The Matrix
The global network born from the Crash of 2029, wired and then wireless.
In Shadowrun the Matrix is the worldwide computer network that grew out of the Computer Crash of 2029, entered through direct neural interface. In earlier editions access belonged to deckers, who wired cyberdecks into their brains through an implant called a datajack, usually at the temple or behind the ear.
Quick Facts
- Created
- After the Computer Crash of 2029
- Access
- Direct neural interface; cyberdecks and datajacks (earlier editions)
- Second crash
- 2064, followed by a wireless Matrix
Reader's Guide
The fourth edition reworked the Matrix rules to follow real technology. After a second Matrix crash in 2064 the network moved from wires to wireless, and by the 2070s wireless access is everywhere: Wi-Fi nodes as common as telephone poles cover almost every city, so the Matrix is an augmented or mixed reality as well as a virtual one. In the Sega Genesis game, Joshua's cyberdeck holds utilities such as Masking, Attack and Analyzing programs for hacking nodes and saving stolen data, and a single file can sell for up to 12,000 nuyen or prove worthless.
More in Story & Campaigns
Elsewhere in Shadowrun
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