FUNCTION-L₃ #33

アナログ公園

You see the sign from the road, a bright LED display marking the white metal arch, overgrown with dark green kudzu vines. Beyond this gate, the glass walkway branches off into the open park, beds of green moss growing under the glass walkway and tall rows of reeds reaching up along the sides from the shallow trenches of flowing water. The paths circle around raised soil beds housing trees, around concrete blocks supporting metal sculptures in the shape of trees, covered in vines. Abundant sunlight fills the park here on Level 6, near the glass panels at the end of the colony.

Filling the air, besides the scent of wet leaves and a gentle humidity, the vibrations of music flow, dampened perfectly by the walls and beds of soft plantlife. You catch two overlapping songs from two directions, walkways leading to small raised stages, light crowds gathering around each---on one glass platform an enby plays their theremin, catching your interest, using it as a controller for an elaborate modular synthesizer surrounding them on three sides. LEDs woven into their pink hair blinking in time with those on their machine, their steady hand plays with pulse width modulation while their sequencer generates a layered melody. From the other direction, a girl sits on the edge of the stage, flowers braided into her hair, entranced in a droning pulse on her semi-acoustic sitaria, amplified through the stage speakers, lost in a pattern of high notes playing counterpoint to the enby’s sequence, just on the border of harmony and dissonance that makes you wonder if the two can hear each other at all.

“Yeah, this is the place,” Akiko signs. “This is where to promote something for music-lovers to see it.”

“Amazing place! It’s tempting to put on a show here and now, but, we should stick to the plan,” you sign.

Akiko points out a number of displays around you, along the walkways, under the floors, looming over the treetops, all shining with ads, still images and flashy animations. “That’s our route to the eyes of our targets. We gain control of those and advertise our new star. We can do it invisibly to avoid the attention of the advertisers we’re hijacking, a coded image layer that will redirect any neural interface perceiving it to Vix’s homepage instead of whatever the ads should normally point to.”

2255-01-17 12:14:32 ヴィクズ > Nya! ÆON-chan helped me set it all up, my new demo ready for an unprecedented unlimited free download! completely unlicensed and easy to share!

2255-01-17 12:14:36 Aydan > perfect, you and ÆON can spread this link around the local æther, and we’ll get it up on every screen on the surface

2255-01-17 12:14:39 ヴィクズ > on it! nobody will be able to ignore me! let the operation commence, nya!

You feel the distinctive textured vibrations of Akiko’s technopathy in the near-æther. One by one the screens above you subtly change their output, modifications so subtle only a technopath could see. Reaching out into the local network, you identify the row of displays along the path in front of you.

“Since the content on these screens is fed remotely, the advertising companies secure it well ætherside. Local access is their biggest weak point,” she signs.

Following her lead, you insert your override into the video feed, overlaying a subtle layer invisibly woven in subtle off-color patterns to the pixels on the screen. As you look at the screens, your system picks up your encoded links, but also others, many others, a tapestry of viral marketing encoded in each image, left here for any electronic eyes to see.

“That’s a pretty good start, we’ve got the major focal points of the area. Should we get all the displays here or maybe hit some other targets around the city?” she signs.