Rastislav
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Chapter 2: Hackerman
🕑 Added 2025-07-14 13:42:09 +0000 UTCMichael Sobronov
"-and that concludes today's lesson. May you have a productive rest of your day." As always, no warning came before the painful white flash of the braindance wreath slammed into my awakening eyes, leaving me with ringing ears and probably burning out my cornea.
Or it would one day if I kept at it.
Whoever designed those wreaths needed to be shot.
But I shouldn't complain about it too much. The lessons were concise and informative, and thankfully to the point.
Whenever one got around the mandatory introductory Arasaka propaganda session, at least.
The low attention span gonkheads usually going through the courses probably knew more about Saburo Arasaka than they did about medicine.
The white spots finally started retreating from my eyes, a pitiful little groan leaving me as I blinked rapidly in relief.
I simply let myself stare into the ceiling for a few minutes before carefully connecting to the precision claw hand now attached to my chair and removing the BD wreath from my head without snapping it in two.
This time.
Boy was Gregor pissed at me the first time I did that.
Almost had me believing he would refuse to buy me a new one but the fact I breezed through a massive chunk of all three of my courses at the university level in less than two years won him over.
As it always did.
He made me redesign my claw completely though, apparently I shouldn't entrust expensive equipment to a school project from over a year ago.
Asshole sounded downright proud when he said that.
Not that I didn't get why he behaved like he did.
If not for my needs, he and mom would have been living in H9 or Charter Hill by now, with all the fancy amenities that came with that.
But instead he spent most of his pay on keeping me alive, and what little more he started earning when he transferred to Arasaka went to furthering my education and paying bribes so I could take my tests from home.
He might be a cunt but I'd burn the world for him without a second thought.
A sacrifice I would remember, even if it was made through clenched teeth.
Besides, it wasn't like living in H9 or Charter Hill was a good thing to begin with.
Those places existed solely to drain the disposable income of middle-end corpos like him, something he surprisingly agreed with!
Even if he then went on to lecture me about status and perception and how shallow people were.
It was a rare father-son moment and one kept at the top of my memory, as pathetic as that may sound.
Promptly shoving those depressing thoughts away, I focused on my computer, which was now attached to my datapad so I could use it properly, and twitched my lips upwards as I saw today's "paycheck" flick into my account.
My parents may have refused to get me a cyberdeck despite my academic successes but I still learned programming through my engineering and cybernetics courses.
Transferring that high level stuff to simple hacks? Easy as cake.
Besides, skimming from the building's vending machines was practically a rite of passage, the scheme was already an artform... or so the few runner lobbies I could get in without full-diving said.
Not that I let my guard down for even a second, of course.
One mistake and I'd have the NCPD busting down my door and my father's reputation would inevitably get ruined by some desk jockey that was eyeing his position when word got out.
Oh no, [GonkTax.exe] was made to be better than that! Even if I had to loop the money flow through the accounts of a bunch of local brain potatoes without them noticing just in case.
500 eddies a month, completely untraceable because whoever designed those trash cans was not paid nearly enough, and I had enough money for my tinkering.
Well, the most basic of the basics at least.
A cybernetic Full Body Conversion of the most basic variety went from anywhere between 200k up to millions of eurodollars depending on what you wanted. And that was without the biopod operation.
Even if I was to build one on my own, I'd still need tens of thousands of eddies just for the materials alone.
And that was without counting the inevitable failures.
But I had to start somewhere, and my initial designs were showing promise already.
Even if I'd not hand the current versions to my worst enemies. I had some pride at least.
There was just something about cybernetics that just seemed to click for me, the nerve connections, servos, and gyroscopes simply falling into place when I knew others needed days of work to even imagine changes that I would consider to be the most basic and natural progression.
The lessons definitely helped there as no matter how much of a... savant I was, knowledge of how things worked was still needed to do anything above minimal repairs, not to mention actually programing the limbs and organs to do their jobs.
And despite all of this it would still take me years and years to reach my intended goals.
My success was inevitable, but the lack of materials for testing and my reasonable caution at drawing too much attention to myself turned into a looming bottleneck.
But despite my constant complaints, the parents still refused to get me my cyberdeck!
I could be robbing the entire megabuilding and half the block with a deck of good enough quality but nooo, you have to focus on honest work Michael, you can't waste your talents on being a criminal Michael.
"BuToNLyIfYOuDowELlwiTHyoUrStuDieSMIchaeL" My deformed stinking ass.
My internal rant was cut short as I heard my Neural Link's ringtone, and I almost groaned as I saw who was calling.
Like a man walking to his execution, or uselessly crawling in my case probably, I accepted the call.
[N@gz: Hey choom! Did you see the new xBD GigaGronk released? Crazy gangoon scrolled an entire shootout between Maelstrom and some posers, it was nova!]
What greeted me on the holo was the steel-toothed, bright pink half-mohawk having mug of my dumbass of a "choom" Nicholas Werner.
One day, out of nowhere, Gregor decided I needed to start "making connections" and promptly shoved his boss's dumbass of a son at me to tutor him in engineering.
The fact it earned me six times as much as my skimming scheme was infuriating.
The fact all three thousand of those eddies went to paying the bills nearly pushed me into apoplexy.
Best answer the gonk before he starts pestering me even more.
[M: You know I don't watch that filth choom, especially from some Maelstrom hack.] my eye twitched as I 'spoke' the word [You keep going at it with the unedited BDs and you are going to end up a brain potato.]
[N@gz: Oh c'mon man! Everyone watches it and they are fine.]
[M: Until they aren't.]
[N@gs: Such a buzzkill.]
[M: Yeah, yeah. At least I don't idolize those Maelstrom gonks.]
[N@gz: But their implants are so preem man!... Well except the face hole, that crap is too much.]
[M: What is this? The great and mighty nags finally admitting he was wrong?]
[N@gz: It's N@gz! Not nags, I am not your granny! And also I admitted nothing!]
[M: You backpedaled.]
[N@gz: ...You are such a gonk man.]
[M: Uh huh. Now send me your mechatronics homework before I decide to keep destroying you with facts and logic.]
[N@gz: We can do that later man. Let's play some CoW first.]
[M: Hell nah. I am not touching that pay to win trash ever again. Once was more than enough.]
[N@gz: Oh c'mon! You still got us to the top ranks last time, pay to win isn't an excuse.]
[M: It really is. You just want bragging rights so your chooms think you are better, I ain't your clout farm.]
[N@gz: Noooo...]
[M: Not doing it man, find another game we can check out. Preferably one that involves some actual skill.]
It took him a few seconds to respond.
[N@gz: Screw you then choom! I am not sending you my homework until we play for... 4 hours!]
[M: ...Is that so?]
[N@gz: it is- Wait, why am I getting goosebumps? Mike, you do something?]
[M: Oh me? I would never.]
[N@gz: C'mon Mike, you know I was joking.]
[M: Uh huh] And click.
[SneekyBreeky.exe loading]
[SilentBreach.exe uploaded]
[Yoink.exe uploaded]
[Data transfer in progress...]
[Data transfer complete]
And there we are.
[N@gz: Did you just hack my ass!?]
[M: Dunno what you are talking about.]
Even as he ranted at me I went through his homework, and it somehow managed to annoy me even more than the mouthbreader who wrote it.
But I had to invest actual effort and the gonk needed to show improvement if I wanted my money so I slowly, paaaainfully, started giving hints and suggestions on every mistake he made.
He got one thing right.
[N@gz: -Dad is going to kill me if he hears I got hacked man, c'mon!]
[M: Again, I never hacked you. Also, here is your homework.]
[N@gz: Oh thanks.]
[N@gz: Wait, you little- You are one scary motherfucker Mike, you know that?]
[M: I am sure I have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe get some ICE if you don't want to get hacked by every gonk you have on call.]
[N@gz: ...The usual gonk can't hack a Neural Link from a datapad man.]
[M: Then I suppose you are safe as you are, yeah?]
[N@gz: Man, how can a nerd like you be so preem at the same time...]
[M: Because I am a nerd :P]
[N@gz: Yeah, yeah. Want to play some games after I am done?]
[M: So long as you finish everything, and find something actually worth playing.]
[N@gz: Yes mom.]
He grumbled some more and finally disconnected.
Man did I hate dealing with idiots like him.
...And of course he is calling me again.
First thing I am doing when I get out of this chair is breaking it over his head, I swear to Jesus.
[M: What?!]
[N@gz: Choom, put on the TV, shit is going down!]
[M: What channel?]
[N@gz: All of them!]
Rolling my eyes but still following I flicked the holo TV on just in time for that annoying cunt Stanley to pop up.
"Helloooo Night City! It is your man Stan, coming at you live with some sen-sa-tional news! As all of you know, the Pacifica project stopped when the NUSA gave their "reunification" a shot, or multiple shots as it turned out!"
I groaned.
"-Of course in the entrepreneurial spirit of Night City, multiple gangs went at it to claim the place! Our body count numbers have never been so high, and they are only going to get higher, so keep those guesses coming!"
Because of course they did.
"Unfortunately for our entrepreneurs, a new dog has bared his teeth, and a new group called the Barghest has taken over parts of the district. Led by ex-Militech Colonel Kurt Hansen, the self-proclaimed "militia" occupied the entirety of Dogtown and are now keeping their own brutal order in the district."
...They are just going to leave a blatant invasion force in there, aren't they?
"Mayor Rhyne in agreement with our Arasaka partners has decided to cordon off the entire section of the district, and declared Pacifica itself to no longer be under direct Night City authority. So if you want to go for a fun ride down south do make sure to pack some iron, because the NCPD won't be there to keep you safe!"
My servo-claw twitched as I nearly made it slap my face off.
"Further details on the newly named "Combat Zone" can be found on our official site, for only 4.99ed a month! Now returning to your usual program-"
[N@gz: See it yet choom?]
[M: Yeah, I've seen it. So much for the 'Las Vegas of the West Coast' I guess. Say hello to another shithole.]
[N@gz: Yeah, only in Night City. How do you think a bunch of Militech doughboys took over a district all of a sudden tho?]
[M: Probably been hiding there for a year or so and building their numbers. Arasaka wouldn't have just left a small division there to twiddle their thumbs.]
[N@gz: Damn, that makes sense. Think they will clean them out now?]
[M: Nah, too much money for too little profit.]
[N@gz: That is cold choom, ice cold.]
[M: You gonna tell me the Emperor turned charitable all of a sudden?]
[N@gz: ...Guess not choom.]
[M: It's fine, just another Vista Del Rey really.]
[N@gz: This is way worse than Vista Del Rey, at least you can get a proper drink in Vista.]
[M: We have degrees of daily random shootouts now?]
[N@gz: Always have bratan, always have.]
...Just because I have a Russian name doesn't fucking mean-
And he is laughing at me.
[M: Screw you.]
[N@gz: Ha! Knew you got pissed the moment you went silent.]
[M: If only you used your brain for more useful shit.]
[N@gz: Nah, my brain is all charisma and charm.]
[M: Charm? Charisma? Where?]
[N@gz: Your nerd ass is just too gonked to see.]
[M: Uh huh. Go do the homework now, my mom just came back from work.]
[N@gz: Talk to you later, choom.]
He disconnected just as I heard the doors open.
"Hey mom" My modulated voice rang out "How was work?"
I had no idea what my actual voice sounded like so I changed things around every day. It was great!
For once she actually looked relaxed as she smiled at me "Things were pretty slow today."
"Slow is good." I moved my servo-claw up and down in lieu of nodding "You hear about what happened in Pacifica?"
She stopped untying her shoes, practically froze for a split second, before continuing where she left off and looking up at me "Yes, those people must have it hard without the NCPD."
I just stared at her.
"Don't worry, my dear." She smiled reassuringly "I didn't into anything dangerous."
I kept staring.
Her smile turned amused and she changed the topic "How were your lessons today?"
I waited for another five seconds to see if she'd break but she didn't even twitch so I accepted it "Finished nanorobotics and nanomechanic medicine today. I should be able to start experimenting on my own soon."
"My little genius." She cheered lightly before turning serious "Just... don't try to test anything on yourself, please."
"Of course." I agreed immediately "I will just test it on Gregor when he sleeps."
Her eye twitched but I could see her amusement "Just make sure he doesn't know."
"What they don't know won't kill them." I recited back the lesson she kept repeating every other day.
She went to speak further but we heard a thumping noise from the main living room, one that was soon followed by a screeching sound, as if someone was cutting into metal.
Mom turned utterly still and promptly shoved her shoes back on, palming the gun under her jacket even as she turned back to me "Mommy will be right back dear, ok?"
Instead of answering I hit her with a [Ping.exe] and tagged her on my computer screen "No." I said in my default blank voice and connected to the cameras.
She looked thoroughly hesitant but as the noise grew worse, she nodded and stepped out of the room.
Eye of the machine
The camera in the middle of hallway 46c flickered online as the connection was established, quickly screening the space around it before zeroing in on the door of apartment 46c9, revealing the sight of four young adults dressed in the usual Westbrook brutalist fashion using a circular saw to cut through the door.
"Come on you gonk." A woman with far too many piercings on her face kicked the one guiding the saw "Cut faster. Those signal-block shards only work for five minutes."
"I am going as fast as I can, bitch!" The man hissed at her.
Another woman flinched as a spark landed on her hands, taking a step away she asked "How much do you think we will find inside?"
The other man, largest of the four and best dressed shrugged "Word is they keep getting medicine delivered weekly. The good shit too. We might be getting into some corpo's safehouse."
Cutter looked up at him, slowing his progress momentarily "Shit, think they have security?"
All the others suddenly looked very worried but the leader shook his head "Too late to back out now, we already burned the eddies."
"Shit" The cutter cursed and got back to work.
The camera flickered as the beholder considered what he could do. He had theorized and even written many greater programs, but his computer lacked the capacity to use them. So in the end all he could do was provide support.
Thus decided, he uploaded his work [Ping.exe loading...]
Ten seconds later, all four Neural Links pinged back, and all four were immediately tagged with the targets being none the wiser.
The camera flickered once again, and the beholder changed his point of view.
Svetlana Sobronov stood behind a small fortress of piled up furniture, unaware of the kitchen camera currently looking down at her.
The sudden intrusion of a [Data transfer in progress...] at the edge of her optics nearly had her blind fire on instinct.
A second later four red outlines appeared just outside of the buckling doors of her home, and she felt both pride and cruel anticipation as she realized what had just happened.
Without hesitation, she abandoned her improvised cover and, to the beholder's shock pulled out a fragmentation grenade, immediately taking out the pin as she did.
The beholder grew panicked as she briefly did nothing with it but then his eyes widened as the doors of the apartment beeped and snapped open, startling the four home invaders and sending three of them stumbling back in surprise.
Only the leader had time to notice the small chunk of death currently flying directly at them.
But that only meant he had enough time to realize he was already dead, as the pre-cooked grenade went off before even hitting the ground, killing every single person around it and sending shrapnel flying everywhere, very nearly catching Svetlana herself in the blast.
She thankfully had enough of a brain to jump out of the way in time.
[All clear] The beholder informed her as she got up.
"Thanks, dear" She winced as she smelled the results of her attack "You were very brave."
[...As if there was ever another option]
She couldn't help but laugh "Go back to your room now, I have to deal with this mess."
[Not going to call Gregor?]
"He is your father. Call him that." She retorted sternly.
[As soon as he starts acting like I am his son.]
She rounded on the camera and glared.
[Ok, fine! Will you call father then?]
"No" She smiled victoriously "No need to trouble him. Go back to your room now."
[Fiiiineee.] The beholder most assuredly did not pout as he started disconnecting.
Svetlana laughed and sent a call through her Neural Link, getting an answer two seconds later "Hey Reggie, I have a bit of a situation-"
Michael Sobronov
Mom came back to my room four hours later looking downright murderous, but knowing I wasn't about to be told a thing no matter how much I pressed I instead went for another hook I knew I had "So" I 'spoke' injecting a smile into my tone "Can I finally get that cyberdeck? or do we need to get attacked a few more times?"
"You aren't going to give up, are you?" She asked as she massaged the bridge of her nose.
"Nope" The artificial cheer of my voice was probably creeping her out by now "So you might as well just surrender!"
She looked like she wanted to do anything but, but she also knew I wasn't going to give up now that I got the chance to show off how useful it was, so all she could do was slump her shoulders and nod mutely.
Of course in my excitement, my heartbeat went up too much and she had to rush for an inhaler.
God damn meat body.
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An: Since we are on our second story, all of you who are wild enough to pick up the Master tier should throw your character ideas my way. I need me some fodder!
Comments
StarlightGhoul
Thanks for the chapter!!
Rastislav
No, I outlined everything in the previous chapter's author notes
TangiblyTrashy
Is skyrim's story done?
