5.2 KiB
[RT][WIP] Delphic bk 2 ch 1: All the Way to the Bank
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Author: u/None *
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Score: 26
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Created: 2018-05-14T03:40:10
Post:
Comments:
u/notagiantdolphin [+8] (a day later)
I wouldn't mind some more explanation eventually on just how Hector became so good with computers. Yeah, he studied in university. And yes, with his power he can basically ignore user safety. But apparently he's cracked an awful lot of hardware problems major companies are having, and uses his obscenely overpowered hardware to, uh, what? He's not performing dictionary attacks or anything. He's just running a static face that emits noises. Passing for an AI is a really clever idea, I'll give him that.
I mean, the most interesting thing about it so far that wasn't 'plot relevant', call it rational if you want, was that he sold a cheap program for job scheduling and used it to both cover for himself and keep an eye on his neighborhood with a script so he could take all the jobs there, as well as drop surveillance devices. Maybe I've missed something?
u/sparr [+2] (2 days later)
Is he really "so good"? Aren't most of his cracking efforts just a matter of
Viewing a person with credentials? Given that sort of access, even a mediocre software and hardware hacker could do everything he does.
u/notagiantdolphin [+2] (2 days later)
It's implied a few times that he's very good, yes, and claims that he himself is 'world class' in chapter 3. He hasn't proven an unreliable narrator yet, so I'm inclined to take that one at his word.
On the software side, I don't think he's actually done anything very impressive - though I think he mentioned writing all his programs, so purely custom software, I guess? Timesink if you're not good. On the hardware side, he's apparently cracked hardware issues that major corporate players haven't yet, and thinks he has the single best rig in the world.
u/None [+2] (3 days later)
It seems to me that there is a very fine line between "world class programmer / hacker" and "unrealistic hacking that defies suspension of disbelief." In trying to stay firmly on the "realistic" side of that line, I have been pretty conservative with the stuff I've described Hector as doing. Most of it can be explained away by having full system access through his powers. His ability to manipulate sophisticated networks (telecommunications, government security, utilities) without detection is probably the most extraordinary thing he's done so far, and that's not something very visible to the reader.
I plan to push the envelope more coming up. I very much hope that my more CS-savvy readers will keep me honest.
u/notagiantdolphin [+2] (3 days later)
Fair enough. So how he got the hardware problem down notwithstanding, and the implied skill for the secrecy he manages to keep in a digital era as an online persona - he mostly has the hardware because he's a bit of a gear queer?
u/None [+2] (3 days later)
I thought "gear queer" implies he buys the new stuff and doesn't know how to use it. I think "gear head" (obsessed with optimizing his machine and increasing its performance) is closer to what I intend to convey.
I do intend to include more remarkable hacking stuff going forward; I just don't want to overdo it. The big idea for Hector's abilities is that he's really more of an engineer than a hacker, even on the software side: he's at his best when he can prepare something robust.
Bonnie Lam is introduced to be the opposite: she can code brilliantly at ridiculous speed but she seldom has her own ideas about creative application of her talents. She also tends to kludge problems rather than frameworking solutions.
I don't know how deeply I'll dive into a lot of this. Maybe a bonus chapter where Hector tries to modify Bonnie's code and vice versa.
u/HPMOR_fan [+5] (3 hours later)
Never mind about having no consequences from Iron Lantern... :)
u/None [+3] (a minute later)
Delphic is a superhero story about Hector, a young man in Detroit with the ability to see the past and the present. It follows his attempts to leverage this unusual ability to do good in the world while remaining behind the scenes, keeping both his identity and the truth of his powers secret from those who would see him as a threat.
Story threads will focus on several characters as Hector encounters them:
- Hector's sister, Paris, a homicide detective hiding her own power,
- Doc Stevens, a disgraced scientist at the forefront of research on the source of super powers, and
- The exploits of various "Super Teams": government-run groups of supers whose scope of operations have been steadily growing.
You can start reading here.
u/None [+1] (4 minutes later)
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