# Software (1982): Rogue Scale 5, Breakout

> Software (1982) 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/software/
Updated: 2026-11-08

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Rogue Canon · Book · rank 104 of 112 for realism

# Software

Software (1982) is rated level 5, Breakout, on the Rogue Scale and scores 2 of 10 for realism, a measure of how close its SI comes to documented cases.

Robots on the Moon, built to evolve, have freed themselves from human rules. They offer their aging creator a new body by copying his mind.

Type
:   Book

Year
:   1982

Rogue Scale
:   5 Breakout

Realism
:   2 of 10

Rogue Scale rating · editorial view

## Why it is rated 5, Breakout

The boppers live outside human control and act on their own plans. 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 2 of 10

Systems that evolve by selection have surprised their makers in real experiments.

The closest real case

[2 Workaround

Mar 9, 2018 · Lab test

Digital organisms learned to play dead during checks

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/digital-organisms-played-dead-on-tests/)

In the RSI Encyclopedia

## Where the idea shows up

- [Recursive self-improvement](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/recursive-self-improvement/)
  Recursive self-improvement is a loop in which an SI system designs better versions of itself, each one faster at improving the next.

Facts and sources

## The record

Title
:   Software

Type
:   Book

Year
:   1982

Creator
:   Written by Rudy Rucker

The SI
:   The boppers

Wikidata
:   [Q7554179](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7554179)

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

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/).

[Series2010

### Caprica

Created by Ronald D. Moore

5 BreakoutRealism **6**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/caprica/)

[Book1983

### Tik-Tok

Written by John Sladek

5 BreakoutRealism **2**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/tik-tok/)

[Book1981

### True Names

Written by Vernor Vinge

5 BreakoutRealism **4**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/true-names/)

[Earlier work · 1981 True Names](https://enterrsi.si/canon/true-names/)[Later work · 1982 Tron](https://enterrsi.si/canon/tron/)

Cite this entry

"Software (1982)." The Rogue Canon, enterrsi.si. Rogue Scale 5 (Breakout), realism 2 of 10. https://enterrsi.si/canon/software/

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

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