LD-6

LD-6, known in Chinese as 看著龍 which loosely translated to "Watching Dragon", was a line of portable computers developed by Harmony Gate Systems for the state military. The computers were notable for featuring an explosive self-destruct linked to anti-tamper sensors.

Self Destruct System

The LD-6 featured an integrated self-destruct system linked to a pack of RDX explosives to protect against capture by foreign nations, which would activate if hardware was tampered with or the eight-hour timer for a randomly initiated "interrogation" ran out. In either case, although activation was irreversible, a 10-second grace period would be given before the detonator activated to escape the kill zone.

Controversy in the West

In 2031, one of Harmony's Western subcontractors discovered a stockpile of outdated LD-6 machines. Due to a translation error, the contractor began to attempt to liquidate the stockpile instead of correctly returning the machines to the factory for decommissioning.

As the machines were sold - for as little as $100 - and powered up, many users did not notice or understand the warnings about the self-destruct system. This led to two separate accidents; one where an interrogation timer expired and activated the system, and the other where there were attempts made to remove a back panel, triggering the detonator. Both resulted in severe injury and hospitalisation of their users.

After the contractor realised what was happening, they immediately pulled the units from sale and attempted a recall, but the damage was already done. Bomb squads were dispatched to perform controlled detonations on every sold computer, while employees at the contractor were arrested by police. Severe import controls were later placed on all Harmony Gate technology.