Scenarios and their Parallels
The Mega Man Battle Network series has a lot of different scenarios, where the heroes are tasked with several things, from quests to eliminating the villain of the moment. Here are some events that happen in the game, that also ended up ocurring in real life.
Fire Man Scenario
In the scenario that sets the tone for the first game, a hacker, disguised as a maintenance worker, infects Lan's oven with a virus, causing the oven to overheat to the point where it spits fire, and threatens to burn the house down. Lan must jack in to the oven and delete the virus and the NetNavi behind this, Fire Man.EXE.
Smart Ovens Have Been Turning On Overnight
While not to the degree of spitting fire, it is equally as dangerous. Smart June Ovens have been known to power on in the middle of the night and start heating up to a toasty 400 degrees Farenheit. Of course, it is a smart appliance, so a connection to the internet is needed, so you may control the device through a paired app.
Color Man Scenario
A simple outing into the city goes wrong as Lan and Mega Man witness all of the traffic lights turn green at the same time, causing the automated cars to collide into each other. It is up to Lan and Mega Man to jack in to the Traffic Light Comp and delete the viruses and the enemy NetNavi, Color Man.EXE, before more automatic cars and a runaway bus crash.
Israeli Road Control System Hacked
Driverless and automatic cars are not a new concept, and apparently, hacking the traffic system to cause endless gridlock is not new either. Hackers used malware to attack the system, gain control of it, and caused an eight hour long shutdown of the roads.
Ice Man Scenario
The water for the entire town has been shut off. Lan and Mega Man decide to visit the Waterworks, where an employee tells them that the situation is due to a bug in the Waterworks program and it is being taken care of. Not satisfied, Lan and Mega Man take care of the bug themselves, but deleting the virus in the pump program triggered the virus in the filtration program to activate. Toxic water is being pumped into the city and Lan and Mega Man have to delete the second virus before people drink the water out of desperation.
A Hacker Tried to Poison California's Water Supply
Using the acquired login details of a former employee, and software that allows for the remote control of a computer, a hacker was able to access the systems of a water treatment plant and deleted the programs that the plant uses to treat water. Thankfully, the problems were resolved and the programs were reinstalled, but this was not the only cyber attack of a water treatment facility.
Elec Man Scenario
Lan and Mega Man are invited to a party at the Government Complex. Just as the festivities are in full swing, an announcement is made that WWW, the criminal organization, has taken over the Power Plant network, cuts the power to the building, and causes a blackout. The power outage also has the effect of cutting off the oxygen flow in the building. Lan and Mega Man must jack in to the Power Plant Comp and delete Elec Man.EXE, the cause of the terror.
The Five Worst Cyberattacks Against the Power Industry Since 2014
The Power and Electric Industry is such a popular target for cyberattacks, there's an article listing five of the worst ones. While not as dramatic as the sudden shut down of air vents, a successful attack on a power plant can have dire consequences that can lead to death. It is such an effective target, that power stations have been targeted as a part of international warfare.
Hub Hikari and Mega Man.EXE
Spoilers for the Battle Network series
Mega Man was defeated in battle. A mere NetNavi can be restored from backup data, but Mega Man is special. Mega Man is Hub Hikari, Lan's twin brother who died as a baby, reborn into a digital being. Hub's DNA was used as the basis to create Mega Man, and a new generation of NetNavi was born. A Navi with a connection to their Operator that was beyond superficial. A Navi that could respond to the Operator's emotions and create their own.
A NetNavi with a soul.
What Would It Mean For AI To Have A Soul?
What is a soul? What has a soul? Do animals? Plants? Certainly not robots or artificial intelligent beings, like Siri or Cortana. Why? Is it because their intelligence is artificial? Is it because they lack sentience? Is it something else?
As the line between artificial intelligence and actual intelligence becomes more blurred, there may be a day in the future where AI will become truly intelligent. But probably not in the fantastical way that is portrayed in the Battle Network series.
