It’s the not too distant future and Jovista is at the forefront of cloud computing technology. The entire town has volunteered to be the prototype for the next killer app – CsyComm. Through a brain-centric-cybernetic peer-to-peer with base station network, each adult in the town has access to super fast internet on their phones, a heads up display, and thought to text upload. Through an implant at the base of the skull, all CsyComm users are part of a distributed cloud computing system where their actual brain is used as part of the processing and data storage system. With over five thousand active users, the system also offers significant data storage and supercomputer processing.
CsyComm picked Jovista for their first large-scale beta test because they wanted a defined area with a high population density away from other large communities to avoid interference. They pitched the system on many fronts – the benefits of being first adopters, a free upgrade of the town’s communication infrastructure, and a large amount of cash. Jovista used to make its money on logging and tourism, but a massive wildfire two years ago burnt so much of the landscape that both industries have collapsed. CsyComm have committed a portion of their funding to the rebuilding of the burnt landscape, in particular the planting of tens of thousands of trees. They also moved their headquarters to the town to provide an additional injection to Jovista’s economy. The presence of CsyComm is bringing attention to the town to rebuild tourism and the forestry work is providing employment for the loggers.
The implant for connection to CsyComm requires just a small injection at the base of the skull. From there the implant propagates into the nearby spinal nerves. So while it’s very easy to install, it is almost impossible to get out. For all citizens of Jovista, installation is offered for free as part of the first adoption deal. There are quite a few pending issues with CsyComm that the company has promised will be sorted out as they gather data from the test. Firstly, the app needs a constant connection to its specialised network, which means the users can’t go out of range of the dedicated antennas or go too far from another user. The free service plan offers the basic interface, storage, and communications but has awkward user interfaces and often contains intrusive adverts. The various tier service plans offer improved performance and a better interface but often induce headaches. Other problems include: users actively remembering some of the information that’s been stored in the brain, users shutting down and lagging when too much of their brain is allocated to processing tasks, and fevers and hunger cravings brought on by the device’s usage. This is on top of the usual bugs, crashes, connection issues, and dodgy firmware updates that usually accompany beta testing. CsyComm has dismissed the rumours that the CsyComm filters users’ perceptions of the things CsyComm doesn’t want them to see, like products from its advertisers competitors.
Plot Hooks:
- CsyComm has many who want their corporate secrets. There’s government agencies from around the world interested in how the implant connects to the brain. There’s competing companies that want copies of everything so they can reverse engineer the protocols. And there’s the private equity funds looking to make a healthy profit on CsyComm’s collapse. They are all willing to pay a healthy sum to the spy that can deliver the goods.
- A group of Hacktavists have noticed how badly CsyComm is actually treating its first adopters and are working on plans on how to open source the systems. For that they’re going to need the kind of access they can only get from an actual user. Now they need to find one who’ll cooperate and then find a way to keep it secret until they’re ready.
- CsyComm is excessively leveraged and was only able to secure its most recent round of funding was to agree to the terms of a shadow fund. In exchange for providing daily finance, the quiet partner has requested dedicated access to CsyComm so that it can run a particular program whilst the users are sleeping. The shadow fund doesn’t care about the nightmares.
Image Credit – Telecomms by Jay Harding – CC-BY-2.0