Specters emerging into the real world
Specters (Or alternatively, Spectres), are dangerous computer programs that act as the main antagonistic force in Garage Kids. Existing in both the real and virtual worlds, Spectres are a dangerous force to be reckoned with.
Overview[]
Specters seem to be spontaneously programmed within Xanadu via unknown means. When they manifest, they immediately seek out a tower within the virtual world and establish a connection with it. Via this connection, Specters transmit data into the network, enabling them to materialize yet more specters in the real world. From this point onward, specters immediately obey a command to cause destruction and mayhem, and can only be stopped from the virtual world by manual deletion. They also share a hive mind, and are capable of communicating with one another.
In the Virtual World[]
Specters attacking in Xanadu
In Xanadu, Specters do not have many apparent abilities and appear as enormous black masses. They are able to infect towers in order to establish a connection with the computer network, and have minor shapeshifting abilities that enable them to attack individuals who enter the virtual world via avatars. As indicated by their name, Specters have the ability to levitate and fly at high speeds, making them relatively formidable opponents. Specters also seem to vary somewhat in size at times, with some being bigger than others.
That being said, the virtual world is where Specters are vulnerable. The avatar system is imbued with a Weapons Program, that crafts a weapon appropriate to the avatar it is programmed into. The charged weapons are the only thing capable of harming the Specters, but the number of hits it takes depends on the type of weapon utilized as well as the Specter's mass. In addition, if a Specter botches its connection with the tower via say, a battering ram attack, it will result in them being automatically destroyed.
Specialized Forms (Monsters)[]
Beginning from File 6.2 of Garage Kids, the Specters begin to evolve to a greater extent, this time in terms of combat. After the events of previous chapters, newer forms of the Specters begin to develop. These have a more specific function compared to the more varied tactics as seen above, to protect Towers that are infected by the bulk of the programs influencing the real world. The following is a list of these specific forms and their combat functions.
- Ghosts: The most basic kinds of Specters, their methodology for attack is detailed in the more general information above, sticking primarily to that as their behavior, sticking out more through their phantom-like wailing once the monsters begin to diversify in form. They usually attempt attacking in melee rushes, but are usually seen as the main monster used to activate Towers.
- Tardigrades: One of the first new types of monsters, these act as the first long-range defenders in Xanadu, but though technically an all-terrain creature, are limited to the ground/water environments. They take on the appearance of bear-sized, grey Tardigrades, hence their name, and primarily attack through firing a ball of electric plasma that has an explosive shock range. If attacked at close range, they can attempt to defend themselves through quills they grow on their bodies.
- Krakens: Among one of the stronger and more versatile creatures, these take on the appearance of massive slimy squid-like constructs with a purple tint/glow, held together in a metallic UFO-like object. This base enables them to hover and fly. They primarily fight either through melee attacks via their tentacles, or use said tentacles to release powerful electric bolts and shockwaves. To add to their imposing arsenal, they can also shoot bombs or prolonged blasts of dark, inky smoke from their massive, fanged mouths, that can blind the enemy.
- Ravenites: The fourth type of monster introduced; similar to Ghosts, Ravenites are capable of flight, and appear, based on their name, as a sort of flying, vaguely bird-shaped mass of darkness. In truth however, they are made up of many smaller "fibers" that surround a core that form this shape, and thus in addition to flight possess both close-range and long-range combat capacity from their shapeshifting capabilities, either by shifting into threaded spikes close-up, or by shooting hardened "feathers" down at the enemy.
In the Real World[]
Once their data is transmitted into the wider computer network, Specters gather large quantities of energy and are then capable of manifesting into the real world via electrical outlets, seemingly favoring the usage of other computers. Their default form in the real world is that of a thin, black streak with eyespots.
Once in the real world, Specters display a far greater number of abilities, much of which is, at first, rooted in electronics, displaying the ability to overload electrical devices, destroying cables, and hacking into databases. That being said, Specters also display a far greater number of powers that seem more arcane and supernatural. The electrical devices they take control of are capable of movement, and display numerous abilities, with an example being the creation of the artificial intelligence; Teddy, which was created after broken power lines came into contact with a discarded teddy bear, creating an automaton that somehow had all of its memories from its time as an inanimate object. Other abilities involve matter manipulation, teleportation, complete electrical manipulation, etc. The next section details exact capabilities of the specters:
Specter Influences[]
- Traffic Attacks: There have been numerous documented and undocumented cases of Specters taking control of vehicles, mainly to crash them. These tend to go unnoticed by the general populace, but have been witnessed, as Odd Della Robbia managed to catch a glimpse of a specter taking control of a trailer truck once.
- Device Overload: Specters tend to do this to television screens and lightbulbs, with the destructive effect varying. Some have caught fire, while others merely break down.
- Device Control: Specters can take control of whatever electronic device or electric system they so choose, such as power lines.
- Physical Attack: Specters have the ability to materialize in solid form in the real world, being capable of causing direct devastation. The forms can vary in size, ranging from a simple direct manifestation, to creating larger creatures that can act as real-world monsters.
- Weather Manipulation: Theorized by Jeremie Belpois, but unconfirmed.
- A.I. Creation: An ability only truly available after a connection to a tower has lasted long enough. This ability entails the power to create new artificial intelligences that, while not being Specters themselves, still have a connection to their hive mind. Examples of this include the aforementioned Teddy.
- Brainwashing: This power seems rather limited, but it is used to secure the loyalty of created artificial intelligences, and some of these also display having a variant of this power. An example of this would be an ability displayed by Teddy, who used it to brainwash Milly Solovieff and implied that it could be used on others as well. Victims of brainwashing are connected to the Specter's Hive Mind. Another example is after turning individuals to stone, the Specters were able to influence them into becoming sentry-like soldiers.
- Matter Manipulation: The power to manipulate matter. Specters seem to reserve it for A.I.s created under their influence so as to create a body of them.
- Retrocognition: The ability to see in the past. While not shown directly, this power was clearly utilized in order to program the A.I. for Teddy, which had full knowledge of the object's life before it became sentient.
- Temperature Manipulation: The ability to alter temperatures. This seems to be more of a side-effect rather than a direct attack for the moment.
- Petrification: The ability to turn organic matter into stone. This power was demonstrated in taking control of soil, creating a cloud of dust that could turn human beings into stone statues.
It is unknown if the Specters have any true weaknesses in the real world. They only seem to be vulnerable in Xanadu, for if the connection between them and their tower is disrupted, preferably by destroying them, then whatever influence they hold over the real world ends. Another potential weakness is the amount of time they have to evolve. When attacks begin, they tend to start out as minor disruptions, but as time goes on, if the connection between them and their tower remains, their attacks start becoming more powerful and more complex. Other weaknesses can be gleamed from the material or individual they have possessed on a case-by-case basis, but this is not permanent; so long as they are connected to Xanadu, the subject of possession does not seem to be capable of being destroyed.
The Will of the World[]
A strange force within Xanadu. While it seems likely that it is simply the name of the Hive-Mind of the Specters, the continued mention of the Will by Teddy indicates that it could be more dangerous and prominent than that. Little is known about the Will, as whether or not it is an equivalent of X.A.N.A. is unknown. However, it seems to have a designation in the coding of the Specters, acting as a singular mind/command, lending credence to it controlling the hive mind.
Unbeknownst to the characters, the Will of the World seems to indeed be sentient; while Jeremie was inputting The Compass files' coding into Xanadu, a mysterious voice was known to have been watching him, and indeed, is aware of all events in the real world. Contrary to what they believe however, the Will of the World, or whatever it is called, states to themselves that the Specters are not following the proper protocols, and that the Professor input some sort of new code to interfere with their command parameters.
The Mysterious Figure[]
Another mystery concerning the specters is a dark and ominous figure that has appeared in the visions of Odd Della Robbia, particularly in visions concerning Xanadu. The figure seems to be female, and may have a connection with Xanadu and the Specters, but this is still a heavy unknown. With the revelation of the mysterious voice within Xanadu that seems to be The Will of the World's primary personification, it seems possible that the two are simply one and the same.