Constructs

**Constructs** are ubiquitous in Y2k. The setting represents a world where human distrust of all other creature types has lead to the uncontrolled rise of constructs, well beyond human capacity to intervene. While some future apocalypse is the subject of the Y2k setting, the facts on the ground are that constructs are beyond the point of domination already.

### Clockworks

Most vehicles, tools and weapons in Y2k are considered **clockworks**. Internal combustion engines, for example, are a series of mechanical components fueled by gasoline. They can be manipulated by outside magical influence, especially evocation and transmutation, however they are usually made of iron and/or steel, and are therefore somewhat resistant to magical tinkering. These items, from delivery trucks to electric screwdrivers, are considered constructs, however they usually operate as objects.

Clockworks cannot be **phreaked**, however they can be magically manipulated in more physical ways. For example, if a motorcycle is incapacitated by damage, it is possible to permanently or temporarily repair and use it using transmutative spells. Similarly, a working motorcycle can be damaged or destroyed by transmuting its key elements. Clockworks can also be manipulated and repaired through the use of ordinary non-magical tools.

Most door locks and guns in Y2k are **objects**, not **creatures**, as they are comprised of a dozen or fewer moving components, including simple levers, springs and switches, usually of one or two materials such as steel or brass. Automobiles include multiple materials, functions and power sources, including fuel and batteries. Their complex nature gives rise to unpredictable interactions between their complex multifaceted components, and they are therefor considered creatures and clockworks. As clockworks they do not have thoughts, nor could they communicate, so they cannot be affected by social conditions or interact in the factions arena of play, however they can be targeted and affected by any other spells or actions that target creatures.

### Remnants

Remnants, being the animated bodies of creatures, are the least common form of construct in Y2k. Because of relative cost and taboo nature of creating a construct in this way, they o not benefit from the general rise of constructs globally.

### Computers

**Computers** are constructs that are composed of millions of tiny alchemical and talismanic elements such as gold, and 64-bit sequences. They are therefore magical by nature, and the only way to build a computer in Y2k in a way that doesn't have it fry itself with magical energies by accident is to construct the computer using arcane principles. As an example, a certain arrangement of gold wiring on a microchip might only initiate a spontaneous alchemical reaction if the transistors in that chip are charged a certain way. Avoiding this spontaneous reaction requires both hard-wiring and programming the computer to avoid this specific state.

The combination of numbers, alchemical elements, and purposeful magical protections in computers creates an arcane system known as "**astralware**", allowing functions and data to be stored and transfered by magical means while simultaneously proctecting the computer from accidentally producing unpredictable magical effects. Astralware is a third component, after hardware and software that allow a computer to function. Early "computers" with incomplete astralware are analogous to early hardware-only computers such as enigma and turning machines. They are technically clockworks, not computers in Y2k.

**Phreaking** is the process of manipulating computers directly through their astralware using magical abilities or other computers. Phreaking is a basic proficiency in Y2k, usually falling under magic skills. By default, a phreaker must be able target and touch the computer they are phreaking and their actions are evident to anyone familiar with computers. The default actions that a phreaker can take are effectively identical to using the computer as intended, however phreaking checks can be made to overcome software and astralware constraints such as passwords, encryptions, spyware, etc. Phreaking usually does not allow a phreaker to overcome hardware or physical constraints without the help of a specific spell.

There are other **ways to interact with computers**. Hacking, the process of exclusively manipulating the software of a computer, is virtually impossible on complex or high-security devices as much of the data and some of the computational power of a computer is in the astral realms and inaccessible by the software directly. Hackers do exist as a small but passionate group of computer enthusiasts, usually focusing on small, simple computers like telephones and calculators, or inter-computer communication like routers or email viruses. Phracking is the process of destroying a computer by overcoming its magical defenses in the same manner that one might hit it with a bat, submerge it in water, or burn it. Because computers are creatures and constructs, there are many spells that can target them directly, even if they are a component of a larger device or network. Targeting a computer with a damage-dealing spell can easily damage or destroy it, and many spells can be expected to damage a relatively fragile computer that would not necessarily damage a human or other similar creature. Through hacking, phreaking, or other manipulations, computers can suffer social conditions because they store and communicate information, which a process that can be disrupted.