Orichlacum Universe: Matrix Perception...

Matrix Perception:

The power of the Matrix/Flux can be used as a source of information.
This is one of the subtlest, trickiest, and yet potentially most
potent abilities open to a fluxon.

The Matrix is a mentality, though one so utterly diffuse by
Homosentient standards that it is something of a moot point. Whether
the Matrix is actually, genuinely self-aware and conscious in the
human sense is a question even the Atlantean sages never answered to
their own complete satisfaction. The Eldren may know, but if so no
Eldren has ever been willing to answer the question. If the Matrix is
fully conscious, it thinks and is aware on a scale of space and time
utterly beyond anything mortals operate within, it might take a
million years to complete a thought so vast and wide as to be
inconceivable to a mortal.

Nevertheless, the Matrix is 'aware' in a pure information sense of
most things in the Universe. Its senses observe most of what happens
at almost all scales, and stores it. Furthermore, because the Matrix
exists in a hyperspace outside of the normal reference frames of space
and time, it perceives not only the present but the past, the
alternative pasts that could have been, and the futures that could yet
be, like an ESPer on a cosmic scale. This information _can_ be tapped
by mortal fluxons, though not without very significant difficulty.

Trapping this information requires a special type of Controlled
Manifestation, a dangerous type.

First the fluxon must find and contact the Flux using the Flux
Awareness and Flux Mastery skills as usual. Once in contact, the
usual procedure for a Controlled Manifestation must be followed, but
upon achieving a 'good' or better result on the Flux reaction roll,
instead of describing some physical effect, the fluxon attempts to
program the Matrix to provide him/her with some specific piece of
information. The fluxon must meditate carefully on the information
desired, so as to narrow it down to a single tiny item amid a mass of
information vast beyond mortal comprehension.

The character must meditate carefully on what he or she wishes to
know, gaining a +1 on the coming success role for each hour of game
time spent meditating, with no upper limit (trust me, s/he'll need the
bonuses). One hour is the minimum possible, giving a -2 modifier.

The meditation can not be interrupted by anything including sleep or
taking food or water, even a momentary interruption undoes the benefit
and forces the fluxon to start over. Note that the fluxon is _very_
vulnerable to interruption at this point, with potential dangerous
consequences.

Normally, anything that interrupts a fluxon after reaching the stage
of a successful reaction roll in a Manifestation will cause
_something_ to happen, even if it's not what the fluxon actually
wanted. In this case, since it's a knowledge attempt, the misfire
will result in a knowledge-based disaster, about which more
momentarily.

When the fluxon is ready, he casts his request for information into
the labyrinthine maze of the Matrix. This takes 3d6 turns of game
time, and any interruption disrupts the effort.

In game terms, the _player_ now asks the GM his/her character's
question, which can be as simple or complex as desired. The GM now
makes a success roll against the fluxon's Flux Mastery skill, modified
as appropriate.

Some suggested modifiers:

+ 1 for each hour of game time spend meditating
+ (the local Flux Rating)
+ 1 - 10 for helpful circumstances (the character is in his/her
familiar lair, character has some assisting technology or item, etc)
+ 1 - 10 for familiarity (i.e. a fluxon who knows a lot about France
is more likely to get a useful answer to a question about France, etc)
+ 1 -10 for 'connection' (i.e. a question about a given person is more
likely to be successful, or more successful, if that person is
present, and even more so if s/he is cooperative, etc)

- (1 - whatever) for increasing complexity
- (1 - whatever) for unfamiliarity
- 2 if the fluxon spent no more than 1 game hour meditating (the
minimum possible)

Plus other negative modifiers as the GM's judgement. (There's just no
way for Flux skills and work not to require a lot of GM judgement
calls.)

The GM should apply heavier penalties as the complexity and number of
subjects of the question grows, as well as unfamiliarity and distance
in space and time grow. Bonuses can be applied for familiarity, for
clarity and specificity of the question, for 'closeness', etc.

As usual, Flux Points can be spent to make up for penalties, and
usually will _have_ to be.

The GM makes the roll, vs. the character's Flux Mastery skill, with
the appropriate bonuses applied and the spent Flux points allowed
for. What happens depends on the outcome of this roll.

On a critical success, the GM should answer the player's question
accurately and completely. On a success, the truth should be told,
the degree of detail being determined by the degree of success. On a
failure, the GM should truthfully answer, but the information should
be 'off-target' to some degree, the worse the failure, the worse the
problem. On a failure by more than 18, the GM should answer some
completely irrelevant question truthfully, the bigger the failure the
further afield the answer can be.

On a critical failure, there is an information overload.

Also, if the fluxon's concentration is interrupted during his/her
mediations, or during the 'asking' period, there will also be a
potential for information overload. In the event of such an
interruption (which includes falling asleep or unconscious for any
reason!), the GM should roll 3d, on a failure there is information
overload, on a success the character loses 1d6 Fatigue and all Flux
abilities for 1d6 days, on a critical success nothing bad happens.

EXAMPLE:

Ylarines wants to know where Adaronades has hidden the other half of
the Great Codex of Atlantis, a two-volume set of ancient lore.
Ylarines has one half of it, Adaronades, Tamara, and Phillip made off
with the other before Ylarines could put the knowledge therein to his
villainous uses. He was going to interrogate Phillip, whom he has
captured, but Phillip placed himself in a death trance and Ylarines
knows any disruption will kill him. While he has no qualms about
killing his enemies, Ylarines has a passing familiarity with the Evil
Overlord List and knows that live hostages give you more leverage than
dead ones.

So he decides to see if he can tap the Matrix for the information he
wants. He makes contact with the Flux as usual, and spends eight
hours meditating, gaining a +8 bonus for the upcoming test. He's in
his lair, he has his supporting apparatus with him, and he has half
the Codex in his physical posession and is familiar with the other
half, al factors working in his favor.

The GM decides that his advantages add up to a +10 bonus, +4 for his
home base, +4 for possession of half the Codex and familiarity, +2 for
an artifact he is using to aid his work. Additionally, the site as a
Flux Rating of +4, which adds in. All in all a +22 bonus to the roll.

The question Ylarines' player asks the GM is: "Where is the second
half of the Codex of Atlantis at this moment?"

The GM decides this is a nice, simple question with clarity and
precision, and gives a +3 bonus for it, so when the skill roll is made
there is a total +25 bonus to the roll. Can anything go wrong?

Yep, because Adaronades has taken extensive protective steps to hide
the other half, knowing this attempt was coming. The GM decides that
those steps were worth a -50 penalty, leaving the skill roll with a
-25 cost at the start. Can Ylarines succeed at all? Yep, but he has
to have Flux Points to bring the penalty back within reasonable range
for a 3d skill roll. The GM should _NOT_ tell Ylarines what the
penalties are! He has to take a good guess about how many Flux Points
to spend!

(The GM should play fair here, and assign the bonuses and penalties
ahead of time, and not fudge the roll if a long shot succeeds.)

The GM makes his/her determinations, Ylarines chooses how many Flux
Points to spend as described in the earlier thread:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.frp.gurps/browse_thread/threa...b6d6e8d

Let's see what happens depending on the outcome of this roll:

Case 1: Critical Success! The GM answers: "Ylarines suddenly has a
searing vision of cognitive clarity, knowing in the depth of his being
and without possibility of error that the second half of the Codex of
Atlantis is concealed in a hidden compartment in a desk in an office
on the sixth floor of an office building in Nashville, Tennessee. He
sees the office, the desk, and the room in his mind, he knows the
precise physical location relative to himself." The GM gives the
address, room number, and describes the room.

Case 2: Success! The GM describes the location and gives more detail
depending on how good a success, a success by a whisker might narrow
it down to Nashville, Tennessee, with more precision coming in
accordance with greater success.

Case 3: Failure. For a close failure the GM notes truthfully that
Adaronades recently visited Nashville. He says nothing about whether
he hid the book there or not. For a more serious failure the GM might
truthfully inform Ylarines' player that Adaronades no longer has the
book in his physical possession, and no more. (Still relevant to the
question, but with more failure the answer gets further and further
afield.) For a really bad failure, the answer should remain true but
have only the very vaguest connection to the question.

Case 4: Critical Failure! Information Overload!