vance_prime: (Default)
Alyx Vance ([personal profile] vance_prime) wrote in [community profile] milliways_bar2010-04-20 12:53 pm
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The final layer of encryption on the Aperture data is proving to be remarkably stubborn. Alyx has, at least, confirmed that it is the final layer, which means the trickier code is understandable. Whatever they're, the higher-ups at Aperture wanted it to stay hidden.

Hopefully, it's something of vital importance to their portal research that could give the Resistance another edge over the Combine. But given that this is Aperture Science we're talking about, it could just as easily be Cave Johnson's secret devil's food cake recipe. Who knows?

Anyway, Alyx is in Milliways in the hope that a change of venue will help her work. She's got the laptop, a legal pad full of notes, and a heaping platter of onion rings.

(What? Just because she's working doesn't mean she can't soothe her pregnancy cravings at the same time.)
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (Default)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
"I've only seen live trees in one place," Ellen says. "All the way up north in Oasis. I don't think any of them were pine trees, but I wouldn't know for sure."
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (extraordinarily stupid thing)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
"They have a lot of plants out behind the Bar," Ellen points out. "A lot of them are trees. Which ones are the pine trees?"
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (thoughtful)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh," says Ellen. "Then no. I don't remember seeing any trees in Oasis that had anything instead of leaves. I don't think they were all the same species as Harold, but they all had leaves, I remember that pretty clearly."
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (Default)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, I forgot- I never told you all about Oasis," Ellen says. "I'm sorry. Oasis is this green valley up in the northern part of the Wasteland where there's all kinds of plants- trees, grass, bushes, everything. It's all adapted to the Wasteland and it's thriving and full of life, and it's all because of this man in the middle of it who's slowly turning into a tree. Well, not so slowly any more, he's more of a talking tree now."
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (about to ask a question)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 01:18 am (UTC)(link)
"Exposure to concentrated Forced Evolutionary Virus at very high levels a long time ago," Ellen says. "Some kind of tree took root in his head as a result of the infection, and it started growing and he never got rid of it. Eventually it outmassed him and took over. I only wish I were joking."
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (Default)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 01:26 am (UTC)(link)
"I don't know," Ellen says. "I really don't. But FEV is the same stuff that mutates regular people into the greenskins you saw. For all I know it mutated the plant so it could feed off nutrients in human blood, or something."
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (Default)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
"Sorry?" Ellen hunches her shoulders in embarrassment. "I didn't really stop to think what that sounded like."
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (Default)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 02:31 am (UTC)(link)
"Has it been a long day?" Ellen asks. "You look like someone who's been studying for the GOAT too long."
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (Default)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
"Oooh," says Ellen. "That's got to be- wow. Codebreaking's hard. They only protect really important stuff with difficult codes, don't they?"
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (Default)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
"Wow. I don't think they even used that much encryption to protect troop movement information before the final thrust of the Battle of Anchorage," Ellen says.
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (Default)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
"I don't know. I only remember what I read about it in the history texts," Ellen says. "I know they double-encrypted everything and they wrote in code phrases even before they started scrambling the contents with their ciphers, but if they did any more than that then it was never declassified before the bombs fell."
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (Vault-Tec)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
"Unfortunately no," Ellen says. "Just that some of the biggest mainframes ever built were constructed on both sides to try and crack the other side's codes. They didn't really go into specifics in the texts."
Edited 2010-04-21 03:46 (UTC)
aaaaaaaagh_sky: (Vault Boy)

[personal profile] aaaaaaaagh_sky 2010-04-21 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, no. Transistor systems all the way," Ellen says. "Most of the historical advances in the development of real transistor technology came out of the intelligence race between Chinese and American spy organizations in the 2060s. They even developed a couple of potential standalone terminal types during that time, although I don't think those ever really got into production anywhere much."

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