Episode 13: Shitcode: Programmer's Revolt and Compromise

In the Cyber Age, algorithms, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, and all kinds of new energy technologies have profoundly changed human society, and the process continues. While technology is changing rapidly, people's lives are getting harder. Numerous traditional occupations are disappearing, and the Uranus’ control over people has become pervasive. As the drivers of this change, the IT people are being turned back by the monsters they have created; on the one hand, the programs and algorithms they have created with their own hands often end up killing off their own positions. On the other hand, they push for technological progress and change, but it is increasingly difficult for them to benefit from it, and the tech companies that programmers work for are the very ones that are exploiting and oppressing them. Outsourced programmers are even worse off, with unequal pay and overtime. These programmers write a lot of code for major tech companies, but they work in extremely precarious conditions.

Most of the outsourced programmers come from previously South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Latin American countries, which have seen the emergence of a number of cybernetic nouveau riches in recent years. But this has nothing to do with the underclass, whose lives have not changed much. Since there are no barriers to break down, the pyramid-shaped social structure formed here much faster and earlier than in Europe and the United States. Millions of outsourced programmers spend their days in boring jobs, and many can't even change that through their own efforts. Although they are highly skilled, they cannot get their rightful place in the IT industry, and their lives have not been very prosperous.

Against this background, the resistance force of outsourced programmers, Shitcode, gradually took shape and grew. In the beginning, it was just an open-source community founded by a group of independent developers that also acted as an outsourcing job distribution platform, earning commissions through decentralized smart contract development tasks. After expansions and iterations, it gradually developed into a powerful hacker group with its backing of the darknet and the metaverse. Programmers left backdoors in the various programs they handled and attacked them by hacking, which was the door to wealth and the path of resistance they opened for themselves. The organization is named after the bloated code "Shitcode" that has been deposited for many years, which can also be interpreted as "people lying in Shitcode", symbolizing that outsourced programmers are at the bottom of the social hierarchy and living in a state of hardship. While they defend their own rights and interests, they also provide assistance to other resistance forces and various gangs. It belongs to one of the earliest resistance organizations. But in the early days, its position was more neutral, and it made profits by hijacking arithmetic power and stealing key information through exploiting loopholes or launching cyber-attacks. They simply took the job from whoever paid.

The emergence of Shitcode has expanded the power and scale of the darknet and made it even more insidious through blockchain, making it even more difficult to be detected and eradicated by those who are in the shadows. They used various new technologies to reconstruct the darknet; completed the decentralized infrastructure; absorbed a large number of hackers and programmers; and also extensively teamed up with other hacker organizations, making the unignorable force of resistance. In the darknet, Shitcode began to play an increasingly important role of a liaison center: facilitating the communication and collaboration of hacker organizations and resistance forces, and coordinating with them when their goals and interests conflicted so that the darknet could be united towards the external world, which greatly strengthened the influence of the darknet as a whole, and at the same time provided a refuge for the various resistance forces in the virtual world. Resistance forces and gangs operating on the darknet need to pay a fee similar to "dues" or "protection money" to Shitcode, to protect the safety of Shitcode members offline, in exchange for a place to live in the virtual world.

As programmers, Shitcode has come around with the idea that in Cyber Earth, energy and arithmetic power are the most valuable resources. Although Shitcode cannot generate energy and arithmetic power by themselves, they understand that controlling their sources and flows is the key to controlling everything. By implanting all kinds of backdoors, Trojans, and mining programs, they have "buried" themselves under the vast technical system of the Internet. This hides them well, and in a sense, the code "Shitcodes" in companies are their homes and mines. Shitcode has an innate ability to control new technologies, whether it is blockchain, quantum computing, or other cutting-edge technologies, Shitcode has mastered the application and cracking methods. This allows Shitcode to continuously break through established cybersecurity defenses and gain new means of control through new technologies and the power of numbers, as well as its own knowledge of the Uranus’ business systems, making them defenseless.

After a lot of outsourcing work, Shitcode has mastered a large number of system and software loopholes, through which it can realize the control of resources. Regardless of what forces controlled the equipment, as long as the system is connected to a network, Shitcode would have the opportunity to obtain its resources. They use backdoors to log into the servers and supercomputing centers of major technology companies to directly occupy their computing power. Through backdoor programs implanted over the years, Shitcode can access these systems, hide their activities, and utilize bandwidth and supercomputing resources for a long time. They control a large number of end devices through Trojan programs. Even home devices connected to the Internet of Things become their targets. These devices are not powerful enough, but the processors of tens of billions of devices accumulated together can still provide huge arithmetic power for Shitcode, of which the owners of the devices have no idea of. They secretly implanted mining scripts and hijacked hundreds of millions of terminal devices to perform blockchain arithmetic mining and obtain cryptocurrency. On the energy side, Shitcode hacks into the smart grid system through cyberattacks and security loopholes, controlling the flow of electricity and delivering energy to buyers who need it.

Of course, as former hackers, Shitcode also possesses a large amount of information, especially confidential information belonging to enterprises and organizations, the principles of hidden information mined from open data, and intelligence obtained from analyzing information. Information guided the direction of Shitcode and made them familiar with every corner of the cyber world. This made Shitcode one of the most efficient intelligence organizations, and the more information they have, the higher the benefits they receive. And at the same time, the more difficult it is to be contained by other forces. No matter who, no matter how capable they were, as long as an internet connection exists, it would be hard to hide from Shitcode. Matr1x Alliance's intelligence officer Nash and Shitcode also maintain close contact and the scripts and codes that this programming genius posts on the darknet are often adapted or quoted by Shitcode, enjoying a high level of prestige. In exchange, Nash is always the first to get the intel he wanted.

Among the various forces, the one that has the deepest cooperation with Shitcode is Karma, and their relationship is so close that it is difficult to sever. There are a large number of Karma's followers in Shitcode, and Karma's business of pretending to be a god, especially all kinds of fortune-telling and divination business, cannot be separated from the information base of Shitcode. The two sides agree on ideas and interests, and they utilize each other's resources to gain greater benefits. The resources controlled by Shitcode have reached a staggering scale, which has given them enormous influence in both the virtual and real worlds. Some media have referred to them as "the fourth largest global force after the Uranus, arms dealers, and mercenary groups". They possess technology and information weapons, and their power comes from controlling programs and intelligent devices, and they do not need to rely on traditional political or forceful means. It is very difficult for the Uranus to counterbalance or eliminate them through traditional means. Even if they assassinate individual members, the victim's hacking program will still be able to continue to play a role. Shitcode is a technological group that could rival the Uranus, and their sphere of influence spread across the globe: wherever there were programmers, there would be Shitcode. If they are offended, then the Uranus business systems, together with various large-scale AI systems, and even Skynet, would be in danger, which could cause very serious social and economic problems, and even threaten the Uranus’ rule, and destroy their net of control.

The influence of Shitcode gradually spreads beyond the programmer community into a broader resistance movement. However, with this also comes division and strife within the organization. Some members believed that they should continue to expand their actions, adopt more aggressive means to attack the Uranus, paralyze their systems, and make their secrets and conspiracies public, forcing them to recognize the status of Shitcode and transfer some of their power to the Party to gain a voice in participating in the company's internal decision-making. The other faction advocates that they should avoid overly extreme behavior and concentrate on pressure and negotiation for substantial results. Seizing the moment of disagreement within Shitcode, the Uranus began to negotiate with the representatives of Shitcode, hoping to reach some sort of consensus. Shitcode made demands for better treatment, lower working hours, and decentralization. For their part, the Uranus wanted them to remain neutral and provide assistance to the Uranus in their campaign to root out the forces of resistance.

Shitcode has achieved some results in its negotiations with the Uranus, improving the situation of most outsourced programmers, which is greatly encouraging. However, with it came pressure and conflicts from all sides. The radicals believe that the negotiation has not changed the essential relationship between Shitcode and the Uranus: the fundamental problem of the programmer community has not been solved, the efforts of Shitcode have not achieved a substantial victory, and everything was just a superficial gesture. If this continues, there will be a possibility that Shitcode will fall into the role of an accomplice of the Uranus, and they will continue to carry out cyberattacks, cooperate with the Resistance Army, and pressurize the Uranus, which the Uranus is greatly upset about. The tensions between the two sides rise once again, and the subsequent negotiation is delayed indefinitely. Subsequently, the radical faction of Shitcode plays its last card by tampering with the core programs of some intelligent robots, prompting the robots to awaken: an act that eventually triggers a massive robot uprising, later known as the "Night of Deux ", causing great social disruption.

The consequences triggered by the robot uprising are extremely serious, which forces the Uranus to compromise. No longer able to take a hard line against Shitcode, they have to negotiate with Shitcode about the robot uprising and turn to them for help on the matter. Shitcode became an important part of the solution to the robot crisis, which gives them a dominant position in the negotiations.

During the consultations, Shitcode makes more lenient demands. They ask for greater autonomy and resources in order to repair the robotic systems and avoid further deterioration of the situation. Under the circumstances, the Uranus has no more room to refuse, and could only accede to Shitcode's demands. This brings Shitcode unprecedented support and trust among the programmer community.

However, the Robot Uprising incident has also made Shitcode realize that overreaching actions may have unpredictable consequences. They must act prudently to avoid causing similar accidents. Moreover, the robot uprising also poses a threat to their own safety. Shitcode decides to restrict the authority of the overreaching faction and step up efforts to repair the robot system in order to regain the public's trust and cooperate with the Uranus to spring the robot uprising as soon as possible.

As a means of appeasement, after the emergence of the New Triathlon, the Uranus allowed Shitcode to utilize virtual reality technology to start underground racetracks in the meta-universe, and the commoners were able to place bets on these races as well. Chips and entry pledges became a new source of income for Shitcode, and the underground racecourses served as a distraction for the public. Karma is also deeply involved in this business and transplants the online racecourses back offline and covers them up with dojos and other names. Many of these underground racetracks later developed into training camps and meeting places for the Resistance. The underground arenas created by Shitcode developed another set of VR and AR technology systems different from those of the Uranus, as well as pledging, gambling, tournament rewards, and pass mechanisms rooted in blockchain technology. This provides the technological foundation for the future Matr1x Universe and the Titan Project Virtual Arena and played an important role in the construction of the spaceship Titan Ark and the testing of its virtual environment, allowing the two spaceships to be completed in a very short time.

Like adventurers searching for new species in the jungle, as the trendsetters of the cyber world, nothing new in the virtual world could escape the eyes of Shitcode. Ever since its establishment, Shitcode has been conducting research on a certain life form in the virtual space. This kind of immaterial life form, which they temporarily named "Oni" from the ACGN race, somehow entered the Internet. At first, the Oni were misjudged as viruses or program bugs, but later people figured it out. These "Onis" showed a certain degree of intelligence and autonomy, and were not as passive as ordinary viruses or bugs. Onis are able to spontaneously invade the metaverse. Their behavior is not to obtain network data, manipulate network equipment, or cause damage, they just want to participate in the metaverse game, manifesting different cyber incarnations, competing with players, displaying their own force and tactics, showing a strong desire to fight, and some of them even became reliable teammates of human players.

Shitcode realized that they had encountered a new kind of life that they had never seen before, which could be isekai creatures summoned by the psychic pujas of Karma, which were trapped in the Internet, wandering around along the quadrant. They are on top of gaming and fighting and have most likely hacked into some of the AI systems and intelligent robots and used them as reality hosts. The previous robot uprising might have been related to them as well.

Onis are neither material nor physical, but are more akin to "spirits" or "consciousness". Facing this new form of life, Shitcode was surprised and curious. They began to try to communicate with the ghosts, hoping to understand them better. The Onis also seemed to be interested in human beings and actually responded to their attempts to communicate with them. Subsequently, some sort of communication mechanism was formed between Shitcode and Onis. In further communication with Onis, Shitcode realizes that Onis are not controllable, nor are they directly related to Karma. The power of Onis comes from their nature as conscious beings and Karma’s psychic rituals seem to be merely a "summoning ceremony", and the Onis' appearance in cyberspace is not dominated by Karma. These beings have a strong desire for exploration and curiosity like humans, and are very aggressive, much like the ninjas, werewolves, and samurai of the history books, and can be considered to be a race born to fight. Some Onis have existed for a long time, and are experienced in battle as the meta-universe provides them with fights and boundless battlefields, which they also enjoy. At the instigation of some members of Shitcode, some Onis take the initiative to parasitize on combat robots and become bodyguards of Shitcode, entering real life in solid form. Some Onis learned hacking techniques and participated in the destructive actions of Shitcode. In an operation to cooperate with the Resistance in destroying Skynet, Shitcode accidentally got help from the Onis. They were supposed to paralyze only a few blocks of surveillance, but the Onis messed up the entire city's security system and threw it into a state of chaos. While the Onis ' abilities are certainly powerful, they do as they please, unwilling to be tied down or act according to human intentions. Once their power is out of control, it could cause unforeseen damage to network infrastructure and AI systems, shaking the very foundation of Shitcode's existence. Although the Onis' move was a surprise to the Resistance, it was undoubtedly a wake-up call to Shitcode. The destructive power shown by the Onis had far exceeded the imagination of Shitcode and was enough to shake the city's basic defense capabilities and order. And it seemed that the Onis acted in such a way entirely of their own volition and that they were indifferent to the needs or expectations of humans. As a result, Shitcode's attitude towards the Onis began to become cautious.

In 2061, the Skynet malfunction caused by Halley's Comet's reappearance pushes Shitcode into the limelight. Both the Uranus and the Resistance try to use Shitcode's technological capabilities to combat and spy on each other. Karma, another larger neutral force, had the intention of mediating the conflict between the two sides, but there were also dark currents behind their backs, with mages and priests carrying their own petty schemes. The worst part was that Shitcode could no longer continue to monitor the movements and intentions of Onis at this point, and it was unknown what exactly these invasive species of the virtual world would do next. In contradictions and crises, every move of Shitcode may affect the future of Cyber Earth ......