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Chapter 8: Netrunner II
........
However, X never installed it. No matter how he thought about it, it sounded like a bad idea. Many folks don't trust the neural connection being so open to the net, a recipe for disaster, "Thanks."
"Jackie's number is on it... Call him," Vik said, "And be careful, alright?"
"I will," X nodded before walking out, heading directly to the roof. Today is a day of work, that must be why Jackie is looking for him.
Marrie and her little brother were there, sleeping on the couch. It's been several hours after all. He left them alone, sitting by the side with his laptop in hands.
Only then did X call Jackie, "I heard you wanna talk to me?"
"Heard right," Jackie responded, "So, how good are you when it comes to Netrunning?"
"Average," X answered honestly, "I do not deep dive nor do I link to my computer. All my operations are ran with keyboards."
"Huh?" To say that Jackie was perplexed would be an understatement, "That... That's ancient tech? You sure you a Netrunner?"
"I said it before, as far as Netrunners go, I am average," X replied, "And as far as mercenaries go, you're quite average, so I don't suppose you have a gig I can not handle or one that requires deep dive, am I right?"
"..." There was a long awkward silence before Jackie responded, "It's a small gig, just need you to investigate someone, and see if you can dig some dirt on them."
"Give me all the info you have on the target," X asked.
"Antonio Savio," Jackie responded and there was silence.
"Continue?" X muttered.
"Continue what?" Jackie was confused, "That's all I have."
"Are you aware of how many individuals there are in Night City named Antonio Savio? I need to know which one of them you want me to investigate."
"Oh, makes sense... Give me a minute," The line was silent for a minute or so before Jackie spoke again, "Antonio Savio, works in Arasaka as a PR executive."
X hung up, shaking his head in exasperation before getting to work, 'Antonio Savio, head of the Public relations side of Arasaka in Night City, thirty seven years old, managed to take the position two years ago.'
That's of course not the kind of information a client would need, not when all it requires is typing a few words in a search engine.
Night City doesn't have the old internet as X knew it. No city has the old internet.
Everything changed after the DataKrash, necessitating the creation of the new Net which is analogous to the Internet except that it's localized to Night City or their respective city.
In this case, the CitiNet is similar to the internet while the DataPool is the vault of knowledge of Night City.
Access to the Net is free, really, everyone can access the Net as long as they have a computer, a data terminal, or an internal agent, 'Yeah, free my ass,' X mused in his mind.
The Net is certainly not free to access, never have been and never will be. The cost is only getting heftier and heftier, it just requires you to sacrifice your privacy, every part of your personal life will no longer be personal.
It used to be that you could make most things about yourself private if you really wished to, it's now more difficult than ever. The corps made sure of it.
That's why the Net is supposedly free. The corps wants you to use it for that's the first step to gaining control over you.
However, if you look really hard, you can find them, the method to cover your tracks, to be somewhat anonymous on the Net. Netrunners need anonymity lest they get caught, so they naturally write codes or make stuff that can help with that and share it amongst themselves.
Every method available that X verified to be legit, he used. Most anonymous of all was not linking with the DataPool at all as that allows for near instant surfing of the net, writing codes with simple thoughts.
That's why the majority of Netrunners choose to link with their machines, way more efficient than ancient techs like keyboards. X's laptop naturally has a neural port, one which he rarely uses.
And now it was time to really investigate as X murmured under his breath, 'Seems young for an executive role at Arasake. He must have connections... Yup, his uncle is an executive. Let's see... He had several competitors for the role, the biggest of which died due to a heart attack, the rest gave up right after, interesting.'
All through public search engines, X compiled a list of the target's family members, properties, and all the apps he's subscribed to, 'He's filing for divorce? The previous time, it was his ex-wives who filed for divorce, what changed now?'
X grew suspicious, the man's list of subscriptions was too clean. He must have a second account, 'Antonio and his uncle are quite close... Maybe?'
X turned his attention to the uncle's social media as well as subscriptions, trying to find something naughty. The uncle regularly visits several clubs, two of which he shares with someone in his friend list.
That someone is named Narcov Sarcov, obviously an alias. Narcov rarely posts and little is known about him, obviously because he wants it that way.
X just needed proof that Antonio is Narcov before he can proceed forward. To do that, he looked through Narvoc's friend list, few as he expected, only two of which work in one of the clubs.
However, one of them is a male, so unless Narcov changed his sexual preference overnight, he shouldn't be the one, so X turned his attention to the other individual, Olivia, a stripper.
'Is he leaving his wife for her?' That's the question to answer, so X started looking through her posting history. She apparently has a boyfriend, one she rarely posts about despite her habit with her ex-boyfriends being posting pictures with them all the time.
The new mysterious boyfriend appeared in her life seven months ago, only one month after Narcov started visiting the Pink Star club.
'This should be proof enough,' X mused as he looked at a post she made only two months ago, a post with her hand in it, an exquisite diamond ring on her fingers. She was engaged.
Only a few days before that post, Antonio had filed for divorce. Around that same that, Olivia posted expressing happiness about something.
Olivia is subscribed to... Well, too many things, several newspapers, makeup and fashion magazines as well as cosmetic implant companies. She posts a lot about their new products.
'It likely won't work, but it wouldn't hurt to try,' X mused before sending her an email, disguised as one of the makeup companies she mentions often. In that email was a link that would eventually redirect to the legit website, but only after installing malware on her device.
For now, though, X redirected his attention to the uncle who seems to be the most vital piece of the puzzle. He's responsible for leading offensive operations against opposing forces... The latest offensive operations failed completely, resulting in heavy casualties.
However, the failed operation wasn't led by the uncle. No, it was led by another high-ranking counterintelligence operative agent, someone by the name of Valerie, and there it was, the client.
X didn't prey further. Instead, he continued to collect information only on Antonio, all the places he visits, his schedule, relations, past, and even likes and dislikes. All of these were neatly compiled into different folders, forming Antonio's entire public life and a little bit of his secret life.
And all it took was two hours. X had a habit of invading other people's privacy even before arriving here, and the method of doing so didn't change much even decades later.
Search engines are just too powerful, a hacker's best friend. However, search engines aren't as vital anymore against corps, not with the way the Net Architecture works now. They require deep dives.
"I'm done," X called Jackie right after, "I've sent you the file. If the client is satisfied, I've also sent you my account number."
"Already?" Questioned Jackie in surprise.
"And Jackie, don't tell the client anything about me," X said before hanging up, getting to work on something else right away, "Let's hope there is some data left in you."
In his hand was the emanator he got from the stall owner, the one which supposedly holds a Joi in it. The only problem was that it was more than two decades old.
X slowly dismantled the broken thing, taking out the only relatively intact object within, an old chip. X closed the virtual machine he used to investigate Antonio and erased it before opening another virtual machine.
Only then did he put in the chip in a device he previously brought, specifically for old-gen chips like that one, "Oh... What a joy to see a living Joi."
Make sure to check my Patre.on out if you want to support me and want to read advanced chapters: Patre.on.com/VQuintessence
[20 Chapters in Advance on Patre.on]
Make sure to check my Patre.on out if you want to support me and want to read advanced chapters: Patre.on.com/VQuintessence
[21 Chapters in Advance on Patre.on]
Chapter 9: Netrunner III
...........
Only then did he put in the chip in a device he previously brought, specifically for old-gen chips like that one, "Oh... What a joy to see a living Joi."
The code was fragmented, mostly broken, but as it turned into numbers in X's eyes, it started to look very salvageable, so he copied the code to his virtual machine and started filling the holes in the code.
X even had to get outside resources such as leaked Joi codes, especially the latest versions. Most importantly, he read through the ancient Joi's data bank, what's left of her memories.
Whatever it was, it made X work harder as his hands moved like a blur, nearly rivaling the speed at which linked Netrunners code, which is the speed of thought.
It was, as usual, a sleepless night, but it was a lovely night, one of learning, improving, and overcoming obstacles to the point that when Vik arrived at the clinic in the morning, he found X holed up there, working on something, sparks flying everywhere.
"What're you working on?" Vik wondered.
"Fixing this projector," X reflexively responded, too focused on the device before him.
"Looks like old tech," Vik remarked, "Why would you want to fix it?"
"It's the latest projector that supports an old chip I have," X replied, "I tried to fix this emanator, but it doesn't seem plausible."
"Good luck," Vik shrugged, preparing to head to his computer only for X to stop him.
"Can you come and look at this?" X asked, "It's a project I've been working on. Do you think it's plausible?"
"Let me see," Vik got closer, looking at X's laptop screen, his expression slowly but surely turning weirder, "I won't really know unless I sleep on this, but it seems ambitious, too ambitious. The amount of funds you'll need to even make a prototype would be ridiculous."
"Please keep it from the Net," X swiftly handed Vik a shard, as if already prepared.
Sending the file through the Net is certainly more convenient but it's also too dangerous for what's within the shard.
"Hmm," Vik took the shard as he let out a sigh, bringing over his chair to sit right before X, "Showing me this means you're thinking of chroming yourself up, right?"
"I do," X nodded, giving his full attention to Vik, knowing that he had something to say.
"Do you know how many chromes I have?" Vik asked a question which he answered directly after, "Almost none, only ones necessary for my line of work... Know why?"
"You, as a Ripperdoc understand better than most, the danger of implants," X of course knows.
"Let's talk about the lesser of two evils that are those dangers," Vik took a deep breath before continuing, "Ripperdocs are the scum of the earth, preying on the misery and ignorance of others. Do you know why chromes implanted by Ripperdocs malfunction so much?
It's either of two reasons, the less evil of the two is incompetence, installing incompatible models which accelerate neural degradation, cyberware that works to the detriment of each other, destroying their bodies inside out, installing faulty chrome that does irreversible damage to the body, and most dangerous of all, to the brain.
Then there is the most evil of the two, business practices, a common courtesy in the field, rigging the implants so that the clients require very regular maintenance, meaning more eddies for Ripperdocs. Even if the client lost trust in that specific Ripperdoc, they'll have to visit another Ripperdoc, like an exchange of patients.
I mean, what can the clients do? Go to to corps? Ripperdoc fuck you in the ass, corps fuck you in the brain. I don't want you to be that kind of Ripperdoc, and I only accepted you as a student because I saw your desire to learn. I just hope Night City doesn't change you."
"If it does, hopefully, it changes me for the better," X nodded lightly before adding, "I know NC isn't in the habit of changing people for the better, but I am special."
"Indeed you are," Vik agreed, "Which is why I have to tell you about the grandest evil of 'em all... When you get implants, you sell your soul. You give away control. Your implants, they aren't yours, not when they can shut it down anytime they want, not when they can watch you all the time through them."
Vik stood up, pulling his chair back with him, "Ripperdocs might be the scum of the earth but corps are demons in human skin, keep that in mind if you wanna chrome up." He went on to watch some boxing.
X stroked his chin for a bit, contemplating Vik's words before nodding to himself, having decided on something. Only then did he go back to work.
That day was the first that X would ask for an early leave as he hurried to the roof, making sure it was empty before quickly screwing the newly fixed projector by the wall.
X watched with anticipation as the projector lit, its newly purchased power source working as intended, and the chip within it feeding it information, allowing it to project... Joi.
She was truly a joy, a flawlessly beautiful petite young woman with her smooth brown hair tied into a bun, and her alluring ever captivating green eyes looking about in confusion.
Joi looked much too real, just like a real person standing there would look like, not a single sign that would make anyone believe her to be merely a projection, even her expression was... Fascinating.
"Hello, Joi," X spoke first, seeking to settle her confusion, "I am X. To sum things up, I acquired the broken emanator you were in, then I fixed you. How do you feel?" Strange thing to ask a projection.
"Dizzy... Disorganized," Joi muttered, her expression turning into a frown as she added, "I... I have a headache." She spoke as if she truly felt things, so human she seemed.
"Understandable," X nodded, "I find your memories to be quite corrupted. I did my best to recover what I could, but unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do. What's the last thing you remember?"
"Last thing I remember?" Joi murmured as her frown deepened, "Rain and Sadness... I remember just how I felt, not what happened."
"Then please lie down there and rest, try to organize your memories," X gently muttered before turning his attention to his computer, eyeing the message he just received.
Joi walked to the couch and lied down, all seeming quite natural. X's manners allowed her some peace of mind as he treated her like a real human and she acted human.
[Sent you a hundred for a job well done... I do have an offer for ya tho. The client gave me a follow-up gig. She wants you to...]
X didn't need to know the rest but he still read through the message nonetheless. It contained exactly what he expected, a request for a thorough investigation of Antonio and the uncle.
'Is she looking for blackmail material? Using Antonio against the uncle will definitely not work. Both are scumbags that will leave each other in the dirt with no hesitation... Therefore, the only entry point is Olivia.' X mused before narrowing his eyes, 'Sounded dirtier than I meant.'
X shook his head as he got to work right away. Olivia was in his mind the weakest link related to the three targets.
The client, Valerie must think that Antonio has some material on his uncle or at least something in that context. However, there wasn't really much X could do without performing a deep dive.
All he could do was occasionally send her emails disguised as one of her subscriptions in the hope that she would click the link within, a link that uploads a file to her device.
The file would look like a magazine of the company to her, but the hidden code is what matters, and she hopefully won't wonder about it for long as the link will redirect itself to the legit site.
The only thing that can go wrong in this situation is if she has some sort of advanced security measure.
The code for the virus was created by X for the purpose of working around most security softwares that are used by people like Olivia, people very low on the ladder of hierarchy.
If that doesn't work, there are plenty of methods to try next, although they aren't as discreet. X now just had to wait for the prey to take the bait, so he returned to harvesting the endless knowledge of this world.
"What are you reading?" Joi soon had enough rest, joining his side by the couch.
"Some leaked research papers about nanites," X replied, his mind still focused on the laptop screen.
"Why?" Joi wondered.
"Why not?" X shrugged, "Does there need to be a reason to seek knowledge other than the fact that knowledge is the greatest miracle in the world?"
"I guess not," Joi hummed to herself, "Why did you fix me?"
"Why not?" X shrugged again.
"I see you aren't in the habit of answering questions. You've added a lot of knowledge into my databank, so I know that I am old tech by now," Joi muttered, "Why would you want someone like me?"
"I think it's maybe a combination of a lack of money and curiosity," X murmured, "I am, however, unsure. You can ask him when he wakes up."
"Hm?" Joi was perplexed as she questioned, "Ask who?"
Make sure to check my Patre.on out if you want to support me and want to read advanced chapters: Patre.on.com/VQuintessence
[21 Chapters in Advance on Patre.on]
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