Tracking

It's true that you're being monitored and tracked to some degree whenever you move around the city – this is even true of Discons, because systems can still see them even if they can't identify them – but that doesn't mean you're being monitored by the same systems all the time; nor does it mean that all systems identify you the same way. Indeed, while going about your day you pass through an ever-shifting array of systems and networks at varying levels of specificity, each interested in different data about you, and each with its own functional limitations and legal limitations (except for the illegal ones, of course).

Your data is scattered across dozens or hundreds of networks, stored in different formats, reached via different protocols and aggregated with varying degrees of anonymity. Because of this, producing a complete and detailed analysis of a person's movements and actions is a surprisingly complex task. Such investigations are usually performed by professional WakeTracers, who use special software to seek out information on both physical and virtual actions, compiling them into chronological reports on the activities of their subjects.

The complexity of the tracking problem is exacerbated by the existence of multiple virtual worlds and “dark” networks in which people often interact. In these virtual spaces, some public and some private, people forge whole new identities, working, playing, interacting with others, and building separate reputations under completely different names and histories.

No matter how many identities you may have, CitySystem is primarily concerned with just one; the one that's registered in city records. All of your other identities can be determined later as needed.

Systems that track you continually (unless programmed to do otherwise) include your PDA, any geospatial apps you run, some social networks (if given permission), open-air augmented realities and games, and various ad networks (depending on location, permission, and existing agreements).

see Privacy