If this seems off the wall just tell me. I am not good at getting my point across.

Okay based on the show we can guarantee that viruses (even benign ones) are second-class citizens. Guardians do not bat an eye on the prospect of experimenting on them, and many Sprites and Binomes do not care.

Yet according to many computer sites, there are benign viruses that just do pranks more than there are truly malicious ones. While the pranks can be destructive like the Medusa Bug, others are can be playful as just a message.

There are even some theories that a benign virus can be used against the fight against malicious code.

It could explain why Bob came to the belief that virals could contribute to society.

But it seems like the Guardians and the civilians of the Net don't care and just delete any viral caught.

And Bob's solution is the equivalent of if 'in order to be accepted  you have to be like us.'  Did anyone seem bothered by that?

If The Guardian Collective did that in the User world, The Human rights would be all on there tail.

Here is my question: Knowing this could it be possible that there are some Benign Virals who knowing they would never be accepted decided to just give in. Kind of like what happened to Frakenstein's Monster.

So could all the the Guardians iron rod fist against virus' be too much?
Or has this question been done before?

I wrote a series of stories based around a benign Virus who had to pass as a Sprite to survive.  It's called "West Sector Story," and if you're interested you can click on the link in my sig to read it.

During the Revival I lobbied Prof. WW to make Vector a benign Virus rather than a villain, because I wanted to see someone break the old "virus = black hat" thing.  Alas...

Well, you're assuming there that the Guardians delete all viruses on sight.  While it's not an illogical assumption, there's never an explicit statement that they don't leave benign viruses alone.  After Bob defragmented Hex, for instance, nobody really had a problem with her (except Dot, but that was personal).

Yeah but at that time the Guardians were infected by Daemon, so they really couldn't have done anything.

And don't forget Matrix wasn't too happy with her either.

I think you're making alot of assumptions based upon what little is shown to us. We don't know that Guardians shoot virals whenever one comes into veiw. Infact, from what we've seen from the show, keytools don't execute kill orders... maybe they don't even have the capacity to do that. It's always contain, defense, portal making and random junk that will help a Guardian get out of a tight spot. If keytools had the capacity to kill a virus (or anything for that matter), then why oh why is the PRIME GUARDIAN decked up with a huge ASCII gun at his thigh in season 4? The only way to kill a virus (or anything) is through very violent means or in a deletion chamber. And the motto of the Guardians is to "Mend and Defend"... not shoot those who are different. I'd like to THINK that it is only when a virus is SUCH a threat that it has killed millions and it's programming cannot be altered to render it defenseless, THAN the Guardians become judge and executioner. Otherwise, I IMAGINE that they have holding facilities for less dangerous virals in the Supercomputer.

I do think that benign viruses would be categorized as second-rate Netizens... but only if there identity as a virus is found out. However, Megabyte was HARDLY second-rate. He had a huge tower, loads of intectees doing his bidding, and while he was feared... his smart antics were respected. Hex was just a crazy cat lady who chose to live alone.

If ANYONE is considered a second-rate Netizen, it would have to be the binomes. Easily pushed around and we NEVER see a binome in a role of leadership like the sprites are (aside from that ONE episode in a DYING system and the only people left were a handful of binomes and one little kid sprite). Do we EVER see a GUARDIAN binome? Nooooo. And yet a binome was bad-ascii enough to be a CODEMASTER... why not Guardians? Command.coms? Ruler of the Net?! LET ME SEE THE DAWNING OF OF THE AGE OF BINOMES, SPAMMIT!

...I'm reading way too much into this.

I wasn't talking about keytools or deleting viruses off bat, I was talking about the general attitude toward viruses is pretty heavy handed.

But you were talking about Guardians and their attitudes towards viruses; I just brought up the keytool thing because the keytools are a reflection of the Guardian spirit in my opinion. Just trying to put things in perspective. Anyways, the only viruses that rear their heads and draw attention are usually the ones destroying systems, so I'd say I agree with you on that last point... and the Netizens have a right to feel that way. Benign viruses aren't causing public mayhem all the time, so they are under the radar... even if their number exceeds the number of harmful virals.

I am just saying that it is most likely that most of the Citizens of the Net have an attitude similar to Dot's or Matrix's toward virals of anykind. I didn't word my question well.

My question is that is it possible that the citizens could have helped create malicious virals from someone who used to be harmless?

Well, that depends on how you see the beings in Reboot. Are they merely programs that have a specific function pre-determined by the User (which is the actual case in programming files), or are they beings that are created a certain way but than DECIDE to evolve in a different way? Matrix is proof that environment alter the files into a certain path... and Hex proved not to be such a bad guy. So who's to say that binomes burning down a benign viral's home wouldn't turn that viral postal?

So, in conclusion, I don't have an answer for you. It's your decision how to believe... because I take it this question is to further some personal thoughts on which direction to take some of your fanfiction, correct? Just decide

Quoted from Lagger

Are they merely programs that have a specific function pre-determined by the User (which is the actual case in programming files)

That's not strictly true.  First off, there's randomness (especially in things like game AI) which varies the particulars of operation.

But more interestingly there's genetic programming, in which programs are literally evolved to perform tasks.  This can and often does result in beautiful surprises in how such a program functions.

(And gives me an idea for non-sexual spawning of sprites and binomes.  Woo!)

But that randomness is programmed in! Makers think either this, this, this, or THIS will happen determined by a specific situation. Each scenario is calculated, so while the program chooses what is the best course of action, a programmer created that ability for it to think and process in the way that it does. As far as I know, we don't have the technology for a program to evolve without any prompt from its design (without programming it to do so).

And non-sexual reproduction just sounds BORING, in my opinion... and shoots down many of my Turbo fantasies... so don't even open that can of worms again!  

Quoted Text

And non-sexual reproduction just sounds BORING, in my opinion... and shoots down many of my Turbo fantasies... so don't even open that can of worms again!

LOL. That is true. And probably isn't as fun either.

...Probably should stop right there before it gets too out of hand.

Quoted from Lagger

But that randomness is programmed in! Makers think either this, this, this, or THIS will happen determined by a specific situation.

In terms of game AI, yes, that is generally true.  For genetic programming (GP), while we certainly control the environment in which our little programs evolve, and the bits of programming they can piece together to form themselves, we don't get particularly specific.  We define "fitness" in terms of what we'd like them to achieve (movement, say), and then each generation the most "fit" programs are kept and randomly altered.  (Generally, fitness determination and alterations are themselves done by a controlling program, so you can start a program, go home for the weekend, and come back on Monday with the computer having gone through a few million generations or so.)  There's a guiding hand, of sorts, but in roughly the same sense our DNA provides a guiding hand to us.

Quoted from Lagger

And non-sexual reproduction just sounds BORING, in my opinion... and shoots down many of my Turbo fantasies... so don't even open that can of worms again!  

Quoted from Azalea

That is true. And probably isn't as fun either.

Maybe it isn't as fun to do, but it can easily be much more visually compelling--and ReBoot is a story told in a visual medium, after all.

Imagine, say, a large tank full of tiny nulls.  (Like a fish tank, but for nulls.)  Those tiny nulls are a baby sprite, each little null from the first generation representing its parent.  They merge and split, merge and split until they achieve uniformity, at which point a sprite/binome/number emerges from the resulting null cocoon.  Or, in the case of AndrAIa, maybe little tadpoles that eat each other.

(This also opens up the possibility of Bob and Dot having a kid, and Hex swooping in at the last minute to add a bit of herself to it--we'll call that episode "My Two Moms"--or single binomes creating their own offspring, or whatever.)

Quoted Text

because I take it this question is to further some personal thoughts on which direction to take some of your fanfiction, correct? Just decide

That and because I am curious. I don't plan to write about that untlll I have enough writing underneath my belt. I don't know how much free will sprites have. If you think about it Benign virus are kind of like us in that they have more free will and can either be harmful or just a pest.

Pinterface- How did those nulls get in that tank? Do the programs recycle bits of previous programs and essentially decide how they want the next generation to look? Very Gattica... But unnecessary. All filetypes are either female or male... so why have the genders if you don't need them? Everyone would be humanoid and sexless if it was a matter of tadpoles evolving into beings with no sex or DNA sharing in the equation. AND BORING. What good is the sexual tension amongst our Reboot heroes if it doesn't LEAD anywhere?! We would find ourselves in the land of "Man, I wish sex existed because this is freaking BORING." But then, on the other hand, there IS merging, which doesn't require sex...just painful joining and evolving in the next generation... and yet the only viral merging we saw in the show involved a male and female virus.

Azalea- Not completely true. I think all file types have the potential to be good or bad. It's just the evil viruses that cause extreme damage that get all the publicity. I'd like to think that even an average sprite can turn corrupted by un-viral means. I mean, Matrix was on the fringe, becoming gun-happy and numb to the world. If it weren't for AndrAIa and Bob, that green beefcake would have been many shades of scary with no hope of a happy future. I mean, take the episode with Robert Cursor. Those beings were specters, and one betrayed the others, turning evil... but not by viral means, right? It's been awhile, so I need to watch that ep again... but I'm pretty sure that it was just a bad specter that wanted to go back to its original form.