If you are subscribed to multiple nodes, and get into cyber combat, can you switch you're "acting" icon after being hit with black hammer/black ice/whatever locks your connection.

Example. Decker is hit by pc for a net 10 damage, of his 11 point damage track. So, jacking out would kill him. He surrenders. PC's send a couple of guys to retrieve him. His connection stays locked open by the black hammer forever, as far as I can tell. So he can't gracefully log off, and he can't risk dying from dumpshock, and they are coming for his meat body. Can he switch his attention to another icon subscribed to a different node, and call for help? Or does the black hammer force his attention to stay on the current "acting" icon?

Thanks

Good Question... According to the Book, you cannot use the following Matrix Actions - Switch Interface Mode, Enter/Exit Host (this might be the one that stops that), or Reboot Actions. Any other action is viable. So I would say you could possibly call for help on that other connection/subscription/slaved connection (Subscriptions are likely an artifact of 4th Edition I am remembering, not sure if they are part of 5th). According to fluff, your PAN/Comlink is constantly communicating on multiple ports, so I would think it is possible. You just can't terminate your Link-Locked connection.

Note that Send Message is a Matrix Action that does not care where you are located, so even if you cannot have multiple "Subscriptions" going simultaneously, you can always Send Message - It is not a blocked action per Link-Locked. Also, after reading Send Message again, you can open multiple connections with it, so I do not see why you could not open multiple hacking connections simultaneously, I just do not see anything saying that explicitly.

You can Jack Out (assuming you beat the Link-Locking IC/Persona) and you do get to Soak the Dumpshock Damage. Still may take damage, of course, but you do get that option. 6S/P is pretty hefty, though.

According to the icon, this is about 4th

Still I think you are right, there is nothing saying you can't switch your attention to another subscription. But presumably there would be a spider standing watch over our unlucky decker, and I'd grant that gaoler a perception check to notice the connection elsewhere.

Damn, Missed the Icon... Talk about a failed Matrix Perception check.

You were still right so far as I could tell, so it doesn't really matter.
The PC's, specifically the hacker who was trying to hold the other guy still, called bullshit when I told them what happened. So I thought I'd see what Dumpshock thought.

As a couple of the party didn't really have a chance to do anything, this seemed like a fair way to work a firefight in. And I couldn't see this decker, who was kind of the target of the whole run, just giving up, so.... he pulled an end run and hired a team of runners to re-un-extract him.