Once again, they will be put in danger by 
the Matrix, since the infection brought up 
by the Beta team on Day 38 (see TIME 
CHART - page 4) has produced a deadly 
change in the ship's robot astrogator. 

The action consists of a series of EVENTS 
(below) which occur after the characters 
return. Snobol and Moneyspider are 
described on pages 21-24, details of the 
crew and robots are given in CREW OF 
THE MONEYSPIDER (Pull-out Sheet 
IV), and the computer systems are des- 
cribed in COMPUTER SYSTEMS (Pull- 
out Sheet III). 

KILLER ROBOT 

When the Matrix first arrived n Snobol/ 
Moneyspider, it has the same form in 
which it infected Jetsom. It did no thrive 
this far from its natural habitat, however, 
and only succeeded in taking over the 
GLLR-5 recreation robot (see The Incid- 
ent - page 7). 

While the characters were on Jetsom, the 
Matrix on Snobol/Moneyspider mutated 
into a new form which spread through the 
installation's electronic circuits. As long 
as it infected only the computers and 
ordinary robots, this new form had no 
adverse effects. However, when it in- 
fected Baralou Ap-Reaverchan (the an- 
thropomorphic Yazirian robot astrogator 
- see MAJOR NPCS, Pull-out Sheet IV), 
it reacted in a strange way with the 
special bio-electronic circuits that give 
her artificial intelligence, and Baralou 
became self-willed and homicidal. 

Baralou's Powers 

Every computer program and robot on 
Snobol/Moneyspider (with the exception 
of the CRL-E1 maintenance robot) is 
infected by the Matrix. Baralou can 
command ("run") any of these at will, 
through her tight-beam communication 
link with the M/MN/RM (robot manage- 
ment) program (see Pull-out Sheet VII). 
 

The oxygen consumption sensors of the 
life-support systems tell Baralou which 
rooms are occupied. She can hear any- 
thing which is said on Snobol or Money- 
spider through the intercom system. She 
can also "see" anything picked up by the 
video cameras in the captain's office 
(M5a) and the Deck 5 lobby (M11), and 
she knows automatically when and how 
any programmed system is used. 

Baralou's appearance, speech and actions 
are indistinguishable from those of a real 
Yazirian (see Pull-out Sheet IV). A detailed 
medical examination, for example, would 
reveal that she is a robot, but a simple 
injection would not. 

Destroying the Matrix 

Unlike the Matrix on Jetsom, this new 
form affects the electronic circuits them- 
selves, rather than their programs. If 
characters examine programs whose cir- 
cuits are infected or list the functions of 
an infected robot (see Detecting the 
Matrix - page 9), they will gain the 
impression that there is a "hardware 
fault" (i.e. a problem with the actual 
electronic components) rather than a 
"program bug". 

The new form cannot be destroyed by  
heat, nor can its effects be temporarily 
removed by manipulating/re-writing the 
programs, or altering missions/functions. 

The Matrix can be removed automatically 
from a computer's circuits by using the 
repairing computers subskill, or from a 
robot by using the repairing robots 
subskill. In either case the job will take 
1d10 hours. The Matrix will not re-infect. 

EVENTS 

A Mystery Unfolds 

This part of the adventure is designed to 
present the players with an exciting 
multiple-murder mystery, and to give 
them an opportunity to role-play their 
characters to the full. The plot unfolds as 
 

Some of the events will remind them of 
what happened on Jetsom as a result of 
the Matrix infection, particularly the 
"systems failure", but it should also be 
apparent right from the start (with the 
captain's murder - Ev1) that there is a 
purposeful and malicious intelligence 
behind what happens. For most of the 
time, the suspicion of the player char- 
acters will probably fall on Ellen Cooper- 
mann, but she is completely innocent. 

Except for the first (Ev1) and last (Ev10), 
none of the events has a fixed time when 
it must take place. They should, however, 
occur in the order given. The exact timing 
of the events is up to the referee, who 
should present them in such a way as to 
maintain a feeling of excitement and 
mystery for the players. 

To avoid any complications which would 
arise if Baralou lost control of one or more 
of the computer programs, the player 
characters should not gain physical 
access to the M/MN, M/GL, M/LS or 
M/MT computers until the latter part of 
the adventure (Ev7). Events can be used 
by the referee to distract them from the 
computers if necessary. 

Protecting the Computers 

Since the characters need physical access 
to the computers to remove the Matrix 
(see Destroying the Matrix - above), 
Baralou has programmed the ship's sys- 
tems to defend the most important ones: 

M/MN, M/GL and M/LS 
If, at any time, the characters attempt to 
enter the strongroom (M15) where the 
M/MN (main), M/GL (general) and M/LS 
(life-support) computers are located, they 
will have to overcome the locked security 
doors and the DB-0 security robot in the 
security room (M14). Neither the doors 
not the robot will respond to their 
passwords (which are known only to the 
captain and Ellen Coopermann).