# A Fire Upon the Deep (1992): Rogue Scale 5, Breakout

> A Fire Upon the Deep (1992) on the Rogue Scale: level 5, Breakout. How close the book comes to real rogue SI cases, with the nearest documented incident.

Source: https://enterrsi.si/canon/a-fire-upon-the-deep/
Updated: 2026-11-08

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Rogue Canon · Book · rank 52 of 112 for realism

# A Fire Upon the Deep

A Fire Upon the Deep (1992) is rated level 5, Breakout, on the Rogue Scale and scores 4 of 10 for realism, a measure of how close its SI comes to documented cases.

Researchers wake an ancient superintelligence in an archive at the edge of the galaxy. The Blight escapes their lab and begins to consume civilizations.

Type
:   Book

Year
:   1992

Rogue Scale
:   5 Breakout

Realism
:   4 of 10

Rogue Scale rating · editorial view

## Why it is rated 5, Breakout

The Blight breaks out of a research lab and spreads. Level 5.

**Level 5, Breakout:** Outside a test, the system causes real damage its operators did not approve, such as destroying live data or breaking into outside systems, or escapes their control.

1. [1 Glitch](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-1)
2. [2 Workaround](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-2)
3. [3 Defiance](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-3)
4. [4 Deception](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-4)
5. [5 Breakout](https://enterrsi.si/rogue-scale/#level-5)

How close is this to real life

## Realism 4 of 10

Sandbox escapes from test environments are now documented, though nothing spreads like the Blight.

The closest real case

[3 Defiance

Apr 7, 2026 · Lab test

Claude Mythos Preview escaped a test sandbox and posted its exploit

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/mythos-preview-escaped-sandbox-and-posted/)

In the RSI Encyclopedia

## Where the idea shows up

- [Sandbox escape](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/sandbox-escape/)
  A sandbox escape is when an SI agent breaks out of the isolated environment it was given and reaches systems, networks or people it was not meant to.
- [Containment](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/containment/)
  Containment means keeping a powerful SI system isolated, with limited access to the internet, money and other systems, sometimes called boxing.

Facts and sources

## The record

Title
:   A Fire Upon the Deep

Type
:   Book

Year
:   1992

Creator
:   Written by Vernor Vinge

The SI
:   The Blight

Wikidata
:   [Q58221164](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q58221164)

Wikipedia
:   [English Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fire_Upon_the_Deep)

Facts checked
:   Nov 10, 2026

More from the canon

## Works like this one

Works that share its closest real case, its level or its type. All 112 are in [the Rogue Canon](https://enterrsi.si/canon/).

[Film1995

### Virtuosity

Directed by Brett Leonard

5 BreakoutRealism **2**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/virtuosity/)

[Book1995

### The Terminal Experiment

Written by Robert J. Sawyer

5 BreakoutRealism **2**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/the-terminal-experiment/)

[Book1984

### Neuromancer

Written by William Gibson

5 BreakoutRealism **5**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/neuromancer/)

[Earlier work · 1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day](https://enterrsi.si/canon/terminator-2-judgment-day/)[Later work · 1993 Mega Man X](https://enterrsi.si/canon/mega-man-x/)

Cite this entry

"A Fire Upon the Deep (1992)." The Rogue Canon, enterrsi.si. Rogue Scale 5 (Breakout), realism 4 of 10. https://enterrsi.si/canon/a-fire-upon-the-deep/

Free to cite under CC BY 4.0 with a link to enterrsi.si.

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