The Way Netrunning OUGHT To Be

Cyberpunk was written in the Eighties. That's a long time ago. That was before everyone had access to the Internet or the World Wide Web. Back then, computers were still relatively rare and the knowledge to use them was still relatively arcane. Using a modem meant dialing up to a Bulletin Board System. Hacking meant breaking in via Direct Dial or Phreaking the phone companies. Cellular Phones were rare. E-mail was unheard of. Virtual Reality was touted as the next greatest thing in Computer Technology and Jaron Lanier was getting rich because of it.

Wake up call: 1999. Everyone has a computer and access to the largest most interconnected computer network the world has ever known. Everyone's got a cellphone, an e-mail address, a Web-page, and a powerful computer. Virtual Reality is still infeasible and Jaron Lanier is flat broke.

Netrunning in Cyberpunk 2020 still follows the Eighties paradigm. The dedicated hacker, connecting to BBS's and Phreaking phone companies, surfs a Virtual Cyberspace looking for information. This vision of Netrunning and Hackers is terribly out of date and needs to be updated.

The New Paradigm

The new Netrunning Paradigm is ease of use. The Net should be all-pervasive, not the domain of dedicated computer users. Cyberpunk 2020 gives us the Brain-Computer interface. If the world really had that technology, it would be put to much more efficient use and would be made more appealing to the general public. We'll call this new Net the CyberNet.

In the CyberNet, Everyone would have a Basic Processor and a Computer Interface. Your brain would, in effect, be the Hard Drive and CPU of a biological computer. A small portable Cyberdeck, possibly fitting on an arm, or about the size of a textbook, would be the "modem". There would be no VR interface, the user would interact with an interface in their field of vision, downloading knowledge and information directly into their brain as if slotting a skill chip. The user simply mentally selects the information they want to know, then a server-side avatar acts as a search engine, finding the information on the CyberNet and presenting the sources as options to the user. The user then selects which source they wish to download from, and the information is written to the user's brain. They then know the information as if they had always known it. Simple as that.

Media

Live or recorded audio-video broadcasts can be displayed in the user's field of vision, sort of a virtual screen which can be any size or shape or volume. If the user wants to see the news, they simply connect to the News CyberNet site and watch it live. If they wanted to see the news from a week ago, they simply request the time index they want and it is delivered from the New CyberNet archives. Similarly, live events like rock concerts can be viewed as it happens, or by viewing the recording at a later date. The concert could be either 2D Audio/Video or full Virtual Reality environment with the user in any row they want. Any piece of media ever generated or recorded, from movies to novels to VRs, would be available to the User via the CyberNet at a thought.

Telecommunication

All forms of communications are tied into the Net. Net users are given an identification number, we'll call it a CyberNet Address, sort of an IP address or phone number. All mediums of communication are sent to that number, which is then handled by a server. All computers can handle text, data, audio, video, and VR communications. When the recipient receives a communication, they may either respond immediately, like a phone or videophone call, or it will be saved in the reciepient's mailbox in the form of a message, like an e-mail or voice-mail message. The recipient can then read/hear/see the message at a latter date in the appropriate medium.

This type of communication leads to a cultural "buffering" of information, something of a growing trend even today. Less and less communication becomes "live" and two-way. More and more communication becomes "phone-tag", leaving messages back and forth.

Advantages

The advantage of this paradigm is, of course, simplicity. Nothing would be easier than doing away with seperate telephone lines, voice mail, internet accounts, and cable accounts. Also, information becomes pervasive and instant. No longer would one have to read a novel, the contents could either be delivered straight to the user's memory, or delivered to their field of vision in the form of a virtual book that can be read at the user's leisure. And everyone would have this. EVERYONE. It would be the new VCR, the new computer, the new cellphone.

Disadvantages

The downside of this paradigm is, as with most things, commercialism. Not all of this information will be free, of course. Information becomes restricted and must be purchased. Want to watch "2001" at 3am? The Classic Film CyberNet site charges 30 euro for that priveledge, billed straight to your bank account. Want to know the spending habits of Johnny Silverhand? The Infocomp CyberNet site charges thousands of euro for that info. The Charlie Chaplin CyberNet site provides all of Chaplin's films free of charge, but you must contend with virtual ads floating in your field of vision, selling all sorts of things. For that matter, any time your avatar searches for information on the Cybernet, you are bombarded with advertising. Someone has to pay for those CyberNet sites. Hackers make it their job to defeat the security systems that protect the data. By using powerful mental "programs" and their own brains as computers, these hackers rely on the speed and strength of their own minds and the utility of their mental software to break into Datafortresses and liberate their precious data.

Brainhacking

There is risk as well. Although CyberNet interface computers provide firewalls and security, there are criminals and vandals out there capable of "brainhacking", implanting false memories or desires directly to the target's mind. Even corporate advertising might implant the desires to purchase or use certain products directly to the target. Luckily, this type of crime is very rare, owing to the extreme sophistication of most security measures and the extreme judicial response. Millions of CyberNet users communicate, learn, and work everyday without incident.

Conclusion

This paradigm is completely different from the Cyberspace presented in Cyberpunk 2020, and it alters greatly the role of Netrunner from VR Hacker to "Brain-Hacker". It does away with the glittering neon and CGI of an unrealistic Cyberspace and replaces it with a more cerebral, more conceptual, method of communicating, learning, and working using computers.