Cyberpunk - The Fall of Icarus

I was overwhelmed with information, and after our communication session ended, I couldn't stop thinking about it. The legendary hacker, a plan to control humanity, and the unhinged AI that are smoothly leading humanity to a complete disaster. It all sounds like a bad joke.

In essence, AI could already control a large portion of the population, but the difference lies in the intent, as Bartmoss put it. He wants to give people a semblance of choice, whereas they want to turn us into their serving staff. The prospects are not looking bright, and it's definitely something we need to fight against.

"Hey, why so pensive?" Susan's hand gently landed on my head.

"Just thinking about the meaning of life," I shrugged off my nosy older sister in my usual manner.

"Care to elaborate?" Her hand smoothed my hair, making me sigh heavily.

"Susan, do you think there's a chance that the world will soon be in complete ruin?" I turned my head to look into the slightly bewildered eyes of my mentor.

"Why are you thinking about such things?" The brunette squinted suspiciously.

"Hey, I'm serious," I crossed my arms over my chest, frowning unhappily.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just that you react so amusingly, I couldn't help it." She leaned over me and flicked my nose. "Overall, you're right, but what can we change? Neither you nor I can influence the minds of people on a global scale, so isn't it better to enjoy our lives while we have the chance?" Susan smiled sadly, standing back up.

"And if I want to live a bit longer, what then, just give up?" The question was somewhat provocative, meant to throw my mentor off any suspicions about me. I don't want anyone close to me getting involved in this mess because then I'd have to bear much more responsibility for their lives in the future.

"You can do whatever your heart desires, but know," Susan's lips turned down sadly, "every action leads to something bigger." She suddenly fell silent, briefly lapsing into a nostalgic trance. Susan knows what she's talking about and clearly doesn't want me to do something I'll regret later.

"I know, just wanted to discuss this topic with someone intelligent." I steered the conversation into a joke, watching as my mentor's lips involuntarily curved into a smile.

"Don't suck up." My hair was ruffled again, but I didn't resist. "When will you start putting together your brilliant creation?" My mentor paused momentarily to ask a question that clearly interested her.

"I'm thinking in about two or three days. I need to check everything thoroughly; you know how badly the reactor could blow up if my calculations are off," I mentally estimated the time needed to find and fix the minor flaws.

"But you're not planning to do this alone, right? Rick and I will help you..."

"Yeah, try doing this without you two..." I grumbled, turning away from the brunette. Sometimes her overprotectiveness was exhausting, but at the same time, I was glad to have people who cared about me.

"You do love to complain," she embraced me softly, and I involuntarily sniffed, catching the scent of shampoo emanating from Susan's body. She had clearly decided to try something new. A light citrus aroma lingered in the air, and if my memory served me right, John was quite fond of it...

"Are things serious between you two?" I tried to hold back, but couldn't keep silent.

"Aren't you perceptive," she hugged me tighter than usual, making it hard to breathe. "Aren't you a bit too young to be interested in such things?" Her voice sounded quite threatening, making me tense up involuntarily. "Alright, I won't deny the obvious. Yes, John and I have decided to start a relationship," Susan huffed, loosening her grip slightly.

"I'm actually happy for you. After all, you're adults with adult needs..." The pressure increased again, this time with an additional hand painfully rubbing my head. "Tell me honestly, do you enjoy irritating me?"

"How did you guess?" Even though it was a bit uncomfortable to speak, I was confident she got the gist of my message.

"You certainly won't die of boredom," my mentor released her grip and stepped back a few steps. "Alex, would you mind if...?" She hesitated, making me raise an eyebrow curiously.

"It's your life, do what you want. But if there's trouble with little Vi, you're on your own. I won't be of any help." I preemptively dismissed the prospect of dealing with one selfish little troublemaker. Vincent is a stubborn child, and if he dislikes something, he won't change his mind.

"I had such high hopes," Susan replied sadly, then, wiping away a non-existent tear, laughed.

After our laughter subsided, we quickly switched to discussing future developments that would seriously aid us. I'd like to believe the Bakers won't betray my trust, but just in case, it's better to be safe. Susan approved of my idea and fully supported it. We decided to create the blueprints with several deliberate errors that would prevent the reactor from starting. Should such a device activate, it would produce a powerful explosion within seconds, spreading a minor radioactive background and much more.

Many changes were made, from the details themselves to the assembly method. After checking the reactor again, I was convinced that the simulation was successful, but we had to fudge the data a bit. We made corrections to the system and manually replaced several parameters, forcibly saving the erroneous data.

As for the future kinetic shield, it cannot operate without my reactor; it simply wouldn't have enough energy to maintain stable operation. It would require something like Avi's engine, which already possesses such a technological marvel on board, only it consumes much more energy and is far less durable and compact compared to my prototype.

In the end, it took a full five days to meticulously refine every detail, but it was clearly worth it. Everyone present in the camp watched the event. Susan and I had already assembled the device in the local workshop and decided to conduct a test launch away from the campsite, wisely fearing that something might go wrong. A security bot available in the camp, equipped with manipulator arms, assisted us in this endeavor. With its help, we proceeded to the initial tests.

At the start, everyone was incredibly nervous, especially me, pacing back and forth and glancing every few seconds at the pop-up screen before my eyes, broadcasting the event. The reactor gradually reached a safe working peak power. Within a minute, it was showing stable temperature and energy output charts. It was a clear success, but it was too early to celebrate. The kinetic shield was next in line. The trials with it took some effort, but the combat drone handled the task beautifully, firing a small burst of bullets towards the bot. Watching the recording in slow motion, we saw that all bullets eventually came to a halt, touching an almost invisible to the human eye barrier, and ultimately not reaching the target.

"Well, you little shit, your thing works, congratulations," Rick praised me in his own way, still impressed.

"At your age, I barely knew how to read..." John awkwardly laughed, causing a round of laughter from those around.

"Congratulations, Alex!" The brothers gave me a thumbs up, continuing to wave their hands in the air, clearly creating something in their simulation.

"Kiwi gave me a thumbs up, then awkwardly shrank under the mocking gazes of those around, but my returning smile allowed her to stop paying attention to others.

"Kid, why do you even need such a powerful reactor? A quarter of the current power would be enough for the kinetic shield and the systems of your armor," Susan only now decided to ask about my further plans, taking her time to gather her thoughts.

"Looking at the indicators, I'm afraid it might not be enough..."

***

The City Hall of Night City - a room for secret meetings

One week after Alex joined the nomads

Six representatives from the city's largest corporations gathered in the room, including Arasaka, Militech, Petrochem, Biotechnica, Zetatech, and NCPD (Night Corp). They all shared influence over the city, thus maintaining the fragile ecosystem of Night City afloat. None of them attended the meeting in person, preferring to use special proxies, who served as a kind of puppet through which they would communicate with each other.

"Maelstrom and The Vultures have been very active lately. There was an armed clash recently that almost led to a serious massacre," the Militech representative seized the opportunity to press his opponents, figuratively smearing their faces in the dirt.

"Am I mistaken, or are we not gathered here to blame others for their lapses? Am I right? Or should I remind you whose fault it was that our company had to urgently localize the aftermath of using a nuclear tactical shell?" The current owner of Night Corp scrutinized his counterparts, barely pursing his lips.

Night Corp, founded by the wife of Night City's first mayor, is the largest and only executor of municipal orders in the free city of Night City, whose main activity is the construction and development of the city. Services include: construction and renovation of roads, bridges, tunnels, metro lines, power plants, network transmitters, water supply and sewage systems, revival of the maglev tunnel system, creation and maintenance of socially important facilities, funding the Night City Police Department and its special forces unit "Max-Tac", providing scholarship programs for talented applicants, and investing in research in ecology and alternative energy sources.

"Indeed," the Arasaka representative nodded gravely, agreeing with the opinion of the shadow owner of the city. "I think it would be better for us to unite our efforts and address the problem of the impending gang war. The gangs could seriously hinder our business and reputation, which none of us would want."

"In that case, our company might offer a certain type of service," the Biotechnica representative smirked mysteriously, recalling a failed experiment that could be used to their advantage in the future.

"And we, in turn, can support you," the Petrochem representative, crossing his arms over his chest, glanced at his interlocutor. "I hope your drug won't harm our farms?"

"No, it acts exclusively on humans. Your synthetic alcohol is safe," the man reassured his colleague with a smile. Biotechnica, having been the first to invent synthetic alcohol CHOOH2 (not an actual chemical formula), was subsequently forced to sell it to Petrochem under very favorable conditions.

CHOOH2 is a modified synthetic grain alcohol produced through the catalysis of a raw product created by genetically modified organisms of the Biotechnica corporation. It burns faster and at a higher temperature than most other alcohols, making it much more suitable as a fuel. Various catalytic processes lead to the formation of several isomers and molecular masses in the molecule.

Different types of CHOOH2 are used in various types of engines. Lighter varieties serve as fuel for internal combustion engines (ICE), intermediate versions are used in jet engines and turbine engines, while heavy versions power ships and electric generators. All molecules have the same ratio of elements, and all contain two, four, or six patented CHOOH2 groups. Mixtures are used for more specialized tasks.

Any CHOOH2 engine will burn any of these types of fuel, but each works most efficiently with the correctly chosen consistency. CHOOH2 fuel burns cleanly, producing much more controllable emissions than hydrocarbon products. However, the fuel itself is toxic, as many alcoholics found out after experimenting with what they believed to be a "strange variety of ethanol". The consequences are similar to the use of wood alcohol. In low doses, CHOOH2 causes disorientation and blindness. Higher doses cause death.

"Then we have no choice. We can't just stand by," the Zetatech representative sighed reluctantly, agreeing to the collective venture.

Zetatech is a private company specializing in computer manufacturing, ergonomic computer setups, robotics, and cybernetics, leading in the production of AVs (flying transport used in various models, from civilian to military purposes) and drones.

"If everyone agrees, then I'll reveal some cards... How do you feel about animals?" the Biotechnica representative asked mysteriously, explaining the essence of his plan and making the rest of the interlocutors smirk understandingly. The proposed idea was indeed quite good...

"Interesting... The big fish decided to play god."

Rache Bartmoss involuntarily smirked, fully realizing the "brilliant idea" Biotechnica had conceived. To delay the upcoming chaos in the streets, then to infect the city with a virus, thereby thinning out the poorer layers of the population who don't have enough money to afford timely medical help. The gangs fall right into that risk group, unable to seek help from qualified doctors directly, which means their ranks will also suffer significant losses. This would radically solve the problem of the impending war, but in the process, ordinary citizens would suffer too.

"Every decision you make will ultimately not go unanswered…"