History Main / VirtualRealityWarper

* In the anime adaptation of ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'', the crux of the episode "The Day of Sagittarius" is a computer game battle. The opposing team wrote the game and uses this to cheat their way to victory, so Yuki, herself essentially a computer, reprograms the game while playing to level the playing field.
* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'':

** Also exists in the sister series/sequel ''LightNovel/AccelWorld'' where Brain Burst users have codified the ability as the ''Incarnate System''. Despite the ability of some who has mastered the Incarnate System to dominate over another player who those who first figured it out (and those trained by them) use if very sparingly as when it goes wrong it has the potential to produce things like the Chrome Disaster.

** [[PsychopathicManchild Robert Daly]] of "[[Recap/BlackMirrorUSSCallister USS Callister]]". As the creator of the best-selling sci-fi VR game ''Infinity'' he has access to a developer build of the game... but he's modded it to resemble his favourite TV show and granted himself special abilities within the game, from superhuman strength to the power to alter character models at will. Unfortunately, he mainly uses this for twisted power fantasies: having copied the minds of real people into the game, he forces them to participate in his attempts to play space hero, [[TheBlank erasing Nanette's face]] when she refuses to willingly participate and [[BalefulPolymorph transforming repeat offenders into monsters]] as punishment. His only weakness is that he needs to be in close proximity to a target for his powers to work. [[spoiler: Also, his developer build is an illegal mod, hence why it's been kept offline; the moment his slaves manage to connect it to the Internet, ''Infinity''s firewalls delete the game -- [[LaserGuidedKarma taking Daly with it]].]]

In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Sarah's simulated time stop spell effectively allows her to be this inside her head given that it is accurate unless she wills it not to be. However she doesn't have complete control over this; stuff she changes will fit in with her preconceptions, even if that wasn't consciously what she changed. (The example given is checking people for magic marks; if she wishes someone's clothes off, she might see a mark just because she expects one. If she manually undresses them, she hasn't messed with the simulation and it should still be accurate.)

** Any {{Game Master}}s with [[TheGMIsACheatingBastard administrator privileges]], such as Kayaba or Sugou, are this by design. Kayaba is capable of [[TimeStandsStill freezing the world around him]] as well as giving himself CompleteImmortality so there is no chance of him being killed, though he later turns this off to fight Kirito fairly. Sugou is even more notorious, using his GM powers to be a GravityMaster who can summon items out of thin air, as well as subjecting Kirito to ColdBloodedTorture by turning off the pain absorber.

In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Sarah's simulated time stop spell effectively allows her to be this inside her head given that it is accurate unless she wills it not to be.

->''When the Matrix was first built, there was a man born inside who had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us, taught us the truth: as long as the Matrix exists, the human race will never be free.''
-->--'''Morpheus,''' ''Film/TheMatrix''

* The book ''Literature/EscapistDream'' takes place in a virtual reality world where geeks can cosplay as their favorite fictional characters from anime, comics, video games, and movies. A person could take control of the virtual reality world by the use of viruses that can hack through the system. If ever a person gets to hold these bugs, they not only gain godlike power to warp the whole world, but also the ability to trap everyone inside (potentially forever). In the sequel ''Literature/OtakuGirl'', certain artificial intelligences/NPCs are capable of having this powers as well.

** The ultimate example is Neo: as "the One," he has the power to not only bend the rules of the Matrix but break them entirely. Normally, he only uses this for things like flying and stopping bullets in mid-air, though occasionally his powers extend to more impressive feats like telekinesis, phasing through flesh to retrieve bullets, restarting stopped hears and even destroying Agents entirely. Lore indicates that his power extends to warping the very nature of the Matrix itself -- to the point that the first One released the first pod-born humans from captivity through sheer force of will.

* The AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho What-If episode "He Jests At Scars" features this as the ultimate plot twist: [[spoiler: After the Valeyard replaces the Doctor, he does so much damage to the timeline that he's forced to retreat to the TARDIS full-time, remaining perfectly still so that he can't destabilize the ruined universe any further. Here, he is able to convert his TARDIS into a LotusEaterMachine; within the simulation, he possesses godlike powers over time, and is able to enslave the simulated peoples of the dream world to his whims and even create his own utopian capital at the centre of the time vortex. In the finale, he uses this power to easily defeat Mel... up until the TARDIS is forced to divert power away from the simulation in order to keep her passengers from moving; Mel and the Valeyard wake up inside the TARDIS, [[DownerEnding paralyzed for all eternity]].]]

Regardless of their motivations, regardless whether they're PlayfulHacker types who just want to have fun or malevolent digital tricksters out to control everything, the method is almost always the same: subvert the rules -- [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem or create new ones]] -- so as to make things go their way.

** The ultimate example is Neo: as "the One," he has the power to not only bend the rules of the Matrix but break them entirely. Normally, he only uses this for things like flying, stopping bullets in mid-air, and occasionally destroying Agents entirely, but lore indicates that his power extends to warping the very nature of the Matrix itself -- to the point that the first One released the first pod-born humans from captivity through sheer force of will.

** "[[Recap/BlackMirrorWhiteChristmas White Christmas]]" features digitized copies of human brains known as "Cookies," commonly used as [=AIs=] in smart homes. [[TheSociopath Matt]], as an employee of the company that makes these Cookies, can interact with them in virtual environments -- but only [[GoMadFromTheIsolation so he can break their willpower]] and render them down into willing servants. To that end, he can mute them, accelerate their perceptions of time, and even alter the environment. [[spoiler: The twist is Matt's been using the same powers to pull a VirtualRealityInterrogation on Joe for the entire episode: Joe is just a Cookie, the outpost is Matt's virtual creation, and the five years that Joe has spent there was just seventy minutes.]]
** [[PsychopathicManchild Robert Daly]] of "[[Recap/BlackMirrorUSSCallister USS Callister]]". As the creator of the best-selling sci-fi VR game ''Infinity'' he has access to a developer build of the game... but he's modded it to resemble his favourite TV show and granted himself special abilities within the game, from superhuman strength to the power to alter character models at will. Unfortunately, he mainly uses this for twisted power fantasies: having copied the minds of real people into the game, he forces them to participate in his attempts to play space hero, [[TheBlank erasing Nanette's face]] when she refuses to willingly participate and [[BalefulPolymorph transforming repeat offenders into monsters]] as punishment. His only weakness is that he needs to be in close proximity to a target for his powers to work. [[spoiler: Also, his developer build is an illegal mod, hence why it's been kept offline; the moment it's connected to the Internet, ''Infinity''s firewalls delete the game -- [[LaserGuidedKarma taking Daly with it]].]]

** During "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead Forest of the Dead]]", Donna finds herself teleported out of [[GreatBigLibraryOfEverything the Library]] and into a virtual reality scenario which seems to be under the control of Dr Moon; during their time together, Moon appears to be able to fast-forward Donna through her life via jumpcut and erase her memories if she happens to notice anything unusual. [[spoiler:In reality, Dr Moon is just a support program for the Library's central computer, CAL; while Moon has influence over things, CAL has full power over the simulation -- as evidenced when she [[FreakOut has a panic attack]] and accidentally begins deleting people from the simulation, even deactivating Dr Moon. Fortunately, once the Doctor saves the day, CAL and Dr Moon are able to rebuild the simulation so as to provide a comfortable ArtificialAfterlife for the now-digitized River Song and her friends.]]

* In ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', a visit to long-lost Vault 112 reveals that the legendary "[[MadScientist sorcerer-scientist]]" [[PsychopathicManchild Dr Stanislaus Braun]] has been immersed in a virtual reality simulation for the last two centuries; here, in the idyllic neighbourhood of [[{{Dreamville}} Tranquility Lane]], he is in complete control of everyone and everything in it, having given himself exclusive privileges as Vault Overseer. Over the course of your visit, he regresses the player into a child, transforms other residents into animals or inanimate objects, and even erases the memories of anyone in the simulation at will just so nobody can get used to the torture. Worse, he's also in control of who gets to leave the program, forcing you to either play along with his sick games or find some way of subverting his control.

->When the Matrix was first built, there was a man born inside who had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us, taught us the truth: as long as the Matrix exists, the human race will never be free.

** [[BigBad Emperor Zinyak]] is running an entire array of {{Mind Prison}}s in which he's imprisoned his enemies from around the galaxy, and has administrator-level control over each one. On top of stacking the deck against the imprisoned Saints well in advance through brainwashing, unwinnable puzzles, and flat-out trolling, he also has the power to create and destroy elements of the simulation at will, ensuring that the Boss doesn't even have the benefit of a home base when they escape into the Steelport simulation. In fact, Zinyak's only real weakness is [[SmugSnake his own monumental arrogance]] and his need to break the Boss instead of killing them.

* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': Noah Kaiba has full control over his personal virtual world, displaying powers such as warping between locations and magically petrifying his victims. Though it's established that he must defeat his opponents in a duel in order to steal their bodies, he later bends this rule and nearly takes over Yugi by force, only failing due to the latter's own magical abilities shielding him.

Regardless of their motivations, regardless whether they're PlayfulHacker types who just want to have fun or malevolent digital tricksters out to control everything, the method is almost always the same: subvert the rules - [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem or create new ones]] - so as to make things go their way.

** The human "redpill" hackers who work within the Matrix are able to bend the laws of its "reality" to perform superhuman feats - within limits: empowering themselves with downloaded knowledge, making themselves stronger and faster than most human beings, and making absolutely impossible jumps appears to be the extent of their abilities.

** The ultimate example is Neo: as "the One," he has the power to not only bend the rules of the Matrix but break them entirely. Normally, he only uses this for things like flying, stopping bullets in mid-air, and occasionally destroying Agents entirely, but lore indicates that his power extends to warping the very nature of the Matrix itself - to the point that the first One released the first pod-born humans from captivity through sheer force of will.

* The Nannies of ''Literature/{{Idlewild}}'' are powerful programs with the ability to create entire virtual environments within the simulation in order to accommodate the wishes of either the students or Maestro - though fortunately this is almost always for the benefit of the students. Almost.
* Featured throughout ''Literature/TheNightMayor.'' Within his simulated FilmNoir City, [[DiabolicalMastermind Truro Daine]] is essentially able to write and rewrite the rules as he sees fit: when protagonist Tom Tunney tries to shoot him, Daine just turns his gun into a water pistol, then brainwashes him into becoming part of the narrative. VR designer Susan Bishopric fares a little better by trying to beat Daine at his own game, warping the simulation in [[OneWingedAngel increasingly grandiose ways]]; however, even she ends up getting overwhelmed and transformed into a serial killer in another narrative. It's not until Tunney and Bishopric are freed by [[BenevolentAI Yggdrasil]] and join forces that they begin to undermine the Night Mayor's control of the City - and they ''have'' to because Daine is out to extend the City over the entire Internet with the aim of taking over the world.
* In ''Literature/ReadyPlayerOne'', the founders of OASIS have characters that can do literally anything within the simulation. [[spoiler: After winning the contest, Wade Watts gains these capabilities and complete control of the OASIS - and some of his new powers explicitly violate clear rules of the virtual reality, such as being able to enter a private room without the knowledge or permission of its operators]].

** "[[Recap/BlackMirrorWhiteChristmas White Christmas]]" features digitized copies of human brains known as "Cookies," commonly used as [=AIs=] in smart homes. [[TheSociopath Matt]], as an employee of the company that makes these Cookies, can interact with them in virtual environments - but only [[GoMadFromTheIsolation so he can break their willpower]] and render them down into willing servants. To that end, he can mute them, accelerate their perceptions of time, and even alter the environment. [[spoiler: The twist is Matt's been using the same powers to pull a VirtualRealityInterrogation on Joe for the entire episode: Joe is just a Cookie, the outpost is Matt's virtual creation, and the five years that Joe has spent there was just seventy minutes.]]

* In the ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' episode "[[Recap/FarscapeS04E07JohnQuixote John Quixote]]," Crichton tries to turn the tables on Scorpius by dragging him into the buggy VR game he was playing earlier in the episode. Unfortunately, Scorpius sees right through the simulation's fabric and can manipulate it in ways that ordinary players can't even attempt: within seconds, he turns Crichton's pulse pistol into a banana, dissolves Gilina into meaningless equations, and nearly manages to [[YourMindMakesItReal shut down Crichton's lungs in the real world]] before Aeryn saves him. [[spoiler: And then it turns out that Crichton never stopped playing the game at all, and everything that's happened since he "quit" the first time -- including Scorpy's breakout - was set up by Avatar Stark to frell with Crichton's head.]]

** "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonIIBetterThanLife Better Than Life]]" gives the Dwarfers complete control over the virtual environment while playing the eponymous game, as it's meant to fulfill any desires the players have. However, towards the end, Rimmer's subconsciousness takes control of the game and begins directing it in ways that technically break the rules of the simulation - namely by punishing Rimmer and everyone around him. For good measure, it even tricks the crew into thinking that they've escaped the game, before suddenly unleashing [[IntimidatingRevenueService the hammer-wielding Outland Revenue man]] on Rimmer.
** In "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonVIGunmenOfTheApocalypse Gunmen of the Apocalypse]]," Kryten is forced to do battle with a sentient computer virus in a Western-themed virtual reality dreamscape. Here, it takes the form of a deadly quartet of gunslingers known as the Apocalypse Boys, all of whom are empowered far beyond the level of Kryten's lone Sheriff (especially during the adaptation featured within ''[[Literature/RedDwarf Backwards]]''). In an attempt to help, the rest of Dwarfers enter in the form of characters borrowed from a Western VR game - only for the Apocalypse Boys to cheat by spreading their virus to the VR console. As a result, Lister, Rimmer, and the Cat all lose their characters' special skills right before the climactic battle begins, and find themselves sealed in the game for good measure.

* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E23TheThaw The Thaw]]", a virtual reality simulation shared by {{Human Popsicle}}s has been hijacked by a MonsterClown residing within the system -- the digital manifestation of the users' subconscious fear. Now in complete control of the simulation, the Clown is capable of doing almost anything if it allows him to make his prisoners suffer: he can conjure up items, [[RapidAging age]] or [[FountainOfYouth regress]] users at will, and even read the minds of people connected to the simulators - albeit with a slight delay. Worse still, he even has the power to kill the users by exposing them to enough stress to cause heart attacks.

* ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin'': [[spoiler: As the game takes place in a simulation, BigBad Ruvik isn't actually telekinetic or capable of superhuman speed, nor is he actually subjecting the world to reality-warping transformations; he's simply in control of a virtual environment. He doesn't even have a body in the real world - he's just a BrainInAJar connected to the STEM machine.]]

** In the ''[[WhatCouldHaveBeen Enter The Dominatrix]]'' DLC, the simulation's AI gains sentience and takes the form of the eponymous [[DarkActionGirl Dominatrix]] in an effort to seize control of everything. With similar rule-breaking powers, she not only easily imbues herself with superhuman abilities, but divides herself into dozens of replicas - each new iteration growing progressively stronger for each one the Boss kills.

!!Examples

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder: Film - Live-Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder:Live-Action Television]]

** [[PsychopathicManchild Robert Daly]] of "[[Recap/BlackMirrorUSSCallister USS Callister]]". As the creator of the best-selling sci-fi VR game ''Infinity'' he has access to a developer build of the game... but he's modded it to resemble his favourite TV show and granted himself special abilities within the game, from superhuman strength to the power to alter character models at will. Unfortunately, he mainly uses this for twisted power fantasies: having copied the minds of real people into the game, he forces them to participate in his attempts to play space hero, [[TheBlank erasing Nanette's face]] when she refuses to willingly participate and [[BalefulPolymorph transforming repeat offenders into monsters]] as punishment. His only weakness is that he needs to be in close proximity to a target for his powers to work. [[spoiler: Also, his developer build is an illegal mod, hence why it's been kept offline; the moment it's connected to the Internet, ''Infinity''s firewalls delete the game - [[LaserGuidedKarma taking Daly with it]].]]

** While on the trail of the President's killer in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]," the Doctor plugs himself into the Matrix in an attempt to follow the trail back to the eponymous assassin. He's instantly plunged into a virtual reality simulation in which the assassin attacks him through a variety of methods: biplanes strafing him from above, a DeadlyDoctor trying to drain his blood, a MonsterClown looming from a mirror, a samurai tossing him down a cliff, and a train trying to run him over. However, the Doctor is eventually able to lure the assassin into attacking him face to face on a level playing field, allowing him to both unmask him and get the upper hand.
** During "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead Forest Of The Dead]]," Donna finds herself teleported out of [[GreatBigLibraryOfEverything the Library]] and into a virtual reality scenario which seems to be under the control of Dr Moon; during their time together, Moon appears to be able to fast-forward Donna through her life via jumpcut and erase her memories if she happens to notice anything unusual. [[spoiler: In reality, Dr Moon is just a support program for the Library's central computer, CAL; while Moon has influence over things, CAL has full power over the simulation - as evidenced when she [[FreakOut has a panic attack]] and accidentally begins deleting people from the simulation, even deactivating Dr Moon. Fortunately, once the Doctor saves the day, CAL and Dr Moon are able to rebuild the simulation so as to provide a comfortable ArtificialAfterlife for the now-digitized River Song and her friends.]]
* In the ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' episode "[[Recap/FarscapeS04E07JohnQuixote John Quixote]]," Crichton tries to turn the tables on Scorpius by dragging him into the buggy VR game he was playing earlier in the episode. Unfortunately, Scorpius sees right through the simulation's fabric and can manipulate it in ways that ordinary players can't even attempt: within seconds, he turns Crichton's pulse pistol into a banana, dissolves Gilina into meaningless equations, and nearly manages to [[YourMindMakesItReal shut down Crichton's lungs in the real world]] before Aeryn saves him. [[spoiler: And then it turns out that Crichton never stopped playing the game at all, and everything that's happened since he "quit" the first time - including Scorpy's breakout - was set up by Avatar Stark to frell with Crichton's head.]]

* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E23TheThaw The Thaw]]," a virtual reality simulation shared by {{Human Popsicle}}s has been hijacked by a MonsterClown residing within the system - the digital manifestation of the users' subconscious fear. Now in complete control of the simulation, the Clown is capable of doing almost anything if it allows him to make his prisoners suffer: he can conjure up items, [[RapidAging age]] or [[FountainOfYouth regress]] users at will, and even read the minds of people connected to the simulators - albeit with a slight delay. Worse still, he even has the power to kill the users by exposing them to enough stress to cause heart attacks.

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: Anime And Manga]]

** Any {{Game Master}}s with [[TheGMIsACheatingBastard administrator privileges]], such as Kayaba or Sugou are this by design. Kayaba is capable of [[TimeStandsStill freezing the world around him]] as well as giving himself CompleteImmortality so there is no chance of him being killed, though he later turns this off to fight Kirito fairly. Sugou is even more notorious, using his GM powers to be a GravityMaster who can summon items out of thin air, as well as subjecting Kirito to ColdBloodedTorture by turning off the pain absorber.

** The ultimate example is Neo: as "the One," he has the power to not only bend the rules of the Matrix, but break them entirely. Normally, he only uses this for things like flying, stopping bullets in mid-air and occasionally destroying Agents entirely, but lore indicates that his power extends to warping the very nature of the Matrix itself - to the point that the first One released the first pod-born humans from captivity through sheer force of will.

* Featured throughout ''Literature/TheNightMayor.'' Within his simulated FilmNoir City, [[DiabolicalMastermind Truro Daine]] is essentially able to write and rewrite the rules as he sees fit: when protagonist Tom Tunney tries to shoot him, Daine just turns his gun into a water pistol, then brainwashes him into becoming part of the narrative. VR designer Susan Bishopric fares a little better by trying to beat Daine at his own game, warping the simulation in [[OneWingedAngel increasingly grandiose ways]]; however, even she ends up getting overwhelmed and transformed into a serial killer in another narrative. It's not until Tunney and Bishopric are freed by [[BenevolentAI Yggdrasil]] and join forces that they begin to undermine the Night Mayor's control of the City - and they ''have'' to, because Daine is out to extend the City over the entire Internet with the aim of taking over the world.

[[folder: Live Action Television]]

** [[PsychopathicManchild Robert Daly]] of "[[Recap/BlackMirrorUSSCallister USS Callister]]". As the creator of the best-selling sci-fi VR game ''Infinity'' he has access to an developer build of the game... but he's modded it to resemble his favourite TV show and granted himself special abilities within the game, from superhuman strength to the power to alter character models at will. Unfortunately, he mainly uses this for twisted power fantasies: having copied the minds of real people into the game, he forces them to participate in his attempts to play space hero, [[TheBlank erasing Nanette's face]] when she refuses to willingly participate and [[BalefulPolymorph transforming repeat offenders into monsters]] as punishment. His only weakness is that he needs to be in close proximity to a target for his powers to work. [[spoiler: Also, his developer build is an illegal mod, hence why it's been kept offline; the moment it's connected to the Internet, ''Infinity''s firewalls delete the game - [[LaserGuidedKarma taking Daly with it]].]]

** During "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead Forest Of The Dead]]," Donna finds herself teleported out of [[GreatBigLibraryOfEverything the Library]] and into a virtual reality scenario which seems to be under the control of Dr Moon; during their time together, Moon appears to be able to fastforward Donna through her life via jumpcut and erase her memories if she happens to notice anything unusual. [[spoiler: In reality, Dr Moon is just a support program for the Library's central computer, CAL; while Moon has influence over things, CAL has full power over the simulation - as evidenced when she [[FreakOut has a panic attack]] and accidentally begins deleting people from the simulation, even deactivating Dr Moon. Fortunately, once the Doctor saves the day, CAL and Dr Moon are able to rebuild the simulation so as to provide a comfortable ArtificialAfterlife for the now-digitized River Song and her friends.]]

** "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonIIBetterThanLife Better Than Life]]" gives the Dwarfers complete control over the virtual environment while playing the eponymous game, as it's meant to fulfil any desires the players have. However, towards the end, Rimmer's subconsciousness takes control of the game and begins directing it in ways that technically break the rules of the simulation - namely by punishing Rimmer and everyone around him. For good measure, it even tricks the crew into thinking that they've escaped the game, before suddenly unleashing [[IntimidatingRevenueService the hammer-wielding Outland Revenue man]] on Rimmer.
** In "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonVIGunmenOfTheApocalypse Gunmen of the Apocalypse]]," Kryten is forced to do battle with a sentient computer virus in a Western-themed virtual reality dreamscape. Here, it takes the form of a deadly quartet of gunslingers known as the Apocalypse Boys, all of whom are empowered far beyond the level of Kryten's lone Sheriff (especially during the adaptation featured within ''[[Literature/RedDwarf Backwards]]''). In an attempt to help, the rest of Dwarfers enter in the form of characters borrowed from a Western VR game - only for the Apocalypse Boys to cheat by spreading their virus to the VR console. As a result, Lister, Rimmer and the Cat all lose their characters' special skills right before the climactic battle begins, and find themselves sealed in the game for good measure.

* Exaggerated in ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt2'': Teseo has the ability to turn physical matter into computer data, which he can then reprogram. This allows him to not only create a vast cyber space which he has full control over, but also to warp the fabric of reality itself, enabling him to create wormholes and bring holograms to life.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'': Cyber Peacock is described as an artificial intelligence who has corrupted the cyber space and filled it with bugs. When the protagonists visit his stage, they find out he has altered the network to create a series of trials for intruders to overcome.

** [[BigBad Emperor Zinyak]] is running entire array of {{Mind Prison}}s in which he's imprisoned his enemies from around the galaxy, and has administrator-level control over each one. On top of stacking the deck against the imprisoned Saints well in advance through brainwashing, unwinnable puzzles and flat-out trolling, he also has the power to create and destroy elements of the simulation at will, ensuring that the Boss doesn't even have the benefit of a home base when they escape into the Steelport simulation. In fact, Zinyak's only real weakness is [[SmugSnake his own monumental arrogance]] and his need to break the Boss instead of killing them.

[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/AVeryLongRopeToTheTopOfTheSky'': At the end of the game, a cyberspace is the FinalBossNewDimension, and inhabitants of that cyberspace can manipulate its features, create ArtificialIntelligences that reside in it as well, and possibly override others' control of the space.