CHAPTER 10
---usr/systems/server-x/MEETING OF THE DARK KINGS---
“Holy shit, if it isn’t the god of hacking himself, here in the digital flesh. The almighty VseR, people. Bask in his holiness,” Red Ice sarcastically announced.
Red Ice was a pain in the ass, and his avatar was fitting; it looked like a demon with red scaly skin, black leather biker jacket, prehensile tail, and a constant burning flame for a head with dark shades. Ice and VseR found themselves on opposite sides of jobs quite often, with Ice drawing the short end of the straw every time. VseR calmly sat down at his assigned chair. The host of the meeting, Queenalona, was next to him. Her avatar was that of a woman with chrome skin, a nearly featureless face, considerable cleavage, blue hair, and a white dress. She was the most suited to host the meeting as she had a knack for maintaining control and keeping everyone else on track.
“VseR, I must say, it is an honor to have you here. We are very glad you decided to attend,” she said, pleasantly.
“Thanks,” VseR replied.
“For security purposes, let us all synch our minds together to use the encrypted chat feature. Now, shall we proceed?”
They began the encrypted chat.
Red Ice: So, Queenalona, what are we here for, really?
Queenalona: We all know that for a while, this city’s foundation has been rotting for years. VseR has consistently made it a point to highlight these shortcomings via his work on CWR. It would finally appear that many are taking heed to the message.
Raker: We already know about the bullshit. People’s raised awareness here in Neon District doesn’t prove jack shit. Most us are still too broke, too high, or too numb to do anything about it.
Moonshot: Raker, let her finish.
Queenalona: Thank you Moon. Hate crimes against Hybrids are becoming more frequent and extreme thanks to ZOBE. Their dangerous discriminatory message is spreading faster than anyone could have imagined.
Vanes: Wasn’t there some incident not too long ago that happened in Blue Emerald District? A couple innocent Hybrids were killed and they did nothing wrong, right?
Raker: Oh yeah, I do remember hearing something about that. I actually heard that Psi-Corp did a piss poor job of covering up the whole thing and have been reluctant to call it a hate crime due to lack of concrete evidence. As if there isn’t a disparity between Purebreds and Hybrids already.
Queenalona: Exactly. It is after events like these that I’ve seen a change in the dynamic of the people, especially those who follow me. The outcry is reaching a fever pitch. For the first time, people plan to take action and to seek answers. Now is the best opportunity to strike.
VseR: We can’t forget about Zonos government law, as well. They play a major part in this problem. Not only are they allowing ZOBE to run wild, but Chimera’s also increasing their activity and I have a feeling that Zonos and Psi-Corp have something to do with it.
Red Ice: Speaking of Chimera, I heard they got severely fucked trying to work with a hacker from CWR. Heard they lost over seventy-five million Creds as a result!
Moonshot: Holy shit! Chimera must be pissed. I wouldn’t want to be that hacker, by any means. They must have a massive price on their head. Did they reveal the name of the hacker?
Queenalona: Negative. Word on the street is they don’t want to release the name for fear of a hit on their already damaged reputation.
Vanes: I also heard that The LoveMaars lost their top earning girls, too! Either they have incredibly shitty luck, or someone is out to seriously fuck with them.
Red Ice: What? I planned to go there next week! I finally saved up enough money for The Exotics. Heard they’ll fuck you till you can’t stand no more.
Queenalona: Could you be any more repulsive, you savage? Anyway, because of the recent unrest I’ve started thinking about some things. Like, how could we, as fairly well-known figures in CWR, use our influence to deliver some sort of shake-up and provoke some sort of change? I was thinking we could organize a protest rally in front of the statehouse for starters.
VseR: Unfortunately, we are one of many byproducts of the corruption that Zonos produced. To try and start a revolution, coup or revolt of any kind in real life would require more than hacking databases and exposing stories about things that are supposed to be hidden from public consciousness. We would need the people’s support in real life, not as lurking supporters on CWR. Simple protesting isn’t going to fly with a government like Zonos, I promise you that. I heard about a protest tha took place a few weeks ago in Nova Central and it ended with skulls getting cracked. Psi-Corp doesn’t give a shit about protecting people. Their sole purpose is to enforce. They’ve been making that pretty clear for quite some time. For us to make any real noise, we would need to be the ones who do the skull cracking for once. But brute force alone still wouldn’t be enough. We would need a multifaceted plan that attacks them from all angles.
