Cyberpunk: XYZ

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Chapter 37: Victims Of Dreams II

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It didn't matter to him if he was blind, yet now he was being told he could keep his vision... He was left bewildered... Good things are a rarity in Night City.

It was a rough day. X had expected a rough crowd, but he was still taken aback by the broken souls who staggered through his doors.

With each patient, he felt a strange mixture of pity and grim fascination; here were the forgotten, the casualties of Night City's unrelenting grind.

The city had stripped them down, using them up in its ceaseless appetite for power and profit, leaving behind bodies that barely functioned, patched up with half-broken cyberware and desperation.

It was a harsh reminder of the city's indifference to those without the means to protect or heal themselves, and as the day wore on, X felt his sense of purpose solidify.

X must admit, the death of Marrie's little brother made him feel something, even someone as numb as he is.

He didn't feel something because he was close to her brother. No, it was Night City's grim reality chewing at him.

Even someone like him wasn't used to the abyss that's Night City. It was changing him, giving him a new purpose.

If he were to carve out a place here, it would be one that gave these people a chance they rarely received elsewhere.

It should be no surprise to anyone that the cases only grew stranger and more unsettling.

He saw a street tech whose hands had become one with his malfunctioning cyberdeck, skin fused to wires, symbolizing the kind of grotesque intimacy Night City fosters between people and machines.

The couple hours spent disentangling flesh from circuitry felt endless, every cut and pull echoing the deeper severing of humanity the city seemed to demand of its citizens.

X worked in silence, focusing on each careful incision, but his mind hummed with the cruelty of it.

Even in Night City's most brutal districts, people continued to find ways to survive, clinging to tools that hurt them almost as much as they helped.

In the afternoon, X saw a man staggered in with a modified adrenal implant gone haywire, his veins bulging and eyes bloodshot from constant surges of cortisol.

He was erratic, nearly foaming at the mouth, the implant stuck in an "on" state that left him in a perpetual state of panic.

It was honestly a surprise that he could keep his sanity, and respectfully wait alongside the others in the waiting line, til it was his turn. Must've been used to it.

Still, X had to restrain him, carefully disabling the implant while dodging the man's involuntary flails.

As he removed the device, the man's pulse slowed, his breathing easing for the first time in months.

He slumped in the chair, exhausted but profoundly grateful, with the relief that only those freed from constant pain can truly understand.

It was soon beyond closing time, yet the line seemed unending. Chiyo already seemed like she couldn't handle the workload, and X was doing most of the work.

X was drained, his body heavy with fatigue, yet his fascination only grew. The faces he'd seen today; He remembered them as clear as day.

The boy with the warped cyberarm who barely remembered what it felt like to move without pain.

The young woman learning to walk again, the frail techie whose hands had become his prison.

Night City had thrown everything at them, leaving scars both seen and unseen.

In each case, X could feel the city's twisted logic; push people to their breaking point, and then break them further.

'Each of them is a valuable piece of the puzzle...' X mused.

[You feel for them?] At some point, Y found himself sitting beside him as he asked with ample curiosity.

'Somewhat. It is not that I truly find kindness in my heart. I don't find it in me to sacrifice myself for anyone. I don't think I can give up my goals for anyone.'

'However, There is an ideal in my heart in which I stand at the top, but not like this... I don't want to stand at the top of a garbage society.'

X settled back in his chair, resting as he questioned, 'Tell me, Z. Am I naive? The people at the top of this world... What distinguishes them from me?'

[The people at the top of this world... They grew up in this world. I do not think we have fully adapted to this world just yet.]

'Why do you ask him? You can just do as you want, and we'll follow. Is it wrong to feel things? Are we an emotionless piece of metal?'

'Yeah... Yeah, you're right. I don't know why I am struggling right now. This is unlike me. I just sometimes feel these alien urges and desires...'

[Urges? What kind of urges?] Y was confused.

'You don't feel them?' X was surprised, although the conversation didn't get to continue, interrupted by Chiyo.

"I helped her out... Please, please tell me we aren't taking more?" Chiyo was hopeful. She was sweating a river, and signs of weariness were clear on her face.

"We're done... I'm too exhausted to continue," X shook his head, sweating a fuckin' ocean, "Pack up."

He has been performing high-precision surgeries the entire day, and scanning endless information.

X's mind was thoroughly exhausted and numb, maybe that's why his emotions were let a bit loose.

X forced himself to stand up and also packed up his stuff, though he put it aside for now, only picking up his gun.

It accompanied him the entire day, for a good reason. The patients he took in today obviously weren't exactly in a decent mental state.

Chiyo had a similar experience. Namely, one of her clients succumbed to cyberpsychosis while on the operating chair and attacked the nearest moving target, the doc herself.

Being defenseless then, safe for a scalpel in her hand, she was severely injured, but survived, keeping the hard knowledge obtained from this experience, promising herself never to be unprepared again.

X walked into the waiting lounge. There, he saw five patients awaiting treatment.

From dawn till midnight, they awaited their turn with immense patience. X wasn't intent on breaking their hope.

"Alright, all of you. I want you to line up before the scanner there. My lovely AI Joi will scan you. You can come back next Monday for free service," X instructed.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"..."

"No! No, you can't do this! I can't take it anymore!!!"

"Another word and you'll lose the privilege, then you'll have to take it for the rest of your life... Please, follow the rules," X warned, the noticeable gun in his hand discouraging any with antagonistic intention.

X then walked out, finding himself faced with a line of people, most sitting on the ground, tired from waiting all day... They threw their trash beside them.

They all perked up when they saw him, the ones at the front line quickly standing up, preparing to head inside.

"Unfortunately, we will no longer be taking patients for the night," Before they could lose it, X added, "However, from now on; we will be helping ten individuals free of charge every Monday."

The silent street was no longer silent as the crowd started yelling, chatting, and complaining.

X ignored them and continued, "There are plenty of Data Terminals around here. Use them to access our website and apply."

"Ten lucky individuals will be chosen each week. However... However!!" X's shout finally shut them up, "My lovely Joi scans everything around here."

"Those of you who threw the trash here as if it's a fuckin' dumpster; you will not be accepted... Unless you fix your mistake and take your trash elsewhere. Remember, I see everything that happens around here."

X traced his eyes around, observing them scrutinizingly, catching a few with that classic glare of disobedience, "Lady Wakako will know where you live, so behave."

He never fails to use the name of Wakako to gain an advantage or assurance.

X went back inside, tightly closing the door behind him after everyone left, "Let's clean up."

"Now??" Chiyo was stunned, already regretting her entire life choices. She can not even quit because Wakako won't allow it... Sigh.

"As much as I want to fall asleep immediately, I know I can't with the Clinic's state weighing on me, so let's get to work," X nodded.

They cleaned up the place thoroughly before each heading their own way, only several steps for X to reach his own home.

"AHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhh..." He heard screams, high-pitched constant howls sounding from the dark alleyways behind the apartment complex.

X didn't halt for even a second, heading directly to his apartment, and taking a long shower before passing out... It was a very productive day.