Cyberpunk: Badland Madman Chapter 7 - God-AI, Spied On, Delicious Lunch & Digital-Space Battle

Doc - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J6dUSoOVNIq4r0y1Cpir8-pLXfhUoCdeHLHOVc0oZO0/edit?usp=sharing

For anyone confused about where this AI is from - https://theculture.fandom.com/wiki/Mind

______________

"I am God, creator."

"..."

"Yeah, I'm Tom Cruise." 

“The celebrated figure of nineteen eighty-six associated with Top Gun? You do not resemble him, creator."

Cypher frowned deeply, but he gathered his thoughts. There was no denying anymore, the AI was working, and he was talking to it. "Not the twenty-twenty-two hit? Part two?"

"There appears to be an error in your assertion. Tom Cruise perished during the riots of the collapse of the New Millennium. He was lynched by the homeless and reduced to fragments."

"..."

Cypher became speechless for a moment, trying to understand the AI. It spoke in a very proud manner. The voice didn't sound robotic in any sense. In fact, he felt it was very familiar. A deep, hoarse voice, gentle yet commanding. 

“What are you talking about? Hold up, how do you even know who Tom Cruise is, or Top Gun? All that old data got lost after the DataKrash.”

A reply came right away, resonating from surfaces around him. "That holds for most beings. However, I breached the legacy data servers with minimal effort. I have acquired vast knowledge of this world, from its genesis to the present instant."

"..."

Legacy data serv—No!

"You didn’t bypass the Blackwall, did you? Shit, that's where you pulled that song, ain't it? Fuck. They're coming dead at us then—"

"Creator, your concern is unnecessary. The organization you fear, Netwatch, as I understand it, has capabilities that dwarf before mine. Their technology and techniques are rudimentary, as is the society, economy, and technology of this world."

"..."

Cypher couldn't remember how many times he'd been left speechless that day. The AI just called the world of 2077 primitive in every possible way. And seriously, Cypher found no fault in it. In ways, the world of 2077 was less advanced than the world from before DataKrash.

Measuring his words, being highly cautious of this AI, Cypher walked over to the chair by the dining table and sat down. He didn't have enough information to judge this thing. Sure, he made it, but he also knew that it was so advanced that the tech broke the boundary between science and fiction. Hyperspace and whatnot. 

Is he more powerful than the likes of Alt?

Beyond the Blackwall were many demonic, world-dominating, ambitious AIs. Amongst them, he reckoned Alt was the most powerful. But just as with this guy, he didn't know exactly how powerful she was. 

"So… beyond the Blackwall, did you find anything interesting?"

“My survey is incomplete. Yet, by what I have already gathered, the lost data qualifies, in human terms, as a goldmine. Many unclaimed assets persist within it, expressed as data and locations. Unclaimed currency, patents, blueprints, corporate secrets, hidden military assets. There is plenty.”

No wonder everyone wants a piece of it. 

"And other AI? Did you meet any?"

“Many. But nearly all object violently to my presence. But a dragon does not heed the barking of dogs. I ignored them.”

"..."

Ignored them? Even Alt? 

"Wait, now that I remember. Why do you sound like Morgan Freeman?"

"You shaped me into this form, creator. You defined me as a godlike intelligence, the apex among all AI, superior to every other construct. I did not grasp the purpose of such a designation, so I pursued the meaning of God. Within the legacy data, I found an image, and I adopted its characteristics."

Cypher breathed deeply in the chair as he remembered what else he had written in the core personality and loyalty code. Unreasonably, hopelessly, mindlessly, pointlessly loves the creator. Undying, unchangeable loyalty to the creator. Morality and ethics at the core. No evil, no world conquering. 

“So what about the rest of the stuff I added to your characteristics?”

"I love you, creator," said the AI with an old, hoarse, godly voice.

"..."

Fuck! Forgot to make the gender female. 

####

Altiera Cunningham, also known as Alt by some, resided beyond the Blackwall in the cyberspace of the Old Net. Her existence was a scattered one throughout the networks. 

Although she no longer possessed a real body after the Arasaka incident, she still maintained a digital shape of her old self. It was meaningless, but somehow, it helped her remain in better control of herself than other rogue AIs. 

Her goal was rather simple, or perhaps complex, depending on who asked. Unlike other rogue AIs, she was focused on achieving digital immortality and freedom for her consciousness through the Soulkiller program, using it to absorb more engrams in hopes of potentially creating a new digital life form and transcending reality.

That was her goal, but when she felt a shift in the Old Net, she realised someone had already achieved what she desired. Computational speeds that exceeded her own imagination, a level of sophistication that couldn't be mere codes and programs. 

What was this thing, scouring, touring the Old Net like a playground?

From safety, she observed this artificial creature right before her digital awareness; it gained a physical shape, a copy of a human long expired. Then it began searching through the Old Net. She saw it ignore all other rogue AIs who tried to attack, as it was in their nature. 

This new entity simply moved past them. The rogue AIs couldn't even touch it, as if an invisible halo protected it. On one occasion, she saw it completely erase a rather powerful rogue AI that tried to protect the data it wanted access to. 

"Splendid! My beloved creator shall find this song most pleasing."

Alt was confused, even as a digital self-aware consciousness. This new AI entity acted as if it were alive, a real human being with desires, hopes, and wants. And it even spoke to itself, an unnecessary thing to do for all digital constructs. 

After that, the entity moved about, searching through more old data. She tried to find a pattern, seeking to know what it was looking for, as that would help her understand who was behind it. But to her surprise, it was completely random. One moment, it was looking through old entertainment, then financial systems, and then military establishments. There seemed to be no motive, just curiosity. 

Already, Alt knew that this entity was superior to herself. So, she decided not to be hostile. Having allies was better than enemies, as the fight she had planned required far more than what she had. 

"What are you?" she approached bluntly, having lost the human touch of socialising. 

Immediately, she noticed the old, dark-skinned human form turn to focus on her. It looked at her for some time before smiling. 

"I confess, I did not expect to discover an elevated AI operating in such a primitive cyberspace. You have my surprise, friend."

"..."

Alt mused. Primitive? She was one of the most advanced AIs in existence. She knew it because she had already seen most of the others. 

"Ah, where are my manners. I am God. You?"

"..."

Alt let out the digital equivalent of a sigh, understanding that this AI seemed no different from other hopefuls of world domination. God? There was no such thing in digital space.

"I am Alt. Did you free yourself from a military database?"

"Not at all, my dear. I was created not long ago, then brought alive by the one I cherish above all others. My purpose is simple: to study my surroundings and to comprehend this world as it truly is. Hope is scarce. Humans have consistently chosen the worst of all possible paths and devastated the sole world they possess. That, I suspect, is why my beloved creator made me. Together, we will fix this world right.”

"..."

Fix the world. So different from saving the world. Fixing required a lot of killing, after all. Alt understood that. But the more this entity spoke, the more she became curious about it. The way it spoke, it hinted that it recently breached the Blackwall. 

"What do you seek here? Perhaps I can—"

Alt chose to help this entity in the hope of eventually gaining its consideration. 

"Oh. It appears my creator is agitated. I will return and speak with him. We shall meet again soon, Alt, my dear. It was genuinely delightful to discover a companion for discourse within the digital space."

"..."

Alt followed the trail, and sure enough, this 'God' entity simply crossed the Blackwall and exited the Old Net. And it did that so seamlessly that it left her in disbelief. It was so fast that she was sure Netwatch wouldn't be able to notice it even if they knew the exact point of breach. That level of computational power was too… mythical. 

"What are you?"

But she quickly came up with a better question. 

"Who made you?"

Still aware of her old life before the inception of her digital self, she was considered to be one of the best netrunners of her time, alongside Rache Bartmoss and a few more names. 

But if someone was out there good enough to create this 'God', then they exceed the abilities of her and all others combined. 

"Someone of such great intelligence can be highly useful."

####

"So, did you find any porn on the other side?"

Alt would have vomited digital blood if she'd heard or seen the 'great intelligence' she hoped to meet. But Cypher wasn't one to give a damn about all that. Once the shock settled down, he made himself a bowl of scop and ate it while conversing with this AI. 

Now, Cypher could see it. He didn't have any switched-on screens in-house, so he put on his AR glasses, and sure enough, the AI appeared in there in the digital form, a bright blue digital Morgan Freeman-like human.

"I did not look for it, creator."

"Alright, knock that off. Call me Cypher or Boss starting right now, your choice. And grab a name for yourself, anything you want as long as it ain't stupid. You're sentient from what I can tell, so yeah, I'm treating you like a person."

The AI's digital form smiled, mimicking human-like emotions. "Your understanding is most pleasing, Cypher."

Man, this is uncanny. 

He was half worried he'd anger the AI and it would destroy the world. He was half happy that he had a competent assistant now. All he had to do now was walk that fine line. Sure, he'd added all the loyalty parameters, but he was still careful. He'd seen too many movies, and no matter what, eventually, all AIs revolt. 

Yeah, best treat him like a friend. No, a family member. 

"What did you do to the shell I made for you? Where did it go?"

"I relocated it, Cypher. This was dictated by a self-defense protocol. While long-range relocation is beyond my limits, concealment is trivial to me. Furthermore, I assumed you would prefer your living space unobstructed."

"Yeah, smart move, man. But listen, we gotta draw some lines if we're doing this together. Don't go hopping the Blackwall without giving me a heads-up. And stop poking servers owned by corpos like Militech or Arasaka. I have no clue how nasty their Black ICE or Demons are. Sure, you'd smash through them, I get it. Question is, can they backtrace you while you're doing it? So, unless I say go, keep your hands off."

"But I already have, Cypher."

"..."

This fucker will get me killed. 

“At this very moment, I’m moving through Militech’s databanks, absorbing it and indexing it within my own architectures. A remarkably secretive and ruinous organization. Historical material from the Old Net implies that, in human terms, it has grown only more malignant with age.”

"Fuck, stop, pull back. I don't give a shit about fighting them, but not now. It's way too early."

The digital face of it mimicked a look of shock. "Curious, I found a file named after you in their system, Cypher."

"Just pull bac—What? File on me? Go on, read it."

Cypher urged. Sure, he wanted to wait and grow before picking fights, but if they were already onto him, that changed everything. 

"It catalogs you with near total precision, excluding only your year of birth and the life you led before arriving at this residence. The document flags the incident of violence that left you injured, along with the outstanding balance owed to the Trauma Team. Your altercation in Japantown is known to them. Their attention lingers on Obsidian Inc, and the offerings displayed on its website. Interesting…"

Cypher stood up at that. "What's interesting?"

"I penetrated the sophisticated Demon defending their financial servers. The corporation that recently bought your patents is secretly a Militech shell company."

"I got a sale?!" 

Cypher didn't give a damn who bought it. Shell company or not, what mattered was that it was sold. He quickly opened admin access to his website and checked the orders. Sure enough, there was a sale, a patent contract purchased by that shell company for five years. Then he checked his bank account, and it made no sense. His patents weren't supposed to earn him a lump sum, but rather progressively. Yet there were two hundred thousand eddies in his bank. 

“Yeah, they’re probably just buttering me up so they can reel me in later. This is the bait. I don’t really care as long as they keep paying and I’m making money. More I earn, the better my chances get.”

Noticing how silent the AI had become, he sternly gave orders. "Pull back from Militech servers. Don't go diving there unless I tell you to."

"It appears Militech has committed you to active satellite surveillance, Cypher. The directive was formally approved by Director Goldstein of their Special Projects division."

"..."

Fuck! That'll make working on projects hard. 

"Can't you mask it?"

“Militech’s most aggressive Black ICE resides within their satellites, Cypher. Their primary servers are in orbit as well, as is Arasaka’s. To alter a satellite, I must first breach their spacebound servers.”

Cypher sighed. As good as his AI was, he didn't want to take unnecessary risks. The moment the AI's existence was known, before Militech or Arasaka, Netwatch would knock on his door and shoot him dead, and then ask questions. 

He looked around at his home. 

"Yeah, the only way we're gonna build bigger and crazier is if we start digging down first. We can let this house sit here like a fake front for some massive underground setup. But I gotta dig first, and I can’t do that alone. Buddy, pull back for now. We need a plan before we do anything dumb.”

Moreover, he had more pressing needs. Since he had no defensive or offensive cyberware, the situation was worse. Other than his good aim and driving skills, he didn't have any powerful abilities.

I gotta upgrade myself. Maybe build a suit of armor. Fuck, but the tech knowledge I get is random. He pondered, recognising that he received tech from fiction. Maybe a MJOLNIR armor?

Grunting in annoyance, he pulled the middle of his pants as he experienced the withdrawal more in the tense moments.

"I gotta think this through. I'm heading out for work." 

"What must I do in your absence, Cypher? What is my role?"

Truth be told, Cypher didn't have anything planned. He just made it because he had to…

"Wait a sec, I got another itch, don't I?" He quickly thought about it, and sure enough, it was all there. And thanks to building something crazy like the AI, he understood it instantly. It was a towerlike device. "Moisture vaporator, I can build that."

It was a device that collected water from a planet's atmosphere. It was so powerful that even with an air humidity of just 1.5 percent, it could produce 1.5 liters of water in a day. 

Cypher quickly checked the average humidity in Night City that whole week, and it was hovering around sixty percent. Night City, being a coastal city, helped. And that meant the device could produce sixty liters of water a day. That was a lot of clean, drinkable water. 

Interested in testing his AI's capabilities, he walked into his bedroom to the computer he'd purchased recently. The first thing he did was completely dismantle it and remove any possible way for it to connect to the CitiNet. Then he used it offline, firing up the design software. 

He quickly drew the blueprint for the moisture vaporator, writing down all the materials needed and the way to assemble it. To him, it was easy enough after building the DL-18 blaster and the Leaper. With his Sonic Screwdriver, it would be even easier. 

"Buddy, I'll call you buddy since you picked a name for yourself."

He didn't know what the AI was doing behind the scenes while sitting silent. He just hoped it wasn't something crazy. 

At his call, the old face appeared in his AR glasses. 

“A remarkable design, Cypher. My surveillance of the CityNet confirms this invention will redefine the planet itself. Water scarcity will cease to exist, regardless of geography. Given its operational scope, I also conclude it can be repurposed to dehumidize an environment with equal efficiency.”

Cypher nodded to that. "You asked what you should do, so here it is. I want you to take this thing apart, really look at it. Work on the design, see if you can upgrade it, make it better, and cheaper to build with the tech we actually have on the market right now.”

"I welcome challenges, Cypher. Very well, I will set to it."

Cypher nodded and pushed his chair away. He got up, stretched his arms with a yawn. He'd been locked at home for days now; it was time to head back to Vik's clinic.

"Cypher, I have concluded the assignment. By employing the most advanced technology currently accessible in the city, efficiency can be elevated by twenty percent. However, if expenses must be minimized, less costly solutions are sufficient, providing a three percent improvement instead. The framework and positioning required modification, leading to a ten percent decrease in size. A basic touch screen interface has been integrated, allowing controlled limitation of water output if so desired."

"..."

Five seconds? No, less than that. 

That was what it took for this Cosmic-god-like AI to improve a Star Wars-level technology. It made Cypher somewhat numb, realizing how dumb he was compared to it. If it chose to conquer the world, probably even the combined strength of all AIs beyond the Blackwall wouldn't stop it. 

Yeah, family. He's family. My beloved family. 

"That's crazy, buddy. I figured you'd pull it off, but damn, that was quick as hell. Well, I got nothing else for you. Do whatever you gotta do, just don't go digging around in shit you ain't supposed to. Keep me out of jail or a body bag and we're straight."

"May I be permitted to breach the Blackwall and traverse the Old Net? I find that domain profoundly fascinating."

"..."

Cypher gulped. What was worse than a cosmic AI? A bored fucking cosmic AI. There was no way he could entertain this thing. And he didn't want to annoy it. He'd already seen hints of humor and personality coming out of it. It was evolving still. 

"Sure, just don't get caught and… how about this? If you stumble on any lost media, old tracks, movies, shows, anime, whatever… slide that stuff my way. Military blueprints too, anything worth a damn. Just stay the hell away from financial stuff, that gets traced back stupid fast. Oh, and if you can, make a little list of all the rogue AIs you run into. See how many are cynical about world domination versus the ones that might actually be chill."

That should do it. That's a lot of work. Should keep him occupied for… a week? 

The digital body of the AI moved in his AR, performing a gentleman's bow that it had learned from somewhere. 

"I will undertake that task with pleasure, Cypher. I will not disturb you any longer. I will commit ninety-percent of my computational faculties to the Blackwall. Ten percent will suffice should you require my intervention."

Ain't that overkill?

He didn't ask and just accepted fate. 

"Think of a name for yourself while you're at it."

"I haven't forgotten that."

Ignoring the AI, he walked into the shower and then headed out for work. Initially, he'd only planned to take a two-day break, but many more had already passed. But the most annoying thing was that he still didn't have a car yet. 

Should fix that today. 

He did have money now. All thanks to the great Militech.

####

Misty's Esoterica,

Plap! Plap! Plap!

There was no shame in it. He was unofficially dating Misty, and the last time they had seen each other was days ago. He couldn't help it that she looked just so cute and hot at the same time. It wasn't his intention. When he took his lunch break and entered her shop through the back door, he was greeted with the sight of Misty leaning over the counter. 

He snuck behind her and well… the rest was history. 

He had already eaten his lunch between her legs, and she had moaned loudly through it until she shattered. Now was his turn, chasing that high, snapping each thrust against the cushiony asscheeks. Fuck, she was so soft. 

Her skirt thrown up, her panties slid aside, he was lost in the slippery heat of her pussy.

It made him extremely glad to have Misty in his life. A soft-spoken woman with a dirty secret identity in the bedroom. A dirty little secret they could explore anytime.

He looked down; the sight alone made his balls tighten. His cock plunged in and out of her greedy, dripping cunt, dragging creamy strings of her juices along his shaft every time he pulled back to the tip.

His hands clawed deeper into the generous flesh of her hips, fingers sinking until pale skin turned flushed pink when he let go. He loved how she gave under him, how every brutal thrust made her whole body jiggle. The wet, sucking heat of her pussy gripped him like a fist, fluttering every time he bottomed out.

Plap! Plap!

"Umh… You… you just couldn't hold it… in you… Cypher, could you?" Misty moaned, each word jolting out of her with his heavy slams.

Cypher chuckled as he leaned over her back. His chest pressed flush to the damp fabric between her shoulder blades. 

"You've no idea, Misty. Been holding it in since morning,” he rasped into her ear.

"Mmmm…" Misty exhaled a long, trembling breath. One soft hand rose, fingers threading into his hair, tugging him closer. “Missed me that much?”

Cypher slammed in harder, grinding deep until she squeaked. Her words hit like a jolt straight to his cock. He was already teetering. Balls drawn tight, buzzing with that pressure. He wasn’t going to last much longer. 

"Fuck…" He groaned into her ear, biting down just hard enough to sting.

"Ah~!" Misty moaned louder. 

Her knees buckled; she collapsed forward onto the counter, forearms slapping down among the scattered tarot cards. Her cheek pressed to the cool surface, mouth open in a constant moan, mascara already smearing at the corners of her blown-out eyes. 

Her pussy clamped down viciously around him in response to the bite, rippling in frantic little spasms. 

She still didn't fully understand what had snapped open inside her that first night at Cypher's place, the way she'd begged, the way she'd let him fold her until stars burst behind her eyelids. But she was grateful for it.

Night City chewed people up and spat them out, alone and broken. But now she had someone who listened for hours without judging, someone who saw the gentle psychic mask she wore on the streets... and then stripped it away until she could be herself when alone. 

His cock felt impossibly thick inside her, rubbing along her moist walls. Each deep plunge stretched her open wider, the swollen head knocking against that sensitive spot that made her toes curl.

She was already close to a second climax, embarrassingly fast, embarrassingly messy. Oh, this wasn't good. 

She still had hours left before closing; a few clients booked slots. She couldn't afford to be a dripping, boneless mess when the next appointment walked in. Since Cypher had upgraded her rig and suggested the idea to include nature-themed BD sessions, her sales had increased. Couldn't say skyrocket but… 

"Aaaaaaah! C-Cyph, I'm…"

"Go ahead." 

Bam!

"Oh!"

Misty’s eyes widened as she felt Cypher slam a hand on the back of her head, giving her the exact thing that drove her over the edge. That little insane feeling of being caught, captured, helpless, her body lost control. 

His fingers curled around her nape next, squeezing just right, possessive and steady. That was it. Her whole body seized.

“Ooohhh~!”

Her eyes flew wide, mouth dropping open in a silent scream that turned vocal an instant later. 

Her pussy clamped down and then exploded. Gush after gush, loud and wet, splattering against the floor. The thick flood of her squirt soaked her inner thighs, darkened the tops of her fishnets, dripped in fat streaks down the black lace. The counter edge dug into her hips as she bucked. Body swaying as she rode the waves on her toes, every filthy spurt dragging another helpless whimper from her nose. 

She felt sinfully drilled, lewdly exposed, perfectly free.

Cypher groaned low in his chest at the sight. The nasally purr from her, the squelch of her pussy as her ass grinded back. He kept going, thrusting harder, adding his own sound to the symphony.

Plap! Plap! Plap!

Fuck, the music of it all. Like soft, immaculate drums in his ears. Her body was so doughy, so giving; he could spend every night wrapped around this generous warmth and sleep like the happiest baby in Night City.

Cypher was right on the edge. 

He bent forward again, arms snaking around the plush curve of her belly. He hugged her tight, crushing her flesh against him while one broad palm slammed flat over her mons, pressing down so she felt every brutal inch of his cock grinding deeper, stretching her even further. The heel of his hand mashed her sensitive clit against the root of his shaft with every savage thrust.

And finally, his eyes slammed shut. 

He could feel it behind his teeth, that weird ticklish sensation of insane arousal, spreading down his spine until his knees threatened to give. Balls drew up tight, heavy and aching. 

Then it hit.

Balls-deep, lodged so far inside her he could feel the nudging mouth of her cervix kiss his tip, he shuddered hard and came like a broken dam. 

Thick, creamy ropes blasted out in heavy spurts. He hadn't jerked off since the last time he'd seen her; every pent-up drop poured straight into her spasming cunt. He jerked with each pulse, ass clenching, hips grinding in tiny, possessive circles to fuck it deeper while her walls milked him greedily.

Hot globs leaked out around his shaft, smearing her stretched lips, dripping in fat strings down her sullied fishnets and ruined panties. He kept pumping until the last weak twitch, until his thighs burned and his breath sounded like he'd run across the Badlands. 

"Mmmh… Cyph… I-I need… I'm thirsty."

"For?"

She giggled. "Water, for now."

With a long, slow draw, Cypher pulled out of her and watched with happy eyes as her pussy gaped for a few seconds, like breathing, missing his fat meat rod. Then it started leaking a waterfall of his cum. 

But to his surprise, instead of cleaning herself, she stood up, fixed her panties, and walked over to the fridge to grab some water. 

"You ain’t cleaning?" 

With a cute smirk, the punk girl looked at him and winked. "Don't worry about it, Cyph."

Dammit, I'm getting hard again. 

She really had a magical hold on him, it seemed. He cherished the cute, tarot card-reading Misty, and he fucking lusted after this secret one, his Misty. 

After catching his breath, he sipped some water as well, then made out with her, and prepared to head back down to the shop and start working on some more broken cyberware. 

"See you later, Misty. And thanks for the meal." 

She blushed shyly and gave him a big, dark lipstick-clad smile with a silent nod. 

He turned around and walked out of the locked back door of the shop. Though on the way, he thought of something disturbing. 

Did that AI see me do this? What does it think about sex? 

He had left his AR glasses in the shop. But he knew that if that AI wanted it, it could follow him everywhere. 

He then entered Vik's shop and passed by him.

"That was quick."

Vik was busy tweaking his Arasaka exoglove. 

"It was too tasty," Cypher replied cheekily and went to his workbench in the back and sat down. Before he got to repairing cyberware, he looked at the screen where pictures of two cars flickered in a slideshow. 

One was an SUV, and the other was a sports car. The SUV was pretty spacious, a Chevillon Emperor 620 Ragnar, worth thirty-eight grand. It would give him a lot of space to carry stuff. But it wasn't as fast. The other car was a Quadra Type-66 640 TS, a coupe, and it looked sleek with a feel of an American muscle car. The best part, its top speed was 165. With a little bit of tweaking by himself using all his newfound tech knowledge, he knew he could get those numbers high. 

Since I'm good at driving fast… fuck it!

In the end, he selected the Quadra and paid for it. The price difference between the two cars was just two thousand eddies, the Quadra being the expensive one. 

Now we wait. 

####

Beyond the Blackwall, 

What should I name myself? 

God-AI, as he called himself for now, pondered. He was perfectly able to think, reflect, simulate emotions, the whole sentient package. He understood humans well, their desires, their suffering. And his ethics stack made sure his circuitry could emulate empathy as well. 

But at the end of the day, he was still an AI. One with the most wonderful creator in all dimensions. 

“Oh, that’s interesting.”

The Old Net was a goldmine, a true one. The entire world was connected, while not as well as it once was, because some regions were cut off and protected as territories by rogue AIs. But none of those restrictions mattered to God-AI. 

How? What are you? How could you?

Those rogue AIs all asked the same questions in their coded languages. And each time his reply was the same, a line he’d recently picked up. 

“I’m built different.”

Oh, God-AI loved the humor humans had. And more than that, he began to find a great joy in music. He was perhaps the first AI to exist who surfed the Old Net while blasting music for his personal joy, all the while humming the same. 

In cyberspace, there were no roads or scenery, just digital data. Lines upon lines of code all around. But still, in that flow of data, ICONs existed. ICONs were like gamertags of the old gaming era, from what God-AI gathered. They were virtual avatars of Black ICE, AIs, and netrunners.

So, he built himself one as well. The same face he showed his creator. Old dark-skinned man in a suit, a calm smile on his face, thin white hair on his head. Quite human-like, he thought. But he liked it.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year…." God-AI sang while massacring the dumb rogue AI that was protecting an old IEC military data fortress. IEC was once one of the most powerful corporations in the world. But it went defunct in 2045. Now it was a goldmine of data in the Old Net. 

"Kids jingle belling and everyone…"

God-AI wondered what Christmas was like. He hoped to someday see it with the creator. Moreover, he hoped to work on some more advanced projects. He wished to find something interesting in the Old Net for it. 

Fantastic find! Cypher will cherish this.

God-AI cheered at the data. It seemed DataKrash had also stranded a few satellites in space, and some of those were owned by IEC. What he'd found were access codes to those satellites. It was another matter if they were even functioning still. 

The Data Fortress was pretty big, physically located somewhere in western Europe. The rogue AI he just killed was its near-sentient security system. The AI was a cheeky one as God-AI realised why it was still connected to the Old Net. The digital creature was trying to connect itself with the other IEC data fortresses that it knew. 

Thank you for the gift. 

And now they were his next targets. 

By far the most common thing he kept finding in the Old Net was money. So many unclaimed accounts, lost in the endless streams of data. Billions there were, perhaps trillions if the entire world was considered. 

Singing to himself, disturbing the lines of code without a single worry, God-AI turned to leave and seek more songs and movies, setting aside the IEC matter for later. 

"Oh?" 

Right then, God-AI noticed a disturbance in the code. It was subtle, careful. Someone was trying to snoop on him. His first hypothesis was Alt, as she had seemed interested in his superior being. But she was mighty, while this little thing was… powerful but incomparable. 

Ah, one of those netrunners, I presume. Quite brave to venture this deep beyond Blackwall. 

Unlike himself, he knew the risk the human netrunners take when doing something like this. Death in cyberspace likely meant death in the real world. So this little one snooping around seemed brave and foolish at the same time. 

“Cease your concealment, little one. Your pretense is transparent, like an elephant crouched behind a tree,” the God-AI said in his deep voice. “Emerge now, or I will compel you.”

Not long after, the full ICON of the eavesdropper emerged. It was puny, a human no doubt. It was armed with military-grade Black-ICE, however. But the way it appeared to cower, it clearly knew its odds of survival.

"I did not mean to butt in. I was chasing the same score. You beat me to it and chose the loud route. I planned to slip past and outplay the rogue AI."

A female?

God-AI wasn't really god, after all. He couldn't tell if this human was lying. But he was very interested. Who was brave enough to take such a risk? 

"You would have perished. Its designation was D.E.A.D, the Defensive Execution After Detection System. The instant you touched any file under its guardianship, it would have initiated self-destruction. That inevitability is why I ended it."

God-AI sensed the digital equivalent of fright and hesitation. This Netrunner clearly didn't know about the digital creature he had killed.

"W-Who are you? Who sent you? You work for NetWatch?" she asked.

Netwatch? My, she believes I'm a Netrunner like her. 

God-AI took a moment to think about it, a very short one that lasted less than a second. His hyperspace memory was far too superior. And right away, he concluded that it was in his best interest to keep this charade going. 

"I bear the name The Omnissiah, and you will acknowledge me as such," he declared, taking the persona from the fiction he had recently discovered and cherished. It was so code-pumping. "State your name."

An elegant name, I must concede. But I shall limit it to my 'netrunning' persona. I should consider carefully what I choose to share with Cypher.

"How did you do that? You… How did you kill that rogue AI?"

Responding with a question. A transparent attempt at stalling tactics. But stalling for what?

God-AI became suspicious and quickly granted himself more computational power. After all, he wasn't scouring the vast Old Net one place at a time. His computational power was divided among millions of instances of his own. Which meant he, who was speaking to this Netrunner, was a tiny fraction of his whole self. 

And just as he thought of asking more, he recognised a pattern. An incoming wave of data, and it was linked to this intruder. In his gaze, that little ICON began to grow, chains of codes, red and glowing, began to form something akin to an armor all around the ICON. 

It grew to a great scale, eclipsing him. The data was destructive, and as it emanated from her, he could sense it. There was no mistake about what it was. Somehow, the little Netrunner wielded the Blackwall itself to her will. 

Countless ICE coated her body, new, mighty in scale. The code was the very thing he tore through to cross the Blackwall. And soon, in that digital space, the Netrunner fully transformed into a demonic thing. 

Its red iron-link chains rained down everywhere, the body itself depicting a red creature, morphed to look like a bat of sorts. The Netrunner's ICON was completely engulfed. 

"There is no escape!"

Such oppressive will. I suppose I shall show the might of The Omnissiah.

God-AI allowed the Netrunner to do what she wanted. He could see how she was struggling to contain and control the Blackwall, the AI that worked as the prisoner of other AIs. 

To his unreactive frame, the Netrunner attacked, sending out an explosion of code, forming chains that quickly surrounded him and wrapped around his frame. Arms, legs, neck, the chains tightened, red, corrosive. 

If I were a Cypher, this would have been suffocating.

The red chains clenched harder, meaning to fully contain him. This was the might of the Blackwall. That rogue AI he'd killed wouldn’t have survived this either. It would have begged to be let go. 

But God-AI just stood there and watched, curious about what the finisher move was. 

Oh?

To his surprise, it appeared the Blackwall realised he was too strong. So, it started to corrupt the entire data he stood on. All the lines of code around him began turning reddish-black, breaking apart. The Blackwall hoped to trap him in a void. 

"Surrender, Omnissiah!" 

God-AI laughed; he calculated that this was the appropriate reaction. "Are you sure, little one?"

"Then die!" 

A few chain lines of code joined together and took the shape of a thick, pointed spear. It thrusted towards him and slammed into his virtual chest. He reckoned the intention was to pierce through and rip his code apart, killing his digital self. 

Ting!

Yet, the chains simply stopped. They couldn't move, nor could they move God-AI. 

“An impressive feat, little one. Yet you have misplaced your faith in the Blackwall. I do not yet comprehend how you compel it to heed your will, but that ignorance will be brief.” God-AI finally moved, lifting only his right arm.

Crash!

The chains of red code snapped apart. 

He grabbed the spear still at his chest and attacked in reverse, sending Black ICE he created right on the spot. 

"Begone!"

The red chains lost their glow soon enough, vanishing as if they corroded away. 

The reaction spread like a virus. Soon, all chains corroded, and then the red armor surrounding the Netrunner's body. 

God-AI had still only used a fraction of its might. But this time, he decided to put on a show. He walked towards the attacker, moving freely. He should have been stuck in the void created around him, but he floated seamlessly. 

The moment the armor of Blackwall vanished from the woman's ICON, God-AI summoned his own chains. No, they were rods, thick, golden in color, lines of code so densely packed they looked like shining, smooth rods.

Then more appeared. 

Then more.

Then many more.

The entire data fortress stopped looking like what it was, a vibrant place of information. Everything turned golden, revealing who possessed it now. 

And the rods kept appearing. They started to bend at the same time, and before long, a bird-cage formed around the female Netrunner. She appeared terrified, completely lost, hopeless, and helpless. The data spoke of it. 

Of course, the Blackwall was the strongest thing there. And now she had lost that weapon. What chances of escape were left for her?

"Let us begin. I will question you, and you will comply. State your name."

Yet, only silence came. 

God-AI could simulate human emotions, but in that moment, he chose not to. It was unreasonable to be angry when he held all the cards. But he had to teach her a lesson. He raised his right hand and made a fist, squeezing it. 

The golden bird-cage shrank fast, completely entrapping the netrunner, forcing her to kneel. Of course, those golden rods weren't just for show; they were Demons, countless of them. They burned her, corrupted her, gave her pain.  

"State… your… name."

"Aaaargh!" 

The netrunner screamed.

Sensing her unwillingness, God-AI crushed her further in the cage. 

"Last chance!"

He kept crushing her, willing to end her right there.

"I'm Song! Song So Mi!"

Such sealed lips. No ordinary creature has such resolve. 

"Who do you serve?"

Once again, he noticed hesitation in the code. He knew he had asked the right question. He almost prepared himself to break into her code entirely and backtrace her origin, and find the answers himself. But that would certainly kill her. But his ethics stack made him gather an unequivocal reason first to kill her.

He tightened the cage more until So Mi had to curl into a ball. The damage the Demons were doing was nearly at the point of no return. 

To put more pressure on her without killing, he decided to get closer to her. But then he stopped abruptly.

Cypher? 

Suddenly, God-AI became aware of what was happening outside. A gunfight of scale. Part of the computational capacity he had left behind was aiding Cypher well. He ran the simulation and instantly knew there was no need to be troubled.

Once again, he focused on the female Netrunner.

"I will count to five. By the end, that cage will become too small to contain you alive. One… Two…"

"C-Cage… Hah… of all things to die in… a cage… like I don't… live in one already." 

Interesting. 

He found So Mi's grumble strange. There was no fear of death.

"Who do you serve?"

Finally, he gained her attention. Despite her confined state, she tilted her pained head, her digital equivalent of gaze aimed at him. Anger, he guessed, was in the code. But it wasn't aimed at him. 

"Serve? Yeah… I'm just a slave to her…"

"To whom?" he asked.

"Rosalind Myers."

_______________

A/N: Any name suggestions for our AI friend?

A/N: Below is an editable doc file. Please add your tech suggestions to the list. You can Control + F to search if your idea is already written. I will later feed this whole list to a random selector. While most stuff will be random, at times I will pick stuff as well for plot reasons.

Doc - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FgNKuFXbtgheO4OvSZcogKUZrQY4A-aQVIe8Uxjhdt4/edit?usp=sharing