A stress ball rests haphazardly on the edge of a computer stand in a barely lit tech room. Although surrounded by hundreds of lights from the myriads of machines, computers, and buttons lining the walls and ceiling: They have long grown dark and dusty after years of neglect. This basement tech room had been the source of so much discovery and love, creating some of the most powerful Brain Dances in decades, but it is now reduced to a storage closet of forgotten memories and achievements. It wasn't only the basement that could be described in such a bleak manner, but the entire house at the top of the stairs. All the designer furniture and appliances were lost in the divorce, leaving every room empty and void of life or light. This was nothing new as the thin layers of dust that had collected everywhere were a clear sign of a lifestyle long gone.

Among the shadows of dusty cables and machines, the only source of light came from the BD scrolling chair in the corner. Upon the chair lay the sole occupant of the entire house. The thirty-one-year-old divorcee lays still as the BD Wreath shines brightly under her eyes. Visions of her recent marriage replayed over and over before her eyes. Eight years earlier in 2079, she and her wife would wake in this beautiful home of love and technology and find peace of mind away from the rough upbringings that befell them both. One had escaped heartache from the dark corners of Night City, while the other, had a stifled upbringing in the overrated hills of Denver. One wanted a large family, but not so much the other… Perhaps that was what started the breakdown of the love, or maybe it wasn't. Either way, Judy was scrolling through these memories looking for the cause of her failures as well as the life she recently had lived.

Reaching the end of the current shard, she pulls it from the wreath and reaches to place it back in a case with hundreds of other shards. Bumping the tech table with her elbow, the stress ball drops heavily into the side of the shard case, spilling them all over the floor.

"Shit!" cries Judy angrily as she jumps from the BD chair to gather the shards from the floor.

Picking them up one by one to toss back into their case, Judy pauses as an unmarked shard rests against the floor under the pile of others.

'This one must've been at the very bottom of the case' she thought in her head.

With great curiosity, she returned to the chair and slotted this unknown shard for viewing. Even though only a memory, the rush of the cold water hit Judy like a brick. She could feel the diving suit clinging to her body, as the sea pressure embraced her entirely.

'It's one of my old dives back in Night City!' she thought to herself happily.

She had long missed diving, her ex-wife never enjoyed such things, let alone swimming, so she gave it up to maintain the relationship. Perhaps it was another sign that things wouldn't have worked out in the long run. While pondering the thought, Judy jumped when the BD version of herself began to speak.

"First up. Motion sensors and scrolling. Circle around me. Swim,"

she heard her past self say to another, "Enjoying the view?"

"Visual sensors are getting stimmed right now, can't be denied," said V.

…..

Judy played the memory over and over again for what felt like an eternity, only stopping once the BD wreath had lost its battery charge. She hadn't heard V's voice for years. It was a love unlike any other; V was her savior during her worst times in NC, but also the provider of an escape to a new life. And yet she walked away, abandoning a comatose V, when things made a turn for the worst. It was the biggest regret Judy had, and when she heard that V had made a recovery a few years later, the sorrow was nearly physical. For a moment Judy sat motionless pondering her options. This shard was unique, as they were jointly connected, Judy knew she could locate V through it. She didn't know what end it would bring, but even if only a face-to-face apology was all that could be attained, it was still infinitely better than the current situation. With that, Judy packed what little she had left and left the old home for the last time.

…..

It used to be trouble to get into or out of Night City. That is not the case anymore, due to the fall of Arasaka and the rise of the NUSA. There had been a huge power vacuum in the late 2070s and this was the result. Now a flight into Night City Metropolitan Airport was affordable and travel on the local metro was safe without need of personal armament. Instead now constant Militech officers guarded streets and local developments, both human and drone support everywhere on city grounds. It'd been a long time since Judy had walked these streets and stepping off the metro from the airport gave her pause. The streets were pristine, no trash or debris of any kind. Nearby stores and vendors looked clean and safe… too safe. It was hard for her to feel comfortable in the reborn military state of NC. It seemingly lacked all the charm and individuality that once existed before.

"We've both changed, Night City, we destroyed our identity for our sterilized false lives," Judy chuckled to herself.

It made the most sense to her that the best place to start looking for V, would be V's old apartment in Watson. Walking to the edge of Westbrook an unbelievable sight met her eyes. All of Watson was walled up. Like a prison or fortress, no way could be seen to enter or even see into the old northern district.

Waving down a Militech guard Judy asked,

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for a friend who lived in Watson about a decade ago…"

"Welcome back to Night City, ma'am. Watson is currently a 'No-Man-Zone' and has been for years. If you'd like access you'll have to apply for a permit at the local transport authority. However, I wouldn't recommend it, the area is crawling with scavs, gonks, and the remaining members of Malstrom. Not to mention, most of the comms are down in there."

Surprised and a little irritated, Judy snaps back, "Is there a way to contact the inside from the outside, please? I need to find her!"

Like he'd been asked this a million times, the guard rolls his eyes and says,

"Listen, odds are your friend probably got out before the walls went up. If you have the person's data sig you could always look them up at a local NUSA library terminal. The nearest one is just over the bridge into Westbrook on 1st street just before Japantown. You have a nice day, ma'am."

Judy had never been in a library before and being inside this one made her realize how much had really changed in NC. After being 'forced' to make a library card and 'forcefully' given a tour of the facility, Judy was amazed by its offerings. Rows of chairs with citizens of all ages perusing data terminals, people handling real physical reference books hundreds of years old. Children enjoying educational BDs of famous events and speeches, both real and staged moments from every age of history. The technology had advanced so much in only 8 years. A shiver rolled up Judy's spine, all these incredible advancements as she did nothing but rest in the dust… Left behind in a previous age of technology and alone in her misery.

Settling into a chair at an empty terminal, Judy jacks in and connects to the NC white pages. Entering V's old connection signature, Judy crossed her fingers hoping for a match. The terminal gives an electrical crack, before the screen glitches to black. Panicked, she begins to call for a nearby aid when a message appears on the screen:

"Wake up and wake others up. Join our collective." "36°10′30″N 115°08′11″W 7A-H"

"What the hell!?" Judy whispers as she transfers the coordinates to her shard.

Trying to get more info off the terminal did nothing, as the screen quickly corrected itself. Even reentering V's data did nothing to replay the startling message; Just a simple page titled unknown. Switching gears, Judy searched the coordinates to find that the location is nearby. Shutting down the terminal, then thanking the librarian, quick on the heel Judy strides out onto the street. It wasn't much, but it might be a lead.

While walking to the location, Judy's head was abuzz with thoughts. Firstly, this could be nothing but a scam. It wasn't unusual back in the day to trick the common folk into losing a few eddies by leading them into back alleys. However, times had changed, with all the NUSA guards on patrol a nefarious plot this couldn't be happening. On the other hand, memories of V began to surface. V was a talented techie and netrunner, perhaps even better at BD scrolling than herself. Maybe this was a way to contact what lies beyond the walls of Watson or some other means of contacting V. Her walk quickened as she remembered V and the history they shared. Memories were rising like bubbles from a dive suits breath mask.

V was the soul mate that she desired more than anyone else at the time. Even in the ugly smiley t-shirt and the ragged brown leather jacket did V make her heartbeat. Even as a merc, V's driftwood colored skin was never dry. It was warm and soft to the touch. The memories of their embrace, the tender kisses and subtle tongue caresses made Judy's hair stand on end.

The beeping from her HUD GPS, pulled her out of the memory. The current destination is much less pleasant than where her thoughts had taken her: A single brick building with no visible windows or doors. Exploring the exterior of the building, a small data screen can be seen sticking out at an angle.

Thinking 'what the heck', Judy jacked in. The screen beeped to life as a message appeared on the screen.

01010011 01110101 01100010 00100000 01010100 01100101 01110010 01101101 01101001 01101110 01100001 01101100 00100000 00110101 00111010 00100000 01001110 01101111 01110010 01110100 01101000 00100000 01001111 01100001 01101011

"This is rather old binary…" speaking under her breath, "but I still remember it".

Translating the coded message, a new destination is revealed to be in North Oak. Judy didn't have anything better to do. Her sole purpose for being here was V. So although annoyed and tired, this could be her only lead. Judy followed the digital path.

In North Oak, the terminal had a security block that needed to be cracked. Yet it was Simple enough. The terminal identified her skills and moved her onward from one place…

dvhg drmw vhgzgv zwnrm xlmmvxgrlm. blfi gzovmgh ziv mvvwvw.

… To another…

Lclyf ilnpupun ohz hu luk, WHJPMPJH Ilhjo Whapv 6

… and another…

Pm fvb'yl ylhkpun aopz vu mhumpjapvu kva ula, huk ayhuzshapun tf jvklz... fvb'yl h thzzpcl ulyk... Qbza sprl tl. :)

… and finally, as the sun began to set, Judy arrived to something completely different. Here on the old shore of Pacifica, a relic from a world even beyond Judy's knowledge. Here in the light of the setting sun:

A vintage electronic fortune teller.

The faded digital screen barely reveals an ancient old hag in a faded blue robe named Leonora, who sits before a hand of cards and a lit crystal ball.

"THIS IS FUCKING ALL?" Screamed Judy at the diminishing sun just off the horizon.

Falling to her knees, she sighs at all the time she's wasted. She had left home on a whim, thanks to a forgotten shard. Now she had been tricked into following some old ARG from a forgotten age. Turning to walk away, Judy pauses. The trail not only ended here, but with nowhere else to go and no other leads on V. She thought she had passed the days when she felt this hopeless… Sure her recent divorce wasn't a pleasure of any kind, but that mutual separation was nothing compared to the feeling of being lost again on the streets of Night City. Tired and cold, tear drops rolled heavy down her cheeks and onto the dark pavement below.

After pausing for what felt like an eternity, Judy turned back to the machine.

"Well Leonora, you bitch, lets see what you have to say about all this,"

she speaks disgustedly as she inserts an eddie into the coin slot.

The coin rolls in and drops out the return chute as the machine is clearly inoperable. With a sigh, Judy bends over to retrieve the coin from the worn concrete. Bending back up, she pauses as a detail on the machine catches her eye. Just below the image of the crystal ball is a bit of font, barely visible with the damaged internal screen lighting:

'REVEAL

The Truth

REVEAL

THE SOULKILLER'

A memory came shooting to the front of her mind. A time with V explaining her connection to some long dead rockstar and the chip that connected their fates. Not a chip, but a shard. A shard called SOULKILLER.

Without thinking Judy began to kick, rattle, and bang on the machine. Perhaps out of desperation, but at the same time in hope that perhaps there was a connection all along on this stupid technological adventure. A small flap on the side of the machine creeks lightly. In the light of the moon Judy dug her nails into it aggressively, attempting to break it open. With a crack and a snap of losing a fingernail the panel slams open; exposing an old import jack. Connecting to the port, Judy is met with a modernized security interface. It's tough to crack. Thinking back on the previous challenges, it dawned on her now that these were well made challenges meant for determining the abilities of a netrunner. Questions and who and why kept distracting her from breaking the fortune tellers codes, was this challenge meant for me or for…

A few minutes turn to an hour or more before the fortune teller gives up its last secret:

Jvtl av 117 Jvhza Cpld. Myvua klzr, zhf - ihyatvzz splz hdhrl

Compared to cracking the security, deciphering the code was easy. Armed with instructions to a building nearby and a password, Judy runs quickly to the building in question only about a block away. She wasn't sure what she'd find, the darkness of the night did no favors in getting a layout of her current area. Earlier when she had arrived in Pacifica to find the fortune teller box, Judy had been taken aback at the changes even here. Pacifica had finally become the business and entertainment hub it was originally built for. In the distance, the sounds of yelling associated with some kind of roller coaster was enough to keep her mind awake as she began to stumble heavily toward her destination. Coming upon the outside of an old office building, Judy slams against the locked door, frantically ringing the bell. Feeling herself slipping from fatigue from a day of running about the city, she cries out the fortune teller's password over and over again. Looking through the glass, a figure can be seen coming close to the door, Judy backs away from the door to avoid getting hit. A lock clicks open and the door glides revealing an older black man, perhaps in his late 40s or 50s. A loose tie dangles from his white dress shirt, a lanyard and badge labeled 'S. Reed' just barely keeping the tie in place. He looks concerned at Judys appearance, but smiles as he states:

"My apologies young lady, but our location is currently closed. You can come back tomorrow at.." he's interrupted as Judy promptly passes out on the floor exhausted.

…..

Glimmers of light dance gently on Judys closed eyelids. That warm presence of the sun stirs her dreaming mind. Like leaving one dream only to enter another, curiosity and wonderment grasp Judy as her eyes slowly focus and take in the environment around her. A generous sized apartment with white walls with a matching hexagonal floor tile. Rising slowly from the bed, Judy takes in all the minor details. A BD wreath and stress ball lay on the table beside the bed along with a few data shards, more than one which had her own name written on them. Looking around the room, lining the walls are numerous shelves and a variety of posters. She recognizes posters of her favorite bands, as well as some of old classic bands like 'Samurai' or 'Kerry Eurodyne'. A shelf with tech tools and something that looks like a dive respirator. A door on the opposite wall remains closed, whereas the door nearest her is partially open with the delicate smell of fresh brewed coffee seeping in.

Movement catches her eye on the other side of the room, leaning forward Judy makes out an ancient looking iguana on a small palm tree. A small plate beneath the lizard is written, 'DeShawn' probably the creature's name she thought. Resting back into a seated position, and finally waking up fully, a loud gasp escapes her mouth as her situation is realized. Swaddled in warm blankets upon a decent sized bed she lay… In naught but her panties.

Suddenly worried about where and what has happened, Judy seized the blanket from the bed and rose slowly stepping onto the floor. Almost at the moment both feet made it to the floor, the handle on the door across the room, rattled quickly. Picking up the nearby stress ball to throw at her captor, she readies herself as the door opens.

"Oh! Good morning, Jude!" said V poking her head out from the bathroom and walking into the room in all her glory, "hope my showering didn't wake you."

The stress ball, and blanket from the bed, fell to the floor.