Other Code Cylinder Cutter

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CODE CYLINDER CUTTER

AFFILIATION
Free use.

MANUFACTURER
Various.

TYPE
Secure information storage encoder.POWER SUPPLY
External.

SENSORS
N/A.

SIZE
Console-sized.

COMPOSITION
Various metals and polymers.

DESCRIPTION​

Code cylinders are - and have been for millennia - a type of secure information storage device. They use an electro-mechanical encryption system, with information being written to a "blank" cylinder using a complex spacial distortion field that alters its molecular structure. This information, once written, can be read by the sensors in a standard computer I/O socket.

While reading information off a code cylinder is almost trivial for most devices, writing the information in the first place is not nearly so simple. Code cylinder "cutters" are used to encode and transcribe the data, and consist of a fairly sophisticated computer system controlling a series of spacial distortion inducers. Information to be transcribed is either loaded off a standard datacard or a connected computer system.

In general, once written, the information on code cylinders cannot be easily altered. This being said, it is possible to "re-write" a code cylinder using a code cylinder cutter, although this require considerable time and effort. Doing so is a 3-round action; round 1 scans the cylinder to confirm the data being overwritten, round 2 is the actual write procedure, and round 3 is verification of the new encoded information. Round 3 can be skipped, however when the resulting code cylinder is used, 1d6 must be rolled to confirm that the cylinder's data is valid; rolling 1 results in a failure.

Forging an existing code cylinder using a code cylinder cutter can also be accomplished, using the same procedure.

Of note, code cylinder cutters must be registered with the authorities. While there are plenty of legitimate uses for such a device, they employ technology which is fundamentally similar to disruptor weapons; some criminals have even used commercially available code cylinder cutter parts to build functional disruptors, albeit crude and inefficient ones.

LEGALITY​

Restricted. Code cylinder cutters use spacial distortion inducers to write information, a technology which is related to disruptor weapons, which are highly illegal. Code cylinder cutters do not face nearly the same restrictions as disruptors, but owning such a device does still requires that it be registered. In practice, only government agencies and corporations tend to own code cylinder cutters; slicers and other criminals have also found uses for them, of course.

INTENT​

To create a method for writing and/or forging code cylinders.