Documents

Recollection: The History of Creation

The valley leads to a pair of stairs cut into the stone. One, steps higher than a man’s head, each carved with illustrations: on one dryads bathing beneath a waterfall, another a vast cityscape teaming with life, and so on as the stairs rise; each scene unique. The other a plain path set off to the side, made for the mountain’s mortal servants; the only one of the two showing wear. The stairs climb halfway up the volcanic peak to a towering set of double doors. Beyond the doors is an entrance hall in the style of a cathedral, hallways leading to the mountain’s inner chambers separated by illustrated panels stretching to the high, ribbed ceiling; the heat of the volcano seeps through the walls.

The turtle crone, leading the way, flicks one hand in the direction of the illustrations and asks, “How much do you know of the history of creation?” but does not wait for an answer.

The first panel is a jumble of material, color, texture, and shape. Precious metals and gems, brick and clay, fur, bone, and teeth. An inscription below it reads “The World of Chaos.”

“The First World, soon washed away. Not worth much mind.”

The second panel is gold, embedded jewels arrayed in illustrations of varied creatures locked in battle amidst convoluted landscapes: a lizardine wolf entangled in a cephalopods’ arms; an insectile creature impaled on a great horned beast; dragons of every color. The inscription reads “The World of Wonders.”

“The gods placed their power into life: the dragons and other apprentices. ‘Endless creation and creativity,’ to hear them describe it. But one eternal’s creation is another’s abomination and the whole thing got out of hand.”

The third panel is grey slate crossed with glowing light in arcs that evoke an endless pattern in endless variation. “The World of Reason.”

“The Third World. No more fighting. Truth and beauty. This is when much of creation was set in stone. Fire is hot, honey is sweet, this and that make such. A nice break from all those wonders, they say, but not very exciting.”

The fourth panel is silver, cousin to the second, inlayed with jewels, with a single golden disk showing the dawn of a rising sun. Again, scenes of conflict, but here dragons lead vast armies of lesser creatures in the shadow of great cities in the plains, mountains, and skies. “The World of the Demigods.”

The caretaker’s longing for this age is apparent. “The dragons were given another chance. When one fights another there’s chaos. So instead the gods charged them with our creation, of humans and orcs, bullywugs, tabaxi, and all the rest. In the second world, an eternal might make a crystal city in a day, then another smash it on the next. In the fourth world, this would be the work of entire lives, generations of mortals. It was beautiful.”

“In this age, the dragons were to be the sole avatars of the gods. Calmed into a truce with the banishing of their more distant rivals, they banded together to make the mortal races, raised heroes and villains, and carried out the gods’ design for this age.”

She indicates a corner of the illustration, where a band of human figures venture out from a mountain cavern. “The emergence went as planned. The gods, watching from their sanctum in the planar depths. Each dragon with its enclave filled with its chosen people. The mortals, expanding outwards, seeking to claim the new world. And heroes, their mettle sharpened against monstrosities crafted by the gods to test them, leading their people to glory. Stories of rise and fall, triumph and despair. An age of greatness.”

“But the dragons desired a distance from their creations and their mortality. For their personal attendants they made the elves, immortal. Who chaffed at their servitude and meddled beyond their mandate. Who took advantage of their power, cavorted and interbred; and who learned forbidden magic.”

She points at the panel, to a glittering tower rising above a lone island. “The elves secret domain, apart from the eyes of man or dragon. The tower that divided creation and banished the gods.”

The fifth panel is obsidian, pure black, white lines illustrating a progression, a formless void, an explosion, galaxies, stars, planets. A cell, a cluster, a plant, an animal, and at the end of the chain: man. “The World of Death”

“Mankind as the conclusion of a blind process. A world in which nothing as grand as a dragon could survive, but an immortal elf thinly could: warlords, holy men, kings and presidents. Empires of power, without their draconic masters.”

“But as the world was remade the dragons kept a slim hope, that the gods wouldn’t allow the elves their victory forever. And so, in a desperate last resort, they divided themselves. Their bodies would wander the Earth in human form without knowing their true nature. Their memories—of who they were, of what had happened, of the gods themselves—committed to material repositories, buried deep within the mountains. You’ve seen these: the sorcerer used one to snare you. And this place, a pocket space, to house their souls until a world existed that would allow them to be whole.”

The sixth panel is copper illustrated by lines of jewels. A golden sun and a silver moon. “The World of Heroes.”

“The elves proved poor stewards of the world and the natural forces they exulted spun out of control of their material influences. The Earth fell. For dead aeons the world spun in darkness. But with time the god’s awoke, their prison cracked, and they used what strength remained them to reach back and turn creation in a new direction. Again, an emergence. But rather than men into a world of magic, magic into a world of men. And the story after that,” a broad expanse of the copper canvas left incomplete, “yet to be fully inscribed.”

Pointing then to a space beyond the blank expanse, at a few elements, barely sketched in: to a cloaked and hooded figure, “the gods’ avatars arisen;” to a winged person inscribed in silver, “the anti-draconic;” a vast battle, shown only in broad strokes, “the fate of creation undecided.”

She pauses for a moment to gather herself, as if unprepared for the length of her recitation. “But this isn’t what you came here for…” as she leads you down one of the mountains’ passageways.

The Berlin UltraMedical Run Report (October 28, 2057)

Portions of this text have been translated to English using a VI system.

So this is how it went down.
— Eternal

My primary task was supposed to be intrusion of the Berlin UltraMedical record system using the provided access codes to obscure the timing of the extraction. But as the target never reached the facility, this intrusion was never performed. As such, my main contribution was the initial overwatch through preexisting networked camera systems.
— Nanovolt

We had Nanovolt hidden in the server room of a gaming cafe, Pilgrim and Shadow doing loops, Siren and I on foot, and Vecteur in a roost.
— Eternal

As soon as I jacked in I found the Matrix unusually viscous, significant viral load on the local nodes, but the deck cut through enough of it to maintain strong access. I had my monitoring routines established and, within the expected time window, GRID traffic monitoring and business security showed clear imagery of the target entering my surveillance area and approaching the hospital. I reported the location and expected route to the extraction team and prepared to degrade any recordings of the grab.
— Nanovolt

I had Nano identify the lowest-coverage point on the project path and Pilgrim, Siren, and I got into motion.
— Eternal

I was the distraction and moved into position ahead of our target. I’d draw her attention while Eternal took her down. But we got called off so none of that happened.
— Siren

I’d lifted the van with the side-door last night, fitted the GRID lockout, had Shadow in back, was ready.
— Pilgrim

I was set in the van with the prod and bindings. Didn’t even get to see her.
— Shadow

Surveillance looked good, I had Eternal and Siren moving in, Pilgrim was on track with only a little nudging of GRID. Everything looked go when my tracker VI popped a request. It was managing two routines, one pulling raw camera data from consumer devices and the other geo-tagged images from social media, and a deduplication routine needed me to resolve a situation. What to do if image analysis said two photos are different but the metadata matcher said they’re the same? So I took a look. The social media photo showed the target, while the camera data showed someone else. Similar-looking at a glance, but someone else. Took me a second to realize it was even happening, given the resources it would take for someone to run facial replacement on the whole local grid.
— Nanovolt

I got the alert from Nano. I considered still grabbing whoever this was to find out what was going on, but then I figured whoever set this up might well have done it to counter-identify the people pulling the job, so I called the ground team off, kept Vecteur on physical surveillance in hope he might see something useful, and ordered Nano to disconnect; too risky for him to stay jacked in if we were up against a top-flight decker
— Eternal

I maintained eyeball overwatch for the remainder of the day. The decoy target entered the hospital and did not visibly emerge.
— Vecteur

I called off Vecteur’s watch after eight hours. The actual surgery, if it happened, would have long been over, and the longer he stayed the more risk there was of us being identified, and you through us. We don’t know what went wrong. Hopefully what happened here makes more sense to you. I don’t think we fucked this one up, so I’m not going to apologize, but I appreciate we shouldn't expect the second half of the extraction payment or the money for Shadow’s interrogation.
— Eternal

The Massive Gains LLC Overview (September 5, 2057)

a bunch of rich-ass school friends

Hey, chummers, like I said, it’s 25k to do a deep dive on any of these creeps, but I did a superficial scan gratis. Main takeaway is that they jointly own this investment minicorp, Massive Gains LLC, but they didn’t use it for the businesses you had me check out. They're running below the ice with those.
— RaverD

A Rosenblaum Walters
Primary Residence	Toronto, ON
Born	6/17/2012
Family	Married 2 Children
Education	Imperial Oil K12 (Toronto, ON) B.A., Political Science, Yale University (New Haven, CT)
Position	Toronto Mayor
Prominent Holdings	ARW Investment (Real Estate Development)

Dante K. Bojorquez
Primary Residence	Detroit, MI
Born	9/2/2014
Family	Single
Education	Ford Gifted (Detroit, MI) B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) PhD, Political Science, Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.)
Prominent Holdings	Rebirth Health System (Health Centers) Rebirth Family Services (Juvenile Detention, Foster Care, and Adoption Services) DKB Hand Stitching (Clothing Manufacture)

David A. Jackson
Primary Residence	Cincinnati, OH
Born	11/12/2012
Family	Divorced 1 Child Remarried 2 Children
Education	Kasich Elementary (Cincinnati, OH) Yost High (Cincinnati, OH) B.S., Environmental Engineering, Yale University (New Haven, CT) M.S., Environmental Management, Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH)
Prominent Holdings	EarthCycle (Waste and Recycling) Jackson Hauling (Waste and Recycling) Rumpke Sanitary Landfill (Waste and Recycling) Gold Star Chili (Regional Restaurant Chain)

Elvira A. Perez
Primary Residence	Philadelphia, PA
Born	6/25/2014
Family	Single
Education	Phillips Academy (Andover, MA) B.T., Astral Theory, Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh, PA) PhD, Astral Theory, Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh, PA)
Position	Principle Hermetic, Guin & Vance

Evelyn Banks
Primary Residence	New York City, NY
Born	8/6/2013
Family	Divorced 1 Child
Education	Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford, CT) B.A., Visual Arts, Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT) J.D., Yale Law School (New Haven, CT)
Position	Senior Partner, Milbank, Tweed, Maruyama & McCloy

Hui Ch'eng
Primary Residence	Kansas City, NO
Born	8/23/2012
Family	Married 3 Children
Education	Don Cheadle Elementary (Kansas City, NO) Ares Educational High Kansas City (Kansas City, NO) B.S., Economics, MIT&T (Cambridge, MA) MBA, MIT&T, Sloan School of Management (Cambridge, MA)
Position	CEO and Majority Owner, Ch’eng Trucking and Shipping

Kevin Stout
Primary Residence	Chicago, IL
Born	11/6/2012
Family	Married 5 Children
Education	Knight Academy (Chicago, IL) B.A., Public Policy, Yale University (New Haven, CT)
Position	Illinois State Senator

Michael L. Marshall
Primary Residence	Baltimore, MD
Born	7/2/2013
Family	Married 2 Children
Education	Phillips Academy (Andover, MA) B.A., Statistics, Yale University (New Haven, CT) MBA, MIT&T, Sloan School of Management (Cambridge, MA)
Position	CEO and Majority Owner, MMM International Shipping

Mitsutaka Mizutani
Primary Residence	Bellevue, SSAR
Born	12/11/2012
Family	Married 2 Children
Education	The Northwest School (Seattle, WA) B.S., Business Administration, University of Washington (Seattle, WA) MBA, MIT&T, Sloan School of Management (Cambridge, MA)
Prominent Holdings	#1 Renraku (Auto Dealership) Blingee Custom Metalwork (Jewelry Store) Briar Tower (Commercial High-Rise) Daiyamondo (Jewelry Store) Gallery S (Private Art Gallery) Safaia Tower (Luxury Condominium High-Rise) Soygurt Fresh (Regional Casual Fast-Service Restaurant Chain)

Paul Vansickle
Primary Residence	Columbus, OH
Born	1/18/2011
Family	Married
Education	NeoNET Advanced Education (Boston, MA) B.S., Finance, Yale University (New Haven, CT)
Position	VP of Business Development, First Columbus Bank

Perkins E. Michael
Primary Residence	Boston, MA
Born	3/16/2013
Family	Single
Education	Phillips Academy (Andover, MA) B.A., Psychology, Yale University (New Haven, CT) J.D., Yale Law School (New Haven, CT)
Position	Senior Partner, Ropes & Gray

Watson Kim
Primary Residence	Washington, FDC
Born	10/29/2012
Family	Married 1 Child
Education	Phillips Academy (Andover, MA) B.A., Political Science, Yale University (New Haven, CT) PhD, Political Science, Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.)
Position	Managing Director, Government Affairs & Public Policy, Steptoe & Johnson

The Chicago 21 Report (September 2, 2057)

Find attached the individual data dumps on these folks. Most of the details are pretty boring, but I've captured some correspondances in the last few columns of the table below.
— RaverD

Name	Age	Metatype	Profession	Primary Medical	Professional Companionship	Food Services
Anthony Rick	30	Human	Highway Patrol Officer	Northway Medical Practice	Corinthian Escorts	N/A
Artur Dickson	62	Dwarf	Industrial Relations Director	Magna PX	N/A	Casey's Chicago Cuisine
Esumi Rygh	49	Human	U.S. Marshall	NUCA Medical Complete	N/A	N/A
Gabriela Rodrigues	43	Human	Family Therapist	MaxiServe Medical	N/A	Casey's Chicago Cuisine
John A. Martinez	20	Human	Maid	N/A	N/A	N/A
John Pugh	29	Human	Computer Control Programmer	Belle Medical Group	Brand Name Beauties	N/A
John E. Stein	33	Elf	Labor Relations Director	Superior Medical	Pixie Personal Services	BambininuOvi Chicago
Lamont L. Chow	21	Human	Massage Therapist	N/A	N/A	N/A
Loraine J. Thomas	60	Human	Heavy Vehicle Engineer	Belle Medical Group	N/A	N/A
Marnick Kienhuis	55	Human	Accounts Clerk	Belle Medical Group	N/A	N/A
Mathilda Jönsson	39	Elf	Aircraft Engineer	RXL Medical	Pixie Personal Services	N/A
Michael Kamimura	33	Human	Apartment Rental Agent	Belle Medical Group	N/A	N/A
Mulan Hung	74	Human	Periodontist	Jennifer Kemble Associates	RoundFound	Casey's Chicago Cuisine
Orgulas Lightfoot	50	Human	Payroll Analyst	RXL Medical	Brown Derby Companions	N/A
Ravil Repin	47	Orc	Collision Repair Technician	Belle Medical Group	N/A	N/A
Rebecca E. Potter	57	Dwarf	Analytical Chemist	Hielturry Med	Pixie Personal Services	Carlo Borro Home Deliver
Ronnie C. Flynn	44	Elf	Sportscaster	Charles, O'Neal, and Bracin LLC	Pixie Personal Services	Wilson's Whole Foods
Sharon Briggs	37	Human	Market Researcher	Belle Medical Group	N/A	Meals by Christopher B. Wheels
Thomas Borders	31	Orc	Video Editor	John Liberty Practices	N/A	Casey's Chicago Cuisine
Timothy S. Campbell	76	Elf	Interior Decorator	Intelli PX	Pixie Personal Services	Jafco
Uki Kasai	27	Orc	EMT	N/A	N/A	N/A

The Genevieve Wong Report (September 2, 2057)

Personal Details
Full Name	Genevieve Lynn Wong
Nickname(s)	Gene
SIN	28bba5-6312f3-9d6e9a-5dbdeb-83d328-be92ee
Born	September 4, 2020 (age 36) Philadelphia, PA
Spouse(s)	Catherine L Barnes (married 2050)
Children	Robin Barnes Wong (born 2051)
Parents	Patrick James Wong II (1968-2049) Robinette Bonenfant (born 1998)
Education	Cigna STTEM Manayunk (Philadelphia, PA) B.T. in Summoning, MIT&T (Cambridge, MA) PhD, MIT&T (Cambridge, MA)

Her wife was out of the city visiting family in Portland when the wall went up, with Genevieve and their daughter caught in the quarantine. They shelled out for genetic combination for the kid, which for some reason is still fragging expensive for elves.
— RaverD

Physical Characteristics
Height	1.73 m (5’8”)
Weight	54 kg (120 pounds)
Metahumanity Type	Elf
Eye Color	Purple
Hair Color	Black
Blood Type	AF+

Studied ballet up through college. Dropped it to focus on thaumaturgy once it became clear she couldn’t make a career of it.
— RaverD

Employment
Employer	Reyes Pharmaceuticals
Title	Associate Research Lead
Hired	November 1, 2051
Salary	$1,689,000 (~436,000¥)

Company's dead now, Chicago was their only branch.
— RaverD

Residence
Address	605N Clark St Chicago, IL 60654
Geo-coordinates	41.892558, -87.630830

A North Riverside luxury condo, not in the Zone. Her wife still owns it but has moved back to Portland to live with her family.
— RaverD

Contact Info
Phone	1-872-696-1437
Email	gwong@reyespharma.com genevievelwong@rmail.com

None of these work anymore, of course. The rmail account is some active, but she hasn’t checked it since the quarantine began.
— RaverD

Financial
Visa	4018 7583 6590 0088 CVV4 2277 Expires 6/2058
Chase Ares	$329,816.63 (~90,000¥)

Mostly spent it as quickly as they brought it in, though fair to assume Genevieve’s income would only increase. Catherine didn’t work.
— RaverD

Vehicle
None

Had a contract with Knight Private Carriage for local transportation.
— RaverD

Thesis
Title	Adaptation of Pre-Awakening Customs to Hermetic Spirit Binding
Abstract	Both the adaptation of Native American traditions to modern shamanic rituals and the re-adaptation of shamanic rituals to hermetic techniques are common practice. Despite the success of this adaptation and re-adaptation process, my research supposes that valuable praxis may be lost in retranslation. This dissertation describes a modified form of the Derived Algonquian Spirit Tasking Symbology (DASTS) informed by pre-awakening Shawnee hunting and gathering rituals integrated without the intermediation of shamanic interpretation. This direct hermetic interpretation (DHI-DASTS) of the original symbology empowers a refined directive instruction set enabling a more precise defining of desired flair and fauna.

Fuck if I know what this is about, but the full non-redacted private version is attached.
— RaverD

Advanced Neuro-Logic Enterprises

Self-appointed investigators amassed in forums across the Matrix with the first bug sighting in Chicago. Their primary product was bad conjecture, but for someone actually taking a trip into the containment zone, the data they collected was a convenience.

Simple enough to consult a business directory and find Advanced Neuro-Logic Enterprises: 5200 S Harper Ave, six blocks from the University of Chicago. Unextraordinary in the public record and on first sight, the second floor of a three-story red brick office building on a tree-lined street, rows of abandoned desks, fashionably utilitarian. A few private offices, an expansive motion-capture lab, all gathering dust.

The team has a rhythm for the search. Urni negotiates with the resident vermin. Nine reviews records. Mac picks the simple locks used on desks and cabinets. Maniac rips them open. Electronics are collected and taken to the roof, solar sheets are unfolded, anything found in the offices or lab given priority for recharging. The software hasn’t been updated in two years, so the cracks are plug-and-play. It doesn’t take more than a few hours for Nine to get an overview.

An ordinary beginning, Neuro-Logic was formed in 2049 to exploit University of Chicago patents by Drs. Taylor and Lovin of the neuro-cybernetics department. The first skillsofts, back in the early 40s, were data repositories bridged to the parahippocampal cortices, factual recall via the semantic memory system. You could load up the full set of SEC regulations, MLB statistics, anything you wanted, but it was just raw data.

Taylor and Lovin played a small part in the second generation, real mental skills, the ability to perform new kinds of tasks. They owned techniques for dampening feedback in procedural memory, keeping the brain from freaking out when its natural reinforcement learning runs into a hard-coded chip. They signed cross-licenses with Mitsuhama and contracts to deliver mental skillsofts that would be developed at their new business, Neuro-Logic.

The investment class became instant experts. Wealthy travelers spoke like natives. Taylor and Lovin had a nice side income. But there was a limit to the market: most jobs that could be done by a person with a mental skillsoft could be done cheaper by a virtual intelligence. The real demand was for the next step: physical skills.

It wouldn’t be easy. Individual variations complicate exact translation of movement between bodies. A longer limb traverses a longer arc with the same rotation. Close enough for waving hello, but not for catching a ball, walking across a room, or assembling a pocket secretary.

It wasn’t clear a small player could compete in this third generation. Taylor and Lovin had been able to experiment with mental skills using a computer console and a comfortable chair, commercially-available factual-recall implants as their base hardware. For physical skills they’d need full-body free-motion rigs. They’d need to rent specialized facilities for physical skill testing. They’d need some megacorp’s still-experimental physical skillsoft implants. They needed someone to see a reason to deal them in.

AZ 22nd Century, an Aztlán VC firm, found one. AZ would invest in Neuro-Logic. Neuro-Logic would buy a new suite of equipment and use it to fulfill a research contract with Solar Cybernetics, an Aztechnology subsidiary in Denver. Solar Cybernetics would provide an active skillsoft framework, and Neuro-Logic would develop prototype physical skills.

As part of the deal, Neuro-Logic hired a new business manager, Teresa Robb, given independent authority to outsource a portion of the Solar Cybernetics contract. The Neuro-Logic staff configured neural recording cybernetics, nerve-pattern learning systems, a full DIY active skillsoft development package. Robb found outside vendors like Smart Systems Limited—themselves funded by AZ—delivered them the packages, and received physical skill performance data in return. Taylor and Lovin found this small independence to be little to ask, given all they received in return. From Nine’s review of their correspondence, they saw little need to discuss their new employee at all.

A pocket tablet from Robb’s office, little more than a desk in a closet, reveals a covert messaging app. The counterparty traces to Solar Cybernetics. Their exact identify is protected, but the local memcache yields the last few messages to extraction tools.

“How’s it going with the basketball team?”

“It’s not. We barely change them and they're completely inept. Can’t shoot. Can barely run. They would be breaking bones if we let them. They can’t adapt at all.”

“Well, I appreciate you sticking with it. The guys in the big offices loves the showy stuff, and they’re going to be writing our bonus checks ;)”

“Yeah. I was going to head over earlier, light a fire under their asses. But had to burn an hour telling the staff that I had ‘done all I could’ to get our contractors to share best practices. Would love to see their faces if I actually showed them. And now the roads are impossible, some Knight Errant thing.”

“Well, just remember, you can’t. And keep your head up. Even if they don’t know it, you’re the only reason that place is still in business.”

“Yeah, thanks. Think I’m going to walk home, deal with this tomorrow morning. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“Please do. And, absolutely, take some time to relax, then get back at it. Talk to you tomorrow :)”

But with Neuro-Logic and Smart Systems Limited out of business, and Taylor, Lovin, and Robb lost or dead in the Zone, this would all be little more than trivia but for an implementation detail of the covert messaging app.

Normally, client apps operating remotely use a messaging-specific bridge between the Matrix and the corp’s internal network. A security VI authenticates and screens each packet, blocking the path to anything but the message queue. But border guards record all sorts of things you’d want no record of if you’re coordinating illegal experiments through layers of duped and dummy corporations. So the covert messaging app on Robb’s tablet instead opens a general-purpose bridge into the internal network, granting the tablet the trusted access that a hardwired on-site computer would have, allowing it to quietly talk to Robb’s contact within Solar Cybernetics.

It’s not an all-access pass to the corp’s data. Anything of value has further security. But as much as Solar Cybernetics might try to limit the risk taken to run off-the-record comms, it’s a foot in the door.

Erim McKenzie Search (August 10, 2057)

Erim McKenzie

Erim Latif

Laurene Barteaux

Laurene Laprise

Laurene Miron

Christine Jaeger

Hey bro, rough break running into a honey pot, but when you’re a player people are going to try to play you. Happens to the best of us. Did a search in our outside contractor DB based on what you told me and came up with this:
— John Michaels Lyons Jr.

Contractor BA383A
Contract Name(s)	Vixen
Real Name	N/A
Contractor Rating
Contract Handler	[REDACTED]
Birthdate	N/A (age range 26-34 [90% confidence])
Residence	N/A
Known Aliases	Christine Jaeger (2055) Laurene Miron (2055) Laurene Laprise (2056) Laurene Barteaux (2056) Erim Latif (2057)
Known Associates	Contractor [Lefty Black] [REDACTED]
Nationality	European [88% confidence] French [34% confidence] German [28% confidence] Dutch [19% confidence]
Gender	Female
Metatype	Human
Height	1.68 m (5'6")
Weight	55 kg (120 lb.)
Contract Skills	Assassination Confidence Manipulation Seduction Surveillance
Known Metatalents	None
Known Cyberware	None
Known Bioware	Bioears Bioeyes Bionose Bioskin Biotongue Clean Metabolism Dietware Engineered Scent (Coco Biomod Black) Enhanced Articulation Enhanced Immune System Muscle Augmentation Oral Secretion Sack (Saeder-Krupp CLift [intoxicant]) Oral Secretion Sack (Saeder-Krupp Nyx [narcoleptic]) Synaptic Accelerator Tailored Pheromones
Notes	Frequent cosmetic facial reconstruction Bioware addiction

If that’s your girl, then the bitch is a real-deal fucking runner. I think you’d catch any pheromone business with that nose of yours, so I assume she used her oral sacks skills on you instead, you dirty dog,.. but that means she knew about your nose going in, so think about that, brother.

I reached out to her handler—casual, like I was looking to hire her—but he says she isn’t available and to not expect her to be. He was pushing alternatives pretty hard. I pushed back best I could but no go. She’s probably either dead, out of the game, or working for someone better. Can’t give you the handler’s info—wouldn’t sit well with the corp—but can give you some info for a guy she worked with, locked up in Denver. No use to us behind bars, so you feel free to have at him. Just keep me out of it, right?
— JML²

Clem Hettinger

Contractor 8E8E45
Contract Name(s)	Slim Pick (2052-2055) Lefty Black
Real Name	Clem Hettinger
Contractor Rating
Contract Handler	[REDACTED]
Birthdate	March 18, 2019 (age 38)
Residence	Sioux Nation Denver Criminal Reformatory
Known Aliases	Tom Hooper Charles Cook
Known Associates	Contractor [Deckhand] Contractor [Mirrorface] Contractor [Studbot] Contractor [Vixen] (identified alias Erim Latif) [REDACTED]
Nationality	American (UCAS)
Gender	Male
Metatype	Ork
Height	1.85 m (6’1”)
Weight	62 kg (136 lb.)
Appearance	Left replacement cyber-forearm and hand, black plastic outer surface
Contract Skills	Burglary Thievery
Known Metatalents	None
Known Cyberware	Augmentable Cybereye [Right] (Enhanced Vision, Scoped Optics) Replacement Cyberarm [Left]
Known Bioware	None
Conviction	Burglary (5 years) Theft (5 years) Concurrent sentences 9 months served
Notes	An offer to sell DNA of known associates (e.g., hair samples)—[Deckhand], [Mirrorface], [Studbot], [Vixen]—in return for assistance with the runner’s incarceration was rejected by management.

He got picked up on a job your girl got away from, so maybe some ill will there you can exploit. But hell if I know. Good luck, though, man. Stay in touch and be careful out there. Some people who come at you might do more than leave you with a bad date.
— JML²

Dunkelzahn's Six

James Delany
Born	June 9, 2028 (age 29)
Spouse	Jeane Olson
Children	Robert Delany
Metahumanity Type	Dwarf
Employment	Illusionist Brilliant Genesis Studios Chicago, IL
Recent Productions	Angels of Saturn’s Rings (2055) Unjustified (2054) Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing (2054) Corporate SIN: Indivisible (2054) The Fifth Caballero (2053) Chainsaw Reborn (2053)

Alright, here's the effortpost I promised on James Delany's sims with Brilliant Genesis.

Chainsaw Reborn is remembered for one thing: Jacqueline Starlight's incredible performance doing emotion capture for the titular reborn Chainsaw. Basic plot summary: Chainsaw, seemingly dead at the end of the first sim, is resurrected as a mind-wiped cyber-zombie, with an upgraded chainsaw hand; the corp uses him to take on street gangs, he eventually stumbles across his former girlfriend, she reminds him who he was, he goes back to the corp and chainsaws his way through security to the executive responsible for wiping his mind. What makes this work is Starlight's ability to take you through Chainsaw whole journey, which ends up being surprisingly poignant. Delaney did the gore-effects on set, and they're good, but nothing that would stand out in the genre.

So, I haven't experienced The Fifth Caballero, but apparently neither did anybody else. It's a horribly-reviewed comedy set in Aztlan back when it used to be called Mexico, during the Mexican Revolution, though the revolution in the sim apparently doesn't much match actually history, or apparently what Aztechnology wants remembered of history, leaving it banned in the only market that might care about it. Seems like a complete misfire. That said, I haven't read any complaints about Delany's work on the illusory sets they used to capture this in Chicago.

I get that Alan Moore's Swamp Thing is an obnoxious title given how little similarity it has to the original novel. But I haven't read that so ultimately I'm just judging it as a sim, preconceptions aside. And from that perspective, it's great. You've got Delaney's illusions and Starlight's emotions again, but this time for a body-tripping plant monster that can feel an entire swamp through some kind of plant network instead of just a beefy guy murdering people with a chainsaw. The whole story: his birth, him being hunted by the Floronic fertilizer company, the big fight scene at the end, is all freaky sensations and body horror and it's great. Writer/director Mary McQuillen never recovered from this one, but it's what made Delaney someone to watch.

Unjustified is a neo-western: a NaN peace officer hunts for his son's killer (though, spoiler, not really, he's still alive) in the farmland and wilderness outside the Denver Metroplex. Most of the attention for this went to Caron Brown's performance as Anna, the tracker companion to the main POV character. She's great, and brings the only warmth to what's otherwise a pretty cold sim. But Delaney's work on this sim is incredible, painting vast vistas entirely out of thin air, which didn't get much attention at the time as Brilliant Genesis didn't want to draw attention to the entirely artificial setting of a sim being praised for its realness. Incredible work, though, and what earned him the director's chair for his next sim.

So, Angels of Saturn’s Rings has a bad reputation, but I actually kinda like it. I get that the juxtaposition of the horror stuff with the spiders and the more erotic stuff with the aliens doesn't totally work, but when the execution of both those elements is so strong, I don't really mind the tonal whiplash. And the sci-fi writing for the first contact storyline is surprisingly good. And I think anyone can appreciate the incredible visuals of the nano-replicators building out in Saturn's rings. It's a sim that clearly needed another pass at the scriptwriting stage, but as a freshman effort of James Delaney in the director's chair, as well as doing the illusory setting, I think it shows a lot of promise.

But at the end of the day, he's a talented, but not all that accomplished illusionist/director whose career was cut short by the intervention of bugs from another dimension, and it's not clear to me what a great dragon's interest is in that. I guess maybe he's a fan? But at least for me, I hope someone gets him out and he gets back to work. His horror chops could only be improved by being stuck in a city filled with insect monsters, right? :D
— SK

Dr. Edward Fenwick Oden
Born	February 2, 2010 (age 47)
Spouse	Dr. Gilbert I. Williams
Children	none
Metahumanity Type	Human
Employment	Full Professor Department of Thaumaturgy University of Chicago Chicago, IL
Recent Published Works	A Meta-analysis of Spirit-Based Far-Metaplane Exploration (2055) An Alternative Runic System for Astral Projection Monitoring Circles (2054) Metaplane Permeability in the Saar-Lorraine-Luxembourg Special Administrative Zone (2053)

I don't think there's any question why Dunkelzahn wants this guy out. He's done research on metaplane travel and specifically how metaplane access is affected by a toxic zone. The Draco Foundation is going to take the credit for getting him rescued and then snap up everything he knows about metaplanes in Bug City.
— The Great Ape

Gregory Armtwister
Born	September 13, 2028 (age 28)
Spouse	none
Children	none
Metahumanity Type	Ork
Employment	Security The Big Rhino Puyallup, SSAR
Matrix Rumors	1) He’s a major player in the Ork underground. Dunkelzahn wants him brought out to get back to that. 2) He’s a Shadowrunner who Dunkelzahn sent into the CZ but couldn’t get out, and he’s got something Dunkelzahn wants for his foundation. 3) He’s a high-level off-books Renraku operator who was sent into Chicago within an hour of the outbreak, before the wall went up. Dunkelzahn wants his foundation to find out why.

I'd met this guy a few times at The Big Rhino, which, if you don't know, is an "Orkish" bar/restaurant in Puyallup. During the day it's reasonably safe to visit, and you can get an interesting meal that's somewhere between paleolithic and deconstructionist. At night, it gets pretty rough, which is when Armtwister is more prominent. He was clearly skilled at keeping the atmosphere short of homicidal without impairing the energetic crowd the place is known for. Don't know him well enough to know what he was doing in Chicago, though.
— Archangel

Protacio Corcoran
Born	September 13, 2023 (age 33)
Spouse	none
Children	none
Metahumanity Type	Human
Employment	Handyman Chicago, IL
Matrix Rumors	1) He’s a Sky Shaman who possesses the Seal of the Blue Gloves, which the Dunkelzahn Foundation will need after giving away the green ones. 2) He’s secretly Basilisk, a Chicago-area holo-vandal of whom Dunkelzahn was a fan. 3) He’s a high-level off-books Ares operator who was activated within an hour of the outbreak, before the wall went up. Dunkelzahn wants his foundation to find out why.

This guy is known entirely through a handful of Matrix posts offering basic handyman work in association with a barebones Facebook account. He's either a Matrix ghost acting as cover for an operator or an actual boring handyman.
— Greely

Katherine Sitsu
Born	March 5, 2033 (age 24)
Spouse	none
Children	none
Metahumanity Type	Elf
Employment	PhD Student University of Chicago Chicago, IL
Published Works	Brain Abnormalities in Procyon Latri (Bandit Raccoons)

Some student might seem like a weird choice, but she's done anatomical research on awakened animals, so she's presumably somewhere in Bug City right now chopping up insect spirits. Obvious financial motivation for getting her out and grateful to Draco.
— The Great Ape

Sissel McCarthy
Born	December 2, 2021 (age 35)
Spouse	John Robles
Children	Daisy McCarthy Dianne Robles
Metahumanity Type	Human
Employment	Journalist Chicago NewsNet-Sun-Tribune Chicago, IL
CZ BBS Bulk Download Articles	Bugs on Buses: Transportation in Crisis A Fragile Peace in the Ghoul Enclave Fast-Flesh Infested: Super Soldier Insects? Last Month Was the Deadliest Yet from Faulty BTLs Beside the Wall: Life on the Fringes

Sissel's the one person on Dunkelzahn's list where we almost know more about her activity after the wall went up than before. A junior journalist with a periodic byline beforehand, she seems to have forged an impressive career of investigative journalism within the Containment Zone. Her articles form some of the core of what we understand of life behind the wall.
— Wraith II

The Rochus Braun Report (August 4, 2057)

Personal Details
Full Name	Rochus Orwell Braun III
Nickname(s)	none
SIN	000001-38bf44-fb5087-eb6086-6b5ac7-9318b2
Born	March 6, 2012 (age 45) Renton, SSAR
Spouse(s)	Margaret Alanis Rosaire (married 2038)
Children	Rochus Orwell Braun IV (born 2040) John Francis Braun (born 2042) Mary Margaret Braun (born 2044)
Parents	Rochus Orwell Braun II (born 1991) Maggie Noelle McKenzie (born 1992)
Education	Renraku Educational Primary (Renton, SSAR) Renraku Educational Secondary (Renton, SSAR) B.A. in Management, Northwest University (Bellevue, SSAR) Lone Star Academy (Austin, TX)

Parents both come from serious money. Their personal matrix chat with the other kids, all mid-level Renraku execs, is brutal. Roch is just some bigot cop to them. They’ve got no serious contact, they say he’s all in on Lone Star and his church.
— RaverD

Physical Characteristics
Height	1.65 m (5’5”)
Weight	86 kg (190 pounds)
Metahumanity Type	Human
Eye Color	Hazel
Hair Color	Dark Brown
Blood Type	AB-

Lone Star physical requirements aren’t much at his rank, and he takes advantage of it.
— RaverD

Employment
Employer	Lone Star Security Services
Title	Captain, Crime Suppression Division
Hired	June 03, 2037
Salary	$337,000 (~87,000¥) 60,000 LSS (~8,000¥)

He’s got a clean record, though he might have come in with enough profile to keep it that way no matter what. Lone Star knows their system leaks.
— RaverD

Residence
Address	1015 North 31st St Renton, SSAR 98056
Geo-coordinates	47.519031, -122.204926

This is a two-story house in a low-crime middle-class neighborhood. Looks like he mostly walks places, except to work, and church once a week in Bellevue.
— RaverD

Contact Info
Phone	1-206-727-2143
Email	robraun@lonestar.ucas

Again, no access to internal Lone Star communications.
— RaverD

Financial
Visa	4018 1694 4999 4528 CVV4 5726 Expires 4/2060
Chase Ares	$502,450.08 (~135,000¥)
Lone Star Scrip	~45,908 (~6,000¥)

I think he’s got another ~200,000¥ hidden in the CAS, but haven’t been able to confirm. I can take another run at that for another 1k¥.
— RaverD

Vehicle
Make & Model	Buick Park Avenue
Year	2054
Color	Pearl White
Registration	SSAR
Plate	1738 SGJD

Rarely uses this, GRID only when he does.
— RaverD

The Bull Report (July 6, 2057)

Personal Details
Full Name	Irene Allen Turnbull
Nickname(s)	The Bull
SIN	4174fa-9d3571-c51d5a-fd8b9f-1e4f97
Born	December 6, 2022 (age 34) Puyallup, SSAR
Spouse(s)	Daniel Y. Vanmeter (2046-2048)
Children	None
Parents	George Turnbull (2001-2039) Terry Allen (2004-2039)
Education	McAlister Elementary (Puyallup, SSAR) Knight High (Puyallup, SSAR) Lone Star Academy (Austin, TX)

Her parents both died the Night of Rage during one of the riots. Couldn't find anything on just how they were involved, bystanders, instigators, or what. The ex works at Sea-Tac, ground crew.
— RaverD

Physical Characteristics
Height	1.73 m (5'8")
Weight	84.1 kg (185.5 pounds)
Metahumanity Type	Human
Eye Color	Dark Brown
Hair Color	Dark Brown
Blood Type	A+

She's a seven-day-a-week weightlifter, either a facility in the basement of her apartment building, or Lone Star's staff gym.
— RaverD

Employment
Employer	Lone Star Security Services
Title	Lieutenant, Crime Suppression Division
Hired	June 5, 2041
Salary	$232,000 (~60,000¥) 37,500 LSS (~5,000¥)

She spent five years patrolling Puyallup. A few citizen complaints, excessive violence, but nothing that stuck. Then a few of years in anti-terrorism before being recruited into CSD as a lieutenant, where she's been for the last seven.
— RaverD

Residence
Address	938 110th Ave NE Apt. 312 Bellevue, SSAR 98004
Geo-coordinates	47.618867, -122.193417

Buncha other Star in this building. Looks like the owner discounts their rent.
— RaverD

Contact Info
Phone	1-296-772-5542
Email	iturnbull@lonestar.ucas

She's gonna also have internal corp text/voice/video comms, but you'd need to break heavy ice to use them anyways.
— RaverD

Financial
Visa	4929 3458 0114 2984 CVV4 0118 Expires 6/2059
Chase Ares	$30,447.04 (~7,600¥)
Lone Star Scrip	~4,174 (~550¥)

Up-to-date scrip amounts are tough to pull from corp servers. And I think I would have found any covert accounts, but you can never be sure.
— RaverD

Vehicle
Make & Model	Land Rover Model 2067
Year	2056
Color	Midnight Black
Registration	SSAR
Plate	7798 ADRX

Her car's got a bit of custom up-armoring she bought with Star scrip. Shouldn't be any mounted weapons, though.
— RaverD

Lone Star Application Psych Summary

May 14, 2041

A tendency to binary social identification – leading to openness to in-groups and distrust of out-groups – may make for an excellent recruit if loyalties can be directed to Lone Star and against extra-agency threats. Skill with rapid situational assessment and quick decision-making should prove valuable both in field work and in potential direct-command roles. However, an inherent impulsiveness limits aptitude with long-term planning, such that any rank advancement should retain subordination beneath a more strategic leader to set goals.

Proud of this pull. Found a leak of these from the early 40s on ShadowNet.
— RaverD