W20 - Changing Breeds.pdf

CyberSpyingIt used to be that if you needed to get a piece ofinformation from one place to another, or to keep eyeson something from a distance, or dig up dirt on someone,spirits were the way to go. They can carry messages, listenin on conversations without getting noticed, or watchover an area without needing pit stops or sleep breaks.That made them pretty much the bees’ knees for thoseof us in the information biz.Things have changed, though, and technology haspretty much become the go-to tool for the bird-in-theknow.Any Corax is going to find a cell phone to be anear necessity for keeping on contact on the go, and ifyou can get your hands on one that works in the Umbra,better yet. I’ve heard there are some that go across theGauntlet — Realm to Umbra and back — but I’ve neverseen one first hand. If they do exist, they’re crazy rareand those that have them aren’t likely to give them upwithout complaint.Smart phones are super handy too — they’re like aphone, a mini computer, a portable camera, a GPS, a taperecorder, and a music player all rolled up into one. Yes,a music player. Quit thinking so literally! Sure, it’s niceto be able to listen to your favorite tunes wherever yougo, but think outside of the box a bit. A recorder app, aplayback feed, and you’ve got anything from a white-noisegenerator or sound effects maker to a blackmail materialstorage device. The possibilities are, as they say, endless.And speaking of endless, let’s not forget the web-withno-end— the Internet! Between Facebook, Twitter, andall that jazz, almost everyone has some sort of internetpresence — and online friends — these days. A coupleof dummy accounts armed with stock photos and a fakebio, and suddenly I’m “friends” with whatever patsy I’mlooking for more info on. If I’m lucky, he’ll keep a runningdialogue with his hundred closest buddies about wherehe’s “checking in” for the meeting I want to listen inon. If I’m really lucky, he’ll jump on instant messagingand try to impress his new “follower” with some handydetails that can be used against him. (Of course, if I’munlucky, I might end up with pictures of his naked junk,but even those can be used for blackmail or sold off tothe highest bidder — it’s gross, but hey, them’s the breaksin the info business.)If you’re not up for the eye-bleach risk, though,there’s still gold to be found on the Net. Governmentagencies are required to make certain files accessibleto the public. So, a lot of that stuff we used to have towing it down to the archives office to get a gander at isnow available on a point-and-click basis through onewebsite or another. Add in handy-dandy search serviceslike WhitePages.com and you’ve got a one-stop shoppingcenter for info on your target, without ever leaving thecomfort of your home.And that’s just the “open to the public” info — ifyou can get a hacker on your side, there’s almost nothingyou can’t find out about someone. Debit card transactionrecords, ISP cookie files, internet site caches, phone andtext message logs? Easy breezy, lemon-squeezy, if youknow what I mean.That’s not to say that spirits still aren’t handy ashell; there’s still a lot of things that a vapor jaggling cando that a text message can’t. But these days tech is animportant addition to any Corax’s toolbox, and let’s behonest — we can use all the help we can get to get thejob done.TraitsDon’t get me wrong. We were made to do what wedo — and to do it well. Like any fine piece of equipment,form follows function, and all that jazz. So when Gaiawanted a critter that could fly far, look sharp, and get theword out afterwards, She built us, and She built us right.First of all, we’re made to fly. Our bones are delicate— but dense for their size. Everyone knows birds havehollow bones, but when you go birdman and Crinos out— I’ll explain that in a minute, let’s stay on track now…Anyway, when you’re walking around, your skeleton isstill all skinny but strong. That makes it easier to, say…leap from one rooftop to another… but harder to stayupright if some clumsy mutt shoulder-checks you. [Athleticsrolls in all forms are –1 difficulty; soak rolls for bashingdamage in all forms are at +2 difficulty]Also, since we’re supposed to be spies — sorry, I mean,information gathering specialists — we also have supersharpsenses. Now, not all of them are boosted — beaksweren’t really made for smelling — but we can see likewe’ve got a sniper scope in each eye.Oh, and we’re immune to silver. I thought that mightget your attention. It’s one of the perks of being handedoff from Luna to Helios back in the day. What? You don’tknow that one? I’ll tell you later. But the end result is wecan wear all the silver toe rings we want. Now, gold, onthe other hand, is verboten, at least in feathered forms.Yeah, it kind of sucks, and we are pretty careful not toshare that little tidbit with folks who might start meltingdown their bling into bullets, but at least anyone cominghunting for us is going to end up going broke before theyoutfit an arsenal, ya know?Speaking of things we try not to talk about in public.Outsiders tend to get kinda creeped out over the whole94CHANGING BREEDS