The Matrix functions unlike any described netrunning system in the Cyberpunk RPG. It takes one aspect of the design of Cyberpunk's Net and pushes it as far as it can go. The Marix is a virtual reality interface large enough to contain every living human, and detailed enough to contain in perfect detail every object on earth. It runs at superrealistic levels for everything. There are no decks, no netrunners. Just the sleepers and the awakened. Oh and the Agents.

The Matrix shows us a totally realistic and totally functional VR set up. To humans it looks just like life, their tools are based on real ones. Weapons are in the form of guns, communications in the form of cellphones. But like any VR interface, if one knows the tricks then the game can be changed. There are traditional programs in the Matrix, ones netrunners might understand but only the Agents, the AI servants of the machines have them.

So this requires that we look at things a little differently.

We'll start with the only enemy a person inside the Matrix will ever need. The humans working with them like police and military are mostly targets so they don't count. But the Agents are another matter. Stronger than any human and far faster they are the roving sentinels of the Matrix and they are unstoppable.

The Agents are essentially generic, though they come in a limited variety of forms. Their type is designated by a name, Agent Smith, Agent Brown, etc... They all come equipped with the same things. Sunglasses, a dark suit, a handgun, and an ear piece that links them to each other. They can be anyone, literally assuming control of any hapless human in the target area. They cannot die, blowing their brains out merely resets them to the next available human host. They are remorseless and relentless, they will never stop.

They have one additonal personal ability. They can make limited rewrites of basic reality, altering details on a small degree to suit their needs. If they wish however they can make requests of larger systems and have entire structures altered to form traps. This can be spotted by keen observation, resetting the Matrix has the occassional side effect of triggering apparent deja vu episodes.

This is one of the programs available to the Agents. It's dormant form looks like a small transmitter. When activated however this device transforms into a literal bug which then proceeds to burrow into its set target. The awakened do have a device, looking a lot like an X-ray machine with a high powered magnet that can be used to remove the bug.

This is an attack virus designed to wear down a human's resistance and gain access to his memories. It is represented by an injection of mercury. The players is allowed to make a willpower check each round, so long as they pass the checks they are okay, but for each failure the target difficulty goes up by 1. Eventually the player can no longer make saves and for all intents and purposes is lost. Removing the victim from proximity to the Agents eliminates this virus.

Inside the Matrix VR rules. The player has really only three stats. Intelligence, willpower and reflexes. Everything here is computer generated and the player is confined only by his expectations and beliefs. Until awakened he will function with the full set of stats exactly as normal. However upon awakening the player begins to learn new tricks. The main skill involved will be the netrunner's special ability. Immediately upon learning the truth the player will be able to replace any of his lower stats with the one of the three if it is higher. And then he will be able to add his Interface skill to each check as well as the appropriate skill and stat. One other note, once an awakened knows the rules of the Matrix when he's there he never gets hungry, or tired, he can function as long as his real body can hold out. But each injury is reflected in both his physical self and his VR representation.

This will soon have some effects of note. By learning the fundamental rules of the Matrix the awakened are faster, stronger and more dangerous than normal humans. They will almost always move first in combat, unless they face an Agent. But some rules can be ignored more than others. Take jumping. An awakened can leap as many meters as his willpower, interface, any skill that might apply and the dice role. Once he comes to believe he can at least. Very difficult willpower checks are required to overcome each new obstacle. And that's just the start, try running along walls if you like. And of course willpower checks have true meaning in the Matrix. Wanna go beyond what you can do casually without thinking, wanna jump twice as far or more? Pass a willpower check with a very difficult target and off you go.

The training ground, a block of controllable and safe VR. Here the awakened learn their skills and prepare for their missions. Anything is possible here.

But a place to play isn't the biggest advantage of the Loading Program. All things in the Matrix exist as code and anyone entering the Matrix can take that code with him. Want a gun or a phone? How about a tank? But more is possible, the Matrix has redefined all understanding of the brain. Any skill can be taught through the Loading Program. Normal awakened can absorb one skill per point of intelligence a day. Skills can be taught at any level. Beginning to see the advantages?

Diving back into the Net is a dangerous option, you can die literally in the Matrix. If you die there you die for real. Any injury you take will be reflected in your flesh and blood body at the end of the connection. So the awakened bring a back up. Someone outside the Matrix, safe from it, some one who can see the bigger picture. The operator. He sits at a complex bank of monitors hooked up to some fairly serious computing power. His eyes see the structure of the Matrix in raw form, he's the one who can scan blueprints for passages and routes, he's the one who finds exit ports. He is the unit's eyes and ears. He can download new equipment and new skills as needed, he is early warning and pathfinder. He is your friend. Now perhaps a player will want to play the operator but I wouldn't recommend it, most of the time he does very little and misses out on the action.

It should also be noted that the operator is repsonsible for finding exits. Its not possible to escape the matrix just anywhere. The exit is always represented by a telephone. It is also possible, though tracable to reach the operator by cellphone.

Unless you plan on finding the Chosen One there's really very little you can do to change the Matrix as it stands. But if you blend a little Cyberpunk 2020 into the mix there might be a new possibility. Imagine this, in the Matrix are the programs and structures of the machine's empire. Now the Chosen One could affect this on a global scale and wouldn't need to find the specific targets, but it is possible that if the VR representations of critical systems could be found that a lesser force could make a difference.