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Establishing Secure Connection - The Best Hacker in the Universe
"Is this important?" Rach's hologram stared at me, his expression questioning.
"Master, who is Vega really?" I asked slowly, drumming my fingers on the desk as I waited for my mentor's response.
"She's a next-gen AI. You've got all the data on her — why the sudden curiosity?" Bartmoss replied, his face shifting slightly, a flicker of caution crossing it.
"Old habits die hard, even after digitization," I thought to myself. It eased my suspicions a little, but not enough to ignore them. I was going all-in on this.
"Vega used to be human, didn't she?" I leaned forward, clasping my hands and locking eyes with him.
"How did you figure that out?" His calmness threw me off. I had expected more defensiveness.
"Her ability to blend into human society, her understanding of human logic — it's too smooth. And she can change task priorities or abandon them if she thinks they're not worth the effort. No AI can do that. Not yet, at least — not for a few more decades, maybe a century." I pressed on, trying to make my point clear.
Rach let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his face. "Of all the kids I've mentored, I had to end up with the sharpest one. You really want to know who she was, don't you?"
"That's why I came to you." I settled back in my chair, eyes locked on him, waiting.
"Alright then," he began, leaning back as if bracing himself for a story he wasn't keen on telling. "A long time ago, I met a bright young girl. Her parents dumped her in an orphanage and disappeared. Little Vega was a prodigy hacker, and as she grew, her hacks got riskier. One day, she bit off more than she could chew — ran into a security system tough enough to fry her brain. I stepped in, of course, saved the inexperienced netrunner." He chuckled softly at the memory, though his eyes betrayed the seriousness behind it.
"Stop." I raised my hand to my face, covering my eyes as if trying to shield myself from the truth that was becoming too clear. "I'll take it from here… Vega became your apprentice, and eventually, she got caught, right? Around the early 2000s? Back when Arasaka, with Alt Cunningham's help, developed 'Soulkiller' — the program that could copy someone's consciousness to digital storage, wiping their body in the process."
Rach's expression darkened as I spoke, the weight of the past pressing down on him.
"And one day, she was the one who got caught. They took her, and you couldn't save her. I don't know exactly when it happened, but now I get why you were so determined to help Militech bring down Arasaka Tower," I concluded, my voice quiet but resolute, laying out the painful truth that neither of us could ignore.
"You were trying to avenge her, weren't you?" I sighed deeply, hoping that my suspicions were just a result of my overactive imagination.
"You know I've always had a difficult personality. And with the kind of work I do, finding a girlfriend or starting a family was never in the cards." Bartmoss forced a smile as he sent me old photos of a young woman. "I found solace in her. I started teaching her like she was my own child..." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "When the assault happened, Spider Murphy, an old friend, offered to help. She actually managed to pull a few engrams stored in Mikoshi. But Silverhand's team had the bad luck of running into Adam Smasher. Murphy was taken to Militech's base, and the chips containing the personalities were seized."
"So that's what really drew you in. 'Leviathan' wasn't particularly dangerous or groundbreaking on its own. Your mission was always to get Vega back. But when you realized nothing was left of your adopted daughter, you just... gave up."
"I had hoped that maybe, with my help, she could regain her personality through associative chains I provided. But they wiped her mind completely, leaving only the basic functions of the human brain. It was a desperate hope, nothing more." Rach shook his head, his eyes distant as he held the illusion of a photograph in his hands. "That day, Vega rejected my help, deleting the information without a trace."
"You know, a lot of what you've done makes sense now. Especially what happened with the kids from the lab. You're just trying to atone for your past, for your mistakes. And I get why you picked me as your student. You saw a little kid who managed to hack the city's surveillance system, and from then on, you kept an eye on me. I reminded you of your daughter, didn't I?"
"Does it really matter?" Bartmoss shot back with a question of his own.
I smirked at the slightly flustered look on his face. "If you say so, 'father'," I teased, emphasizing the last word just to needle him. He looked completely defeated — a rare sight for the old hacker who meant so much to me.
"Alex, I've asked a lot of you, but…"
"I'll take care of her. You didn't even need to ask," I interrupted, grinning as I saw his eyes widen in surprise.
"Cheeky little bastard," he muttered, shaking his head with mild annoyance. "Thanks... son."
Rach's figure flickered, and within seconds, he was gone.
Connection terminated...
***
"He ran away..." I muttered to myself, shaking my head as I glanced once more at the photograph my so-called father had sent me, showing Vega's old appearance. If I thought about it, her current look wasn't all that different — just a slightly different face shape and hair color.
Knock, knock, knock
A rhythmic tapping echoed on the door of my office.
"Alex, there's a girl here to see you. Says you know why she's come." The door swung open, revealing Kiwi standing there with yesterday's visitor — the girl who'd been on my mind since our encounter.
"I won't ask why you came in person. Let's save that for later." I stood up from my well-worn seat and approached the silent girl. "Couldn't you have just called and asked me to meet you at the med center?" I leaned down slightly, and the brunette shrank back, flustered by my question.
"I wanted to talk to you... on the way," she mumbled, turning her head, her face flushed with embarrassment.
Just like Lucy. I nodded mentally, noting how much this netrunner reminded me of my daughter.
"Alright, well, I wasn't expecting you to show up here in person, so you'll have to come with me to my workplace. That's where I keep what I need."
"So this is Sashka?" Kiwi's voice was filled with curiosity as she gave the dark-haired girl a quick once-over.
"Yup," I sighed, nodding. "I'll grab the neuro-polymer and the second-category regenerator too."
"Alex, if her mother's in a weakened state, using that might only complicate the treatment," Kiwi said seriously, her gaze sharp as she looked at me.
"I know." I walked to the desk, remotely unlocking the safe and retrieving a vial. "This will help with the side effects and get her back on her feet faster."
"You're sure it's safe to use?" Kiwi asked, tilting her head, skepticism clear in her voice.
"Relax," I replied, waving it off casually as I placed the vial in a secure container. "I've got it all under control."
"Fine. Do what you think is best." She waved her hand dismissively and headed for the door. "I'll have everything ready for you, so take your time."
"Thanks, Kiwi!" I called after her before turning my attention back to my unexpected guest. "And don't give me that look — you showed up here uninvited, remember?" With a familiar motion, I rested my hand on her head. "Ahem, let's clear a few things up. You probably have a million questions running through your head right now." I quickly pulled my hand back, realizing how awkward that gesture might've been. "Take a seat." I gestured toward the couch against the wall, offering her a place to settle.
"Alex..." Sasha hesitated, but after taking a deep breath, she continued. "If you can really heal my mom, I promise I'll repay you." Her pink eyes met mine with a newfound seriousness that wasn't there before.
"Oh, you'll repay me, no doubt about that," I said, suppressing a smile as I watched the nervous netrunner fidget with her hands. People in this world are used to everything being transactional — helping out of pure goodwill is rare. "The treatment will cost forty-five thousand eddies. That'll cover all the expenses, including the meds for her rehabilitation. Your mom will stay under our care for two days, but after that, you'll need to take her home. And you'll be the one handling her care."
"I've never taken care of anyone before. I don't think leaving a sick person with an inexperienced kid is a good idea." Sasha was trying to steer me toward keeping her mom under our supervision longer. A logical suggestion, sure, but we didn't have the resources for extended care. Truth is, we're not equipped for long-term treatment. The rented pavilion doesn't have the space for proper hospital rooms, and we aren't set up to keep patients for more than a day or two at most. It's just not practical — or profitable — for us.
"There's a first time for everything." I shrugged, flipping a coin between my fingers that I'd pulled out mid-conversation. "We can't keep your mom any longer than what I said. We're just a street clinic — 'quick and affordable' is our motto."
Advancements in medicine have shifted timelines a bit, but not enough to patch someone up in minutes. After any operation, patients still need time to recover, and depending on the complexity of the procedure, that time varies. Usually, a day is enough for regenerative drugs to kick in, allowing the patient to go home without worrying about falling apart on the way. In Sasha's case, it would take longer, since the neuro-polymer we developed works over an extended period. Full recovery could take anywhere from one to two weeks, depending on how severe her condition is.