signal-to-noise-network

[signal-to-noise-network]

or: fun questions to ask the Encom programs in your life. I promise the discussion that follows will be both uncontroversial and productive.

(Or at the very least, their reaction will be fun to watch.)

--Noise

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more test pattern pride concepts for @signal-to-noise-network, this time Trans Stuff!

writing trans characters on the Grid, and doing that in a way that feels grounded in the social climate of that universe, has been a really challenging and rewarding experience so far. :)

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Been working on some stuff for @signal-to-noise-network the last couple months, inspired by pride flags and TV test patterns -- they'll probably end up as pins or stickers or something.

The blog's current header image is a CRT-fuzzed version of this, which I like a lot (but so far isn't very replicable).

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colors! will wonders never cease

lil scribble for @system-operator, while i try to remember how to do this awesome effect i accidentally found 9-12 wips and false starts ago...

pro-tip: everything is practice, and that's okay.

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I keep forgetting to share this playlist, whoops. It's still very much a work in progress. :)

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Let's try something a little different.

I've got a challenge for you.

Go find something small with moving parts -- a pen or something similar will do -- and disassemble it.

Take a picture of the components, and really think about how they all contribute to its overall function. Now put it back together.

Look at that. You did that -- you took something apart and fixed it. You understand it.

Isn't that just the best feeling?

But we're not done yet.

Over the next few cycles, look for something around your home that's not working quite right -- a drawer with a loose handle; a squeaky door hinge; that light that you keep forgetting to change.

Go fix that, too. You'll learn something -- might even be fun.

--Signal

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Code graffiti, seen on the outskirts of Gallium.

Although this phrase appears from time to time in several cities, the code style in which it always appears is unique. Dynamic and detached, it's proven difficult, if not impossible, to replicate by ordinary means -- very possibly the work of a single program.

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Another playlist incoming!

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I've decided that the playlist for Signal to Noise is allowed to be yet another of my giant shuffle playlists (although I'll probably move some of it to specific characters' playlists as I build those).

it's currently 4 hours long. It will continue to expand. :)

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Incident resolved, the previously-mentioned exploit's been patched. Stand by for security key updates. We're still working on the instructions. (Good work, Noise.) In other news... it looks like they're tightening patrols at the city outskirts. Be smart, stay rezzed. You'll hear from us soon.

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...Well, hijacking comms is one way to make an entrance. Point taken. It appears that our assistant editor has found a security vulnerability in our distribution network. We're patching it, and will be pushing out a frequency-hopping algorithm to these data chips to prevent similar exploits. This will make it a bit harder to create new copies, but we'll have instructions for you soon. --Signal

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Incoming Transmission...

As I record this, I'm watching General Advan's soldiers patrol the outskirts of the city. Watching a couple of beta programs antagonize them, outrun them, hide in the places you can only find when you've lived somewhere your whole life... or when you have a particularly good vantage point. Look at that. You're fighting back. Good for you. I guess I should probably introduce myself. You can call me Noise -- the static on the other end of the line. Listen carefully, because I'd hate for you to miss something important. Signal told you not to get comfortable, and they're right. Ask the hard questions, and don't accept the answers they give you. Ask yourself why the force barrier needs to go up at the end of every cycle. Ask yourself why energy is suddenly in short supply. Ask yourself who it benefits -- and know that the answer is not "the people of Gallium City". But at the same time... don't let yourself get cynical. Hard balance to find, but nothing important is ever easy. I can see a lot from up here -- almost everything, really. Most of what I see is people taking care of each other -- the kids coordinating energy drives, the rebuilt medical center. And it's become pretty clear to me, over the last several cycles, that your city is a place of hope. Not too long before clock reset, now. If I were you, I'd get inside. Get some rest. When that barrier goes down, you'll have a lot of work ahead of you. Good night, Gallium. --Noise

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This has happened before. The Occupation, the restriction of movement... the energy rationing. On the first Grid, the old System -- the Master Control Program tried to do the same thing. Most of you are probably too young to remember that. This Grid is the only home you've ever known. To you, this risks becoming normal, maybe even comfortable, if you're well-off enough. Talk to the older programs around you -- your bosses, your teachers, your mentors. Ask them what it was like. Learn your history. Ask them what happened when MCP took control of the residential sectors. Ask them about the Games. The answers, of course, are difficult to hear, difficult to live with. But you have to know. You have to understand that freedom isn't given -- it is fought for. This Grid exists because the Encom system became unstable under the weight of one program's malice and greed. We can't let that happen again -- and we don't have anywhere else to go, this time. So what are we going to do about it? What are you going to do about it?

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In case you haven't heard, Gallium will be under off-cycle lockdown, effective at the next clock reset. According to General Advan, this is a temporary security measure, and the city borders will remain open for travel during the rest of the cycle. Whether or not she's being honest is obviously up for debate, but you don't want to get stuck outside when that force barrier goes up. The Outlands are cold on the off-cycle. Be smart, get home on time. It's possible we'll see energy rationing in the next few cycles. They've used this tactic in Bismuth and a few of the smaller cities. The point is to scare us, so don't let them. Start pooling your resources with your friends and coworkers now to prepare. Take what you need, share what you can. If we're going to get through this, we have to look out for each other. Good news is on the way soon. Keep your heads up and an ear to the ground. --Signal

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Welcome to the Occupation.

Greetings, programs. I'm writing to you from Gallium City, which General Advan has just declared to be occupied territory. We should have seen this coming, and I imagine some of us did. We watched the ISO cities fall. We watched them take over Bismuth. We should have known that we were next. And we should have done something about it. Instead, we sat patiently and waited for our turn to be invaded -- for our own illustrious general, with her impeccable combat record, to protect us from a non-existent threat. A macrocycle ago, no one in Gallium worried about the ISOs, did we? It never entered our thoughts until Clu's soldiers told us that ISOs had destroyed our medical center. No evidence, no closure, no aid afterward. A thousand programs dead. Do you believe them? Propaganda is a powerful and terrible thing. But if you're reading this, then I think you know that. And as Clu's tyranny enters our home, I ask one thing of you -- don't fall for it. You can call me Signal. You'll be hearing from me again soon. In the meantime, copy this data chip and spread it as widely as you can. Keep the light of a free Grid in your mind. As long as we do that, there may be hope for us yet. Stand by.