Bab 17: Chapter 17: The Impossible Competition I
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Chapter 17: The Impossible Competition I
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He would never give the mysterious AI so much power, but he would gladly use the power it granted him as it left him a paralyzed Johnson, "My precious friend... Where were we again?"
Hamada crouched before the paralyzed Johnson, no longer adorning a calm expression. Instead, a frown was embroiled on his face.
"Even when we run from trouble, trouble finds us, huh?" Hamada shook his head in annoyance, "I hate corporations."
"..." There are some individuals who are unafraid of death, but Johnson isn't one of them, although the clear anger on his face managed to mask his fear.
"Are you mad at the corpos? At a fucking AI? I mean, what did you expect? You didn't follow their instruction precisely." Hamada pointed out.
"Those fucks think themselves gods. If you wanna talk about racism, just speak to some high-functioning AIs... They see us as bugs. Even now, I can speak badly about the AI, but it won't care because it has no feelings, as long as you follow instructions of course," Hamada further explained.
"Enough!! Just get it over with," Johnson seemed to have resigned to his fate.
"No no no, it won't be that easy... I really have to drive the point home. If you hadn't followed instructions, I would be in your place, so thank you, really," Oh, Hamada knows what buttons to push.
"Damn you!! Shut up shut up!!! I'll fucking kill you!!!" Just imagine being so angry that you managed to put out words despite the difficulty of doing so, and being unable to move, just lying there paralyzed.
"Yea... This is a real you, a meathead that gave them the opportunity to exploit our weakness," Hamada may not show it outwardly, but he was mad inside.
He didn't like the circumstances he found himself not one bit, "So go on, knowing you are and always were a failure," And to show his anger, Hamada spit directly at Johnson's face before putting his gun against the latter's head... And pulling the trigger.
"Instruct the Tech teams to clean up the entire building, all electronics need to be scrubbed, especially the server rooms... Tell them that there might be an intruder in our Net," Hamada instructed.
He wasn't in the same ballpark as Johnson whose body was basically under the control of the intruder AI.
Hamada has some room to maneuver. However, he was still unwilling to go against the unknown intruders unless necessary.
Corporations are just that threatening, and are basically monopolies of knowledge and technology, making their AIs vastly superior to all else.
The only other suspect of the attack would be the Maelstroms, thus why Hamada quickly formed a blockade around the Tyger Claws' operation base.
He sealed it off, allowing no one out and no one in. His goons surrounded the base, securing the permitter.
In the end, they did find something, in a building nearby, they found a dead body, one of their own, and nothing else.
They also found that the security cameras, each and every one connected to their Net were cleaned up, leaving no traces behind.
That wasn't the end of it as the Maelstroms got word of what happened quite quickly, leading to conflict throughout Old Japantown.
The already chaotic combat zone became even more chaotic, making the situation messier than it already was.
Word of what happened naturally reached the ears of those interested, and it most definitely reached the ears of the Tyger Claws' higher-ups, upon which they did an investigation of their own.
The investigation was messy and very slow. Nonetheless, it led them to a name, M, a new assassin of the High Table who took the contract for Johnson's life moments before his death.
Mr. M was confirmed to have completed the bounty, a very generous amount of money. He has provided enough evidence to assure himself as the killer of Johnson.
Here comes the problem, however, the High Table of Night City is largely controlled by the city's gangs including the Tyger Claws.
Obviously, they do not have absolute control as the majority of the gangs' members have bounties on them, but very few would dare take such bounties.
The reason is simple, the gangs control the High Table, and they can use it to trace you back, provided that you've claimed the bounty.
There are, however, many killers for hire, most not associated with the High Table, but still use its network to take jobs.
Therefore, it's only natural that they found ways to keep themselves somewhat anonymous.
Of course, for people at the top, if you truly want to find someone, they would be able to find them. They just need to look deeper.
However, the Tyger Claws soon realized that no one would really fully claim the bounty.
In fact, the individual named M never provided a bank account. The money is just sitting there, waiting for him to claim it.
The incident was embroiled with confusion, especially with Hamada working behind the scenes to make sure it stayed that way.
He even provided many clues that point to the 'Fact' that M is part of the Maelstrom, and that their target was infiltrating the Tyger Claws' network.
Hamada certainly knows how to take advantage of such messy scenes as that provided him more support from the headquarters, sending him more goons to fight off the maelstrom.
These events happened in the course of the following week. X, on the other hand, found himself back home by the evening of the incident.
X's home was the roof of the building by the clinic, usually a very cozy place till it starts raining so heavily.
And it was quite cold this evening, no doubt leading to a freezing night. Fortunately, X prepared his corner of the roof enough to give himself some cover and warmth.
Right by his couch was a metallic barrel in which he threw a bunch of trash before lighting it up.
It wasn't really much, but the pieces of plastic and covers over his head and all around made sure the heat stayed inside.
X covered himself with a blanket as he lied down by Joi's side, "I missed doing this, although it's quite tiring."
"What were you doing? You know, before you came to Night City? How can a plan so fascinating come to your mind so easily?" Joi had to wonder.
"What I was before I came here?" X muttered in a frown, "I don't quite remember, but I was good at what I did, whatever that is."
"The plan also wasn't impressive at all. It would be something impossible for me if the opportunity didn't present itself for me, the opportunity in the shape of Johnson coming to the clinic."
"The rest is merely formalities, a plan anyone of average intelligence can come up with, provided you have the necessary knowledge to accomplish it," X apparently didn't think he did anything special.
"That is not what impressed me... What impressed me is how you managed to create a false reality and make everything believe every lie you've fabricated," Joi disagreed.
"Hm... Yeah, I guess that's impressive, something you should easily be able to do, provided a little update to your code," X finally nodded.
"That's the problem... You're comparing yourself to AIs instead of humans, why?" Joi was all over X with her unending curiosity.
"Is it not only natural that you compare yourself to the competition?" X, or rather, the very pure Y wondered.
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Bab 18: Chapter 18: The Impossible Competition II
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Chapter 18: The Impossible Competition II
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"That's the problem... You're comparing yourself to AIs instead of humans, why?" Joi was all over X with her unending curiosity.
"Is it not only natural that you compare yourself to the competition?" X, or rather, the very pure Y wondered.
X usually seems very cool-headed, and not very prone to boasting, yet now here he is, comparing himself to Artificial Intelligence.
There is simply no comparison to be had as the majority of AIs are capable of processing vast amounts of data at incredible speeds, making them vastly more intelligent than humans.
They can perform complex calculations, analyze vast quantities of information, and make decisions far faster than any human brain can.
That was the case decades ago. Now, it's early 2076, and almost all AIs are vastly superior to humans in almost every way.
Today, they even possess higher-level cognitive abilities, such as the ability to simulate human consciousness.
They can also predict future outcomes based on data analysis, and even manipulate human behavior through deep psychological understanding.
Even in the field X is pursuing, Netrunning, AIs often have perfect awareness of cyberspace, being able to hack, control, or defend networks and systems effortlessly.
Netrunners can struggle to compete with AIs in digital warfare, as they can execute multiple actions simultaneously without error.
If X sees competition somewhere against AIs, then it must be something only he sees.
"Then be prepared for disappointment," Joi advised. It was the logical thing to say to someone seeking competition where there isn't one.
She always believed X to be different, vastly different than any other human she had observed so far.
He does show emotions sometimes, but she had always detected an air of abnormality around those emotions as if they were fake.
However, it seems that she was wrong. X is just like everyone else. He can be guided and driven by emotions and desires.
In this case, it seems to be arrogance and some sort of unearned ego. I mean, what kind of sane individual would see competition in AIs?
Only an insane person would do so, and X isn't exactly known for sanity, although his plan was so sane it impressed Joi.
It really isn't that complicated. Johnson came to X's view swaggeringly, as if afraid that the latter didn't see the opportunity in him.
X saw the opportunity and took it by injecting some codes into Johnson's implants while refilling his nanites.
Just the fact that Johnson had met X sealed the former's fate. Even if Johnson followed instructions to the T, he would still end up dead.
He just had to convince Johnson that he had a chance to live and guide his suspicion to corporations.
It wasn't difficult with Joi's help as she used a different random voice pack to speak to him, and it especially wasn't difficult to convince him she was an AI since she was actually an AI.
X then slowly steered Johnson to the abyss, basically making him willingly admit that he wants Hamada dead.
He then contacted Hamada, basically leaving him no choice but to kill the person who wants to kill him, Johnson.
Also, Johnson was convinced that Joi was an AI, so when she betrayed him, he spoke to her as if she were an AI.
And it was exactly his raging words about corporations and the AI that pretty much convinced Hamada of the identity of the intruder, assuming it to be some big corporation doing their bullshit again.
If Hamada wasn't convinced the intruder AI was from Corpo, he would have dug deeper, and while X did his best to hide his tracks, that doesn't mean there are no traces left.
It's nigh impossible to be completely anonymous in this day and age, especially in a city like NC.
Overall, however, the operation was risky, just not enough for him to reconsider going through with it.
In the end, it was a success, and X got all he wanted, the objective of the operation.
The simplest objective was the High Table as he created an identity in their Network not only the one by the name of M, but several other identities.
There is a lot that can be done with a membership in the High Table, although there is uncertainty about whether those memberships will be voided soon.
They were after all created through Johnson's credentials. The High Table will be able to find them without much difficulty.
However, there is a certainty that they will not void the membership of Mr. M for a simple reason, they want to find him through the membership.
The High Table is usually a very rule based organization with quite a bit of trust, thus cases like the one in NC are uncommon.
The High Table of Night City has little to no trust, very much befitting of the shithole that's NC.
The second objective of the operation was information, all of the data that was backed up in the Tyger Claws' server rooms in Old Japantown.
X only acquired a few external SSDs before the operation, thus he was only able to save up a low percentage of all the data in their server rooms.
They were, however, more than enough for the most important stuff, the things X was actually interested in.
Unfortunately, all of that Data cannot be accessed by him at the moment as his laptop is long gone.
He completely destroyed it, and in fact, the burning garbage in the metallic barrel before him included the laptop, or rather, its remains.
X traced his finger along the edge of the neon katana beside him, another of his spoils.
It was graciously inherited from another of his victims when he was leaving the building from which he operated.
X had to send him off, not only because he had seen him but also because he talked to him, and the word Johnson reached the gangster's ears... Just in case.
X didn't seem bothered by Joi's lack of belief in him. He didn't expect her to in the first place.
He had read her code and even updated it himself, so he knew what to expect from her.
'She just doesn't understand us,' X mused in his mind, and with a blink, he seemingly found himself in quite the elegant restaurant.
He found himself sitting around a table, which seemed to be made from cheery wood.
The restaurant has Earthy interiors, subdued lighting, and vintage vibes, complete with antique furnishings and an old-time counter that serves familiar comfort food and classic beverages.
"Oh, my restaurant... I missed this place," And he missed it for a reason, it's a lovely place, warm and quiet.
Before X, seated on the other two seats were Y and Z, the same look, but different expressions.
"It should stay that way... She shouldn't understand us," Z advised.
"That's the plan, is it not?" X shrugged.
"Why is that the plan? I don't see any signs in her that she will go against us?" Y wondered.
"Neither do I, but AIs are relatively easy to corrupt, thus the caution, and the update to her workings," Z explained.
"Speaking of AIs, what do we think are our chances against them?" X lied back, relaxing as he questioned.
"We are making a lot of assumptions about a world that we don't know much about, but I would say our chances are low," Answered Z.
"That's why it's exciting... The Nigh Impossible Competition," X chuckled, letting out a strange laugh, in anticipation of facing the impossible.
Z's job is to help X reach his goal safely, but he seemingly has no agency to change X's ideal.
Therefore, while X's pursuits obligate him to go down a treacherous road, Z could do nothing but clean the path for him.
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