【暗影狂奔4E Unwired】 缩小的地球村 P.27-30

[Cobalt 1号机]

缩小的地球村

无线矩阵已经缩小了我们的世界。遥远的概念对于在虚拟世界中通过一个简单想法就能彼此连接起来的人来说已经没有意义了。对许多人来说，虚拟世界和它之外的任何东西一样真实。“邻居"意味着谁在社交网络上离你最近，而不是谁在你公寓楼的走廊里。香港的突发新闻可以在西雅图引起恐慌或畏惧(就像我们去年看到的超链者恐慌)。你最喜欢的虚拟商店可能在街边或不同的大陆，但你购买的东西同样会到达。你的雇主可能有一栋办公楼和30分钟的通勤时间，或者，同样可能的是，你可以登录到一个虚拟办公室，你的老板在英国，你的秘书在加尔各答，而你最喜欢的"咖啡休息”伙伴在纽约市。一个在洛杉矶大学教授可能正在给马德里的孩子们讲课。

问问西雅图的大多数人，新东京有多远，他们会耸耸肩并回答说：“大约3秒钟”。大多数通讯链都有一个自动时区调整器，它可以让你知道你所打电话的地方的时间，以防你忘记新东京的太阳不是在波特兰的同一时间升起。对许多人来说，在他们的通讯链的最上方闪烁的小数字时间显示是对于他们最好的朋友住在大洋另一端的唯一提醒。

这意味着，人们开始关注那些以前从未触及的事情。媒体对全球新闻的不断播报，甚至把遥远的威胁也带回家，如果它们足够耸人听闻的话。西雅图兽人杀手谋杀案让全球各城市的兽人看见阴影时都吓一跳，就好像凶手会飞过大洋，潜入他们的巷子里。最近在新奥尔良发生的20名儿童失踪事件，让全球的父母都涌入KIDN网络来保护自己的后代。在伦敦发生的紧张的恐怖分子对峙事件将使观众24小时不间断地关注流媒体的新闻报道，挂念着实时发展。公众感兴趣的是震撼和丑闻，而不一定是相关内容。

矩阵所允许的互联性也为志同道合的人提供了几十年前无法想象的联系方式。患有极其罕见疾病的病人可以通过虚拟方式联系起来，彼此交流建议和安慰。国际象棋比赛可以吸引来自全球各地的选手。对三趾树懒的命运感兴趣的自然保护主义者可以举行虚拟会议，并组织虚拟静坐运动以唤起当地官员的认识。

劇透 -   :

SHRINKING GLOBAL VILLAGE
The wireless Matrix has shrunk our world. The concept of distant is no longer relevant to people connected by a simple thought in the virtual world. For many, the virtual world is as real as anything outside of it. "Neighbors" means who’s closest to you on your social network, not who’s down the hall in your apartment building. Breaking news in Hong Kong can cause panic or fear in Seattle (like we saw last year with the technomancer hysteria). Your favorite virtual store could be based down the street or on a different continent, but your purchase arrives just the same. Your employer could have an office building and a thirty minute commute, or, just as likely, you could log on to a virtual office where your boss is based in England, your secretary in Kolkota, and your favorite “coffee break” buddy is in NYC. A college professor could be based in LA and be lecturing to kids in Madrid.

Ask most people in Seattle how far away Neo-Tokyo is, and they’ll shrug and reply, “about 3 seconds.” Most commlinks come with an automatic time-zone adjuster, which lets you know the time of the place you’re calling, just in case you forget that the sun doesn’t rise in Neo-Tokyo at the same time as in Portland. For many people, that small digital time display blinking at the uppermost corner of their commcall is the only reminder they have that their best friend lives an ocean away.

That means that people become concerned about things that would never before have touched them. The media’s constant broadcast of global news brings home even remote threats, if they’re sensational enough. The Seattle ork slasher murders has orks in cities across the globe jumping at shadows, as if the murderer will fly across oceans to skulk in their alleyways. The recent disappearance of twenty children in New Orleans has parents across the globe flocking to the KIDNetwork to protect their own offspring. A tense terrorist standoff in London will have viewers tuned into the streaming newsfeeds 24/7, hanging on the realtime developments. Public interest is held by the shocking and the scandalous, not necessarily the relevant.

The interconnectedness that the Matrix allows also provides like-minded individuals the ability to connect in ways unimaginable a few decades ago. Patients suffering from extremely rare diseases can connect virtually and exchange advice and commiseration. Chess competitions can draw players from around the globe. Conservationists interested in the fate of the three-toed sloth can meet for virtual conferences and organize virtual sit-in campaigns to raise awareness among local officials.

[Cobalt 1号机]

宗教信仰

宗教和精神组织--那些没有对其进行谴责的组织--利用矩阵将会众聚集在一起。全球的穆斯林可以订阅麦加网(MeccaNET)，加入一个全球社区，能够通过这个社区参加清真寺的虚拟(或AR)仪式，并使他们的时钟与麦加当地的祈祷时间同步。天主教徒试图恢复人们对其宗教的兴趣，并已经接受了无线技术的优势，他们从梵蒂冈广播AR直播，允许AR忏悔和赦免，甚至提供完全虚拟的弥撒。其他宗教则对矩阵深恶痛绝，但这些宗教正在发现他们的成员难以应对现代世界。

> 而且许多激进宗教都有作为潜在恐怖分子出现在企业观察名单上的倾向。当然，他们的想法是，你要么支持要么反对……没有中间地带。

> Fianchetto

> 有些团体实际上已经设法避免被迫升级到无线世界而不被贴上恐怖分子的标签。UCAS的贵格会就是一个这样的团体，他们的生活方式就像一群活在19世纪的农民。如果你相信的话，他们真的会骑马，并且自己种植食物。他们得到了UCAS政府的特别豁免，可以在规则之外生活。

> Mika

> 在光谱另一端的则是新宗教或邪教，如纯粹虚拟主义者。他们相信矩阵是人类发展的下一步，在这个领域，他们可以摆脱来自肉体的限制和诱惑，过上纯粹的精神生活。崇拜者们试图生活在一个纯粹的VR状态中。有些人甚至在VR中自杀，希望能摆脱他们的凡人之躯。变成纯粹数字化，显然意味着他们已经实现了纯粹的精神形式。从肉体的欲望、愤怒、饥饿、干渴、对物质的渴求中解脱出来……好吧，你懂的。纯粹虚拟主义正在变越来越受欢迎，并由一个非常有魅力的人领导，名叫伊利亚斯神父(Reverend Illias)。“过渡"伴随着精心设计的仪式，由该宗教的其他"入门者"参加。伊利亚斯神父实际上参加了每一次过渡，欢迎那些最新的成员加入。我听说--请注意，只是听说--如果某个人随着他身体的死亡而消逝，这意味着他的灵魂不够纯洁，或者没有足够的信仰，或者只是没有准备好过渡到人类精神的下一个层次。很不幸的是，对纯粹虚拟主义者来说，大多数司法管辖区认为有人参与的自杀与谋杀是一样的，不管这个人是否声称要"过渡”到数字形式。这让伊利亚斯神父上了一些政府和组织的通缉名单，比如地平线的道金组。

> Goat-Foot

> 只生活在矩阵中，这可能吗？我和其他人一样听说过“电子幽灵”的故事。它们不就是都市传说吗？

> Ethernaut

> 好吧，我当然不建议吞下氰化物，然后接入矩阵看看会发生什么。但我认为我们之中很多在矩阵中呆了足够长时间的人都看到了我们无法解释的事情。

> The Smiling Bandit

劇透 -   :

RELIGION
Religious and spiritual organizations—those that don’t condemn it out of hand—use the Matrix to bring congregations together. Muslims around the globe can subscribe to MeccaNET, joining a global community, having the ability to attend virtual (or AR) services in a Mosque, and synchronizing their clocks to the prayer times in Mecca itself. Catholics, attempting to revive a flagging interest in their religion, have embraced the advantages of wireless technology, broadcasting live AR feeds from the Vatican, allowing AR confessions and absolutions, even providing entirely virtual masses. Other religions have declared the Matrix anathema, but those religions are finding that their members have a hard time dealing with the modern world.

> And many of those radical religions have a tendency to show up on corporate watchlists as potential terrorists. The thought being, of course, that you are either for or against … no middle ground.

> Fianchetto

> Some groups have actually managed to avoid being upgraded to the wireless world without being labeled terrorists. Quakers in UCAS are one group, bunch of farmers that live like they’re
in the 19th century still. Actually ride horses, if you can believe it, and grow their own food. They’ve got a special exemption from the UCAS gov’t to live outside the rules.

> Mika

> At the opposite end of the spectrum are new religions—or cults— like the Virtual Purists. They believe that the Matrix is the next step in human development, a realm where they can shed the limitations and temptations of their flesh and live a purely spiritual life. Adherents attempt to live in a purely VR state. Some even commit suicide while in VR, hoping to shed their mortal coil. Becoming purely digital, apparently, means they’ve achieved a purely spiritual form. Free from the flesh’s lust, anger, hunger, thirst, craving for material goods … well, you get the point. The Virtual Purists are gaining popularity, too, led by a very charismatic person named Reverend Illias. The "transitioning" is accompanied by elaborate ceremonies, attended by other "initiates" of the religion. Reverend Illias attends each transitioning virtually, welcoming the newest member into the fold. I’ve heard—mind you, just heard—that if the person fades away with his body’s death, it means he didn’t have a pure enough soul, or perhaps didn’t have enough faith, or just wasn’t ready to transition to the next level of human spirituality. Unfortunately for the VPs, most jurisdictions consider an attended suicide the same thing as murder, regardless of if the person claims to be "transitioning" into a digital form. That’s put Reverend Illias on the most-wanted lists of a few governments and organizations, like Horizon’s Dawkin’s Group.

> Goat-Foot

> Is it even possible to live just in the Matrix? I’ve heard the Ghostin-the-Machine stories like everyone else. Aren’t they just urban legends?

> Ethernaut

> Weeellll … I certainly wouldn’t recommend swallowing cyanide and then jacking in to see what happens. But I think a lot of us who spend significant time in the Matrix have seen things we can’t explain.

> The Smiling Bandit

[Cobalt 1号机]

新的语言

实时翻译程序、通用图标和正在发展中的图标语言的出现侵蚀了过去横在我们之间的语言障碍。如果你通过AR或VR连接与人交谈，你可以使用一个翻译程序来协助你的沟通。像巴别树(Babel-Tree)这样的免费服务是相当方便且广为人知的，尽管在你说话(输入程序)和它翻译成所选语言的过程之间存在一些翻译延迟。巴别树程序依靠不断的用户反馈和输入，所以它应该能跟上当前的俚语，并提供相当准确的翻译，抓住真正的含义，而不仅仅是语法正确性。公司经常使用专业级程序甚至高级代理来为复杂的主题提供翻译服务，如科学研究者之间的会议，其中最轻微的单词错误理解就可能会毁掉整个项目。

大多数公共新闻联播都是以多种语言播出的，不管其来源国是什么。音乐、拟感和娱乐节目下载可以被定制为几乎任何可用的语言(如果对该语言有需求的话)。随着教学拟感的普及，许多人会学习多种口语。通过利用实时翻译和提示软件或服务，即使是面对面的互动也可以变得更容易。巴别树程序有一个非常受欢迎的检索数据库，里面充满了母语者所说的短语、单词和俚语的例子。如果你在会议上想表现得有礼貌，你可以让巴别树程序运行；在头脑中说出一个短语，检索会返回相同的短语，经过翻译，然后让你重复。

书面语言则完全是另一个问题。如此之多的知识可以转化为音频、图像或图标媒体，以至于能够阅读不再是一种必要。事实上，重点不是放在提高识字率上，而是转移到创造一种标准化的图标语言上。一种新的交流形式，依靠符号、图片、声音和拼凑起来的词语，已经成为矩阵版的城市语言，一种在网络上诞生的私生子语言。它很容易上手，非常直观，而且非常流畅--它不是标准化的，而是依赖于人类与矩阵之间互动的不断演变。即使是没有接触过矩阵语言的人，也能在很少或没有提示的情况下掌握这种语言的基本信息。地平线公司一直在大力推动这种新的全球语言，矩阵语言的AR广告在年轻人群中很受欢迎。

劇透 -   :

THE NEW LANGUAGE
The availability of real-time translation programs, of universal iconography, and of developing iconographic languages has eroded the language barrier that used to stand between us. If you’re speaking to someone via an AR or VR connection, you can use an interpretation program to assist your communication. Free services, like Babel-Tree, are fairly handy and universally known, although there are translation delays between when you speak (into the program) and it translates into the chosen language. Babel-Tree relies on continual customer feedback and input, so it supposedly manages to keep up with current slang and provides fairly accurate translations that catch real meaning, not just syntax. Corporations often use professional grade programs or even high-level agents to provide translation services for complicated subjects, like conferences between research scientists, where the slightest misconstrued word can ruin an entire project.

Most public newsfeeds are broadcast in a variety of languages, regardless of their country of origin. Music, sim, and entertainment downloads can be customized into almost any available language (if there’s demand for that language, that is). With the proliferation of teaching sims, many people learn multiple spoken languages. Even in-person interactions can be made easier by the ability to utilize real-time translation and prompting software or services. Babel-Tree has a very popular searchable database filled with examples of phrases, words, and slang spoken by native speakers. If you’re at a meeting and want to be polite, you can have Babel-Tree running; mentally say a phrase and the search returns the same phrase, translated, for you to repeat.

Written language is another issue altogether. So much knowledge can be converted into an auditory, pictorial, or iconographic media that being able to read is no longer a necessity. In fact, instead of focusing on increasing literacy, the focus has shifted to creating a standardized iconographic language. A new form of communication, relying on symbols, pictures, sounds, and cobbled together words has become the Matrix version of city-speak, a bastardized language born online. It’s easy to pick up, very intuitive, and is very fluid—instead of being standardized, it relies on the constant evolution of human-Matrix interactions. Even someone with no exposure to Matrixese can pick up essential messages in the language with little or no prompting. Horizon has been a major push behind this new global language, and AR ads in Matrixese are popular among the younger population.

[Cobalt 1号机]

透明的政治进程

矩阵的另一个全球影响是政治进程变得如此透明。政治家们可以直接针对广告，通过AR向目标受众讲话，举行虚拟集会，并进行实时民意调查以衡量他们的受欢迎程度。许多政府为了公众利益设立了公开广播，让公民们看到“神圣的大厅"里正在发生的事情，并向他们的代表提供现场反馈。通过对政治人物和办公室的监视，腐败指控变得越来越多。某种程度上说，知道自己的选民在监督他们能让政治家们保持诚实。大多数政治家还允许选民直接连接到"选民网络”，发布民意调查并设置民意反馈区域。

在UCAS中，超过90%的参议员在国会中为他们的选民提供了现场直播的渠道。当一个新的提案或法案要进行表决时，法案的文本和更简洁的摘要会被张贴在网上。有兴趣的选民可以阅读(或收听)该法案，并将他们的意见(通常是赞成/反对的投票，偶尔也允许较短小的信息)直接发送给他们的参议员。该系统允许选民看到对赞成/反对意见的衡量，以及作出回应的人口百分比。当参议员投票时，他或她可以根据人民的真正需求做出决定，而不是被所受雇的特定利益集团影响。

> 如果80%的选民希望投赞成票，而他们的参议员却投了反对票，这通常会造成一些重大新闻，至少在华盛顿是这样的。那些迎合特定利益集团的参议员现在必须真正注意他们的立场了，因为太多违背选民意愿的投票意味着他们不会获得连任。或者更糟的是，丑闻会让他们被国会其他成员回避……而特定利益集团的资金将全部枯竭。

> Kay St. Irregular

劇透 -   :

TRANSPARENT POLITICAL PROCESSES

Another global impact of the Matrix is how transparent the political process has become. Politicians can target ads directly, speaking through AR to targeted audiences, holding virtual rallies, and conducting real-time polls to gauge their popularity. Many governments have instituted public broadcasting for public interests, allowing citizens to see what is going on in the “hallowed halls“ and provide live feed-back to their representatives. Corruption charges have raised in the popularity of sousveillance of political figures and offices. Somehow, knowing their constituents are watching supposedly keeps the politicians honest. Most politicians also allow constituents to link directly into a ”votersnetwork,” with posted polls and areas for feedback.

In the UCAS, over 90 percent of the Senators in congress have a live-feed access for their constituents. When a new proposal or bill comes up for a vote, the text of the bill is posted online along with a more concise summary. Interested voters can read (or listen to) the bill and send their opinion (generally a yea/nay vote—occasionally small messages are allowed) directly to their Senator. The system allows constituents to see a measure of the for/against responses, as well as the percent of the population who’ve responded. When the Senator votes, he or she can make decisions based off of what the people really want, rather than special interest groups hired to influence the Senator.

> And if 80% of voters wanted a "yes" vote and their Senator votes “no,” it generally makes some major news, at least in DC. Senators who cater to special interest groups have to really watch their toes now, because too many votes against their constituencies’ wishes means they won’t get re-elected. Or worse yet, the scandal will get them shunned by the rest of Congress … and the special interest group nuyen will all dry up.

> Kay St. Irregular

至少在UCAS，投票是通过在投票“窗口期”(通常是虚拟投票间开放的一周时间)内加密传输个人的选票来完成的。其他依赖投票系统的政府也遵循类似的结构，尽管传输和统计选票所需的时间各不相同。不过，一般来说，要登记投票，你需要一个SIN和一个认证的电子地址。一些比UCAS更有安全意识的政府向选民发送带有生物识别密钥的加密选票。它要求选民提供生物识别验证，如拇指指纹或视网膜扫描，以便填写选票。在UCAS，该系统则通常是在通过无线矩阵返回时每张选票都提供了一个加密系统。选民需要以电子方式签名，证明他们确实是自己填写了选票。这算不算是信任？

> 请记住，在UCAS中，是一个SIN对应一张选票。这意味着，如果你买了多个SIN，你就有多张选票。现在出去，履行你的公民义务。

> Snopes

> 黑客攻击选民的通讯链，或者拦截无线流量，解密，并按自己的意愿编辑选票，这样似乎可以很容易地操纵选举。然而，该系统实际上运作得很好(至少在这一部分)。由于每个公民都在为期一周的投票窗口中单独发送他们的选票，因此在整个选举周期间，选票都是涓涓细流。要想对选举结果产生可衡量的影响，你就必须入侵数以万计的通讯链(并希望他们还没有邮寄选票)，或者试图拦截传输，这对于少数目标来说很容易，但很难大规模协调。如果你想破坏选举，你就必须骇入投票站，而自从加州麦格石(译注：Magestone为加州的黑客团体，曾在2046年抹去了自由加州州长选举的结果数据，导致洛杉矶成为自由城市)事件后，UCAS把他们的投票结果看守得比南极洲还严格。如果有足够的资金和支持，你就有可能破坏一场小型选举，甚至是一场较大的选举，但更容易和更便宜的是雇用一个公关公司，如Charisma Associates，然后说服人们按你想要的方式投票。

> Kay St. Irregular

劇透 -   :

Voting, at least in the UCAS, is done via encrypted transmissions of an individual’s votes within a voting "window"—generally a week long period that the virtual voting booths are open. Other governments that rely on a voting system follow similar structures, although the time required to transmit and count the votes varies. Generally speaking, though, to register to vote you need a SIN and a certified electronic address. Some governments, more security conscious than the UCAS, send voters a biometrically keyed encrypted ballot. It requires that the voter provide biometric verification, such as a thumb print or retinal scan in order to fill it out. In the UCAS, the system is pretty much that each ballot is provided with an encryption system for when it is returned via the wireless Matrix. Voters are required to sign electronically that they did, in fact, fill out the ballot themselves. How’s that for trust?

> And remember, in the UCAS, it’s One SIN, One Vote. That means if you buy multiple SINs, you get multiple votes. Now go out there and do your civic duty.

> Snopes

> It seems like it’d be easy to rig an election just by hacking voters’ commlinks, or intercepting the wireless transmissions, decrypting them, and editing the votes as you’d like. However, the system actually works pretty well (for that part, at least). Since every citizen sends their votes in individually during a week-long voting window, the votes come trickling in during the entire Election Week. To make a measurable difference in the results, you’d have to hack tens of thousands of commlinks (hoping they hadn’t already mailed the vote) or attempt to intercept the transmissions—easy for maybe a handful, but hard to coordinate large scale. If you want to screw with elections, you have to do it at the vote-tally office and ever since the California Magestone debacle, UCAS keeps their voting results ICier than Antarctica. It’d be possible to screw with a minor election, or even a major one with enough nuyen and backing, but it’d be easier—and cheaper—to just hire a PR firm like Charisma Associates to convince folks to vote the way you want.

> Kay St. Irregular