WOD - Mage - The Ascension - Digital Web 2.0

We are in the beginning of a major revolution... The whole way we see nature will be changed. — Joseph Ford, physicist

By Phil Brucato, Jennifer Clodius, Roger Gaudreau, Jesse Heinig, S. John Ross and Jaymi Wiley

Credits

Special Thanks To:

Written by: Phil Brucato, Jennifer Clodius, Roger Gaudreau, Jesse Heinig, S. John Ross and Jaymi Wiley Original Digital Web Concepts by: Phil Brucato, Heather Curatola, Daniel Greenberg, Harry Heckel and Darren McKeeman Resource Assistance by: Bruce Baugh, Richard Dansky, Bryant Durrell and Geoffrey Grabowski Developed by: Phil Brucato Edited by: Cary Goff Art Director: Lawrence Snelly Layout and Typesetting: Katie McCaskill Art: Scott Baxa, Leif Jones, Karl Kerschl, Rob Stotz, Andrew Trabbold Front Cover Art: Bill Sienkiewicz Front and Back Cover Design: Katie McCaskill

Ed "11:30 Spice" Hall, for pitchin' a hitch. Greg "Prodigy Spice" Fountain, for smackin' his hitch up. Jesse "Aryan Spice" Heinig, for sufferin' a deficiency of negritude. Justin "Hateful Spice" Achilli, for gettin' bitch-smacked up. Mark "Floaty Spice" Cenczyk, for flyin' South for the Summer. Laurah "Fluffy Pup Spice" Norton, for diggin' the Vile Punks. Jane "Toastie Spice" Palmer, for bein' the Best Woman. Carl "Beastie Spice" Bowan, for statin' up da crittaz. Rich "Pool Fu Spice" Dansky, for gettin' that sinking feeling. Cynthia "Scratchy Spice" Summers, for sharin' Rich's sinking feeling.

© 1998 White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf, Vampire the Masquerade, Vampire the Dark Ages and Mage the Ascension are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Trinity, Werewolf the Apocalypse, Wraith the Oblivion, Changeling the Dreaming, Mage the Sorcerers Crusade, Werewolf the Wild West, The Book of Shadows, Ascension's Right Hand, The Book of Madness, Virtual Adepts, the Technomancer's Toybox, Digital Web, Digital Web 2.0 and The Book of Mirrors the Mage Storytellers Guide are trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by White Wolf Publishing, Inc. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright concerned. This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. Reader discretion is advised. Don't k i l l people, you moron! It's a game! :-) Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com; alt.games.whitewolf and rec.games.frp.storyteller

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES.

PRELUDE: Backlash

4

INTRODUCTION

8

SITE I: Uncle Toad's Net Tour

14

SITE 2: Life Online

4O

SITE 3: Sectors and Avatars

6O

SITE 4: Administration

82

SITE 5: Programming Systems

98

SITE 6: Running in the Real Web

122

BY

THE CRISP E D G E S OF REALITY

FADE

MELTS

AWAY

AS

AND

EXCITEMENT

MIND

SEND SPARKS DOWN MY SPINE.

BLACK-

THE WORLD CATCHES UP TO

MY

INTO THE WEB.

APPETITE

JAYMI

WILEY

SOMEPLACE MUCH THE

TIME

NEW. TO

NOT

CHAT

CROSSCORNERS

ME

VISION. I RAISE MY ARM, REACH-

SLOW.

ING,

INTO FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS.

LIGHT

'FlSHBOWL,'"

DEFINE A FAMILIAR SURROUND-

BLURRY

OUT.

THE

ING. I FEEL NOTHING. NOTHING

AND

HOLDS

SWEEP T O W A R D

GRABBING,

ME,

TRYING

NOTHING

TO

SUR-

THE I'M

ROUNDS ME, NOTHING M O V E S

INTO

BRIGHT

ME.

I

SCREAM.

NO

IMAGES

MY

DROPS

ME

DRAWN IN, SUCKED

AND

TEXTURES

INSIDE

OF

SPEED

NEW

COLORS FEELINGS

SPREADS

ME,

MERGING

SION.

BEING.

THEN

A

FLASH,

VOICE. MY VOCAL CORDS HAVE

AND EVERYTHING DEEPENS AS

BEEN

I

CUT

OFF.

MY

MIND

DROWNS, GASPING FOR AIR. DO I

EVEN

EXIST?

I

CRY

OUT;

NO

ONE IS AROUND TO HEAR ME.

MY

HIT

THE

DATA

STREAM

FULL

FORCE. TOUCHDOWN.

HTML

PAGES

LIGHT. A PINPRICK HOLE IN

FLOAT,

VISION

TO GET WHISKED AWAY TO S O M E

MENT.

GUIDES

STRAIGHT

PHOSPHORESCENT, CLOSER. TENS

MY

MOVE-

AHEAD, IT

GROWS

IT E L O N G A T E S , FLAT-

AND

THE

HOLE

WIDENS,

AWAITING

THEIR

TURN

LEARN

THAT

THEY

THIS IS THE

ULTI-

MATE W A Y TO EXPLORE VIRTUAL

CONNECTION, NO FEELING WHEN

AND

ONE SURFS THE WEB LIKE THAT,

LIGHT

STRETCHES

TAKES SIONAL

ON

A

OUT

THREE-DIMEN-

DEPTH.

BUT T H A T ' S

ALL IN

NO

REAL

THE

PAST

LINE,

AN ME,

WHERE

IT'S

BIRTHING ME. I RELAX INTO ITS

BRUSH

BY

GRASP,

RUSH TO GET SOMEPLACE FAST,

CORD

FEELING

A

THERE'S

GUIDING

UMBILICAL

THE

JUNKIE

MARKS

MY THE

MY VI-

HIGHLIGHT

DESTINATION. HIGHLIGHT

AWAY TO

I

AND

CHATLAND.

SHIBA!"

CALLS

A

"WAZUP?" I REPLY, SCANNING

HIS

AUTHENTICODE.

A

WIDE SMILE APPEARS ACROSS MY OWN FACE. I FEEL AS IF I'M RETURNING HOME TO MY FAM-

WILL

REALITY?

HEAD.

GREEN

MAP

ILY AFTER A LONG VACATION.

WHEN

THE

MY

HIGH-

CALL

OUT A C R O S S

A

"Hi,

I

GATEWAY

TOUCH ZOOM

MAP,

TERMINAL.

DEEPENING TO A C C E P T MY ENTURN

DOWN

REALTIME USER'S COMPUTER

TRY.

I

IN

WANDERING HAPPY FACE.

OVERHEAD, THE FLAT, T W O DIMENSIONAL

"DROP

AND

TECHNICOLOR

HERE

BETWEEN

THE WEB SITES.

NESS PLUNGES DOWN OVER MY

AS

TOO

FOR

ME

THE AT ME,

REAL

WEB

NOW.

ICONS

ALWAYS

IN

IS

A

THE HANG.

FlSHBOWL

IS

DESIGNED

A

BY

KEWL SOME

W E B S P I N N I N G FISH LOVER, THE FlSHBOWL PLACE, HEAD

TRIP,

PEOPLE CAPE

IS

A

GATHERING

INFORMATION

COME THEIR

AND HERE

DUMP,

PARTY. TO

ES-

LIMITATIONS.

W E B S P I N N E R S USE THE FISHBOWL

TO

WHEEL

AND

DEAL.

CONTACTS ONLY

TO

ARE

BE

MADE

BROKEN

HERE, LATER,

R E P L A C E D BY MORE TANTALIZING O F F E R S . ON A WEDNESDAY NIGHT, WHEN REALITY OFFERS LITTLE THE

TO

NO

STIMULATION,

FlSHBOWL

WITH ACTION.

IS

FOAMING

OVER

60

ICONS

DART THROUGH THE TANK ALREADY, JUST

AND

THE

BEGUN.

NIGHT'S

TOO

MY CONSOLATION PRIZE IS THAT

1

0

OTHER

FAMILIAR

ICONS

WITH

ARE

I'M

HERE.

MAYBE ONE OF THEM CAN PROVIDE ME WITH THE INFORMATION I'M

AFTER.

IZES

REDUX

OUT

OF

MATERIAL-

THE

VOID

AND

IN

THE

POOL,

SO

MY WORDS FORM BUBBLES AND, DRIFT

THE

IT'S

FOR

CIALLY A

TO UPWARD.

ONLY

EMPTY

SITE

SEA.

ONCE

I

MORE.

SHE'S STILL NOT HERE. MAYBE

SHIMMIES OVER TO ME.

SPEAK. CALLS OUT THE SYSOP LOOKS MESSAGE.

I

LIKE

HE'S

AFRAID

TO

CAPE,

DARTING

ABOUT

OR

SHIMMER MY ICON BE

CAUGHT

ONLINE.

LOOKING

FLAILING

LIKE

DROWNING

MEN.

INTO A SMALL GUPPY AND JUMP OVER HIS DORSAL FIN, HE JACKS

THOSE

CAUGHT

IN

THE

WAKE

ARE

TORN

INTO THE TANK. BRIGHT FLUOINTO RESCENT

A

PRIVATE

CHANNEL.

A

PALMS AND WATERY

FLOWERS

WAVE

IN

RONMENTALLY

THE

OF

HIM.

RUNTIME PROGRAMS.

ENVII

MATCH

THE

PRIVATE

ENHANCED

ROUGH, CONCEAL

ICONS

ON,

SPILL

IT.

AGAIN.

NO

MAKWAZUP?"

ING

I

SAY

DEALS OR GETTING HIGH. BUBBLES THIS TIME.

PHOSPHOROUS OFF

LIGHTS

COLORFUL

ICON

FISH

SCALES FLASH SIGNS REQUESTINFORMATION

DRIFTS

PAST.

WATER

SOUNDS

WHALES PHINS

ON

MUTED OF

HUMPING

SINGING

THROUGH

YAZJU, UNDERWAVES,

AND

ARE

UNSEEN

DOL-

PIPED

IN

CONTROLS.

His

VOICE

CURTAIN

FlSHBOWL'S

OUTER

TEAR.

HOLES

TWO

OF

THE

WALLS EXPOSE

PARTS OF THE SECTOR'S NEXT-

DANCE

SCALES. AN ANGELFISH, WHOSE

ING

THE

COLORED "COME

ROCKS

SCREAM

APART OR SPLIT BETWEEN TWO

SHIELD AND ENTER THE BUBBLE. WATER.

THE

HUGE BUBBLE SWELLS AROUND

IS

TENSE:

"SHIBA, I WAS TALKING TO THE

DOOR NEIGHBORS. " H O M E ! " I YELL, DESPERATELY TRYING TO

PROPHETS AND SOMETHING'S

GET

COMING.

WORK.

SOMETHING

BAD

is

THE

PANIC NO

COMMAND

GOOD.

TO

JUST

GOING DOWN AND THE WEB'S

BUBBLES.

GONNA

ZEN. THE SHOCK WAVE RIPPLES

BET

HIT."

"REDUX,

CALM

DOWN.

IN.

I

MY SYSTEM IS FRO-

CLOSE MY EYES, EXPECT-

NOTHING CAN TOUCH US HERE.

ING TO BE SHREDDED WHEN IT

IT'S SAFE." I FLICK A PLAYFUL

HITS.

HUNGRY ICONS WAFT TOWARD

FIN IN HIS DIRECTION. "MAYBE

THE BOWL'S

THE PROPHETS WERE TALKING

FILLS

ABOUT

THE

BLURRY IMAGES. COLORS. TEX-

BEGGING FOR FOOD. THERE ARE

BRAIN,

MY

ABOUT

SAFE."

THEIR

UPPER

OPENING,

FISH-SHAPED

50

MING

OR

60

AND

MOUTHS

ICONS SWIMCOUNTLESS

HE

WEBS MAN.

DOESN'T

IN

THE

BUY

YOUR WEB

IT.

is

MY

A

TECHNICOLOR MY

VISION

TURES.

WATER

BRIGHT

AND

FLASH

ONCE

AGAIN.

DEPARTS.

FAMILIAR

THE

WORLD

DISAPPEARS, FADING INTO THE

ANIMATIONS FLOATING AROUND.

STOMACH TURNS AS HE GLARES

PAST.

I SCAN THEIR AUTHENTICODES.

DEEP

SHOOTS ME UPWARD THROUGH

NO SIGN OF MY MEET. SHE'S

SHIBA, DON'T TELL ANYONE I

THE CHAOS, ANOTHER PINPRICK

GOTTA

WARNED YOU, I*M OUT OF HERE.

HOLE IN THE ELECTRONIC SKY.

BE

HERE

TONIGHT,

THOUGH. SHE PROMISED. EVEN HER MAIL SAID SHE'D MEET ME HERE.

A

COUPLE

OF

SWEEPS

LATER, THERE'S STILL NO SIGN

OF HER.

INTO

MY

EYES.

"LOOK

I

CYA." THE

PRIVATE

ABLES

AS

WITH

A

REDUX "POP."

MODE

DIS-

DISAPPEARS NO

MORE

AN

UMBILICAL

REACH OUT.

THROUGH

MY

ING. LOUD. AND

THEN

SILENCE

CORD

BLOOD

RUSHES

EARS.

DEAFEN-

REALITY BACK

JERKS

INTO

NESS

MY

MY

MIND

BODY.

COVERS

ME

DARKLIKE

A

EITHER

SIDE

LOUNGE

WARD-SLOPING

TWO

UP-

SQUARES.

I

FEEL

THE

ADRENALINE

JOLT

RUSH THROUGHOUT MY BODY.

CLOSER EXAMINATION REVEALS

THE

BLANKET. MY SENSES A R E ON

THAT

FADE AWAY AS MY MIND ENTERS

OVERLOAD. ADRENALINE PUMPS

SOFT.

PURE THROUGH MY VEINS. BACK

SHORT

ARCHES. CAN'T BREATHE. FIN-

NOTHING

GERS

ABOVE

MY.

CLUTCH

FDR

MY

NECK.

FINGERS.

FACE DISPLAYS

FRONT OF MY