The RJD2 CyberVirus

Full Description
The RJD2 "scribble" virus is one of the most dangerous cyberspace viruses known. It initially appears as a wiggling mass of red lines/ tentacles, with one to four extensions (usually visualized as something like an anemone). The RJD2 will pick up odd graphical elements to it develops through its travels.

The virus codes as white-ware. It seems to be nothing more than an animated graphical, like billions of other on the net. That is how it is able to be transferred from node to node. It just floats around, like a cybernetic tumbleweed, moving through scenes.

Every thousand or so nodes, it seems to get "hungry". It will then "attack" some graphical element of a cyberpiece. The piece will either become a red scribble (ver.a) or a half missing (ver.b). This disruption would be nothing more than a nuisance, if that was as far as it went.

The virus is actually grey-ware and potentially black-ware. Once hooked into a graphic, it begins to assault the associated cyberpiece/ code item. The item does not lock up, but simply processes at 1/3 rate. Eventually the virus hijacks processing space enough to spawn another set of seemingly harmless red scribbles. After the processing spawning, it then begins to code delete the cyberpiece. It not only starts to delete, it actually will do a random memory bit change on the drive. So not only is the code piece destroyed, but all traces of the virus are removed as well.

Yes the code piece can be restored from backups, but if the program is a deamon or other agent, this eliminates its experience and memory from the backup uptime.

If the code piece selected is an avatar, it becomes more vicious. The process is the same. The scribble bumps the avatar and sticks. The tenticles inflict into the avatar and begin to disrupt its graphics. However, when it starts rewriting the interface. Interface softwear begins to supply sensations to the hardwired user. The user begins to relive various memories, usually memories with strong sensations (pain, cold, heat, flavor, light) associated with them. This is part of the deleting process... as brain segments are being fried as they are activated. The deck is too insufficient to spawn a batch of red scribbles, however if the human brain is no longer in control... and using its processing abilities.. thousands of scribbles can be spawned,

The process of RJD2 attack will leave the subject mentally damaged though unharmed. With enough therapy, they may even recover some of their memories. If the attack proceeds to the spawning stage, the mind is generally disrupted... making the body suitable for only meat puppeting.

Additional Information
Since the virus reads as white-ware, it triggers no anti-virus or defensive systems. Targets are isolated from their nets, so only an observer will notice the scribble attack.

The RJD2 virus originally entered the net in Norway. From there it (or some spawn of it) has reached every non ghetto (isolated) node on the net at one time or the other.

Some enterprising young runners are breeding the viruses and keeping them in small red capture balls... so they can be unleashed against ICE, Agents, or Walls, as needed.