#distortion detecive

[stalkiwi]

my grandma's so cool

[kovecs]

Hi everyone! I think I’ve shared my Cyberpunk 2020 character before, but I figured that -- in anticipation of 2077 -- I would put out a series of quick short stories that would follow his adventures in Night City. He is a pretty somber guy; glass half-empty type, but he has a good heart. So here’s part #1! 

~Kovecs

Ash, 2020: A Cyberpunk Series

Part #1: Party Time

Neon lights flickered in a field of darkness, cascading off of floods of dancing pedestrians. Throughout the room, the buzz and hum of modern music berated what little remained of their eardrums. The nightclub smelled like must, booze, and second hand smoke. Ash, NCPD Detec, sat at a rust-stained booth. He was a complete contrast from the partying denizens; blinded by their revelry. He had been there for a haze of time, watching with cybernetic eyes and waiting patiently.

“You’re a cop, aren’t’cha, baby?” A female voice called over.

“How’d you guess?” Ash responded in a monotone voice. He turned his head. The voice was a young woman standing at the edge of the crowd. She wore colors which rivaled the neon lights. She was dramatically augmented, almost enough to the point that “cyborg” wouldn’t be an insult. Ash was one to talk, though, with his augmented eyes and cheap metal arm. The lights reflected off of the woman’s chrome cybernetics, making her look like digital distortion.

  “Because cops are boring, and I can tell you’re no fun.” Her voice had a playful gleam. Ash couldn’t tell if her edge was taken off by bliss or booze. Maybe both. 

“How do you know I’m not fun?” He asked, meeting her glowing gaze. 

“Because there’s a fucking bitchin’ party and you’re sitting there all alone like an asshole.”

“I’m working.”

“See? No fun, asshole,” she stated, saying that last word with a playful giggle before turning around and disintegrating into the crowd. She was right. This, among many reasons, was why Detective Ash hated parties. 

Ash disliked this party in particular, with its indistinct pandemonium of drugged up punks and abrasive music. He wondered if it was his nomad roots, but he hadn’t lived in the badlands since he was a kid. Night City was his home now, whether he liked it or not. 

The detective sat there quietly for a few more minutes before suddenly, he was joined by a spindly man and his burly bodyguard. Ash looked at them both, his bright blue cybernetic retinas scanning them with an untrusting gaze. He knew them both. The bodyguard was Rage; hired muscle who worked for different gangs on and off. The gangly one was called Bisby Bracken, a low-tier fixer who was as likeable as radiation dust. He wore clothes of countless colors, like the young woman from earlier. Kitsch, they called it; all style, no substance. 

“Didn’t think you were gonna show your face, Ash.” Bisby said, grinning wolfishly with chrome teeth. Ash could smell cheap moonshine and metal on his breath. 

“You’re the one who’s late.”

“Fashionably, fashionably,” he responded, flicking away a cigarette butt. “Besides, I’m the one who called this little meetup.”

“Was the party your idea?” Ash asked in a monotone voice. 

Bisby scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You see, Ash, that’s your problem. You can’t ever have fun.”

“I’ve heard that once or twice,” Ash grumbled. “Get to the point, Bracken. Why are we here?” Ash was hoping this would be worth his while. Bracken was scum, but he was connected. That could be useful.

“What’s the point of you guys anyway?” The Fixer was distracting again and it was old before it began. “Private cops are so much more efficient. The NCPD is old news, man. But you; you’re the most obsolete.” 

“Why is that?”

“Because you still think it’s about good guys and bad guys, man.”

“Is that why you brought me here?” Ash was getting uneasy. “Just to tell me you don’t like me very much?”

“Naw, man,” Bisby said as he lit another cigarette. He puffed it and exhaled the smoke into the musty air. “I don’t really give a fuck about you, Ash. But my boss? He’s a different story… and he’s got a message for you.”

Before Ash’s heart even had a chance to beat, Bisby pointed a pistol at his face and moved his finger to the trigger. Ash only had a millisecond to respond. He jerked his head to the left, sending him to the side as the bullet burst through the back of the booth. Before Bisby could reload, Ash kicked the table into the thug and drew his own pistol.

“Fuck!” Bisby cried before Ash’s bullet ripped through his chest. He died immediately. 

Ash was so dumbfounded that he did not even realize that Rage had picked him up. The hired muscle lifted him with ease and threw him into the crowd of party goers; most of them hadn’t even noticed or cared. 

Ash quickly sat up and shook his head. He was still in a daze when he turned to finish Rage the same way he had killed Bisby, but he realized that his gun was gone. It had been knocked away during the struggle. Damn it.

Rage did not even say a word as he drove his boot into Ash’s face. Blood shot from the detective’s mouth and nose as he went back down. When he was lifted again, he made eye contact with his assailant. There was a reason they called him Rage; he liked this work. He’d rather kill Ash with his bare hands than use the gun at his hip. He rammed his head against Ash’s, sending his consciousness halfway through cyberspace. He did it again, then again, and then… BAM. The two of them crashed to the ground. 

This time, it was enough for the partiers to scatter. On the dancefloor, the neon lights still flickered, the music still blared, but there were no dancers to be seen. Just Ash and the dead body of the man he had just shot with his own gun. 

This was just another day in Night City. The detective wiped his face absently, smearing the blood. Rage had done a number on him. But whoever that boss was would have to be disappointed… for now. As Ash got up and left the club, he could not help but think that that girl was right: He was terrible at parties. 

Dear Reader, 

There’s part one! I’ll hopefully put out a few more of these before the game comes out.  For this one in particular, I wanted to pay homage (best I can) to the style of William Gibson’s Neuromancer. I was also trying to give it an 80s vibe. I hope you enjoyed reading. 

~Kovecs

[mystisnykoto]

The Outsiders - Chapter 24

Weight of the World

'Warning: Chassis damage detected. Emergency combat mode enabled.'

Iris shuffled up to her feet, stepping backwards and trying her best to keep on her feet. Perraux moved forward, each step causing sand to blast away from her foot.

“You... pushed me too far...” Perraux's voice boomed. “You... will die...” Perraux clenched their fist tight, dashing forward in a near instant to punch Iris in the gut. Her frame cracked, small shards of her chassis shattering off from her back and side. Iris tumbled back, rolling back to her feet as pieces of her mechanical insides began to crumble and fall out from her back. Iris grunted, dropping to a knee, bracing herself on the sand beneath her.

'Alert: Escape is advisable in the current situation.'

“I'm... aware...” grunted Iris, looking up to see Perraux flying in with their knee shoved forward. Iris fired off her leg jets, propelling her clear from the strike aimed at her face. Iris landed on her feet, trying her best to analyze the situation for a way to fight back. Perraux slid to a halt, quickly snapping their sight back to Iris. “How c-can I f-fight ba-ack...” Perraux dashed in again, Iris preparing to dodge once more, only to feel her body because extremely heavy and sluggish.

'Warning: Battery levels at ten-percent, seek a charging source immediately.'

“Y-yesss, I-I kn-now...” spoke Iris, her voice echoed and mechanical, her feigned attempt to avoid the attack caused her to take the brunt of the attack to the face, shattering her shell and exposing her metal skull beneath. Iris slid down the dune, never falling off of her feet, and came to a stop once the surface leveled out. “I'm... t-too sl-slow... H-how c-can I do th-this...” Iris spoke aloud to herself.

“What's wrong Iris!?” Perraux taunted, walking down the dune with their arms out to their sides. “Lost the will to keep fighting?”

“Ha-hardly...” Iris responded as she readied the cable from her back of her hand, remembering her time from inside The Net and accessing the data of others. “Br-i-ing it...” Iris called back. “What if I d-don't fight, a-and access-s their d-data directly... G-gods I-I hope thi-is works...” Perraux rushed in punching Iris in the stomach again, their fist burst out from Iris' back. Iris yelped in pain, moving as quick as she could to shove the end of the tether into Perraux's neck.

'Establishing connection...'

                                                                                                                Iris slowly opened her eyes, her form restored and complete, seeing a endless expanse of white before her with several standing panels seeming to frame a sort of walkway.

“Do it!” cried out a voice, Iris recognizing it as her own. “Destroy the panels and erase Perraux from our body!”

“STOP IT! DON'T YOU DARE APPROACH!” Perraux shouted back, Iris running forward to the first group of panels, seeing all of them with Perraux on display. Iris

“Smash his panels!” the voice of the original Iris shouted. Iris slammed her fist into the first panel, causing it to shatter and burst into pieces. A cry of pain sounded out from Perraux, echoing across the white space. Iris smiled with delight, rushing over to the next panel to see Perraux, with a quick flicker of her own original face. She smashed through the panel again, hearing the same scream from Perraux, as well as a loud grunt from the original Iris. Iris looked around, scared for a moment after hearing her own scream from all around her. “D-don't stop! You have to keep going and erase him!”

“R-right...” Iris stammered, running between the panels. She smashed the glass-like panels, each causing Perraux's cries to grow progressively weaker.

“Please... sss-stop this... I... I'll do wh-whatever you want... g-give you what y-you want...” Perraux begged, as Iris run up to one of the last two panels seeing a scared and terrified Perraux reflected within. “P-please! Don't... don't k-kill me...Bygones... a-and all...”

“You had your chance to be civil and let bygones be bygones...” spoke the original Iris, her voice extremely weak as well.

“... but your lust for power brought you passed redemption,” Iris spoke, smashing the panel and watching as the image of Perraux fragmented within. Perraux's image faded from each shard, a silent and pained scream on his face. Iris slowly turned to look at the last panel, stepping over to it to see a crying, but still smiling original Iris standing within.

“Y-you... you did it...” the original Iris spoke, her voice soft and weak. Iris placed her hand on the panel, touching softly as a glow began to emanate from within. The original Iris stepped out from the panel, collapsing into Iris' arms with a soft squeak and smile. “Aaah! Th-thank you...” Iris helped her original self stand back to her feet, as the two smiled at each other.

                                                                                                              The pair stepped through the white space as panels rose up from far beneath, settling near the pair, each panel displaying a different memory and moment from their life.

“Oh gods, r-remember this-s one!” the original Iris cheered out, her form glitching a bit as she trotted over to a nearby panel. “When L-Leo firs-st started-d to teach u-s-s...” Both versions of Iris let out their own soft chuckle, as android Iris approached the panel.

“Leo didn't quite know how to control his own strength, whacked us pretty hard on the head,” spoke android Iris, touching the panel. “He sat there apologizing for almost two hours! It... it was how I knew he was truly a kind and gentle person... That... he really did care about me and others, and wasn't just some bodyguard for my... our, father.” The pair laughed a little more, sharing a smile to one-another. “I really do miss him...”

“He's... alive, actually...” Android Iris quipped. “Something about Mystis bringing him back and being recruited into the Light Brigade.”

“R-really!?” the original blurted out, looking on in shock. “He... he really made it onto the squad, finally... He always said he was going to one day...”

“Yeah, he met with me just yesterday,” the android started. “He... he told me that the Brigade was... they were going to hunt after us... b-because of the amount of power and aether you had been pulling in...” She paused a moment, touching the glass. “He was the only one standing between them and us. So he made one last move to try and keep them off our back...”

“I... I s-see...” the original spoke softly. “I-I alm-most want t-to... n-no, this has to be done... Y-you have to stop me...” The original turned on her heels, pacing over to the next panel to see Ruri's bright smile. “When-n... we f-first met-t...I miss-s her s-so much... m-more than an-nything else...”

“She fixed our jacket, it looked turned out perfect... and gave her an excuse to see us again,” the android giggled. “Her smile was so warm... so genuine!” The pair giggled happily, walking between each panel and sharing in the memories, as the original Iris continued to fragment further. “Oh gods! This one! This is right after Ruri made herself a digital paintbrush! That... well, that was quite an interesting experience,” android Iris giggled, biting softly at her lip as the original Iris flushed bright red.

                                                                                                              “Th-is-s is-s one of my n-new f-fav-vorites-s, b-but n-not for-r the obv-vious r-reason...” stuttered the original Iris, touching a panel to show the memory. On the panel showed a scared android Iris, staring in through a window. “I-it is when-n Perr-raux f-first s-saw y-you, a-and I kn-new th-that in a-a way, I-I was s-still aliv-ve a-and I-I lived-d on.” The pair looked over the panel, as the original Iris began to glitch and distort even more erratically. Tear fell from her eyes as she looked over to her android self. “I kn-new... th-that Ru-Ruri would-d b-be prot-tected-d... sh-she would-d b-be w-with me...”

“I... I don't...” android Iris spoke, stumbling over her words as she began to cry even more.

“I-I kn-now...” the original Iris touched a hand to the cheek of her android self. “I-I'm n-not g-going to l-last m-much longer... A-all of-f Perr-raux is g-gone, b-but h-he had int-tegr-rated t-too deep i-into m-me. H-his presence r-remo-oved i-is causing m-me to slowl-ly er-rase...” She held up her hand, watching her hand scramble and fade as the fragmentation started to spread slowly up her arm. “Wh-hen I'm gone... p-please... sm-il-le when-n you th-think of-f m-me...”

“You... you could...” spoke the android Iris, touching over her original selves cheek. A warm glow spread from her hand, flowing into the original's cheek and slowing the glitch effect. “You... can integrate into me. My... you... could be safe with me, we could... could b-be whole...” She cried as the original leaned into the touch, her body beginning to fade from sight as the glitching ended.

“Mmm... would be nice... if it... would work...” the original spoke, closing her eyes as she was almost completely gone. “Please... tell everyone, I love them all... I-I... I have to leave...”

                                                                                                              Android Iris collapsed to the floor after her original disappeared, the white light of the space surrounding her starting to glitch with static and fade to black. Tears fell from her eyes, looking over her hands as a small glowing light floated above them. A weak smile crossed her face as she pressed the light to her chest. She pulsed with a warm light as the rest of the world around her faded and disappeared. Iris blinked, finding herself on her knees back in the Sagoli Desert. Her tether still connected to her old body, feeling the connection had closed and all data transfer ended. She tried to stand, feeling the arm still shoved through her gut and pinning her in place. Iris wiggled away, the arm pulling several small component pieces out from her. She slowly stood, staggering away as she walked through the desert.

“I-it's... it's over...” Iris muttered, smiling softly as she shuffled and kicked through the sand.

'Warning: Temperature lev-vvvvvlls-sssssssss rissss- ss---kkskssssss. Ex---ksssssnal-- detec—ksss' her system voice spoke, crashing and distorting as her systems began failing. Her vision fragmented and distorted, her tether dragging through the sand. 'Batksssss-ry levvksss-- wo perce---kssss...'

“Y-yes... I kn-now...” Iris spoke, her voice dulled and monotonous. Iris made it ten yalms from her old body before collapsing to her knees, her vision crashing and shutting off.

'Criticksssssssss-l sssssysssksssss... failure... Sysssskssssss-tem terminating...'

“R-Ruri... E-everyone... I love you all, I h-have to g-go...I'm... I-I'm sorry...”

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