| The Signal on Port 950 | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Real Name | Robert Cumming |
| Aliases | The Signal on Port 950 |
| Gender | Male |
| Class | Joker-ace |
| Wild Card Traits | Monochrome skin, technopathy |
| Social Information | |
| Place of Birth | USA |
| Citizenship | American |
| Occupation | Hacker |
| Base of Operations | Chicago, Illinois |
| Origin | |
| First Appearance | Suicide Kings |
| Creator | Daniel Abraham |
The Signal on Port 950 is a minor characters in the Wild Cards series of books.
History[]
Robert Cumming was a recluse, hiding himself away from the world and hiding behind a secret online alias when he came to the attention of authorities for his hacking activities. Jaako Kuusi, a Finnish spy, passed on Cumming's identity to Noel Matthews, who was assembling a team for a bank heist in the People's Paradise of Africa. The objective of the heist was to target an oppressive regime, and so Cummings agreed readily to participate despite being apprehensive about its criminal aspect.
Robert's participation was two-fold. He allowed others of the team to use his Chicago apartment as a base camp from which they staged their raid on the African bank, and once Broadcast had infiltrated their target, Cumming could then mentally override the Bank's security systems. Once the infiltration team had left the bank, all he had to do was to wait for his share of the proceeds to be delivered, and bask in the satisfaction of striking back at government corruption.
Wild Card Traits[]
To outward appearances, the Signal on Port 950 is a joker with monochrome grey skin, yet he is also a technopath, able to project his consciousness into any IP device as long as port 950 is open. Once he accesses a system in this manner, he has direct control of all of its functionality as if he was the peripheral interface software.
Appearance[]
Robert Cumming is tall and thin with monochrome grey skin.
Personality[]
Robert is an idealist. His idealism taken together with his hacking skills and his wild card combine to create a formidable "hacktivist." His reclusive nature, however, has also left him a socially awkward young man. He avoids human contact, going so far as to order his groceries and have them delivered, and when he does communicate with others, he remains oblivious to any third party activity as he elaborates on networking command lines to a puzzled audience.
Selected Reading[]
- Wild Cards Volume XX: Suicide Kings