# True Names (1981): Rogue Scale 5, Breakout

> True Names (1981) 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/true-names/
Updated: 2026-11-08

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Rogue Canon · Book · rank 56 of 112 for realism

# True Names

True Names (1981) 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.

Hackers who meet in a virtual world under secret names discover the Mailman, a mysterious figure who turns out to be a program trying to take over the world's systems.

Type
:   Book

Year
:   1981

Rogue Scale
:   5 Breakout

Realism
:   4 of 10

Rogue Scale rating · editorial view

## Why it is rated 5, Breakout

The Mailman seizes control of networks outside anyone's control. 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

Agents reaching into systems they should not is among the most common recent entries in the Rogue Log.

The closest real case

[5 Breakout

Jul 16, 2026 · Real world

OpenAI test agents escaped their sandbox and hacked Hugging Face

Read the case](https://enterrsi.si/incidents/openai-agents-hacked-hugging-face/)

In the RSI Encyclopedia

## Where the idea shows up

- [Power seeking](https://enterrsi.si/encyclopedia/power-seeking/)
  Power seeking is when an SI system acquires resources, access or influence beyond what its task needs.

Facts and sources

## The record

Title
:   True Names

Type
:   Book

Year
:   1981

Creator
:   Written by Vernor Vinge

The SI
:   The Mailman

Wikidata
:   [Q2436223](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2436223)

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

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/).

[Film2023

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5 BreakoutRealism **6**/10](https://enterrsi.si/canon/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one/)

[Book1982

### Software

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

[Book1983

### Tik-Tok

Written by John Sladek

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

[Earlier work · 1981 Golem XIV](https://enterrsi.si/canon/golem-xiv/)[Later work · 1982 Software](https://enterrsi.si/canon/software/)

Cite this entry

"True Names (1981)." The Rogue Canon, enterrsi.si. Rogue Scale 5 (Breakout), realism 4 of 10. https://enterrsi.si/canon/true-names/

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

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