History Literature / TrueNames

* ObfuscatedInterface: the Portals used to access The Other Plane use low-bandwidth communications (to help avoid detection). The interface uses EEG, and simply learning to see The Other Plane properly, let alone manipulate it, requires training and practice.

-->''"...once an enemy, even a weak unskilled enemy, [[IKnowYourTrueName learned the sorcerer's true name]], then routine and widely known spells could destroy or enslave even the most powerful."''

"True Names" is an influential 1981 ScienceFiction {{Novella}} by Creator/VernorVinge about computer hackers who regularly meet in an open-ended on-line game called "The Other Plane". The hackers must keep their True Names--their "real world" identities--hidden, like wizards of lore, both to avoid detection by law enforcement ("the Great Enemy"), and to protect themselves from being hacked or blackmailed by others in the game.

* AGodAmI: When Mr. Slippery and Erythrina forcibly multiplex their consciousness, it gives them the power to take over more machines almost without thinking. Repeat until they (and the BigBad) have total control over and knowledge of anything connected to any computer ever. The BigBad detonates several nukes in their silos ''to make a point in discussion'', and it's not a big deal to any of them. At one point, Mr. Slippery is frustrating and rerouting the soldiers sent to kill his real body as a side process while concentrating on something different.

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