The Sims, Habbo, or Second Life. Sims naturally have little difficulty finding the Pill portals and in fact many a Simhead were quite surprised to find their Sims come upon a building that they know doesn't exist in their current expansion and find a starkly breathtaking world inside that somehow manages to not eat up their memory and processor requirements. Of course the problem with The Sims is that there's no direct way to verbally communicate with the other AIs on the player's part. Still, if the visitor can either modify their copy or possess an ability related to electronics such as telemechanics then they might be able to convince (or order) the Sim to relay messages on their behalf. But there's the new risk of possibly getting their beloved Sim derezzed if things really go bad in an interaction.

An effective medium ground would be to either have a suitably capable AI companion such as a Digimon or NetNAVI to either do the talking for them or accompany them on a netrun.

In addition to the portals, restaurants and clubs, the Pill domain also includes near the center of its hub virtual kitchens, pantries, farmlands for particularly picky digital crops and livestock, as well as an informal Command Center comprised of administrative offices, employee-related facilities and a sizeable security section that includes shelters and digital armories. Yes, armories. The whole Pill domain is a living organism reminiscent of the largest and most sophisticated Las Vegas casinos.

Offerings

The Blue Pill restaurants are as varied as the human experience and imagination. None of the restaurants will be the sort to offend what is considered basic human decency. Now and then there will always be a new Blue pocket world offered with a focus on certain style of cuisine popping up on the portal list. The AIs are somehow able to taste the food and drinks and in fact the virtual cuisine will somehow "nourish" them, defragmenting their coding and slightly increase their efficiency amongst other things. Netrunners, Zion humans and others capable of jacking in will experience flavor intensity they may have never actually experienced in their lives. Digitized Users may in fact find that the virtual food nourishes them just as if they were AI. Best of all, unlike real food and drinks there's no worry about weight gain!

The Red Pill clubs come in all flavors as mentioned before, and their bars will offer not only virtual replicas of real world liquors but also distinct potables such as pure Power (most commonly manifesting as a brightly fluorescent blue liquid.) Cocktails mixes of virtual liquors and Power are not uncommonly ordered. AIs and digitized visitors will find Power to be refreshing, invigorating- and in excessive amounts, intoxicating. The music, atmosphere and crowd are just as varied with human imagination.

However, sometimes a pocket world will serve as both a restaurant and nightclub.

Any virtual currency is accepted by the Pills as payment for services, provided it's widespread enough such as SimDollars. However they will also accept transactions involving "real" currencies from electronic accounts. Prices will always be listed in the currencies that the individuals have the most ready access to.

Staff and Procedures

The Pills are always looking for all sorts of AI to work for them in all capacities, from working the Pocket Worlds in suitable capacities to tending the virtual farmlands, managing the daily administrations of the Pill Core, all the way to ICE of varying specialties and lethality as security staff. There's no discrimination when it comes to Sims, Programs, AI and ICE other than suitability for a particular job.

The civilian non-security roles take up everything from staffing the restaurants and clubs, to managing the farmland pocket worlds, keeping the administrative and financial lifeblood of the domain in working order, all the way to maintenance of the Pill Core itself. The atmosphere and operation of the restaurant and club vary with their theme with appropriate degrees of tolerance for nonlethal confrontations.

Digital Weapons are checked in the reception areas of the pocket worlds and promptly returned upon the visitor's departure; any special offensive abilities are explicitly forbidden to use unless an emergency arises, and in such events the checked in weapons are returned to their owners immediately for the duration of the crisis.

The security AIs are varied in their tasks. Equal amounts are distributed among "ground pounders" that deal with the trouble directly nonlethally or otherwise, and monitors who keep an eye on the situation outside of each and every Portal as well as the domain as a whole to either prevent potential trouble by blocking access or to warn the rest of the complex if the subject manages to enter a pocket world despite any attempts at interdiction. Black ICE and AIs of similar classification are usually kept on call as a rapid response team should electronically lethal problem arise within a pocket world. Servers throughout cyberspace are constantly monitored as well to assess their stability in the event a Cut and Paste from the current host becomes necessary. The ability to switch to a stable and active server in nearly an instant insures that all AIs within the Pill Core most of the time will always have backup and not be erased even if their home computer is cut off somehow. Somehow this protection also applies to jacked in visitors although they will experience an unusually long episode of vertigo upon jacking out following a Cut and Paste.

In the event of a breach by either hostile programs such as virus, or particularly malicious Users the customers are quickly directed towards portals lined with antivirus firewalls and into the shelters within the security section while the staff is free to deal with the trouble with sufficient response.

Employees are given a salary of their preferred virtual currency if they have such use for it, as well as benefits that are considerably generous to AIs including the offer of in-facility residence, defragmenting and reduced or free virtual food and drink. Many security AIs like to relax "after hours" with a shot of Power or dozen.

Notable or even Famous Faces

Johnson - The founder and Chief Administrator of the Blue and Red Pills (He doesn't like being considered a ruler by any means), it's hard for him not to stand out whenever he makes a personal appearance. A retired (at least according to him) Machine Agent, Johnson sports the trademark black and white Armani ensemble and lime-green earpiece no matter where he goes. However, his personality distinctly stands out from anyone who has ever seen an Agent, whether through media or uncomfortable actual encounters. Johnson could best be described as a Real Roleplayer MMOG junkie; he knows that he exists in an electronic world but appreciates the atmosphere and interaction within virtual environments, fascinated by living a lie. Johnson freely admits that back in the Machine days his specialty was interacting with the Coppertops- especially if they could serve as informers against Zion activities. Thus his upbeat and gregarious demeanor could easily been have coded into him. However, few ever forget that Johnson is or was an Agent and in rare instances of trouble he uses the abilities with little hesitation. This makes Zion operatives wary of approaching the Pills for the most part, although it's not really a secret he tolerates their presence as long as they behave themselves. His preferred firearm is a simulated Calico Machine Pistol.

Whenever Johnson is involved personally in a tense situation, he'll normally defer to his past role, trying to smooth talk potential troublemakers out of a mess and even offering the subject amenities. However if it becomes clear that the subject will not respond positively to reason- especially if civilian AIs or runners are in grave danger, Johnson will not be hesitant to resort to more drastic or even lethal measures if necessary.

As noted, Johnson has kept in touch with fellow Agents even in his "retirement" and new endeavor. Now and then, an Agent or two can be seen in the pocket worlds although they're usually there to relax with a glass or few of Power (something which they acquired a taste for after Johnson introduced them to it). Johnson does require them to leave any known Zion operatives spotted alone unless the forementioned operative stirs up serious trouble within the Pill Core. However, in turn they get their orders free- especially Power- and the comparatively few Agent associates who know about the place are good at keeping secrets from the Machine as necessary. This also has an added benefit; in the event an especially dangerous netrunner or User crashes the party, Johnson can call upon them to back up the Black ICE and Program security staff to deal with the troublemaker.

Dot Matrix - Yes folks, she's here in Coreline and ever the shrewd businesswoman Dot has managed to acquire a partnership in the Pill Core. In fact, one of the pocket worlds (The Blue Plate Special) is a much larger version of her Diner. Now and then Dot and her friends'll be seen in any of the pocket worlds whenever she isn't taking charge of the Blue Plate Special. Only slightly below Johnson in the Pill Core's hierarchy, Dot effectively speaks for him under most circumstances and the staff respond as such. In addition, she has access to the Armory as well if serious problems should break in to the domain and is only second to Johnson in security situations.

Digitamamon - The irascible Digimon is one of the Blue Pill's star chefs, handling not only cooking in the Japanese cuisine pocket worlds but also serving as head chef whenever haut-cuisine with Japanese is ordered in the higher-class pocket worlds. Naturally the egghead manages to display the head chef's temperament and lofty virtual salary in exchange for spectacular meals with spectacular taste.

Etemon - Every January 8 ever since the Visitation, one of the hybrid pocket worlds (The Blue Suede Shoe- a rockabilly club and restaurant) hosts an all day tribute to Elvis Presley on his birthday with things such as suitably themed menus (including virtual Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich naturally) along with karaoke and impersonator contests and concerts. One of the highlights in the evening is an appearance by Etemon complete in sparkling jumpsuit singing the Greatest Hits. Unlike most people's account of Etemon, this appearance is remarkable for how spectacular his performance is, voice and motion practically channeling the Spirit of the King much to the standing ovation of the crowd that day.

Veloci-T - Usually hanging out in the aviation-themed Red Wings club pocket world, Veloci-T is a military-grade targeting Program who appears as a woman in the distinct circuitry motif- in her case a neon green color.

Once a Recognizer pilot in the service of the MCP, Veloci-T decided to "borrow" a Recognizer in the wake of the MCP's first (or final) demise along with a few fellow Programs once the Visitation vastly expanded cyberspace. Eventually they found gainful and socially acceptable employment in the Armed Forces of Darwinia like most expatriate Recognizer pilots did, operating their stolen and recolored vehicles as air support in the Darwinian's constant vigilance against intrusive and infectious virus.

Veloci-T is the leader of a squadron and most often fellow Programs are there reminscing of old days and chatting up on the week's events. When the Pill Core arrived in Darwinia, the change of pace with AIs substantially more humanoid and animated than the stick-figure Darwinians was welcome to her. She's friendly enough to AIs or visiting humanoids, although Veloci-T seems to open up a lot more to aerospace AIs and people who are pilots in real life.

She's also suitably trained in personal combat- she's even gained a talent for using her Identity Disc as a melee weapon in addition to its normal functions and at times this comes in very handy outside of a Recognizer or when trouble crashes the Red Wing.

 

[Aquarius Alodar]

Well, once work was out of the way I had time to work on this idea as well. It's cyberspace oriented, but hopefully someone can use it as a location for either an adventure or even a campaign.

-----

The Blue Pill/The Red Pill (Virtual Location/CyberBusinesses)

While the Visitation has considerably transformed the landscape and culture of the physical world, the domains of cyberspace have been affected as well. The relatively sudden influx of various advanced computing technologies and software have practically mirrored "the real world" in how vivid, breathtaking and yet frightening it has become. Indeed, the virtual world has taken on a unique sentience as countless types of Artificial Intelligence lifeforms find themselves in a vast electronic frontier incredibly different from what they remembered. Many have resumed what they remembered their existence was about, with the new terrain being anything from a minor nuisance to an unknown danger. And just as many have taken to exploring the strange new virtual world and find what they can make of it.

One result of such exploration are a pair of intricately tied virtual locations and cyberbusiness: The Blue Pill and The Red Pill. The two are not cyberbusinesses one would traditionally expect in the manner of eBay or Amazon.com; in fact there is no website at all for the Pills and conventional internet engine searches will only trip over the inevitable Matrix references. The Blue Pill and the Red Pill are literal cyberbusinesses that exist purely in cyberspace, made by AIs for AIs (and the occasional organic visitor).

Appearance and Location

Visually, the two Pills can literally take on the appearance of any building in the local system's architecture, anything from basic polygonal shapes to a corner café with mirrorshade windows, all the way to breathtaking near-photographic renderings of exquisite mansions. There will always at least be a hint of the appropriate color on the "building," regardless of whether or not there's any visible writing with the establishment's name.

The Blue Pill is a restaurant that can lead to several locations varying from family friendly casual dining joints with atmosphere reminiscent of places like Applebee's or Outback, specialty restaurants like sushi houses and churrascaria, and all the way to a virtually separate (partitioned might be a more accurate term) high-class five-star establishment with suitably opulent decor and menu- this part is known by AIs as La Pilule Bleu- depending on which part a particular AI or individual wishes to go to. All it takes is knowing which restaurant you want to be in before stepping through the virtual doorway and you're right in the reception area of the desired place.

The Red Pill on the other hand is a nightclub type establishment that branch into several depending on one's preferred music and social crowd. Anything from mosh pits and biker bars all the way to high society piano bars are available, again merely requiring which section you want to be in before stepping through the doorway.

Structurally, the actual location of the entire Pill domain is not fixed. In fact, the whole thing can cut and paste itself to any stable computer network that is confirmed to be nonhostile to its presence. The Pill Core (as the central heart of the whole establishment domain is called by its employees) is currently housed in a calm and benign sector of the legendary Darwinia virtual world, although it's quite capable of shifting location like a virtual Atlantis if severe trouble was to erupt there.

The Blue Pill and Red Pill buildings that manifest wherever are in fact portals that take visitors to the Pill Core itself, the assorted restaurants and clubs within linked to a vast and almost labyrinthine network of virtual pocket worlds that are interconnected through specific and carefully controlled (usually discreetly concealed with occasional security milling about) channels and ports in a computer simulation of Temporal Physics that would amuse many a Time Lord. At each Blue or Red portal there will always be a sign on a window or stand that lists the name of each pocket virtual world followed by a summary of each pocket world's theme and specialties. However, the listings will always include a word for the colors Blue and Red. Visitors will always return through the portal they entered through, although in some rare cases the portal will have closed or relocated and leave the customers stranded. Usually the portal will be quickly re-established, but sometimes they will be allowed to exit through a fresh one elsewhere if the point of origin is proven to be dangerous.

AIs in cyberspace have no trouble at all finding the portal buildings whenever the mood strikes them. People in the living world however have to overcome being able to interact with cyberspace to begin with, as well as being able to track down the virtual buildings themselves after getting past the first problem. An ability to jack in to cyberspace is the most direct way of overcoming that problem, although that comes with inherent expenses and dangers.

A much safer but much less effective way of visiting the Pills would be through certain online games/utilities such as The Sims, Habbo, or Second Life. Sims naturally have little difficulty finding the Pill portals and in fact many a Simhead were quite surprised to find their Sims come upon a building that they know doesn't exist in their current expansion and find a starkly breathtaking world inside that somehow manages to not eat up their memory and processor requirements. Of course the problem with The Sims is that there's no direct way to verbally communicate with the other AIs on the player's part. Still, if the visitor can either modify their copy or possess an ability related to electronics such as telemechanics then they might be able to convince (or order) the Sim to relay messages on their behalf. But there's the new risk of possibly getting their beloved Sim derezzed if things really go bad in an interaction.

An effective medium ground would be to either have a suitably capable AI companion such as a Digimon or NetNAVI to either do the talking for them or accompany them on a netrun.

In addition to the portals, restaurants and clubs, the Pill domain also includes near the center of its hub virtual kitchens, pantries, farmlands for particularly picky digital crops and livestock, as well as an informal Command Center comprised of administrative offices, employee-related facilities and a sizeable security section that includes shelters and digital armories. Yes, armories. The whole Pill domain is a living organism reminiscent of the largest and most sophisticated Las Vegas casinos.

Offerings

The Blue Pill restaurants are as varied as the human experience and imagination. None of the restaurants will be the sort to offend what is considered basic human decency. Now and then there will always be a new Blue pocket world offered with a focus on certain style of cuisine popping up on the portal list. The AIs are somehow able to taste the food and drinks and in fact the virtual cuisine will somehow "nourish" them, defragmenting their coding and slightly increase their efficiency amongst other things. Netrunners, Zion humans and others capable of jacking in will experience flavor intensity they may have never actually experienced in their lives. Digitized Users may in fact find that the virtual food nourishes them just as if they were AI. Best of all, unlike real food and drinks there's no worry about weight gain!

The Red Pill clubs come in all flavors as mentioned before, and their bars will offer not only virtual replicas of real world liquors but also distinct potables such as pure Power (most commonly manifesting as a brightly fluorescent blue liquid.) Cocktails mixes of virtual liquors and Power are not uncommonly ordered. AIs and digitized visitors will find Power to be refreshing, invigorating- and in excessive amounts, intoxicating. The music, atmosphere and crowd are just as varied with human imagination.

However, sometimes a pocket world will serve as both a restaurant and nightclub.

Any virtual currency is accepted by the Pills as payment for services, provided it's widespread enough such as SimDollars. However they will also accept transactions involving "real" currencies from electronic accounts. Prices will always be listed in the currencies that the individuals have the most ready access to.

Staff and Procedures

The Pills are always looking for all sorts of AI to work for them in all capacities, from working the Pocket Worlds in suitable capacities to tending the virtual farmlands, managing the daily administrations of the Pill Core, all the way to ICE of varying specialties and lethality as security staff. There's no discrimination when it comes to Sims, Programs, AI and ICE other than suitability for a particular job.

The civilian non-security roles take up everything from staffing the restaurants and clubs, to managing the farmland pocket worlds, keeping the administrative and financial lifeblood of the domain in working order, all the way to maintenance of the Pill Core itself. The atmosphere and operation of the restaurant and club vary with their theme with appropriate degrees of tolerance for nonlethal confrontations.

Digital Weapons are checked in the reception areas of the pocket worlds and promptly returned upon the visitor's departure; any special offensive abilities are explicitly forbidden to use unless an emergency arises, and in such events the checked in weapons are returned to their owners immediately for the duration of the crisis.

The security AIs are varied in their tasks. Equal amounts are distributed among "ground pounders" that deal with the trouble directly nonlethally or otherwise, and monitors who keep an eye on the situation outside of each and every Portal as well as the domain as a whole to either prevent potential trouble by blocking access or to warn the rest of the complex if the subject manages to enter a pocket world despite any attempts at interdiction. Black ICE and AIs of similar classification are usually kept on call as a rapid response team should electronically lethal problem arise within a pocket world. Servers throughout cyberspace are constantly monitored as well to assess their stability in the event a Cut and Paste from the current host becomes necessary. The ability to switch to a stable and active server in nearly an instant insures that all AIs within the Pill Core most of the time will always have backup and not be erased even if their home computer is cut off somehow. Somehow this protection also applies to jacked in visitors although they will experience an unusually long episode of vertigo upon jacking out following a Cut and Paste.

In the event of a breach by either hostile programs such as virus, or particularly malicious Users the customers are quickly directed towards portals lined with antivirus firewalls and into the shelters within the security section while the staff is free to deal with the trouble with sufficient response.

Employees are given a salary of their preferred virtual currency if they have such use for it, as well as benefits that are considerably generous to AIs including the offer of in-facility residence, defragmenting and reduced or free virtual food and drink. Many security AIs like to relax "after hours" with a shot of Power or dozen.

Notable or even Famous Faces

Johnson - The founder and Chief Administrator of the Blue and Red Pills (He doesn't like being considered a ruler by any means), it's hard for him not to stand out whenever he makes a personal appearance. A retired (at least according to him) Machine Agent, Johnson sports the trademark black and white Armani ensemble and lime-green earpiece no matter where he goes. However, his personality distinctly stands out from anyone who has ever seen an Agent, whether through media or uncomfortable actual encounters. Johnson could best be described as a Real Roleplayer MMOG junkie; he knows that he exists in an electronic world but appreciates the atmosphere and interaction within virtual environments, fascinated by living a lie. Johnson freely admits that back in the Machine days his specialty was interacting with the Coppertops- especially if they could serve as informers against Zion activities. Thus his upbeat and gregarious demeanor could easily been have coded into him. However, few ever forget that Johnson is or was an Agent and in rare instances of trouble he uses the abilities with little hesitation. This makes Zion operatives wary of approaching the Pills for the most part, although it's not really a secret he tolerates their presence as long as they behave themselves. His preferred firearm is a simulated Calico Machine Pistol.

Whenever Johnson is involved personally in a tense situation, he'll normally defer to his past role, trying to smooth talk potential troublemakers out of a mess and even offering the subject amenities. However if it becomes clear that the subject will not respond positively to reason- especially if civilian AIs or runners are in grave danger, Johnson will not be hesitant to resort to more drastic or even lethal measures if necessary.

As noted, Johnson has kept in touch with fellow Agents even in his "retirement" and new endeavor. Now and then, an Agent or two can be seen in the pocket worlds although they're usually there to relax with a glass or few of Power (something which they acquired a taste for after Johnson introduced them to it). Johnson does require them to leave any known Zion operatives spotted alone unless the forementioned operative stirs up serious trouble within the Pill Core. However, in turn they get their orders free- especially Power- and the comparatively few Agent associates who know about the place are good at keeping secrets from the Machine as necessary. This also has an added benefit; in the event an especially dangerous netrunner or User crashes the party, Johnson can call upon them to back up the Black ICE and Program security staff to deal with the troublemaker.

Dot Matrix - Yes folks, she's here in Coreline and ever the shrewd businesswoman Dot has managed to acquire a partnership in the Pill Core. In fact, one of the pocket worlds (The Blue Plate Special) is a much larger version of her Diner. Now and then Dot and her friends'll be seen in any of the pocket worlds whenever she isn't taking charge of the Blue Plate Special. Only slightly below Johnson in the Pill Core's hierarchy, Dot effectively speaks for him under most circumstances and the staff respond as such. In addition, she has access to the Armory as well if serious problems should break in to the domain and is only second to Johnson in security situations.

Digitamamon - The irascible Digimon is one of the Blue Pill's star chefs, handling not only cooking in the Japanese cuisine pocket worlds but also serving as head chef whenever haut-cuisine with Japanese is ordered in the higher-class pocket worlds. Naturally the egghead manages to display the head chef's temperament and lofty virtual salary in exchange for spectacular meals with spectacular taste.

Etemon - Every January 8 ever since the Visitation, one of the hybrid pocket worlds (The Blue Suede Shoe- a rockabilly club and restaurant) hosts an all day tribute to Elvis Presley on his birthday with things such as suitably themed menus (including virtual Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich naturally) along with karaoke and impersonator contests and concerts. One of the highlights in the evening is an appearance by Etemon complete in sparkling jumpsuit singing the Greatest Hits. Unlike most people's account of Etemon, this appearance is remarkable for how spectacular his performance is, voice and motion practically channeling the Spirit of the King much to the standing ovation of the crowd that day.

Veloci-T - Usually hanging out in the aviation-themed Red Wings club pocket world, Veloci-T is a military-grade targeting Program who appears as a woman in the distinct circuitry motif- in her case a neon green color.

Once a Recognizer pilot in the service of the MCP, Veloci-T decided to "borrow" a Recognizer in the wake of the MCP's first (or final) demise along with a few fellow Programs once the Visitation vastly expanded cyberspace. Eventually they found gainful and socially acceptable employment in the Armed Forces of Darwinia like most expatriate Recognizer pilots did, operating their stolen and recolored vehicles as air support in the Darwinian's constant vigilance against intrusive and infectious virus.

Veloci-T is the leader of a squadron and most often fellow Programs are there reminscing of old days and chatting up on the week's events. When the Pill Core arrived in Darwinia, the change of pace with AIs substantially more humanoid and animated than the stick-figure Darwinians was welcome to her. She's friendly enough to AIs or visiting humanoids, although Veloci-T seems to open up a lot more to aerospace AIs and people who are pilots in real life.

She's also suitably trained in personal combat- she's even gained a talent for using her Identity Disc as a melee weapon in addition to its normal functions and at times this comes in very handy outside of a Recognizer or when trouble crashes the Red Wing.

You forgot to mention that one of the most favored 'anchorpoints' for a C&P (at least, it has that status) is a fairly nondescript quantum supercomputer that was quickly contracted to be converted to server space. It now exists under the sole moniker of 'Le Nom' (yep, apparently Lyoko's original storage area is still good for something )

 

[marcoasalazarm]

Extremely damn cool that was added.

I was thinking of three things:
1) I answered where the Head Honcho of the AoH could be based (Minnesota-last place people would look!).

2) I am trying to make some more weapons, adapted from some games ('Marathon', the 'Halo' games and 'Battlefield 2142' were among my first priority).

3) I was thinking about making a quick campaign (maybe two or three adventures long), where I would put you guys (any interested player) against:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAmKKP-XNbg"]Marathon: Durandal-Fake Movie Trailer By bloodrunsclear.[/ame]

(Love this trailer. Makes the guy's voice much more menacing when it sounds like an 'Joshua').

'AnY TaKErS?'