Dialogue: Killing In The Name

Bes Isis

Hey! You've reached Nance. I can't come to the holo right now. If I feel like it, I'll call you back. Bye!

Nancy

Hello? Oh, hey, V. You callin' about something, or just wanted to catch up?

V

The former. Found your job-posting about Swedenborg-Riviera on the net?

Nancy

Ohhhhh, that! Wow, I completely forgot about that whole thing.

V

So... is it still goin'?

Nancy

I mean, I still wanna scroll a segment about it, so if you can find anything at all on Swedenborg, I'll pay you back in black caviar and champagne...

But I doubt you'll find anything new.

V

1ACan't hurt to try, right?

Nancy

1AWell, aren't you just bursting with a can-do attitude? Have it your way, then...

1AI started looking into all this about a year ago, right after one of Swedenborg's followers lobbed a molotov into the Helvetia branch.

1ATried finding some way to reach the guy... came up blank. Total brick wall. Hired a private eye... Also came up with squat.

V

1AAnd the IP linked to the account? He would've used cloaking daemons, but there's always a mark, a trace...

Nancy

1AWell, well, I didn't know I was dealin' with such a pro, here...

1AGuess what? I tried that.

1AI managed to pinpoint the sig to Santo Domingo... but linking it to any specific address was a nonstarter. District's jam-packed with units, as I'm sure you know.

1AAsked some locals if anyone saw or heard anythin', cash-in-hand... Zilch. Nada. Dried up all my leads.

V

1AGot it. Listen, send me the coordinates of the last dataterm that relayed the signal, OK? I'll take a look. Worse case, I'll lose an hour of my life, best case... Well, who knows.

Nancy

1AHey, if you're offerin' – why not. But seriously, V, I wouldn't get my hopes up. Happy hunting.

V

1ADid you go and talk to a runner? Maybe you could--

Nancy

1A'Course, I did. Think I'm some kind of amateur?

V

1BWhat've you managed to dig up so far?

Nancy

1BShort story? Fuck-all.

V

1BMh. And the long story?

Nancy

1BWell... It looks like Swedenborg-Riviera isn't just a radical philosopher and economist, but a damned good netrunner, too.

V

1BJack-of-all-trades. Could you tell me more?

Nancy

1BI could, but... eh, it'd be a waste of your time. I'm tellin' ya, the guy's a ghost.

Fortuneteller

Money is a tool used by the colonial oppressors of our minds!

Class division is the breeding ground of anarchy!

V

Wait... What the hell is this?

Johnny

What it looks like – Swedenborg-Riviera! Ha! Come one, come all for the prophet of Night City! Ha!

Ohh... that's too good! A wind-up philosopher in a box! Hand me a couple eddies – see what he cranks out next!

V

Dammit... Don't got any change...

Fortuneteller

Money is the root of social entropy!

Fortuneteller

1AYour luck shall turn around when the means of production will flow on an endless stream of endorphins!

Johnny

1AYou scrollin' this? Heh, we need to save these for posterity's sake! Ha!

Fortuneteller

1AYou shall meet an attractive lobbyist when you least expect a violent outbreak of class warfare!

V

2AUgh, need to take a look. Somebody must've tampered with this thing...

Johnny

2AHaha, seriously? What, you think you're gonna find a jack-in-a-box who wants to become a real boy? Haha!

V

3ALook. Someone hooked Swedenborg up to the Net.

Johnny

3AWhat're you waiting for? Let's see what secrets are flowin' in those cables.

V

3AOK, so... If I'm gettin' this right... Someone hacked into this fortuneteller bot, rejigged its algorithm to spew out anti-establishment aphorisms instead of prophecies...

Johnny

3AAnd then hooked it up to the net through a system of routers that masks the signal-origin. Pure fuckin' genius!

3ACan we find whoever did this? I need to shake their hand.

V

3AUnlikely, for two reasons. First, they didn't leave a trace. Second... you're dead, Johnny.

Johnny

3AOh, right. When I get in a good mood, I forget that.

3AHey, V... Don't turn it off, huh?

V

4AWhen a joke's been told a thousand times, it stops bein' funny.

Johnny

4ANo, no, V, wait! Ugh, you had to go and ruin everything.

V

4BHold on, I've got a better idea.

Fortuneteller

4BLet your thoughts dance the lusty rumba while accompanied to a joyful accordion.

Johnny

4BWhat the...? Ha! What'll all his fans think!

4BOh, man... I know you and I don't always click, V, but I've gotta say... You've got your perks.

Fortuneteller

4BFox cubs are gathering data from the cesspit of the financial merry-go-round!

4BBecome the obese narwhal in heat amidst the blazing ice.

V

5AEh, don't worry, Johnny. I'm not gonna take away Night City's philosopher of the people.

Johnny

5AHeh. Well, then! To Swedenborg-Riviera! Long may he live!

V

2BHow...? How's this even possible?

Johnny

2BNot a fucking clue. But Jesus, V... how beautiful is this? Half the net's gettin' tweaked on wisdom from a puppet in a glass case – hairs are bein' split, spit is flyin' over interpretations...

2BOh, man! Lemme tell you – fifty years of soul prison was worth it for this moment right here.

V

Argh, maybe. Or maybe we get to another terminal. Have to see.

Johnny

Funny area, this. Kind of complements our guy's style, doesn't it?

V

How? This theme park another parody of capitalism run amok?

Johnny

Cheap entertainment for braindead gonks, that's how.

V

Huh. Trail cuts off here...

Johnny

So, what... asshole hidin' here someplace?

Fortuneteller

Let your thoughts dance the lusty rumba while accompanied to a joyful accordion.

Become the obese narwhal in heat amidst the blazing ice.

Behold his wounds, inflicted by a red panda – a soda-can lies nearby – the object of their passion!

Capital is the blood of the global system of oppression!

Success is the dilution of the soul!

The means of production should belong to the collective unconscious!

Nancy

Ah, V. Lemme guess, you called to tell me you're done bashing your head against the wall?

V

1AWell... not exactly. We found something.

Nancy

1A"We?" Someone with you?

V

1ANo...? Uh, no, I-I meant the... the royal "We." So, about Swedenborg... It's all a big hoax.

Nancy

1ASay what now?

V

1AIt's an automated fortune-teller. Strings words into deep-sounding mumbo-jumbo. Someone jacked it into the Net... Probably laughin' from his chair...

Nancy

1AShit, V... This, this...! Oh, this story's even better than I thought! I'll take it from here. Oh, your, uh... your eddies – on their way now. Thanks, bye!

V

1BUh-huh, 'fraid so. Like you said – he's a ghost. No trace to be found.

Nancy

1BSee? Told ya. You've got the making's a media vulture yet, though.

1BAnyway... Thanks for lookin' into it. Catch you around.

V

1BTake care, Nancy.

Johnny

I thought about givin' you a piece of my mind, but... Maybe it's for the best. Every joke needs an audience, right?

Good move, V. Who knows... Hundred, two hundred years from now, when we're all radioactive dust, Swedenborg'll still be preaching on the Net...

V

Sig's a match with what Nancy was trackin'... And goes further, out to the badlands. Like a server proxy.

Johnny

Don't tell me that's where we're headin' next.

V

Why shouldn't we?

Johnny

'Cause this is all one big waste of time! The fuck do you care about a borg-fucking Swede? He rubs out sayings like a randy teenager, and the whole world's guzzling it up.

"The three branches of government is a lobotomy on the people's autonomy." I mean, what the fuck?

V

Don't like it, don't listen.

Johnny

Oh, yeah, real mature! Not like I can cover my ears and go "lalalalala" whenever you open your trap.

Happy fuckin' trails.

V

Ooohhhh, I get what's going on here. You're jealous.

Johnny

Jealous? About this shit-Swede? You outta your fuckin' mind?

V

Mhm. 'Cause he's the one all the anarchists and fist-pumpers are quoting, while you played in piss-soaked dives for a bunch of stoned zit-faces.

Johnny

Don't talk shit about what you don't know.

V

Hear that noise...? Comin' from upstairs...

2AHa. Pirate router...

Johnny

2AThink this is our Swede's doin'?

V

2AOnly one way to find out.

Johnny

Why this obsession with Swedenfuck? Hoping once you find him he'll spill the meaning of life? Here, I'll save you the trouble – life makes no sense.

V

With you in my head? Agreed. Now, how 'bout some quiet time? Can't think...

Johnny

You stopped thinkin' long before I got here. But sure, blame it all on the guy in your head...

V

Wait, wait... Shhh.... I need to look around.

V

Signal keeps going... To another terminal...

Johnny

Ha! I've got a feeling someone's messing with you, V. You'll follow this breadcrumb trail, and when you connect the dots all you'll see is a dick.

V

We'll see. Come on.

I'm sure you'd love that, wouldn't you?

Johnny

Fuckin' A, I would. That cock would be the first thing Swedenborg did that'd actually make any sense.

'Cept he'd probably give it some pretentious name. Like "Patriarchal phallus upholding toxic masculinity." Whaddaya think?

V

Think it's time we moved on.

Where could it be... Maybe over by that truck...?

2AOh. Thought you were done talking to me.

Johnny

2AI was. But it's not like I've got anyone else to talk to. I'd go through your memories, but I don't wanna puke all over your hippocampus.

2AWell, hack away or whatever it is you were gonna do. Please, something happen!

V

2AHeh, damn... Another router...

Johnny

2ASounds like this Swedenborg really values his privacy.

V

Signal leads here and... And disappears again...

Johnny

And? Signal leads to another place?

V

Yeeep.

Johnny

Hey, maybe this is all part of Swedenborg's message? Life... is movement! Fuck the destination – it's how you get there that counts.

V

Well, there's some truth to that...

Johnny

Jesus, V, this is philosophy for the hoi polloi... Have you ever read a book in your life? You know what – don't answer. I don't wanna know.

So where's this next lead get us? A yoga class? A Tibetan monastery?

V

No. To... to an amusement park.

Johnny

Oh? The plot thickens.

V

Sounds like straight up bullshit to me.

Johnny

Finally, something we agree on.

V

Fuck...

Johnny

Lemme guess... another router? My dick theory's starting to seem like a real possibility.

V

Come on, where is it... Maybe up there...?

Ah, Christ, finally...

Johnny

Look. Get far enough from the smell – even Night City can be beautiful.