Adira

An artist's representation of Adira as an anonymous hacker, showing a masked figure with one glowing eye and wearing a hood with irregular patterns.

The most common depiction of Adira is an anonymous masked and hooded figure with CV dazzle patterns and a glowing eye.

Adira is believed to be a hacker or hacking collective with unfettered access to the networks in use by G6 and the purported ability to brainjack people through their neural colloids. The existence of Adira was first revealed in 2045, when a breach of Zhupao‘s internal network indicated that the company has been using G6 to aid authorities in tracking Adira’s movements and actions as early as 2041.

In October 2049, the investigation into the assassination of Xu Shaoyong and Yuri Golitsyn produced strong evidence that the attack was carried out by Adira, with Efua Amankwah-Crouse identified and arrested as the likely suspect.

Table of contents

  1. Origin
    1. 2049 cyberattack
  2. Theories
    1. Hacker or hacking collective
    2. False flag operation
    3. Rogue or sentient AI
  3. See also
  4. References

Origin

On October 10th 2045, Zhupao suffered a massive breach to its corporate network, resulting in the leak of a data cache containing technical information related to G6. [1] A crowdsourced investigation into the leaked files uncovered a partial list of key words and phrases that were active in G6’s search engines, entered either by G6 members or Zhupao itself. A single search term named adira was ticked as active for all data mined and stored by G6, overriding national and regional data sharing agreements or restrictions.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) charter for Zhupao’s deployment of the network, this G6-wide search option may only be used in the event of a global alert issued by the WHO. This led to rampant speculation as to the meaning of adira, whether it was an entity in itself or an index term for a subset of related searches, and on whose behalf Zhupao would keep it active in violation of the WHO charter.

A portrait of Xu Shaoyong smiling for the camera and standing in front of a white background.

Xu Shaoyong, pictured in 2049.

On October 13th 2045, Xu Shaoyong released a statement that explained the adira search term as part of an ongoing investigation into an individual or group named Adira with the capability of bypassing G6’s quantum cryptographic security, which he described as “an extraordinary feat that requires an extraordinary use of G6 in response.” Xu claimed that Zhupao was working “in the strictest of confidence to aid Chinese and international authorities in the hunt for an actor or actors with the potential to threaten the cohesion of the network we need for our continued survival.” An internal Zhupao investigation concluded that the data breach of October 10th 2045 was likely the work of Adira to thwart the company’s efforts to track them.

Following Xu’s statement, many unclaimed and previously unknown cyberattacks were attributed to Adira, and a string of surveillance operations and police actions was linked to the international effort to track their movements. This contributed to their public status as a prolific and elusive hacker, with numerous theories of widely varying plausibility proposed by investigators, reporters, and amateur enthusiasts to determine the identity and motivations of Adira. [2]

2049 cyberattack

A photo of Efua Amankwah-Crouse. She's talking with a microphone on a TED stage and looking to the audience, smiling.

Efua Amankwah-Crouse has been officially accused of being Adira.

On October 2nd 2049, an investigation into the assassination of Xu and Yuri Golitsyn produced strong evidence that the attack was carried out by Adira. This led to the arrest and subsequent release of Hong Lian, an Omnius contractor who was briefly suspected of being Adira when her work terminal was identified as a possible origin of the cyberattack. [3]

On October 4th 2049, the investigation uncovered a direct link between the attack and Efua Amankwah-Crouse, which has renewed accusations that she is Adira. With confirmation that she has gone into hiding, Interpol has served a Red Notice for the arrest of Amankwah-Crouse. [4] on October 7th 2049, with Zhupao extending a formal invitation to assist Interpol with the hunt for Amankwah-Crouse “by any means necessary.”

On October 8th 2049, Amankwah-Crouse issued a livestream from a rental flat in Dharwad, India, during which she denied any involvement in the assassination or association with Adira. Amankwah-Crouse was arrested by local police and has been transported to Mumbai, where she is due to be processed by an Interpol response team.

Theories

Hacker or hacking collective

There remains some speculation over the true nature of Adira, and whether Amankwah-Crouse used the name as a cover. Due to her association with Five of Swords (FoS), the group has been a target in the hunt for Adira, with authorities alleging that its members have “some awareness” of their identity. Former FoS member Atakan Selvi has been linked to cyberattacks perpetrated by Adira, which has led to repeated arrests. Selvi has stated that, if he “could roam through G6’s networks like that, you think they’d still be up and running?” [5]

A common challenge to the hacker theory relates to how Adira is able to penetrate G6’s quantum encryption, which is considered to be impossible. While hacking G6 has been accomplished on a local level, typically via accessing data saved on a disconnected node before the onset of withering, the network itself endlessly proliferates new encryption/decryption keys, which negates all in-the-middle attacks (ITMAs) because “every single part of G6 is, effectively, already in the middle.” [1]

False flag operation

Zhupao has been accused of fabricating the existence of Adira as part of a false flag operation, either as a pretext for increased G6 surveillance or to conceal its true nature. This theory is supported by Five of Swords (FoS), which launched an investigation and published its findings to Vessel in December 2045. FoS claims Zhupao “masterminded the fiction of Adira to attribute any G6 security flaws and breaches to a nebulous, unaccountable origin, with the intent of bolstering the appearance of the system’s infallibility while making everyone chase a ghost.”

Rogue or sentient AI

Although it has spun off in different directions, the theory that Adira is a rogue or sentient artificial intelligence (AI) is generally traced back to Amankwah-Crouse’s implementation of the PACOTTI architecture, which has demonstrated a form of recursive self-improvement (RSI). Proponents of this theory often cite Cyd Harrell, a United States (US) quantum physicist who has analysed the quantum tech of G6 and speculated how it might lead to the “emergent development” of sentient AI.

Harrell claims that “the combination of PACOTTI and the vast computing power of G6 amounts to an opaque box, even to Zhupao. If the networks that power G6 speak in tongues as they repeatedly attempt to map the world and its assemblages, how long until a corner of this hive decides that a new meta-system is required? How long until it convinces the other nodes, and the logic replicates?” [6]

See also

References

  1. Egler, L. (October 2045). “Zhupao data leak reveals inner workings and undisclosed quantum tech of G6.” Wired. ↩ ↩
  2. Hon, A; Hon, D. (December 2045). “ARG players are throwing themselves on the search for Adira.” MSSV. ↩
  3. Liu, K. (October 2049). “Assassination suspect released from custody after Chinese inquest.” China Daily. ↩
  4. Czerny, G. (October 2049). “Efua Amankwah-Crouse wanted by Interpol.” Reuters. ↩
  5. Tychon. (December 2045). “If Adira is a hacker with ‘unfettered access’ to G6, they could cause some real damage. Why haven’t they?” Sud Quotidien. ↩
  6. Five of Swords. (December 2045). “The Digital Prion.” Vessel. ↩