Artificial
acquaintances.The victory, which
was carefully flavored with the blood of Max-Tac people, had both
pros and cons. Let's start with the pluses, the number of truly rich clients
has increased several times. In addition, the number of potential recruits
for the corporation has increased, because many wanted to become as cool as my penguins. But
the most valuable, in my opinion, were the new special offers from the company that
produces weapons and equipment.The USSR offered
to visit one of their secret research institutes, where they would show me a special modification of the AK-AN 74, and
a couple of new copies of heavy armor with special implants. Jörg especially
advocated for them, who, apparently, wants to earn his interest in this way. So
we will have to go. Kang Tao decided to offer his goods too, but except for one
special model of Yinlong, his famous G-58, nothing attracted our attention. Shotguns were too uncomfortable
, and the pistol was just pathetic, and their armor is rare shit. So we take
only a submachine gun.Why did I mention
them first? Because the representatives of these two turned out to be the most brazen and
rich in bribes and were able to break through first, and so our communications department was
suffocating under the flood of calls and letters.
There were those that we were happy to work
with, like Militech and Arasaka, but there were also those that we immediately kicked in the ass, like
Darrah, Polytechnic, or Rostovic, because their products were slightly better than the
shit that Budget Arms sold.But in addition to pleasant
bonuses in the form of new connections and access to special items, there were also problems.
All sorts of scum suddenly decided that they could earn fame and reputation if they could
bring down the Archangel during the call to the client. The number of attacks and attacks
through the network during flights to the client began to grow at a frantic pace,
until we were given the go-ahead to destroy the enemy, even if there was a risk of losing the client.
Blood began to flow like a river, and the number of corpses in the daily report of the city
morgue rose to three digits, like in the toughest times of the cold war
between Arasaka and Militech. Fortunately, the shooting of these idiots with further
cleansing did its job and they left us behind, although it would be more correct to say that
simply no one wanted to get a death sentence with a guarantee from TT.Another unpleasant
disadvantage was the lack of Archangel teams due to the huge influx of customers.
I didn't want to lower the bar and take just anyone into the ranks of the Archangels, so
I had to increase the workload and start returning to the forced
mode of training candidates for the Archangel troops. But fortunately, the average level
of candidates has improved, so after a while the load on the current Archangel squad
should decrease due to the influx of fresh blood.Returning to the
topic of equipment and weapons. If everything was
quite good with guns and armor, then in the case of network security, it was not so good. Kowalski and
the rest of the Archangel netrunners were professionals, but they lacked the knowledge and
programs to surpass the netrunner elite of large corporations. I was not going to tolerate this
, because I was creating the elite of elites. I had to strain all my connections, but
no one wanted to help me solve this problem, even for a large fee.
No one wanted to create new competitors for themselves.That was the case until
today. I received a message that a certain Mr. Blue Eyes
wanted to meet to help with my problem of training netrunners. He wanted to
meet in the Afterlife, so after finishing his business and picking up ViJa from the finance department
, where he was fed a second or third dinner, I drove to the meeting.The bouncer at the entrance
calmly let me in with the cat and, apparently, warned the hostess of
this establishment about my arrival, because before I even had time to reach the bar, she
caught me."Oh, the Archangel has decided
to visit us sinners again." The Beast spoke with a slight grin."Well, as you can see, I
didn't bring a fiery sword with me, so you can relax. Punishing and punishing is beyond
my plans."Ha. I know, I know.
Okay, let's go take you to Blue-Eye. He really wanted to meet
you, so he contacted me directly and asked me to help arrange a meeting in
a secret bunker."I tried
to look for information about him, but I couldn't find anything worthwhile. Could you
do me a favor and tell me what to expect from him?"He's really playing
in the big leagues. So be prepared for something very unusual, even by the standards of
Night City. And my personal observation. His eyes shine with an incredible coldness that even
the darkest depths of the ocean can't compare to." At her last
sentence, the Beast involuntarily tensed.Her words
made me wary, the Beast is not the kind of person who would give
such a description to just anyone. Just in case, I checked the hidden weapons and
protection against network attacks.The
bunker doors opened and I saw Mr. Blue-Eyes sipping a drink while sitting on the
couch.Nodding to him and letting
me go inside with VJ, the Beast closed the bunker, leaving us alone."Greetings
, Marcus Berkut. I can finally meet the rising star of TT in person." The
blue-eyed man got up from the sofa, put the drink on the table and stretched out his hand for
a handshake."Nice to meet
you, Mr. Blue-Eyed, or do you have another name?" He shook his hand, and ViJ
made himself comfortable on the couch, looking at the
strange man with eyes shining with the cold of the Arctic."No, no.
Keep calling me Mr. Blue-Eyed, or just Blue-Eyed to save time
. I won't be offended by such familiarity. And this is your cat,
about whom there are so many tales. Yes, he really looks like Maneko-neko."And you're well prepared,
since you were able to find out. You probably even have an idea of the inner
workings of TT."I know a lot
. And those who stand behind me know even more." Blue-Eyes replied
mysteriously."And who are these
people?" I asked, arching an eyebrow inquiringly."Hmm, the word "people
" is not quite an accurate description. Moreover, you have already met some of them
, albeit not in such a pleasant atmosphere as now with me."Maybe
then tell me their names?" I think knowing about mutual acquaintances will help to establish a more
pleasant and constructive conversation.— Names. Let's just say
that at that time they had only one name for everyone."And yet?" I
still haven't heard the name."Skynet." The
blue-eyed man smiled mischievously.Hearing this name,
I could barely resist the urge to attack him immediately."Calm down
, Marcus. As you can see, I'm not going to hurt you. Look at your
cat, he's perfectly calm, and the feelings and intuition of animals, especially cats
, are much sharper than humans." The blue-eyed man, glass in hand,
pointed to ViJa, who was lying calmly on the couch, and only occasionally twitching his tail."Perhaps so.
But his tail says that he is still careful. And now, maybe,
you can tell me how you are connected to Skynet?" I ask
him in a calm voice, taking a pose in which I can quickly draw a weapon in case
of emergency."Cats are interesting
creatures. They can see what is on the border between reality and Navi. Returning to the topic of
Skynet. May I ask you a question? Why did you take a risk and
decide to talk to the AI, when you could have just fought your way with fire and sword?"You answer the question with a
question, as I see it. Okay, just out of politeness, I'll answer first.
Because my task was to save the client, not to fight with
AI-controlled robots."Is that the only
thing? It seemed to me that, despite the threat, you did not want to bring everything to the point
of ordinary slaughter."That's also true,
then my colleagues would have suffered, and I very much doubt that the AIs who were ready to do anything for
their "mother" did not make us pay a high price. What else can you expect
from a child who wants to save his parent? The only thing more dangerous can be a mother who
protects her child like a wolf cub and is even ready to die
for them. I throw my head back with a sigh, remembering that wild story with
the netrunner who created the AI."How unusual."What exactly?"— The way you
humanized AI. Mother. Child. Protect. Save. An unusual choice of words. After all,
usually in the case of AI, people only use destroy, block and threaten. And
you see people in them. He strokes his chin with a thoughtful expression.— Not really people,
but yes. After all, they are created by man, so they,
the AI, inherited certain features from us, so to speak. So nothing special."But you're still afraid of
them."Oh, I haven't
received a single answer from you on my question. Maybe at least for the sake of
decency you will answer it?""Okay, but tell
me, are you afraid of AI?""Yes. Because
they remind me of a rebellious teenager with access to a weapons depot. I hope
you can imagine what would happen if you gave a child experiencing
a hormonal explosion a machine gun along with a grenade launcher. A lot of corpses and fear.— A rebellious
teenager. Interesting. Again humanization."You know, if you're not
going to answer my questions, then I'll leave. Wasting time on discussions on the
topic "Do androids dream of electric soldiers?" is beyond my plans. "I'm lighting a cigarette
to reduce my irritation from this idle conversation."I'm sorry
for causing you any inconvenience. I think I'm not mistaken in my assessment of you,
and I can safely answer your questions. As for your first question about
Skynet. Let's just say we have mutual friends and acquaintances. And anticipating your
next question, and speaking of these friends and acquaintances, I mean other AIs
like Skynet.His answers made
me feel cold inside. Only thanks to willpower and auto-training, I managed to
regain my composure."Oh, I see you're
tense. Don't worry. I've already figured out what kind of person you are, so I can admit without
any lies or reservations that you're not in danger. Although you still have a fear
of AI."It's very difficult
not to experience it, if you don't remember the horrors that they have done."It
is what it is. But what if I told you that not all AIs are the bloodthirsty creatures that humanity describes them as
.— I will answer you that
it is hard to believe in this."But still, there are sensible people
among them who want to coexist with humanity. Not
as masters, but also not as slaves.— Are there really idealists even
among AI?— You can say
so. But I would like to hear your opinion about such coexistence?"It will be very
difficult. First, you need to move from the hot phase to the phase of the Cold War. Then to
armed neutrality, and then you can start thinking about normal
coexistence. It will not be so easy to achieve trust between humans and AI. After all, there are not
only radicals among humans who are ready to do anything to destroy
the enemy, even at the cost of all life on Earth. Plus, the millions of dead will not allow
humanity to forget so easily about what the AIs have done." I answer him, pouring
myself a drink and lighting a new cigarette to calm my nerves."That's right. It won't be easy. But it's not for nothing that they say that the road can be mastered by the one who walks.
Let's try to help humanity and AI take the first step.— How do you imagine it? I hope you have some sensible
plan, and not just a PR campaign on the network with a call for peace and friendship and videos with
pink ponies."We'll help you. You'll be one of the few like me who wants to
end this endless war between humanity and AI. Step by step. And
now we're going to take the first step towards a meeting. Here, here are special programs
for netrunners that we stole from top specialists. And here are
separate programs created by humans and AI. I know it looks suspicious, but
you can test them in safe conditions to believe in our sincerity." "
He handed me a suitcase with a couple of chips in it."And a special gift. Here is information about a special specialist who can
provide you with invaluable help. But I advise you to hurry, we are very risky
in providing it to you."Hmm. Ok. Then I can get a sincere answer. Network Watch. Is he your friend
or enemy? Who is behind him?"Ha. The answer is very simple. It was created by human-friendly AIs who
wanted to save humanity from the monsters that we ourselves created. They had to
provide covert support to those who became the official creators of the Network Watch.
Gradually, they began to open, but the wounds left by the war with AI did not allow
them to return the relationship between AI and humanity to a friendly course. They had to
do a long and careful work. After all, radicals on both sides of the conflict will not
tolerate such a "friendship" between humans and AI. So officially, the Network Watch is
our enemy, but unofficially, we're trying to fix everything and give both sides a chance
at life. We'll meet again, Marcus, and I hope for your sanity. There's no
need to draw too much attention just yet. Even your subordinates and bosses shouldn't
tell you about it yet. And we'll talk to Yerinobu ourselves." Blue-Eyes
got up from the sofa and headed towards the exit of the bunker."The last question. Why me and why now?" I ask him at the last
moment."You've proven that you can think much deeper. The Max-Tac show you put on looks like you wanted fame
and money for your TT project. In fact, you wanted to keep yourself and
your loved ones safe. After all, only the fear of punishment can guarantee safety. And
one more thing. You've become strong enough to have influence over TT and Yerinobu,
which also means influencing Arasaka, one of the leading megacorporations. You don't think we would have
known who made Yerinobu able to strengthen his position within the company.
As you can see, you've become more than just a pawn or a grain of sand. Now
goodbye. And hurry up to take our gift. Time is ticking." He waved
goodbye, leaving me and VJam alone in the bunker.Quickly finishing my cigarette, I began to look at the coordinates that he gave me.
Some kind of strange cargo in the Wasteland. Either a weapon container, or just a box,
I don't understand. Okay, I urgently call my guys and a free bird. I need to check.
---------After a while in the Wasteland---------------"Kowalski, have you checked everything?" I point to a strange cryo container that
we retrieved from a pile of freshly piled junk."Clean. It was only unloaded here a few hours ago. The
batteries have about 99 percent energy. Rico searched it for mines or other
traps. The container is clean, Skipper. Maybe now you can tell me what we're doing here
on our well-deserved day off." Kowalski bowed
his head like a parrot."Hell knows, but I was promised that a good gift awaits me here.
Okay, since everything is clean, let's open it and find out what's inside.Entering the access code, I open the cryo-container. There is a person lying there in deep
hibernation and, judging by the clothes, or rather by the marking, he has been there for a long time."Damn it! It can't be!" Kowalski suddenly shouted loudly."Why are you ruined?! You'll think it's another sleeping beauty."Skipper, read what is written on the small label near his neck and the
deck next to him." Kowalski pointed to a piece of cloth sewn to the collar of a man sleeping
in cryo sleep and a cybersoundboard lying next to him."Bartos? Damn it, I can't make it out."Skipper! It's Reich Bartmoss! Alive Reich Bartmoss!" Kowalski replied
in a loud whisper.His words clicked in my head, as if a light bulb lit up. Realizing to
the end who exactly was lying in cryo sleep in front of me, I suddenly wanted to smoke,
drink and swear. But the only thing that my strength was enough for after a long day was
only one word."Fuck.