Moore Technologies, company building, top floor.
Goodwin sat at his dark gray desk, his eyes gazing out the window behind him, observing the distant, neon-soaked sprawl of Night City as its orange-yellow glow began to fade into the blackness of the night.
With a sigh, he swiveled in his chair, turning away from the window, and reached out to power on his computer. It was time to continue the night's work.
However, just as he began typing, the office's secure door slid open, and a graceful female employee stepped in, cradling a laptop in her arms.
"Anna, what are you doing here?" Goodwin asked, his expression stern.
"Director, I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour, but you need to take a look at this," she said hurriedly, placing the laptop on his desk.
Goodwin glanced at the screen, where a video was playing. In the footage, a reporter was delivering the news amidst a chaotic backdrop of flickering flames, gunfire, and the occasional thunderous roar of explosions.
Goodwin paid little attention to the overall report. What caught his ear was a specific line spoken by the reporter:
"...the cyberpsycho in question had been implanted with numerous cybernetic enhancements. Most concerning to the NCPD is the Berserk 2.0 module, produced by Moore Technologies. According to investigations, the suspect had received the implant just a week before, and acquaintances reported that his personality had grown increasingly unstable since then, culminating in today's cyberpsychosis incident..."
Goodwin chuckled, his lips curling into a smile. "Looks like our friend didn't behave himself. Track him down and have the legal department sue him."
Anna nodded quickly, already dialing the legal department. She efficiently relayed the details, and within moments, had taken care of the situation.
Once the call ended, she clicked a few more buttons on the laptop and then slid it back in front of Goodwin.
"Also, Director, we need your authorization for the latest round of human trials for the updated Berserk module," she added.
Goodwin glanced over the request, not particularly concerned, as he pulled out his personal data link and inserted it into the laptop's port.
"I've told you before—don't bother me with these small matters," he grumbled, annoyed.
"But Director, you know how it is. All of the test subjects are either retired military or Edgerunners. They're valuable resources, and we can't proceed without your approval," Anna explained, her voice wavering slightly.
Goodwin sighed, leaning back in his chair. "How's the research progressing? Everything going smoothly?"
Anna checked her tablet, scrolling through a series of reports before responding. "Yes, everything is going according to plan. Just as you instructed, using the test subjects' loved ones—forcing them to witness their suffering—has proven effective in accelerating their descent into cyberpsychosis."
She continued, excitement growing in her voice. "By studying the full process of their breakdown, monitoring the physiological changes, and isolating the factors that trigger the dramatic increase in combat ability after they've gone cyberpsycho, we're well on our way to incorporating those findings into our products. Director, your research methods are nothing short of genius!"
The Berserk module had always been compared to Sandevistan, as both shared similar implant sites. Though Berserk had often been overshadowed by its more famous counterpart, it had carved out a place in the market, respected for its own unique strengths.
Moore Technologies' Berserk module was a cornerstone of the company's lineup, accounting for the majority of its combat cyberware sales. It was a highly valued product among mercenaries, and there was no shortage of competitors eager to gain a foothold in the market.
Two of Moore's fiercest rivals in this field were Biodyne and ZetaTech, both of which had their own iterations of Berserk cyberware.
"It's just a minor innovation," Goodwin said modestly, though his expression was clearly one of pride. "But yes, the idea was to create a solution that leverages human biology. By manipulating hormonal responses and neural activity, we can simulate a cyberpsychosis-like state without needing to develop complicated shock mitigation or therapeutic algorithms. Isn't that far more efficient?"
The Berserk module essentially worked by heightening the user's reflexes and physical attributes through biochemical means, turning them into near-unstoppable killing machines. Different versions of Berserk provided various enhancements—boosting strength, endurance, and pushing users to the absolute limits of human capability.
Some models even came equipped with supplementary user compensation protocols, granting advanced combat analysis and recovery systems. These modules could enhance healing through nanotechnology, or offer protection from harm, augmenting both offensive and defensive capabilities.
To Goodwin, the Berserk module had reached a plateau in its development. The current field of research was stagnating. But Goodwin believed that, while others were stuck in the past, he was on the brink of a breakthrough.
The key to that breakthrough?
Cyberpsychosis.
A condition feared and shunned by most, Goodwin saw it as the most valuable research path left unexplored.
If they could eliminate the mental instability inherent in cyberpsychosis, while retaining the physical enhancements and disregard for the body's limitations that cyberpsychos exhibited, they would have the perfect Berserk module. No other implant could even come close.
"Thanks to your method, Director, we've saved tens of millions of eurodollars in research costs. I'm confident this approach will yield significant profit in the future," Anna said, smiling.
Compared to the exorbitant costs of developing new algorithms or advanced compensation protocols, researching cyberpsychosis was absurdly cheap. Recruiting small gangs and purchasing "subjects" from Scavengers only cost a fraction of what a full R&D budget would.
The choice was clear.
"What's the status on the test subjects?" Goodwin asked.
Anna brought up more data on her tablet, showing him a few detailed personnel files.
"The first subject to go full cyberpsycho was a nomad. His daughter had come to Night City and was working as a joytoy. We showed him a recording of her decline, right up until her death on the streets. It didn't take long for him to snap, though he didn't have many implants, so the data wasn't as valuable as we'd hoped."
"The second subject was an Edgerunner. Not well-known, not even high-level enough to get into Afterlife. We showed him footage of his family and team being brutally killed. Just like we expected, he lost it. The data from his breakdown has been incredibly useful," she explained.
Anna spoke of the test subjects' suffering with clinical detachment, as if describing routine experiments. Her calm demeanor didn't match the horror of what she was explaining.
Goodwin's fingers drummed idly on the arm of his chair as he listened to her report, his gaze distant, lost in thought. Once she had finished, he asked another question.
"Have you heard the rumors about the stock dip we took the other day?"
"Director, are you referring to the rumors that Kang Tao, Arasaka, and Militech are secretly developing their own neural cyberware?" Anna inquired.
"Exactly," Goodwin said, nodding. "There's a saying from China: 'There's no smoke without fire.' We don't know how this information got out, but tell the compliance department to keep a closer watch on our research teams. These companies have no experience developing this type of tech. It's not easy to start from scratch."
The Berserk module and Sandevistan were iconic pieces of technology, with years of development behind them. They had evolved over decades, with countless iterations, each improving upon the last. The idea that these other companies could simply step in and develop neural cyberware overnight was laughable.
If they managed to produce anything worthwhile, it would have to be through corporate espionage—either stealing talent or stealing research.
"Understood. I'll have compliance keep a close eye on everything," Anna said.
"If there's nothing else, get back to work," Goodwin dismissed her with a wave.
Anna gave a slight bow, gathered her tablet and laptop, and left the office.
Alone once more, Goodwin steepled his fingers on the desk, his blue eyes staring intently at the computer screen, though his thoughts were elsewhere.
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