For reference, Dragonfall, the second game in the series (made by Harebrained Schemes), takes place in 2054. In the same year, but later, Shadowrun Returns takes place.
Magic returned in 2011 and turned some people into metahumans: elves, dwarves, orcs or trolls. There are also t.n. “metavariants”: gnomes, giants, minotaurs, etc. After the return of Halley’s Comet, a new subtype appeared: changelings. You can be a metahuman from birth, but there are also those who are born ordinary people and then “goblinize” (usually into orcs or trolls). The phenomenon is called Unexplained Genetic Expression (UGE). In addition, there is a virus called HMHVV (Human Meta*-Human Vampiric Virus), which turns people into vampires, elves into banshees, dwarves into goblins, and so on.The main antagonists in the world of Shadowrun, in accordance with the canons of cyberpunk, are megacorporations (abbr. "megas", "corps"). In the 21st century, they are so global that it is rare that a business does not have branches and subsidiaries around the world. They completely rule the world, and the largest corporations have more political, economic and military power than countries. Megacorporations are divided by rank: AAA – the most significant, then AA and A. Most corporations of rank AA and AAA do not obey local laws, answering for their actions only to the Corporate Court, consisting of the largest ten companies of rank AAA, owning undivided land and even issuing citizenship (many employees in this case may have dual citizenship: countries and corporations).
Corporations (especially AAA) oppose each other not only in business negotiations, but also physically: sabotage, illegal operations, poaching or killing personnel, sabotage. They, of course, do not want to be held accountable for their actions, which leads to the hiring of shadowrunners that are invisible to the system and do not have a System Identification Number (SIN).
Ten largest AAA mega-corporations by 2070: Ares Macrotechnology (a technology conglomerate that absorbed General Motors, NASA, Apple from real prototypes), Aztechnology (consumer goods, chemistry, magic), Evo Corporation (Russian corporation engaged in nanotechnology, biotechnology, genetic research and transhumanistic technologies), Horizon (media, real estate, pharmacology), Mitsuhama Computer Technologies (heavy industry, robotics, computers), NeoNET (wireless Matrix), Renraku Computer Systems (Japanese weapons and computing), Saeder-Krupp Heavy Industries (steel, machinery, weapons, includes e.g. BMW), Shiawase Corporation (energy, biotechnology, environmental assessment), Wuxing Inc. (logistics and finance)
1999: The US Supreme Court legalizes the ability of Seretech Corporation to maintain armed forces to protect personnel and property, legalizing private armies of corporations.
2001: The US Supreme Court gives the right to the Shiawazie Corporation (after which this precedent is used by other multinational corporations) to act extraterritorially.
2002: The first optical chip capable of withstanding electromagnetic pulses is developed.
2003: Flash flood from the North Sea hits Germany. Many industries fall into the flood zone. Hamburg flooded, some nuclear plants require emergency shutdown.
2004: Accident in the UK, at a nuclear reactor in Kent. A local contaminated zone appears. More than 6,000 people die.
2005: Major earthquake hits New York, killing 200,000, billions in damage. Corporations rebuild the city in exchange for some concessions that allow them to govern more efficiently.
2010: Toxic allergy syndrome virus (VITAS) – the new Black Death. Worldwide plague kills 25% of population within one year.
2011: The Awakening Begins. The definition of "Unexplained Genetic Expression" (UGE) enters the lexicon, elven and gnome children begin to be born from human parents.
2012: Great Dragon Dunkelzahn first appears near Cherry Creek Lake in Denver. After the publication of an interview with the dragon, the first facts about the revival of magic called the Awakening become known.
2021: Spontaneous NGEs occur around the world as adults and children transform into new metahuman races (orcs and trolls). This phenomenon is called goblinization.
2024: The first cyber terminals are created. For the first time, US presidential elections are being held online.
2025: UCLA creates the school’s first occult sciences program. Cyborgs come to professional sports and enter the NFL. Their team loses.
2039: In Charleston, South Carolina, a serial killer is caught by the first magical detective to study the victim’s ghost. The ghost’s actions revealed important clues that led to the capture of the killer.
On the night of February 7th, known as the Night of Wrath, hundreds of metahumans die in a warehouse fire surrounded by the Seattle Metropolis Guard.
In Berlin, from February 7 to 12, there are street battles between the Political Club of Humanists (a fascist organization fighting against metahumans) and anarchists. After their victory, the anarchist leaders burn the old Town Hall and lock themselves in Schöneberg for 23 days. After this event, which went down in history as the “Schöneberg Council,” the anarchists completely changed the city’s management system. The so-called Mutable State is being formed.
2046: The Free State of California and Los Angeles decide they don’t want anything to do with each other. Los Angeles becomes a free city, largely controlled by corporations.
Three megacorporations – Aztechnology, Shiawase and Universal Omnitech – claim to have completely deciphered the non-magical segments of the human/metahuman genome.
2050: The seventh generation of cyber terminals will appear on the market, the size of the terminals is comparable to a keyboard.
2053. The New Great Dragon Hestabi Awakens. She claims Mount Shasta.
2054. The events of Shadowrun Dragonfall and the end of the year Shadowrun Returns take place.
2057. Great Dragon Dunkelzahn wins SKASH (United Canadian-American States) presidential election. Just after his inauguration, he is killed in a limousine explosion. A huge astral rift appears at the site of his death. Dunkelzahn himself led a very balanced policy and was one of the few Great Dragons who supported metahumanity.
2061. 50th Anniversary of the Awakening. Halley’s Comet Reappears. The very approach of the comet raises the level of mana on our planet, leading to a new wave of inexplicable genetic expression. Many metahumans are changing the properties of their bodies again. Wool, scales, cyclops appear, horns, tails and much more grow. And although the consequences were not as terrible as during the first “goblinization”, these manifestations led to aggravation of xenophobic trends in society. Mutations affected not only metahumanity, but the animal and plant worlds too.
In the same year, with the approach of a comet, many spirits burst out of the astral rift at the site of Dunkelzahn’s death and later an astral form in the form of a dragon appears from it, which then restored its material body and was called Ghostwalker.
With the distance of the comet and the decrease in mana levels, these manifestations began to weaken, or even disappear altogether. However, with an increase in the background of mana in the world, repetition of “mutations” is expected.
2062. Ghostwalker takes control of Denver. Halley’s Comet is moving away.
2064. A global catastrophe occurs in the matrix and the entire network fails. Only by 2070 was the world able to recover from this colossal failure and switch to a new type of matrix. Wireless or Matrix 2.0. The main role in the restoration and construction of the new matrix was played by the Russian corporation EVO.
2065. Horizon Corporation Receives AAA Rank and a Seat on the Corporate Court.
2067. Yamatetsu is renamed EVO.(You can google the history of the formation of the corporation. A kind of game of thrones. One has only to say that the corporation was purely Japanese and very xenophobic, but became Russian and meta-humanly oriented. It has the largest percentage of non-human workers.)
2068. Horizon gains momentum to become North America’s largest agricultural producer.
2069. The first materials are published about an individual who is able to manipulate the matrix with just the power of thought.
2070. Corporations are actively experimenting on children trying to understand the phenomenon of Technomancerism.(Those who can manipulate the matrix with the power of thought). A new era of wireless matrix is finally beginning.
2071. Laws of mandatory testing and registration of all technomancers appear.
2073. Ghostwalker closes the astral rift after Dunkelzahn’s death with a great ritual. Hundreds of people die.
2075. Cognitive Fragmentation Disorder or CFD is a new disease in 2075 that came straight from the matrix. Its essence is that the nanites (yes, there is nanite augmentation) have been penetrated by a program with mental abilities increased to the level of artificial intelligence, although this is a milder case, for the most part, in one colony of nanites there are two or three artificial personalities. Having penetrated the body of a metahuman, they rebuild it to suit their own needs, gradually capturing it. The funny thing is that this disease cannot be identified immediately – only behavior can give away the patient, but in this case this means that he is already at the last stage of infection.
This not only increased the level of paranoia among those around him, but also led one of the NeoNET megacorps to the first lockdown in the history of Shadowrun – the absorption by all members of the Corporate Court of the NeoNET responsible for all this.
I also attach a transcript of some geographical names.
SKASH – United Canadian-American States
SSHK – Free State of California
PCB – Pueblo Corporate Council
Chummer – Buddy, friend
Efendi – Form of polite address.
Your name could be here.
The clatter of paws behind your back, heavy breathing, cold sweat of horror from the pursuit and the inevitable end of the chase. These legs are no match for the strong paws of the spirit behind your back. As if his purulent breath is already burning his neck, and his clattering mouth is clenching on it. There’s no way to escape. There’s no chance of breaking away. Lungs are burning. There is only this race, counting down the remaining time of your life. Horror and despair fill my thoughts. Tears and screams of horror burst from my chest. Treacherous Stone. Your feet stumble and now it’s all over for you. All that remains while the fall lasts is the awareness of the end. The wolf’s teeth close on your neck and the poisonous saliva, dripping, eats away the stains on your clothes and skin. Pain and horror.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
With a scream and heavy breathing, Ray breaks free of the nightmare’s grip. Him again.
– These damn nightmares again.
Hand reaches for comlink. The screen helpfully dims the brightness in the dark room, where stone walls embrace the minimalism and comfort of his personal corner in a world of external chaos.
Seven in the morning. Sweat floods the pillow and old mattress. The blanket is wet, cold from the sweat that has soaked it, and the body is shaking slightly. Moaning for a long time, from despair and lack of sleep, I have to crawl out. You won’t be able to sleep anymore.
In the closet, taking household clothes and putting on a T-shirt with knitted pants, with a casual, habitual movement, the terminal wakes up from sleep mode. If nightmares don’t let you sleep, then let this electronic ass wake up too.
Leaving the room that was their bathroom, wiping his unshaven, sleep-deprived and therefore extremely gloomy and unfriendly face, his thoughts turned to pressing problems. Today is Thursday, which means it’s time to go shopping for groceries and supplies.
For two weeks now, their team had been sitting back and enjoying the relative peace. If, of course, you could enjoy peace in the abandoned buildings of the old Balboa Garden. In 61, the freaking comet again mixed the cards for metahumanity, creating even more mutations in magical species of flora and fauna. Kurt kept complaining that he couldn’t even take a quiet walk in the area adjacent to their house, lest he stumble upon something dangerous. Underground tunnels are certainly good for movement, but in these closed corridors you can’t breathe air and walks turn out to be as bad as his character.
Yes, and it’s worth stopping by the bar for news and, perhaps, work. Of course, we chose a good place to live, and we don’t have to pay rent, but every time we have to trudge tens of kilometers to the nearest bar!
With a groan and a dissatisfied sigh, falling into a chair at the personal terminal, every time the thought flashes in the back of my mind that the same May does not get out of bed unless necessary. If Theo hadn’t been with them, they would have long ago turned into fat-swollen, dead assholes who couldn’t even run for ten minutes in a row.
Today’s news was, as always, just news. For a man who, in his almost 30 years of life, has experienced two major earthquakes, the formation of the corporation and its entry into the Big Ten, the second coming of the fucking Comet Halley and, for the sweetest thing, a network of underground tunnels of clearly magical origin, almost all the news headlines were bland and unimpressive. It’s probably for the better. All these events on a planetary scale have never brought anything good with them.
Here the Knight Errant is recruiting new recruits. — Ha!
– Only here, for decent wages – Well, yes, of course, and mountains of gold to boot! – you will be able to travel around the globe, work for the largest corporations of the sixth world, – for the largest assholes of the sixth world! — see all corners of the planet and choose a place of residence to suit your taste! – If you like to live in the barracks of a corps that has learned to eat leftover food, between the huge fangs of the corps is larger. — Contact the nearest recruitment point in your locality and come for an interview! We need your fighting skills! – No, thank you, it’s better to starve.
– What’s here?? People disappear. Again. I wonder what must be going on in your head to climb into these tunnels?
According to a trusted source, the missing people did not try to explore the underground labyrinth of tunnels. Clarissa Bark, who lives in Santa Monica, left in her car in the morning towards work, but did not show up at work and was never seen again. The police are inactive and refuse to comment on the situation. Lone Star Forces abandon forays into tunnels.
“Well, it looks like Clarissa was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”.
Daniel Smith, on the other hand, disappeared in the evening after working in the marina area. No signs of violence, no reports of ransom. Like Chris Evans, who disappeared that same day. The list goes on. How long are the Corporations and the PCB authorities going to remain inactive??
– Always. Especially if the smugglers thought of sharing it with them.
Everyone’s adored former Simstar Gary Klein hosted a charity gala at his mansion. All prominent simstars and presenters of Trideo were invited. More than 100 cases of Don Peregnon Luxury SimPlatinum, more than 50 cases of Glenfarclas 2030 distillation were ordered, which is a quarter of all bottles of this bottling! Many guests were able to taste famous wines such as Sassicaia and Clos du Roi, bottled in 2065 and 2060, respectively…
– Why am I reading this??! – Ray grumbles, irritably closing all advertising tabs.
Lone Star’s new contract with KSP gives it unique rights to protect important sites in the Los Angeles sprawl. One of the objects will be a nuclear power plant, not far from San Clemente. Let us remind readers that San Onofre supplies clean electricity not only to Los Angeles and all surrounding areas, but is also a major supplier of electricity to both San Diego itself and its urban sprawl.
— This work will greatly help our corporation reach a new level of customer service and show its strengths at its best. – noted top manager of the corporation Curtis Dorman in an interview with our journalist. Read the full interview here.
– Not at all. Who even reads interviews with top managers??
Bel Wecker, with more than one hundred million subscribers, has long been a serious force in the field of opinion formation. Pathfinder Multimedia shares jumped in price after a sudden deal with a famous streamer in the tri-video space…
The light blinks and then goes out a moment later. A second later, the hum of an emergency generator is heard from the lower rooms, returning light, dispersing the darkness of the corridors and rooms of the shelter.
— And everyone kept telling me why we need this expensive generator? Why do we spend such fabulous money on something that will never be useful?? – Ray muttered, imitating Kurt.
— It’s good that uninterruptible power supply always works in May’s room. “He couldn’t even imagine the horror that would have settled in him if he had found a friend who had lost his mind after the sudden burnout of the equipment from a momentary power failure.
Clicking the comlink button, he turned on the frequency of their group.
– Well, I hope I won’t hear any more complaints about buying an expensive generator?
“If we had sat for half an hour without light, nothing bad would have happened.”. – There is a grumpy and rude growl from Theo, who was clearly not fully convinced and was not very worried about the state of the technology.
– You know Theo, I usually support your dissatisfied simplicity, but right now I jumped out of the ice-cold shower and think that it is necessary to power the boiler from the generator. – The usually grumpy and sarcastic notes in Kurt’s voice were this time blurred by chattering teeth and large tremors, after a session of an overly invigorating shower.
– Well, you woke up very efficiently. – Ray answered smiling.
– I would really like to see you after such a shower early in the morning. And I would give even more if I had the opportunity to photograph your sour face. – His voice was still trembling, but the warming effect of a warm towel could already be heard in it.
“Okay, okay,” Ray said conciliatoryly. – In the next couple of weeks we will try to connect the boiler to the generator. Deal with each other?
– Hands down. – Kurt’s usual grumbling came from the comlink.
– May, can you hear me?? Are you alright? – Trying to hide the concern in his voice, Ray called.
Instead of an answer, a line of text appeared on his comlink: “Yes, everything is ok.”. It was not in vain that I installed a bunch of UPSs. Thanks for your concern.»
– At least you went to bed, May? Better get yourself in order, we should go into the city and stock up on everything. We will be glad if you deign to honor us with your presence in the real world.
And another line: “Where? When?»
– In the evening. I want to pop into the bar and see if Sig has a suitable job. I want you not to nod off.
"Accepted. I’ll do it."- The letters on the comlink were, of course, May’s mental embodiment, but Ray himself always preferred to hear the real voice.
May has always been responsible for both his work and his team. Ever since they rescued his ass from under the rubble of the roof, although he was like a wild animal, he gradually got used to it and Ray sometimes caught himself thinking that he had never met such a serious decker who would treat the team so attentively.
Ray spent all the time until lunch usefully – training in the precision of influencing the real world. Sitting comfortably on the carpet, he placed five candles on stone cylinders in the rock garden that occupied one of the corners of his room.
The task was to delicately manage https://knightslotscasino.co.uk/login/ mana and ignite only the very tip of the candle wick. When he came up with such a workout, he seemed terribly smart and neat, but after several years of training it became more of a routine keeping in shape.
When he first started, he could only blow up an entire candle, leaving scorch marks on the stones, and he used up a ton of candles before he learned to leave even half a candle intact, which made Theo and Kurt very nervous, especially when the money was running low.
Now it was already a habitual effort. Relatively easy mana control. A thought has barely flared up and the wick is lit so that even the top of the candle does not melt. How to move a finger.
Then there was a line of LEDs turned on by touching the conductor. At the learning stage, it was much easier with them. By turning them on through a solid fuse, he only tormented these easily replaceable elements. The fuses were also changed almost like cartridges in a hot shootout. Now he could easily turn on the whole circuit, but maintaining a stable current and voltage was much more difficult than simply giving microignition to the wick.
Even after years, sometimes the LEDs blinked or went out, but the fuses that were in place today have not been changed for many months. And finally, Ray relaxed with a water freezing exercise. He kept a two hundred millimeter cube filled with water for this exercise. Having mastered this trick of freezing liquids, he would need much larger volumes of water before he could progress, but he could not afford to keep such reservoirs in his shelter. So the exercise just remained as is.
It was almost time for lunch and my stomach started to growl. Today they finished eating instant noodles, which Kurt paired perfectly with some herbs that he, at least according to him, “grew” in a small plot of the garden. Growing it consisted only in the fact that he occasionally watered his “beds” and periodically planted new ones. There were a couple of cans of soy meat left for a snack, but even Theo wasn’t tempted by these reserves for a rainy day. Everyone was tired of soy meat and sometimes they forked out money from a big race for real.
Having gone about their business, they still had a few hours left and, feeling a pleasant heaviness in his eyelids, Ray spent them on a very productive afternoon nap. Nightmares exhausted him greatly and thank all the spirits of the astral plane that these nightmares were not such frequent guests of his consciousness.
Theo’s rough and low growl tore him out of his sleep.
— Wake up, sleeping beauty, make a shopping list and get ready. We’re leaving in half an hour.
– Oh! Okay, okay, I’m getting up. – With a monstrous yawn, stretching his sleepy muscles, Ray stretched until his joints crunched. – For your information, I had the list ready this evening. How many minutes did you spend on your? You’ll forget to floss again? What will you do if my supplies run out?? You will clean your orc fangs with the thread of your cloak?
“Then I’ll have to clean them with claws and pieces of wood.”. But you don’t want me to chew on your favorite sofa, huh?? – Theo responded with a cheerful grin in his voice. Obviously, he was very amused by the image of cleaning fangs using Ray’s favorite sofa.
– Just in case, you know that I can easily burn your face, so? – Ray responded to him in tone.
– Talk less, get ready faster. – Theo grumbled in response.
The team’s underground garage stored several vehicles. And they all belonged to their only driver and skilled mechanic – Theo. They usually used their Arkady van, but they also had a Harley Teo – an old Eagle model.
Once he dragged almost the skeleton of this motorcycle on his hump. But after just a year and a ton of money from Theo’s share, he turned this decaying, rusty corpse into a shiny and stylish two-wheeled horse. And he was very proud of him. Each time he insisted that old engines are often underestimated and they were previously made not just anyhow, but for world cycles.
He offered to teach others to ride it and, apparently, hoped that they would look great, the four of them cutting along a deserted highway, and the wind would whistle in their ears… But all his fantasies were shattered by the team’s increasingly inappropriate practicality. One driver was enough and no one was eager to replace him.
Perhaps his love of motorcycles was a side effect of his youthful fascination with gangs, and the image of a unified team of motorcyclists riding down the highway still excited his imagination.
Having plunged into the almost completely reassembled Arcadia, of which only the body remained except the name, the team left the park that had so successfully sheltered their refuge, and headed south, towards Los Angeles.
The sun was setting, turning the clouds and sky scarlet. Light cloudiness, coupled with a warm breeze, made this evening at least pleasant, and a slight smile from the next trip every now and then touched the lips of each of those sitting in the car, bringing back their own memories, it seemed, to everyone.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
The further they drove south, the more the sloping hills, poor in vegetation, gave way to lush greenery and steep walls set up against landslides. The hills were replaced by simple noise walls and now the city welcomes them.
They almost always entered from the Los Angeles campus, which was more subdued in neon colors than most of the night cities of SKASH, SSHK or even KSP. Simple street lamps, when lit, created a cozy atmosphere, shining through the foliage of the trees.
Paved alleys, simple wooden benches, a beautiful, smooth lawn. This is the main area of old-school solutions in city development. On the border of this pleasant, in all respects, area was the bar of their supplier of tasks, information and excellent drinks – Sigurd.
The owner’s name was heard only by a small circle of interested individuals, and the rest knew him as a simple bartender of the only drinking establishment in the north of the university district. On the way back, after shopping, they often stopped by to see him. Have a couple of drinks and get some lucrative assignment or just gossip about new news that, in itself, wasn’t worth much.
You had to pay for more specific information. A favor, time, New Years or a simple “thank you”. Sigurd could well have asked you to take a carton of milk to the feeding trough of the cat who lived around the corner of his bar, and upon returning give you the information that you came for, but did not have time to tell him about it.
He was tall, still fit and no longer a young man. His height was around 190 centimeters, he looked 50 years old, but was clearly older, because he personally witnessed the Night of Wrath in
39th. His thick, slightly curly, platinum hair was usually pulled back into a ponytail, but the strands that framed his face perfectly highlighted his piercing blue eyes. Sometimes you got the impression that you were being scanned with a blue x-ray and that he knew all your thoughts and feelings. His dark skin gave the impression that he belonged to the Sioux people, but this was a mistaken opinion and one day he admitted to Ray that he was actually from Western Europe.
Today he was wearing a simple, loose white shirt with sleeves that ended at the forearm and did not interfere with the pouring of drinks. The dark trousers seemed to serve the sole purpose of highlighting his love of contrasts. Almost his entire wardrobe consisted of bright combinations of different colors. Black and yellow. Blue and white. Red and green. Ray has never seen him in anything gray or plain.
With a sly smile, hiding his laughing gaze in the glasses being wiped, he could easily answer your questions, having learned that you, in passing, did not allow some newcomer to throw back his hooves, covering him or pulling him out of brewing troubles by the collar. In other words, the Last Shot bar was and remains the main island of order in the wild shadow world of Los Angeles.
Leaving their purchases in the van, the team, under the cover of dusk that had fallen on the city, entered the bar. It was as lively as always. By some miracle, experienced runners and still very green students who had escaped from the campus of the University of Los Angeles could calmly coexist in the bar.
Once upon a time, even before the bar and its owner became well known for their reputation, there were psychos and rowdies who started squabbles and fights in this establishment. The worst ones had to be scooped up and what was left of them put into a bag. Ray himself did not see that time and although he was prompted by almost professional interest, he would not dare to say that he would like to see the owner in anger.
Approaching the bar and greeting Sigurd warmly, Theo, Kurt and May dispersed around the bar, meeting and greeting familiar faces.
-What should I pour you today, Ray?? – Leaning forward and leaning on his elbows, Sigurd looks intently into his eyes.
– Splash your wonderful Hope, Sig. – He casually throws back.
— Light or Dark?
— Light. Someone takes your Despair? – Rey is surprised with a grin, and his eyebrows fly up in theatrical amazement.
— Local corporations and students order it from me when they are pressed by deadlines. – Sigurd admits laughing.
The short silence was broken by the sound of a drink pouring into a glass.
— Your Bright Hope, Ray. – Pushing a glass along the counter into the visitor’s hand, he throws a white towel over his shoulder and comes closer.
– I see you are still toiling around with idleness? Not tired? – asks Sigurd, still looking intently at his regular.
— I’m tired, but there are suggestions?
At this very moment, Ray feels another look on himself and, turning his head, sees the incarnated spirit of the bar owner – Sid. Ray has only ever seen him in one form. It was a very large black cat, or at least cat-like if cats can be the size of your full-grown Alaskan Malamute, and had two tails.
It seemed that these tails had exactly the same purpose as those of its smaller brothers. They wrapped themselves around metahumans he liked, whipped the air when he was annoyed or displeased, and curled calmly around his huge paws when he just sat in the corner watching what was happening.
Now he was glaring at Ray and his shaman. And if Ray was already accustomed to Sigurd’s gaze, then their duet gave him cold goosebumps. It was as if he was being x-rayed, weighing whether it was worth telling him anything that was planned or not.
– You know Sig, your cat is certainly cool and all that, but could you limit yourself to one gaze?? I’m afraid I can’t stand your duet. – Ray asked with slight nervousness in his voice.
Suddenly smiling, Sigurd beckoned to his spirit and he gracefully jumped onto the counter. If he were an ordinary cat, visitors would have long ago started finding cat hair in mugs. Putting him a bowl and pouring some red wine into it, Sig began to scratch his partner. Ray wasn’t entirely sure why all this was being done for a spirit that obviously didn’t need any of this, but these two, even after many years, raised more questions in him than answers.
– Tell me, Ray, have you ever thought about how you can earn a bunch of New Yen and retire?? Keep in mind, if you open a bar nearby, I’ll have to express my displeasure. – One of the most frightening of Ray’s awakened ones chuckled.
— Strange question. You know a lot of people running who were able to earn so much? Or just quit? – He answered, shrugging his shoulders.
– If you haven’t heard of them, then perhaps they are good at averting their eyes from their personalities? And you didn’t answer the question. – Still smiling and scratching Sid, the bartender remarked.
– No, I never thought about it. This is far beyond fantasy. For what purpose are you interested?? You’ve become so old that you need an assistant in your wonderful bar? – Ray’s grin became more relaxed.
– Not yet, I haven’t. – Sigurd grinned at him. “But there’s an interesting little thing looming on the horizon.”. Based on the result, if you are lucky enough to stay alive and complete the assignment, then it is quite possible that my question about your pension will become the most pressing. – Frowning slightly and turning his gaze to Ray, he again looked intently into his eyes.
This time Ray didn’t look away.
“That’s why you’re boring me with your signature look today.”? Are you wondering if I can pull it off??
“I’m wondering if you and your team can survive if this proposal turns out to be what it seems – an attempt to track down and eliminate strong runners.”. – Sig answered gloomily.
– Is there a reason to consider him that way?? Are they really paying that generously??
– This is the strangest part. The contact contacted several information traders and was interested in strong, tightly knit teams. The best in growth, if you like. He left a small message for everyone, in the form of a seed and a dummy contact to contact him if there were anyone interested. He said that all the details, as well as the exact amount, would be announced only in a personal meeting after all his checks of the candidate.
– And what did he suggest that your brother didn’t immediately send him to hell??
“He said that he would help make running easier as best he could, and would pay enough for the success of the enterprise to last him a lifetime and still have some left over.”. – Sigurd finished in a whisper.
– What do you think about all this yourself?? – Ray also switched to a whisper and moved closer, leaning on the bar counter.
— I checked as best I could, but I could not find out either the final employer, or his motives, or connections, or details about the work. Hell, I’m not even sure it will be held at PCB! When I myself once again rolled against the wall of dummies, I went to Amsi Lavoie. Do you know him?
— I wouldn’t say that anyone knows him, but I only heard his name and that he is the largest information dealer who, nevertheless, managed to remain in the shadows and avoid unwanted fame.
– Yes, he really is one of the best. He owed me something and I asked him to make inquiries himself.
– Let me guess, it didn’t work out for him either?
– SO far nothing has worked. He is not one of those people who, having taken up work, admits the result is a lack of information.
– So, we have: a fabulously cool offer, an unclear goal and an extremely suspicious employer, I understood you correctly?
– Yes, but neither I nor Sid feel threatened by his proposal. Our intuition is one of the best and in almost 100% of cases it gives the correct premonition. It looks extremely dangerous and suspicious, but also extremely intriguing. Frankly, if I didn’t have my own bar and if I were at least 10 years younger, I would take it on myself. I feel responsible for those I give work to. I don’t send people into traps and into tasks they can’t handle.
“I’m flattered that a man like you considers me strong enough to voice this task.”. – Ray smiled sadly.
– Yes, yes, you and your team are cool, it’s stupid to deny it. You’re a powerful mage, Theo has your back well, Kurt will patch you up if the plan has to be changed on the fly, and May will make sure your asses don’t get shot by the security systems..
– Fine. – Ray interrupts him.
– You take it? – Sigurd jumps up in surprise and relief. — This time I cannot guarantee your safety even at the stage of negotiations with the customer. But I also can’t ignore this proposal.
“I realized the first time that you don’t have a damn thing about the customer.”. – Ray grumbled.
Sigurd took the information chip out of his pocket and handed it to Ray.
– Here’s all the information. There’s not a lot of it. I will contact the customer and send you the address and meeting time. Get your suit ready. Something tells me that he prefers places of a certain level.
– Fine. May will have to find a suit too. If I can persuade him to wear it of course. – Ray chuckles.
— If you need help, you can completely count on me and all my connections. – Sig says quite seriously.
– Now you’re scaring me. Just offer all available help? Are you within yourself, my friend?? – Ray raises his eyebrows in genuine surprise.
“You don’t just go to work, but you go to work to answer my questions and satisfy my curiosity.”. And I couldn’t test it for you, so yeah. I’m ready for the consequences. I hope you do too.
– I’d like to think so. I will contact you “if” something or “when” something becomes clearer.
– Hands down! Have a good journey and the right hand.
— Happy Sig. – As Ray was leaving, he couldn’t resist petting the partner of this amazingly good-natured and terribly scary shaman when he’s angry. The spirit readily offered him his muzzle and smooth black fur, stroking which visitors always calmed down and felt a slight bliss, as if it were loud music coming from the next room. Turning on the comlink on the command frequency, Ray moves away from the bar.
– Guys, it’s time for us to go. I hope you had time to relax and have a drink while we chatted about business.
— About business? Our vacation ends? – May’s surprised voice came from the earphone.
– Let’s talk about this at home. – Ray categorically cuts off.
When everyone got into the car and drove out onto the highway, Ray began to be pestered with questions.
– What’s this new thing?? Will we be paid properly or have you taken some small change again?? – Kurt was, as usual, grouchy and the idea of wasting himself on petty tasks irritated him.
– What will we do this time?? Who is the customer?? – May was interested in more complex questions and Ray couldn’t even imagine how to tell them that almost nothing was known.
– Stop talking and let him get the word in! – Theo’s roar drowned out the voices of the rest of the team.
Grumbling to himself, he looked into Ray’s eyes through the rearview mirror.
“You’re suspiciously gloomy and it makes me nervous.”. Tell it like it is.
He and Theo knew each other for more than 10 years and became practically brothers. He knew Ray like no one else and saw when he was trying to hide something or not show his excitement.
– I don’t even know where to start. There’s a good side and a bad side. Where to start?
– If that’s how you pose the question, then give me a good one first. – May liked to say that the glass was half full, and Ray objected that it depended on what was done to it before.
– Fine. In theory, we can be paid enough to last us a lifetime and retirement.
This news practically exploded the atmosphere in a car speeding along the highway. Theo choked and began coughing furiously, pounding his huge fist into his equally huge chest. May whistled so shrilly that it seemed like something flew past at high speed. And Kurt started swearing dirty under his breath.
“You know as well as I do that this doesn’t happen.”. – Kurt expressed the general mood.
– This time there is reason to believe that everything is not so simple. And to paraphrase, it’s not about illusory money, but about answering questions.
— What questions?? – May was always more curious than others, and when the whole team could tell everything to hell, it was May who persuaded the others to try and find out something intriguing.
– Too many things don’t add up here. Motives and proposals don’t stick. If this is a trap, then why such an obviously dangerous proposal?? Why not lure with something simpler?? I don’t believe that the corporations have become so stupid that they can’t come up with a more suitable reward and task.
– Why should we do anything at all?? Why would anyone want to do anything with this assignment?? Let Johnson do his job! Since when do we have to satisfy all dubious requests?? I, for example, don’t want to patch up your shot bellies, and I would be even less pleased to patch up my shot belly..
— Who is always whining that he wants to return to a decent practice and open a second clinic? – Ray interrupted his tirade.
– Yes, okay. If this was the good side, then what’s the bad side?? – Theo again hit the weakest points of the dialogue, which Ray did not know how to write more softly.
Everyone in the van seemed to be holding their breath.
“The bad thing about this whole story is that neither Sigurd nor even “ISAK” Lavoie himself have been able to find out anything about the employer and the very task that he is going to offer. We are the best team that can survive a possible trap and deal with everyone who gets in our way. But Sigurd trusts his intuition, he does not feel any trick here, despite the obvious signs of a trap. And I trust his instincts.
– And that’s all? – Theo was now almost a mirror image of the gloomy Ray.
– This is another side that no one will like. Until we met Johnson, that’s all we know. Only a fabulous jackpot and, obviously, an extremely difficult task. The rest of the “details” will become clear only upon meeting. And by the way! May, I was told that the meeting will be held at a nice establishment, so you will HAVE to wear a jacket. And I don’t want to hear any complaints
about this! I’ll even give it to you.
May could only open and close his mouth in outrage. All attempts to get him to even try on a suit for the past four years have ended in crushing failures.
They spent the rest of the journey in silence, not a trace remained of the high spirits of just a few hours earlier.
The next day Sigurd sent a message in which he named the place and time. The meeting will take place at the Neon Ocean Plaza Hotel in West Hollywood. You need to be there by seven o’clock in the evening. The receptionist will be aware and will let them through, but the customer asked to come in decent suits. It’s good that the bulletproof vest can be worn under clothes.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
An hour before the appointed time, the team, dressed to the nines, pulled up to an empty alley a block from the hotel. Their suits were no longer new, but at least they were clean and ironed, which gave the impression of a successful but extremely busy musical group that plays every day in nice Hollywood restaurants. In the best traditions, they placed their equipment in musical instrument cases, which completely blended them with the crowd and could deflect unwanted attention. May constantly fiddled with his tie, calling it a nasty garrote.
– Stop it, you’re attracting glances once again. – Ray could have sworn that putting a suit on a restless and overly energetic dog was much easier than on their genius decker.
Neon Ocean Plaza was a relatively new building in West Hollywood, but very successfully combined the Art Deco architecture typical of many fifth world cities and the neon pretentiousness of modern Los Angeles. Red, blue and purple shades of neon cast sharp lines of shadows, highlighting the architectural style of the building.
Having reached the hotel without incident and having passed the respectful receptionist who had been informed in advance about the guests in room 728, the team began to climb the fire escape, quickly checking each floor.
There were no cameras on the stairs themselves and Kurt took over patrolling this area. May settled down on the fifth floor, not far from the bar and, comfortably lounging on the sofa, easily connected to the entire hotel surveillance system. Theo reached the seventh floor with Ray and remained at the turn to the desired number, so that at the first sign of something fried, he could get his friend out of trouble. Ray spent the remaining twenty minutes on a cursory study of the astral plane in the hotel and did not find anything suspicious, just like May, looking through all the surveillance cameras.
A plastic camera and microphone with a recording device were sewn into Ray’s suit so as not to leave traces of transmitted data, but to be able to record everything and find out as much as possible about the employer.
All precautions were taken and the time for the meeting arrived. Ray hated being late and hated it when someone made him wait. Exactly at the appointed time, he knocked on the door of room 728.
The door opened, revealing a wide corridor filled with light reflecting from several mirrored surfaces along the passage and double doors at the opposite end. Behind them was a spacious room with a glass wall, offering a gorgeous view of the street, already flooded with lantern light. On the left side of this hall there was a carved wooden door, so clearly ajar.
Feeling the growing tension, Ray carefully examined the rooms he passed, and briefly glanced along the astral plane. There was no sign of a trap or a gang of mercenaries who had to jump out of the toilet because they had no other options. The glass is too strong, perhaps even armored. And all the floors and stairs are monitored by his guys.
Trying to calm down, he walked to the carved door and found himself in a luxuriously furnished office. There were all the signs of a businesslike, intelligent businessman: wooden shelves with paper books, a cozy floor lamp, a huge wooden desk, a couple of elegant paintings in the constructivist style and, of course, a businesslike, stylishly dressed and, in all respects, attention-grabbing man, seated in a comfortable leather chair.
The white shirt was perfectly ironed and did not contain any pretentiousness; Ray did not even try to guess how expensive this kind of simplicity was. The black trousers had equally perfect creases. Black leather shoes completed his look perfectly. His perfect manicure and well-groomed hands showed him not as a fighter, but rather as a thinker. Facial features evoked thoughts of Eastern European roots: high cheekbones, rectangular face shape, straight nose, horizontal eye shape, light eyes and skin. This man seemed to have stepped off the cover of a very expensive fashion magazine.
The only thing that showed him as a living person was his light stubble, which spoke of the extreme busyness of its owner. His blond hair was cut short and gelled into an elegant style, as if he had left his personal stylist half an hour ago.
– Please, take a seat. – With a slight gesture of his open palm, he pointed to the left side of the table, where the twin chair of the owner of the office was located.
– If you don’t mind, I’d prefer to stand at the door. I hope you understand that you have to be careful in my business. – Ray answered, trying not to yield to his interlocutor’s voice in polite intelligence. Something began to bother him about this man and Ray still couldn’t understand what it was. It was unnerving.
– Yes, of course, as you wish. I think you have a lot of questions regarding the task, the reward and my personality? I assure you that if you keep this conversation and your assignment completely confidential, I, for my part, can guarantee that you will not have any problems with me. Just like there will be no financial problems for the rest of your life if you succeed in your mission. – The voice is calm, polite, friendly. It was extremely unusual. No hint of a setup.
– For my part, I would like to know if I can discuss some details of our conversation with our mutual friend, if I need his services to successfully complete the task? – Ray rarely had to talk so ingratiatingly and politely.
— I think so, he, like no one else, should understand the value of confidentiality and the dangers of disclosing unnecessary information.
“Then I would like to know the reason why you decided to invite the runners to, uh, cooperation and the size of our payment – here Ray could not resist a malicious chuckle – hard and risky work.
His interlocutor did not seem to notice this.
— The task looks unimpressive, but I am fully aware of how difficult and risky it will be. It was this reason that made me order to weed out the overwhelming majority of those who wanted to. This mission involves infiltrating the territory of one of the research centers of the Horizon Corporation. Causing major physical and hacker damage to their servers with research data, preliminary copying of all possible files on a topic that interests me, of course. Finally, you will have to steal the prototype chip from their storage and deliver it to me.
Ray couldn’t help but whistle.
– Yes, I understand your reaction. An attack on, practically, the city-forming corporation of Los Angeles seems extremely undesirable to you, but I assure you that the amount of payment will pleasantly surprise you. In addition, the corporation itself is trying not to draw attention to this research center and no extra security is expected, at least at external levels of protection.
— I have many questions: I want to know the scope of application of the chip or its code name, its possible location, the amount of information you are interested in for copying. You also mentioned that you will do your best to make the task easier and I would like to know what you can offer?
— Most of the answers you are interested in are on this datachip. – He pointed to the edge of the table, where behind a small pyramid lay a chip that was not visible from the angle at which Ray could look in that direction. This gesture alarmed him even more. The man did not take it out of the safe, table, or even from his pocket. The chip was lying on the table before his arrival and was located so that the person who entered could not see it. Something was clearly wrong here.
Ray stayed put. The deal still looked strange, but it was definitely not an ordinary trap for those running.
— As for my contribution, I can offer you information regarding this laboratory. Who do they order security from, who does all the repairs and cleaning in the laboratory, which architectural company keeps all the drawings of the building. Lots of useful peripheral information. I’m afraid this is all that we managed to find out even with very generous contributions to personal accounts. The laboratory is not advertised and is not officially classified, but it is extremely difficult and reluctant to share information about itself. She’s also on the chip.
– Now I would like to move on to the pleasant side of our relationship for you. For the successful completion of all assigned tasks, namely copying information, destroying server storage at all levels and delivering an intact prototype chip from the laboratory building, I will be happy to pay each member of your team one million nuyens.
– One and a half million. – Ray retorted without blinking an eye. Since he’s so generous, why not try going all in?? If he agrees without bargaining, it will be very bad. He probably doesn’t expect them all to survive the run. But why then this circus with the chip??
– One million. – The man objected with a slight smile.
– One million four hundred! – Ray now also allowed himself to smile lightly.
– One million two hundred and this is my last word. – The man finished firmly. It was clear that from the very beginning he had planned the auction in exactly this way and it was annoying, because he behaved as this sleek Johnson predicted!
– Deal with each other, but I want to know your name. – Ray was nervous and made rudeness that he usually doesn’t use, because that’s why the Johnsons deal with intermediaries, to remain anonymous.
– Alas, you are not allowed to know this information. – With a slight smile, reminiscent of arrogance and the abyss separating them, the man answered, looking intently into Ray’s eyes.
Ray suddenly had an epiphany. All these suspicious elements finally came together into a single picture and he could no longer stop.
With a habitual mental effort, he imposed astral vision on the real world and did not see any aura in the man sitting opposite him. For the astral world it was as if he did not exist at all. Sitting opposite him was not a person at all.
— It’s not polite to come to a meeting as a hologram. – Ray put on his best poker face.
– It’s as rude as examining an employer with astral vision? – someone said in the same tone, who was quite far from this office. – May I know what made you do this??
– Alas, you are not allowed to know this information. – With a malicious smile, Ray repeated the answer of the sleek man.
– So, we have come to an agreement? You take on this task? – He continued as if nothing had happened.
Ray approached the table and silently took the datachip.
– Yes. We undertake. And when we come back for payment, it would be better for you not to cheat, but to pay honestly. – Ray grumbled.
– Oh, I can assure you that neither I nor your employer want complications in relations with such a strong team. – A soft smile touched his face again at the words “your employer.”. It was as if he was mocking, openly demonstrating how many intermediaries stand between them and the employer.
— I can only convey information and payment for your efforts, and decisions about implementation, as always, remain yours. – With a slight tilt of his head, saying goodbye to his interlocutor and pointing to the door, he said.
Leaving the apartment, Ray kept thinking about this whole uncharacteristic meeting. Johnson, who is not there, a chip hidden until the moment when it is needed, crazy money that they promise for running..
Lost in thought, Ray almost bumped into Theo, who was shifting impatiently from foot to foot around the corner of the corridor.
– How did it go?? – his throat was dry and he cleared his throat to clearly repeat the question.
– Very strange – the most successful description of this meeting. – Ray responded thoughtfully. – Let’s go gather the others, I can’t wait to take off this jacket and go home already.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
An hour and a half later, when they had changed clothes and gathered in the room to discuss and plan, Ray was able to give the chip to May. He recounted the entire meeting to the team earlier, in the car, on the way back.
– Wow! And here it’s not very sour corporate intelligence! It will take me some time to fully review and analyze, but right now I can already see our first goal. – May’s voice was already filled with energy from looking at such extensive data. — There are no drawings or plans for the laboratory building here. We need them like air. Almost literally. There are notes about a gas method of neutralizing uninvited guests! Hmm, what do we have here?? Yes! Here is the address and description of the architectural firm that worked on this building and even designed it! There are probably the most current drawings there. With the latest edits. But I don’t think there will be any information about security systems, video surveillance, alarms or security. This is all most likely stored remotely and in well-protected nodes in the matrix. Of course, there may also be some building plans, but definitely not with new edits, the companies are too lazy to update the databases.
He looked up from studying the files and looked at Ray. He frowned.
“We only have one option, otherwise they might suspect something.”.
– So what do you choose, Ray?? We’ll go get the drawings of the building or should I start checking their defense information nodes?? With the last option we will have access to cameras, you know, like in the joker R404? – May made an aiming motion as if holding an invisible rifle. – But without plans for the building we will have a hard time.
I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you very much for your attention.
Here is a link to a previous post answering popular questions.
stopgame.ru/blogs/topic/101343
