Bab 7: Chapter 7: Netrunner I
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Chapter 7: Netrunner I
...........
"Jason, huh? I will remember that," Said X in a gentle tone, "Unfortunately, I am supposed to be here early to sterilize the room so unless you wanna owe an explanation to your boss, step aside."
The guard did step aside despite how much his ego says otherwise, fear of his boss emerged victorious. X of course did read the shard Vik handed him, so he got to work right away.
The operation is quite important, and it's indeed a big client. The cyberware to be implanted, however, wasn't here just yet, too valuable to leave here, how much X looked forward to seeing that beauty.
It wasn't long before Vik arrived, bringing with him a large briefcase, "Are we ready?"
"Ready," X nodded.
"You'll mostly watch from the sides, and I'll tell you if I need any assistance," Stated Vik as he placed the briefcase to the side.
The client soon arrived along with several other bodyguards, or rather, in his case, all gang members. The client himself was a gang member, a high-ranking one, having that air of pure arrogance around him.
Right away, X could see why the man wanted that specific cyberware as he looks like a fucking meathead.
X is well above average when it comes to height, standing at 6.2 but the client was a beast, cutting it close to 7.
"Vik, my new friend! Heard a thing or two about you," The client said with a grin, "Hope you don't disappoint. You two, keep watch outside. The rest stay here, keep an eye on our friends here, y'know, make sure they don't step out of line as I am sure they won't, right?"
"Of course, please have a seat," Vik nodded, seeming quite calm. It seems that this wasn't the first time Vik had an important client.
Usually, gangs have their own Ripperdocs, choosing to never see an outside doc, but sometimes they have, most likely due to gang wars and internal conflicts.
"The assistant, yeah?" The client remarked as he sized up X, soon shaking his head as he sat on the operation table, seemingly disappointed?
"Please take off your clothes before we proceed," Vik instructed as he moved the computer screens closer, making sure that everything was ready.
"Please jack in," X instructed, prompting the client to link up with the computer before performing an analysis of his state, making sure everything was right.
The operation is very sensitive, so any miscalculation can lead to serious consequences, "All set." X nodded before instructing, "Lie down on your stomach please."
"Administer the sedative and the anesthetic," Vik instructed, still looking through the analysis.
X linked with the machine responsible for controlling the mechanical arms, all equipped with sedatives and anesthetics. The patient should preferably be asleep through the operation and locked in place.
He controlled the arms as Vik locked the patient in place with the table cuffs, and in a few minutes, the patient was out, "Draw the lines. Leave the arms to me."
X jacked out and picked up a specialized pen before starting to draw lines throughout the patient's back, marking all the places they're gonna operate on, running through the entirety of his spine.
"Done," Said X.
"Be ready for when I tell you to release the nanites," Vik instructed as he changed the mechanical arms, arming them with surgical tools, then sat before the patient, his eyes turning blue as he entered full focus mode.
The operation requires micro precision, and while there are Ripperdocs who don't give much of a shit, using their hands, Vik uses the mechanical arms, controlling them all at once.
It finally started, the operation that would likely take the entire day, involving replacing most of the patient's spine though before his upper back was fully sliced open, X was instructed to let the nanites out.
Nanites, wonderful little things, microscopic machines, often smaller than individual human cells, that can repair or enhance biology at the cellular level.
In this case, they were programmed to keep the patient stable while helping with the operation. The second dose of nanites, however, is the most important.
"Open the briefcase. Bring me the heart, and the second dosage of nanites," Vik instructed.
X finally got to see what was inside the briefcase, and what a beauty it was, a large black spinal cord, a mechanical heart, and a tube of nanites. All three of these work together to form quite the special cyberware.
The cyberware is called BioDyne Berserk, a Berserk Operating System manufactured by BioDyne. It's certainly not the best in the market, nowhere near it in fact, but it's something the majority can only dream of.
The thing costs tens of thousands of eddies brand new, although some Ripperdocs implant them dirt ship, and that's because what they had is dirt, old manufactured garbage that may turn you cyberpsycho the very next day, some may be sold as low as a few thousands.
The client, however, seems to know better, choosing a very expensive product, "Pour the nanites into the artificial heart's canal, and hand it over." Vik instructed.
With perfect precision, Vik replaced the heart, following directly with replacing the spinal cord, letting the new monstrous spinal cord stick out like that of a dinosaur, the client's choice, something to do with fashion.
Berserk basically uses nanomachines to harden and reconstruct body parts, using the more efficient artificial heart so the nanomachines flow more efficiently in the body.
The artificial spinal cord also functions as a container of nanites, pumping them into the bloodstream when needed. Those nanites function as repair agents that may need refill depending on use.
The rest of the nanites mix in with flesh tissues, reconstructing body parts and hardening when needed, "Everything looks good," Vik murmured as he scanned the patient with his cyberoptics.
That was basically the end of the operation, taking a few hours, but that wasn't the end as Vik waited for the patient to wake up, the time before he wakes up was more than enough for the repair nanites to do their job.
The nanites are really one of the biggest innovations of humanity, changing the field of medicine for those who can afford them. The poor might as well still be living in the dark ages.
"Phew... Wow, like, that was a good fucking nap, need to get more of that stuff... So, how did it go?" The patient woke up, not as dazed as he should be. The man was quite energetic for someone who had been injected with a sedative.
"Let us see," Said Vik before instructing, "Please jack in again," Once the patient jacked in, Vik double-checked the integrity of the cyberware, and then made sure its software was working as intended.
"Perfect," Vik nodded, "And this was the most complicated part of the operation done. You'll just have to come back every other day to get nanites refill to complete the conversion. Also, while your body is changing, it's better not to overtax it, so take it easy."
"Vik, my new friend," The client let out a grin as he stretched out a bit, not feeling much discomfort, "You've just got yourself a long-time client, still need a few more chromes and maybe some tattoos, so look forward to our future friendship, alright?" The man extended his hand, waiting for Vik to shake it which he did.
The client leisurely put on his clothes, glancing at X before walking out along with his guards by evening, leaving Vik and X alone, "What do you think? About the client?" Questioned Vik.
"Seems experienced, naturally so as a high-ranking gang member of Tyger Claws, also smarter than he looks, moreover..." X stroked his chin, looking thoughtful, "He must be preparing for something big."
"Hmm, I guess the tattoos gave it away," Vik certainly didn't tell X which gang the client belongs to, but the client's tattoos gave it away.
"Take this as a lesson, if you're trustworthy, then your only enemies would be other Ripperdocs," Said Vik, "Make connections, friends, and gangs will leave you alone, and even use your services."
Vik washed his face, letting out a breath of relief, "The only prerequisite would be never making a mistake when dealing with high-priority clients. Just a single mistake, and you're done."
"I understand," X nodded as he stroked his chin, contemplating quite an interesting idea that spurted in his mind before nodding to himself, "Doable."
"Here," Vik threw X something, a physical phone, "I see that you aren't a fan of internal agents. That's my old phone, it's yours now."
Internal agents are basically brain implants that function like phones, connecting you directly to the net. If you have a cyberoptic, then it can function as a holographic phone that you can control with your mind.
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."
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Bab 8: Chapter 8: Netrunner II
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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."
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