Bit is an unfortunate hanger-on from a run in with warring tribes of rat spirits in an umbral pocket realm. It appears as a static-y yellowish rat with electric blue undertones that may or may not be hanging around on the desktop of Jeremy’s notebook computer Flax. It’s an unruly little beast that likes to sleep in the recycling bin (and no, clicking empty trash at that point only seems to annoy it), piddles on the systray, and nibbles on shortcuts, corrupting their paths and rendering them useless. Its communication skills aren’t particularly high, visually it will turn a spiky red and a sort of ‘no’ sound will issue from the speakers. Yes seems to be a sleek and brilliant blue appearance with a higher pitched ‘yes’ sound, and both ‘maybe’ and ‘I don’t know’ both seem to be highly static-y black/white with a burst of buzzing static through the speakers. Its communicative resemblance to the ‘Bit’ from the movie ‘Tron’ is what earned it its name. If pressed to do so, a notepad can be brought up for type to appear, only limited responses such as ‘play!’ and other such animal-ish thoughts and wants.
This is not a pet, and neither is it friend or enemy, it’s more of an annoying parasite if anything. Its demeanor can inspire one to feel affection for the cute little guy, the way its ears wiggle when he chews holes through files or the way its foot twitches when it sleeps on top of a button and holds it down. However, this adorable looking rat spirit is an unholy terror on anything electronic and should be considered dangerous on all sorts of levels. Its current attitude is one of semi-good will towards its “owner” Jeremy, however it still enjoys taunting him and making him pay for computer functionality with entertainment. Currently there’s safe space and nothing better connected to it or within hopping distance (thanks to Jeremy’s careful handling of his notebook), so is comfortable for the moment until something better comes along or until Jeremy becomes too annoying.
Book Reference (incase someone hasn’t got the book)
Rage 2, Gnosis 9, Willpower 3, Power Varies, Pg. 52 Ratkin Breed Book – Freakachu
This is an electronic Rat-Spirit, a tiny critter with an affinity for the Weaver that would put an Engineer to shame. It breeds in complex electronic systems, and takes on many of the characteristics of a virtual pet gone bad. Anyone who owns an electronic device inhabited by this spirit becomes its owner… or its victim, depending on your point of view. Freakachus (or “Freakas,” as they are colloquially known) are notoriously hard to kill, even in the spirit world, since they can hide in the smallest computer networks.
Unlike its more sedate, mundane counterparts, the Freakachu has a repertoire of tactics for conditioning its owners. To the mundane, this manifests as amusing technical glitches that can only be solved by unusual methods. (“Really, the computer likes it when I sing.”) For the spiritually aware, the critter will appear on the television or computer screen, taunting its owner. As the name suggests, it will “Freak-At-You” until it gets what it wants.
Freakachus have a love-hate relationship with their owners; their methods can be boons or banes. A clever ratkin, however, can nurture one of these little bastards into an electronic ally. When released in a computer network, the Freaka can carry out viral terrorism on command. Truly proficient owners will train their Freakas to battle each other as they develop, releasing them into contained computer networks surrounded by elaborate firewalls. Engineers sometimes incorporate Freakachu events into some of their most popular aspect moots.