bakerstreet | The Cyberpunk Meme

The Cyberpunk AU Meme 3.0 [OPEN BETA]

Welcome to the future. Please abandon all hopes and dreams after this point, for the very definition of the term cyberpunk is "high tech, low life". The idea behind cyberpunk comes from the thought that as technology advances, so broadens the gap between social status, where becoming middle class is an achievement and anyone wanting to become anything higher suffers from pipe dreams. This life is pain, where the only person you can really trust is yourself.

These are worlds defined by poverty or absolute control, where the net is your only escape from the troubles of the world. Cyborgs, meta-humans, AI, and corporations with undisputed power are what's being served out here. Do you have what it takes to survive?

To get started, you can create a scenario for yourself, or merely go to the Random Number Generator and choose a pre-made one for you and your partner, or you can even leave your comment blank and let respondents pick.

Possible roles
>The office drone: You're no one special. Day in and day out, you punch into work. You're unaware, or at least uncaring, of how shitty life around you is because at least the fistful of dollars you get keeps you from being on the streets.
>Deprogrammed: Similar to above, but a set of circumstances has made you realize just how blind you are. You don't have the savvy others may have but you have the determination to see your goals out until the bitter end. Or at least until your enemies make you a better offer.
>The muscle: You have a specific set of skills that are in high demand. Be it assassin or head-basher, you're rarely out of a job.
>Tech support: You have a way with computers that would make ABC agencies cry. Big people rely on you while even bigger ones are trying to get their hands on you.
>The talking head: Your district, your city, or your country knows you well. You're the face of propaganda, and boy, can you weave it! You're kept comfortable by the masters that feed you, though the days may be difficult as you see more and more injustices enacted.
>The Street tough: You're the lowest of the low. Life has given up on you, though you keep fighting on. You're the dealer, the gangster, the informant, the thief, and more. You know all the short cuts and the best ways to cause a stir.
>The fish out of water: Through experimentation, creation, or other factors, you've found yourself in this brave new world with no support to lean on. You need to understand the way things are if you're to survive long.
>The Hard-luck hero: Can be any of the above, though circumstance or sheer force of will has kept you from straying away from doing what's right.
>The Antagonist: Board member of a mega-corporation? G-Man with the need to stay in Power? Religious fanatic with an extremist bent? The background matters not. What does matter is that if you aren't the problem, you certainly benefit from perpetuating it.

There are so many more possible roles, so don't let this list limit you! If you think it could fit, play it out!

Prompts
>Deep Throat: One (or both) of you have managed to stumble across information that could change the way the world around you works. This could make or break the two of you, if you know how to handle the consequences of your following actions.

>The Hook Up: In the real world, people wouldn't waste their spit on scum like you. But in the net? You're a god, peddling information and resources better than Wal-Mart. Just be careful who you talk to. Not everyone thinks what you do is a good thing.

>Take a Stand:The corporations, the government, the gangs, the machines. It doesn't matter who it is, but you're tired of their interference in your life. Are the two of you ready to take them on?

>Thorns In My Side: You're the king or queen of your private enterprise. You have it all: A private army, AIs capable of placating the masses, connections even better than the government, and a demeanor that could charm Satan himself. However, there's still that little nuisance known as the underdog, and they're knocking at your door.

>What You Need is a Gramme...: You just got that newest drug shipment in, and it promises to be the biggest trip in your life. It promises to make you stronger, faster, smarter, and sexier, all in one hit. The only thing left is to try it.

>The Patchwork Man: People are disappearing, and no one seems to notice or care, except you and your partner. The only thing? They're also your worst enemy.

>Escape From...: You've just been kidnapped, and unfortunately, your partner's the kidnapper. What's their motive? Can you escape?

>Voight-Kampff: Your job is to track down and 'retire' human-like bioengineered androids who have gone rogue. Sounds simple enough, right? Not when your targets are as intelligent as any human, or more. Not only that, they are stronger, almost indistinguishable from humans in appearance. So much so it's possible one could be one and not realize it...

>Be More Human: You're a cop, a gumshoe or someone else dealing with law enforcement, a dangerous job to do alone. Good thing you have a partner, right? Only one problem, they're an android. Robots who can think and feel are a thing now, and what's more, some are starting to think they should have all the rights humans have. Whether you agree or not, you two are stuck together.

>FUCK Society: As the internet grows more advanced, so does inter-connectivity to the point whole cities are now monitored by powerful operating systems that govern all aspects of city life. You are a hacker that is out to fight the megacorps, while seeking revenge against the criminal element.

>Wildcard: What it says on the tin.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[I think Temple’s role would probably be either the office drone or the deprogrammed.]

[Tech Support. Any prompt, I dig them all.]

[Police detective with a cybernetic leg and has an android partner, Dorian.]

The operative system would initiate the server at the expected pace within what the hardware an an optimized order of programs would allow. Then, the data-gathering would begin, and from the pseudo-corneal interface that showed the navigator, the body would absorb information at a lightning pace, to purple eyes glowing at the same beat of the jungle of machines and modems plugged to her.

It was an entity known as E8xE8_TypeII-A. An individual who had authored nearly two or three books a week regarding efficient systems engineering, and on countless subjects of M-Theory. Each of them written almost machine-like, which in turn absorbed information from the world wide web at a voracious pace that was impossible to keep up. Only an A.I. could have been able to do that.

It was half a truth.

In real life, it was a girl who had an USB port in the back of her genetically purple hair, bearing numerous plugs for eleven cables connected just below her on her neck and upper back. She had replaced her legs and most of her organs within an artificial waist covered in skin-colored silicone with artificial parts. A coating that separated her still-organic chest and head with the rest of her replaced parts.

For somebody with an almost legendary status in the world wide network, found either from systematically-written thesis reviews, to entries appearing out of nowhere without a trace of personality, she was surprisingly easy to find.

Whenever if you looked for her, or if she looked for you, your interface would light up with a notification of a highly encrypted message with a synchronized key generated automatically every 0.00000000016 seconds to both parties.

Hello. My name is Kotomi Ichinose. My hobby is reading books. I would like to be friends with you, the voice and text said, as it was the standard programmed greeting. What can I assist you with?

((OOC: Current prompts used are "The Muscle" and FUCK Society, but open to all others if you wish for another one, or play another one on the go!))

Edited 2019-02-17 06:32 (UTC)

((The Be More Human prompt makes me laugh, because. Well. But I'm open to anything that catches anyone's fancy, and totally willing to write starters too once we have an idea where we're going to take things.))

[Talking Head/Antagonist combo - he's the visible leader of First Order Enterprises, a multinational conglomerate that manufactures anything and everything you could possibly need.

Though you might not be willing, or able, to pay the price for it. But good luck finding it somewhere else.]

[Tech-Support/Hacker type, obviously. Mostly white-hat these days, though he wasn't always.]

[Trains the recruits for a vague yet menacing government agency. Has probably been running a con on said agency for decades as he's also the gatekeeper for an anti-government group.]

[He's in security. Probably in your security for your smart house, stealing all your secrets.]

[CEO of a former weapons manufacturer turned sustainable future agency. Which isn't to say she hasn't got some shady dealings on the side, weapons don't just up and disappear. Except when they do.]

[On the surface she runs a fairly successful casino/hotel complex that she inherited from her father, but below that she also runs a 'church' to help runaways of every type. You need a place to stay while an abusive ex is out on parole? She's got you. You need a whole new identity and transport to a new city? She's got you there too, and everything between.]

[She's a Reaper, which is to say one of the Raven Queen's enforcers, there to track down and terminate anyone who's crossed her.

But she wasn't always, she was conscripted into the job more or less, so if she finds you, you'd better have a damn good story for her to consider letting you go.]

[Actual human contact is a rarity these days, which is where Companions come in. Sure, you can have wild and crazy sexcapades in virtual reality, but who's going to make you dinner?]

[We all know this kid's got hacking skills out the wazoo, notices patterns and works for who it's convenient for him to work for.]

[A game-guide sprite who's definitely more advanced AI than those guys usually are.]

[A member of a quasi-religious, militant fringe group who thinks that technology (and the rich) have too much control over people's lives and not afraid of cracking a few heads to convince people of this.

Though truthfully he'd rather not, he's more of a lover than a fighter.]

[She's a Killjoy, man, they live fast, bust up draculoids and save people from being bl/INDed. Very much against The Man and always have the best parties.]

[Reluctantly working for a warlord, definitely has hacking skills, though nervous and cowed enough that he'd have to be convinced to use them against MaMa, she saved his life and gave him his sight back, after all.]

[Wealthy club owner. Gives people favors in turn for a favor in the future.

On the surface, he's insufferable; typical wealthy asshole with his fingers in all the pies, leaving little for anyone else.

On a deeper level, his "favors" tend to involve, well... giving people whatever they want, in exchange for help in taking down the Mega-Corps.]

(ooc: She's a mage in the spirit of Shadowrun, with no cybernetics to affect her essence, but handy with small firearms because while fancy magic is nice and all Han Solo had a point about a good blaster at your side. In this setting she'd embrace the name "Black Lady" and dress the part, keeping to the shadows, relying on stealth when possible, support magic, healing, and a second line of defense if things get hot. No fireballs, but some good electric spells. They have a way with technology, so don't piss her off while showing off your shiny new deck.)

The Cyberpunk Meme

Mark Temple | Red vs. Blue | M/M

Tony Stark | MCU | OTA

John Kennex | Almost Human

leon | kingdom hearts

Kotomi Ichinose | Clannad | OTA

Hank Anderson | Detroit Become Human | OTA

Armitage Hux | Star Wars (AU) | OTA

Hardison | Leverage | OTA

Merlin | Kingsman | OTA

Maison | Alternate fairy tale | OTA

Pepper | MCU | OTA

Alanna Calrissian | Star Wars OC | OTA

Lup | TAZ: Balance | OTA

Gabreel King | OC | OTA

Q | New Bondiverse | OTA

Quorra | Tron: Legacy | OTA

Alvis | Killjoys | OTA

Shiny | Fabulous Killjoys OC | OTA

Techie | Dredd | OTA

Lucifer | Lucifer (tv)

Usa Tsukino/Black Lady || Sailor Moon