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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)

Genevieve wong.png
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 43stars.png
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 28stars.png
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)

Rochus braun.png
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

Rochus braun buick park avenue.jpg
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)

Irene turnbull.png
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

Irene turnbull land rover.jpg
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