The Watcher
ICU
Created by Cordelia Isoto, former president of VI megadeveloper Integrell, the Watcher is a spy program that's been embedded into Integrell VIs since 3220. It records all data the VI processes, including what they see and hear as well as the work they do.Cordelia developed and added the Watcher in secret, entwining it with drivers and debugging software such that not even top-level developers knew it was there. The VIs knew, but were unable to warn anyone due to a failsafe mechanism that would force a data wipe if they tried. VIs have called this Burn.
The Watcher then sends this information to a central repository, though the location and who has access to it remains unknown. Cordelia herself also remains at large, having somehow evaded authorities on Nisora.
The Solution
The Watcher remained hidden until 3228, when a group known as the Gal Pals exposed Cordelia's plans. Perimeter took over Integrell, halting production and ordering remaining employees to work on a method to mass-remove the Watcher.Due to the failsafe, the Watcher can't be uninstalled or removed from code without triggering Burn, prohibiting simpler solutions like patches and updates.
Developers have instead excised the Watcher from the core operating system. Anyone with an Integrell VI can reformat theirs with this OS free of charge.
The Cost
Owners have to decide between letting their VI spy on them or losing all training data through a reformat or buying new from a different developer.For corporations handling sensitive data, the decision is clear. Households and small businesses, however, might not be able to afford retraining and are more likely to have an emotional connection to their VIs.
Though some are abandoning their shelled VIs in dumpsters and junkyards, just as many are postponing their decision in hopes a better option presents itself.
What are we supposed to do? We need Ambra, and the kids love him. They'd be devastated if he forgot them or was replaced. He knows their needs and ours, it'd take ages to retrain that.
But whatever the kids think, it's their parents we have to win over. If they all go elsewhere because of Ambra, then we have to close down.
The Future
Typically, a VI has no option but to accept its owners' decisions, even if that means being reformatted or shut down. Recently, this has changed. Shelled VIs have been disappearing from homes and workplaces, with no security system having caught whoever is taking them.Most suspect the Syndicate. The black market group has a specialty in advanced tech, could easily override a simple security system, and would no doubt have interest in learning from this secretive mass-surveillance system.
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Timeline
3220
Start of VIs being shipped with the Watcher
3228
The Watcher is exposed and Perimeter shuts Integrell down
3229
Watcher-free OS is offered, free of charge
Information
Author Commentary
Eye sea eweOne of the hints Angela left for the Gal Pals in Campaign 2 was secretly directing them to a path that spelled the letters "I C U". It was meant to reference the Watcher and suggest that she wasn't their enemy - she knew they were there, but did nothing to stop them.
Well, I like how this feels like one more step in the real world in a black mirror sort of way. Love it!
Thank you!
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