"What's here that I need to see?" I ask Evelyn as she leads me to the dressing room.
"A brain dance of Yorinobu's suite at Konpeki Plaza."
"Using BDs for reconnaissance. Nice move. But how did you get your hands on something like that?"
"Yorinobu and I have an arrangement." We enter the dressing room and go through a door to the right. Basement stairwell.
"So you recorded the BD. Makes sense why you're the one fronting this job then. With Voodoo Boy backing no less."
"What?"
"Am I wrong? Dex said that a group from Pacifica stopped him from looking into you, and we all know who controls Pacifica. I doubt you're from Dogtown so this isn't Barghest related which leaves the VDBs. Them and Netwatch are typically tangled up with each other anyway. They your buyers?"
"They paid me to get the braindance of Konpeki. I thought if I could get my hands on the relic that they'd pay well."
"Just be careful. Voodoo boys have an aggressive stance on outsiders. If they think you're out to screw them, they'll fry your brain. Don't jack into anything connected to a larger network while making the deal. They might just kill you and take the chip for themselves."
"Forget about it. It doesn't concern you."
"Alright I'll drop it. Just trying to make sure I'm not risking me and my crews necks for nothing. You get it."
We reach a backroom where it looks like the severs are kept. Evelyn stops me before I can go in. "I'll talk. You stay quiet."
"Loud and clear." Guess she's pissed off by my prying. Not that it really matters.
"This is Judy Alvarez, best braindance editor I know. We go back years." Evelyn introduces the woman, Judy
"Hey Ev. Who's this?"
"Name's V. Nice place you have here."
"Judy, I need to show V the braindance from Konpeki Plaza."
"Well you're in luck. I just finished compiling it for you. It's still pretty raw but it should do the trick. Gotta calibrate it for him first." Judy stands up and walks to her other computers. Evelyn follows to stand behind her.
"So we drop V in, let him take a look around?" Evelyn asks.
"How about it V? Raw Braindance, ever taken a dive?" Judy asks me.
"No. I'm capable of handling disassociation though."
"Well this will probably be a little different from simple dissociation. Take a seat and we'll get started. I'll guide you through."
I go over to sit on the chair, which looks like a bare bones ripper table, and Judy puts a braindance wreath on my head.
She returns to her computers. "Hold on, gotta create a sensory profile for you first."
"Alright."
Judy begins calibrating my senses, having me look at lights. "Just think of it like an eye exam."
"Now we'll use a sample BD to test your profile."
Evelyn, growing impatient and nervous, tries to speed things along. "Can't he just use my recording? Why are we wasting time?"
"So we don't risk our necks. 'Sides got something here. Should be perfect."
"No need to teach me. I'll learn on the go. Not here to stress you out Evelyn. But if you need to test the profile, fire away. You're the expert."
As Judy starts the BD I see a bright light, it feels like it's reaching through me.
——————
(I'm gonna skip the BD sections.)
——————
*phugh*
"Woah. That was…"
"Intense right?"
"I had forgotten what cold was like. That cool feeling of iron in your hands. It's been a long time since then."
"Aren't you a merc? You use guns all the time." Judy asks me.
"See my arm implants? They're powerful weapons but they almost completely dull the sensation of touch. They're isn't any warmth, any coldness. Not the soft feeling of skin or the rough feeling of pavement gets through. Just basic sensory feedback. Numb contact."
"Why would you give that up?"
"It's only the arms. These puppies keep me afloat. They bring me security, and in this city that is a valuable thing. A small price to pay in my opinion."
"Well. We're ready to play my braindance. Boot it up Judy."
"Hold on, let me link T-Bug in first."
"Excuse me, who?" Judy stops me.
"Runner from my crew, security specialist. there a problem Judy?" I ask.
"Of course there's a problem. I don't know this T-Bug. This isn't what we agreed on Evelyn!"
"Woah calm down. I don't need to call her if you don't want me to. The flathead should knock out the security anyway."
"Good. Now get what you need from it." Judy says, cooling down.
That blue light again.
————————————
(Skipping the BD again. Just imagine it without the "examine security" objective and with Judy saying some of T-Bugs lines)
————————————
Coming out of the BD is a lot more gentle if you don't flatline at the end of it.
"Get everything you need?" Judy asks me.
"Yeah. That's all we need. Thank you Judy."
"I'll wipe the cache and your data. You were never here."
Judy walks over to me and removes the BD wreath from my head. Once she does, she hands it to me. "Keep it. I'll put it on Ev's tab. Portable device for handling BDs. Not as sophisticated as what we got here, but should do the trick."
"And it keeps you out of harm's way. Clever."
"Speakin of harm's way, know what I see lookin at you?" Judy asks.
"Walking, talking corpses." Judy answers the rhetorical question.
"That's kind of ironic considering I've faked my death before. Just destroy the recording. If anything goes wrong during the job, don't let Evelyn out of your sights. Doubt they'll go for her as a suspect if she's under Mox protection. Wouldn't be worth the hassle."
"I told you I'll be fine." Evelyn weighs in.
"Just trust the safety plan. Ok? Things get hot, you go here."
"Just go run off to Dex. Tell him you're ready."
"Alright Evelyn. Thanks for the help Judy. See you some other time."
With that, I exit the basement.