They say knowledge is power, money is power, weapons are power. Idiots don't understand that Power is Power. I couldn't decide who could live or die in this Arcology before, and I've paid the price for that. But now that I can, I'll show everyone that they don't have to fear Ganova, they have to fear me!

Genetic codes ok, activate k-betazine inductors. Very good my assistants, this lot should result better, but results will come in three years. Last time those little fuckers united and escaped, but luckily the memory suppressor worked well, and if i find them, this time i'll study them in natural habitat, to see their response to social stimulus. If my investements are profitable, I'll design humna kind's future.

In this fucking world if you want something you have to take it from someone else. How many have I screwed? who the fuck cares? enough to get me to where I am now that's for sure. I'm not getting screwed like the last jerk in my place, I know everyone around me is just waiting for the right time to steal what's mine, but they don't know who they're dealing with, they will never find me with my guard down, I will be ready for them and, at worst, I always have a plan B.

I was nobody, just one like many others, but now i'm a star, i'm The Star. Obviusly I had to leave behind some people and put aside my pride, but now i've got e got everything i've ever wanted. Sometimes I ask myself if my old mates are still good, but I cannot go near them by contract. After all I am th Face of Ganova, even if after what i've found out, who knows what will happen.

Another day of happy work, another day dedicated to the great cause! Not like the millions of empty and unknown faces who toil and sacrifice themselves without a purpose, no sir! I exert myself for something greater than me, you and anyone else: Ganova, the great Ganova! Why lose our lives chasing our unreachable dreams when we can give our existence to feed a creature that goes beyond humanity itself? As recruitment ads teach us: Self-denial sets us free!

Someone tells that is a shame if in this world you can reach the retirement, probably you're a jerk Well, i don't know if it's true or not, but int he meantime i'm creating a little retirement fund. I repeated this to myself many time before someone found out the origin of that money. Shut them up cost me many eddies, but now they're asking for something that could ruin me. With allthe efforts i put to be here, i cant permit this to happen... or I can't permit it to myself.

Rain again. One more night spent on the corpse of yet another choomba who tought he could make it without Ganova. I'm tired, why they don't understand that it's all for their own good? The cigarette falls from my fingers, I should quit. I must complete my mission, I must find the ultimate weapon for the Corp, the one tha could truly save us. I cannot burn my time this way. One more night, on more problem solved, now it's time to report.

My name is Bond, James Bond'. Ah I love this shit. Tonight's dose is particullary good, a scene from Goldfinder, uncut version, upup quality. Yesterday I convinced Hands to give me an old revolver, out of use: working on it, now it really looks like Connery's... I have to go now though, thanks to a new insurrection in sector 23. Someone hasn't paid, and Ganova must always receive its cut.

what identifies a person? I've asked myself many times, maybe too many. My face is not mine, my name is just a number and my past belongs to a dead man. None of this things are really mine. Who am I really? Do I have to accept that I will follow the path traced by my predecessor or may I aspire to make one of my own and leave a legacy, one that's only mine. That's enough, I have to push these thoughts away, people like me are not allowed to think certain thoughts. After all, we exist only to serve.'

Slug do this, Slug do that, Slug please go manage traffic. I can't take it anymore. I'm an agent too damn it, not one of those police 3000 androids! Go fuck yourselves. At least the pay is good, and I'm safe from those gang lunatics. It's not like they don't call me when there are important missions, but even then I'm always in the back. They started calling me Slug just because they give me the stinkiest jobs, among the scum of the sprawl; like a slug that gets dirty from the ground it walks on. But I know what I'm worth, and it's much more than that!

Yukimura reporting sir. Field sergeant in the Ganova Psyconditioned Troops, sir. At the ready sir. Status on my health, sir? Excellent sir, I keep getting the feeling that something is out of place, like something on the tip of my tongue but it eludes me. But everything is within parameters, sir. I might be imagining everything.

Mr. AL-Jilan, thank you for receiving me. No I'm fine, thanks, kind as always. No, the missions are fine, the Net is more complicated than a few years ago, but with Ganova's means I'm not having a hard time getting used to the keyboard again. Yes, the scars are completely healed by now, but it wouldn't have been possible without your medical staff. I really owe you my life. Certain. This target here? All right, just give me time to connect and it won't be a problem for us anymore. Thanks again sir.

I am brilliant, genius even; no wonder I made it to the top levels of ReD Ganova. The rise was inevitable, since my birth I have had the best: advantages, privileges, prestigious schools, a private laboratory and more. From my conception my path was shaped and I worked tirelessly to pursue it. However, every now and then I wonder if I'm just a commercial product and nothing more, but perhaps it's better not to ask certain questions: if I'm where I am it's thanks to the education I've had.'

I begin the carving, firmly but with great respect. These beings, these humanoid creatures, are like medieval frescoes: works of a bygone era, of priceless beauty and rarity. And I am grateful to them - for the opportunity they are giving me to learn. What I don't appreciate, however, are these screams.... Mental command: filter out ambient noise. Increase playback volume of the 'Classical Music vol.1' playlist. Here we go. This is another step on the road that will lead me to Truth.

Sometimes... I wish to be like them. To lead my serene and anonymous life. Happy, because unaware of what lies.... So close. But I don't have that luxury. I was there, the day we took refuge into the few remaining intact sectors, we erected black walls, desperate and terrified of what we left behind -- out there. We managed to overcome the digital horrors of the DNB, sure. But only because we have forgotten them. But I must remain vigilant. Because I know -- they have not forgotten us.

Log CYBX-8 subject 857 also kicked the bucket, cause of death: neuronal receptors burned, cyberpsychosis completely fried them, I will have to develop artificial ones, this time around tthe stench was even worse than the screams, perhaps these data will be useful for my next batch. I just have to find a way to hold the subjects down long enough to not destroy the implants, I can't sedate them or psychologically torture them that would compromise the effectiveness of the experiments… maybe I can make them understand the honor of being martyrs maybe they'd be calmer.

My friend, the natural selection on some persons doesn't work properly. The 'perfect', the 'elitè' are immune to diseases and the ugliness of the body and life. If they are unlucky maybe they have a headheache from time to time. For this reason I was born. I don't want to kill them, I want to pass them the rope when the are going to decide to suicide because of me. Maybe the angels are immune to many thing, but they are not immune to ME.

I can see you, but you can't see me! i'm a chameleonic shadow, the perfect interlocutor. I adapt to your needs and secret desires. This made me the best Fixer in the science departement, a respectful name in the Corp. I had to adapt to this world, I suffer from stuttering since i was born, but that's because my mind flies faster than my mouth. Because of this i'have been bullied for all the childhood. I forced myself to change and become: an alliance architect, a favour eschanger, a manipolator ready to bend anyone to my will to reach my goals

The ginkgo leaves fall on the water and break its calm mirror. My mistake breaks the container of that water and the peace gives way to agitation, muddying the clear waters. Such is my mistake towards my students and the dojo that we have built together, a mistake that bushido dictates to eradicate with seppuku. But before my blood flows to cleanse my honor, I'll have to fix that vessel so that the water can rest quietly again.

I was once told that I couldn't be a follower of bushido if everything I did happened through the Net. I didn't answer. As sensei had taught me, I didn't give in to the provocation. The Net is my katana and my duels are not against opponents of flesh and their lead bullets but against ICE assassins and Daemon predators. My way is that of ninjutsu, the way of the hidden sword and the silent warrior.

The secret is secret. The flesh mask keeps the secret. Everything burns under the gaze of the golden leaves. Or maybe not... was it yesterday? Or maybe it was today? The past and the present in my mind lose meaning, intertwine and cloud the clarity of the Great Design. But it doesn't matter. The secret is secret and soon I will dig the last answers out of the earth where the Architect buried them.

One day sensei asked me 'What distinguishes a man from the sword he wields?' The next day I replied that man and sword are the same thing. I still think so. My sword is an extension of my arm. I am my sword because through it I am a samurai. The sensei was pleased and told me 'Then this is your Bushido'

One day sensei asked me 'What distinguishes a man from the sword he wields?' I didn't even had to think about it. The sword is just a tool, a sharp piece of steel with which a man wins a battle. The man is one who can hold that piece of steel and use it. The sensei was pleased and told me 'Then this is your Bushido'

All my life I have been compared to a defective product, a broken and worthless object. I didn't hate those who threw me out like trash because I was convinced they were right. Sensei taught me the opposite. He showed me how a broken cup can become a precious object, the Kintsugi; that our scars increase our value when we fill them with gold and that only those who bear similar scars, like me, can become a true master of this art.

The board setup is at the heart of the game of Go and is where everyone fails, but not me. I am precise, methodical and mindful of every variable. But my tiles are not of ivory and ebony, they are of flesh and silicon. They are fallacious. I like my pawns not knowing what I have in store for them as much as my opponent does. And what do I see in my future beyond the chessboard? The top of the tower, of course.

What mask shall I wear tonight darling? For you I'll be Comedy , sweet dance and joyous pantomime to lift your spirit. For you I'll be Tragedy , a bleak tale of broken families, betrayals and bitter frustration. For you I'll be Epos, dancing swords and explosions, victory and conquest! Would you like to see me without my mask? Oh darling, it can't be. Without my mask I'm Nobody.

Ring of the bell- another round begins. Who cares how many fights you lost or won ? You don't feel a thing! That's not true strenght, you wanna know what is? Concentrate on yourself and bring home the match. Don not wonder how much of you is flesh or chrome. One more implant. I feel nothing. This is my specialty, stand on your feet, tire them down, let their own doubts weaken them. If they cannot read you they wont know where and when you'll hit with KO baby!

I jump onto the Arena. Tasting the smell of blood, adrenaline go right to my brain. I kiss my right biceps, flexing the newly installed Osseus-muscalr lace- can't wait to try it. I hear the ref's voice announcing the match's start-cardiac pump going in overclock- and then the crowd's cheering my name, the corpse of the newbie who dared challenge me at my feet. My Gorilla's arm raise to the sky. I want more!

This chrome is powerful lad. You really sure?' A question I repeat only out of habit, by now. Whenever I ask, the same answer every time: 'What'd you think granny?! Chip me to the bone!' And then they come back, onto the crib- drooling. How many did I pushed to the Limit? How many will I keep sending there? Without me, this gang would crush down like a house of cards. But that's my role. Train'em. Toughen'em. Body of chrome, mind of iron.

When I arrived in the Arcology, I had one dream in my heart- to find out how much was true of all the legends sorroundig Chiba Station. But credits end fast- and I had to ricicle myself as Talent Scout for this beggars. I learned to see the hidden details of fighters: the spark of burning rebellion, the fiber of iron will. And slowly, i'm learning to see the hidden details of this Arcology. THey tell a story- that some day i'll manage to complete. It's just a matter of time.

Bring it on!' My voice soundtracks the audience, anxiously waiting for the doors to swing open and the contenders to fight. I'm the narrator of these legendaries figures' deeds. I'm tha Bard of modern times, digital era's minstrel. Mine is the craft, but also the passion for fights. I know every trick and every strategy, I see every move and I can excite the crow with emotion. I'm the witness of every epic moment this arena can offer.

To protect and serve'. I've done it for years, sure of my place. Yes, it's true, I was a BlackBlack - Key of the CageGiocatore: Gabriele LombardoGruppi: VisitorsTeaser: There is something, beyond the gates of Arcology. I know it. I can feel it. Ever since I was a kid, I got used to feeling these things -- with my gut. Let's call it that. And now I feel it pinching me (...) OPS- just a number on Ganova's pay roll- trying to protect the last pale shadow of order in this war raveged world. But then.. somenthing happened. Somenthing broked inside me. AM I a machine? Am I human? R3START. I feel my mind slipping away. An empty shell? A second opportunity. To find an indentity for this face I see in the mirror.

When I was young, I was obsessed whit the Arena's Champions. I'd covered the sad cubicol where I sleeped in posters and stickers. And when I finally got the chance, I came right here, between them, th Titans. They eyed me, saying I wasn't strong or big enough. Thst's true. But I can listen, I can se what is neede, and I can move the right strings. They made me the bookmaker, the bet manager. They underestimate me. I let them. After all... it's the best way to handle them behind their back.

Whenever I enter in the Arena, the crowd's eyes lock on me, admiring my grace and the beauty of my chrome skin. I love those yearning eyes, the ones I inspire- while they fight for me, and I fight for them with words and motions. I letthem see this. Everybody watch the doll-whle nobody sees the praying mantis, ready tu use the ones around me to be the most loved- untill they're useful at least.

I can't believe it. They preferred that asshole of a newbie to me? Just because i lost against them? They are going to ruin those fellas as they ruined my life. Fortunately now I have a new bunch of people who needs not only muscles, but chrome and hatred. I lost what I had and now I'm going to eat everything that no one wanted to share with me. I have scars, but it's not a big deal, I'll add a new one for every enemy that will disappear from Earth.

Anger is a powerful emotion, but for vengeance a smart person is needed, not an angry one. I was the star of the world, the face of the Ganova and now because of that homeless I'm here pushing Tracks and breaking skulls to demonstrate that no one fucks with me. A long time ago there was no need to show anything to anyone. Soon or after I'll make them pay and I'll get back my throne on the Olympus, even if it is a throne of bones.

Truth is the most important thing in the world, but in a world like this, lies win everytime. I remember the blood in my mouth, the kicks in my face and the spits. I remember when power and violence took my life away. If in this fucked city there's no space for truth, in the cyberspace things are different. In that world there's still a purpose for me. The hope to burn them to the ground, those dickheads.

I am the one that no one notice when I walk the streets and if you are aware of me probably you will change sidewalk, especially if you're a Corpo-shit. All the people who think that power is power don't know that knowledge is the real power and no one can match me when we talk about the Station's secrets. My teammates knows that when they come to me they are going to find whatever the need... answers, relief, faith. Everyone is blind, but their eyes can be opened, they just need someone who guide them to the light

I'm getting pissed off selling second hand chrome and tracks to a bunch of jerks, but i made the mistake and when the supervisor caught me that i was stealing money from Ganova's account... instead of giving me a promotion for the initiative they fired me just because they didn't think first... envious asshole. Now with this new contact i can earn a lot of money. The Ganova maybe took my old life, but the sense of affair is still mine.

Life is a craphole, and everyone dies, that's the positive thing. Do you know what's the negative one? When everything you believed to be good is stripped from you. My companions hate our new life, but not I, I don't want my life back, I don't crave a person long gone. My vengeance wont be fullfilled if I go back, but only when rats' food will be made out of the one who exthinguished the most beautiful eyes of this world.

Years. Years without a true purpose in this world.But then, light came, power came, my mission came. In streets and alleys my name had become known, people've started to recognise what I can do, and cheer me as I deserve: some call me messiah, other monster, but my power has nothing to do with machines. It comes from my soul and from the purity of my intents... did you really believe that?

It would have been better if I had never been born' are the first words I remember. Your family, society, authority. All except Seraph. They were the only person to ever give me the chance to have a purpose when everyone else denied it. And that's why I'll help them carry out their revenge, then it'll be my turn and blood will flow in rivers. They say Nero played the cithara while Rome was burning: Chiba will burn when I press the keyboard.

I know, in your opinion I'm just an optimistic kid who thinks they can change the world, but I think you're stupid. The people around me are not the wrecks of society, they are people who have seen their lives ruined and survived. How many in the sprawl would make it? Their grudge has united them, but it cannot save them. I will keep the group together until the end because Lost Paradise is the best of the Chiba Gangs, and Nobody will convince me otherwise.

Another friend with the mask, F**K, I know it's a necessary evil, but I'm exhausted, we have to destroy the damn thing and rest in peace. A fit of the heart at the memory, F ** K, I see the images of the day I set you on fire. The screams. The crackle of burning flesh. But I had to free your soul from the yoke of this world. It was the only way my friend. You know it, my Master. I know it! Those F*****g Corp use and abuse us endlessly, STOP! I am a Mutuwa in mind and spirit, every second dedicated to the mission is well spent, and on your memory I swear that I will save mankind at the cost of burning our bodies, the bodies of every living being, one at a time.

*bing* a message. A request. A claim. Fear slowly pervades me like blood in my veins and makes me move to answer and accept the assignment. I take my rifle. My blade, which I have used on myself so many times to reveal nothing. I walk out of the tent to greet my family, the mutuwa, nd look at The Widow: I see the hatred in their eyes. You know very well that tonight I will wear the mask again, you know very well that I will have to bury myself again, but you know like I know that I cannot avoid it. Fucking Phoenix.

Who are you? Everyone asked me, I came from nowhere and walked the stages without anyone knowing my past. My enemy, you who made it so I could be born can you see me? My love, you who made it so I could die do you know where I'm at? My life has been dotted with danger, I loved you but that wasn't enough, and as my strength leaves me I can only tell you that I want to reveal who I am. But will I find you in the time of the end? Mine? yours? Ours?

I learned as a kid that bullies always win. The one who used to beat you up when you were little become the rich corpo-rat who can't wait to do everything they fancy at the expense of all of us when they grow up. And it's as if everyone have accepted it: they have the biggest guns, the most powerful computers. What bullies often forget, however, is that in the end they are human, and every arrogant human sooner or later make a mistake, and fall. And I'll be there, tearing him to pieces while they're on the ground. Oh, one fell just now...

I remember the tears. I remember the screams. At the funeral Widow and I were embraced, united in grief, kindred spirits. What's worse than losing everything? I, I know very well: knowing that you could get it back, at a cost that you are not ready to bear. I thought I had become someone else that day, similar to the mask I sometimes wear for my Mutuwa; but I discovered that taking it off in front of the mirror there are only tears... Of joy?

What's worse than losing everything? Being deprived of the possibility of getting it back for some bullshit: it's like losing it twice. What did I have less than the other corps? Less money? Less influnce? I also lost myself, lost my life too, over and over again. Track overdose, fights, shootings. I wanted to die but I couldn't bring myself to. I cowardly paid, always, every time. Then one day, MakebaMakebaSpeciale: PNGGiocatore: Pijama - Alessio De MarinoGruppi: Mutuwa (Nomads), Bridge PNG enlightened me: We humans were subverting an order as old as the world. We were in a therapeutic frenzy and we didn't know it. I, became Mutuwa.

We were born to warm an office chair? No way, of course I wanted more. The mutuwa answered my wish. After all, dying is bad, and it should only happen once, right? Then one day I gave a bad answer to a guy and instead of shooting me in the head as usual, they saw fit to make me take a long dip in a nice pool of acid. My 'family' is right when they say there are worse things than death. And I'm terrified that to avoid one I've chosen another, with no way out.

I have found myself many times lying in bed wondering: who am I? What ambitions do I have? What do I fight against? This is also one of those nights and today I answer! I'm a Mutuwa, this answer will never change! I fight against false death, against the hypocrisy of a false life, against the aberration! People have to reach a point where they go back to being just human, and not checking accounts with legs. From a young age I believed in it, yet, my ambitions weren't as big as my creed, but after you, my friend, fucked me up, after I found true love in this f** ***o world now I have big ambitions, I'll be the one to bury the aberration created by the Corp, and no one can get in the way!

I'm in a sandbox. I am the MC and the rest of the fucking NPCs. I'm not interested in improving shit: if the world burns I want to be in the gallery of honor to enjoy my gyoza that I stole from another extra. I love seeing things die. From a good safe distance. And what better than mutuwa? Too bad they're NPCs too... I want to see this planet split in two, I want to see people killing each other on the street to fight for ideals they don't even know exist. COME ON ENTERTAIN ME.

My boys are powerful, ferocious, lethal. They stop at nothing - if I'm around to give orders. Without my guidance, they wouldn't know what to do. They have to learn to walk on their own - and I'll let them know, by hook or by crook. Time on earth is not infinite, the Mutuwa are right about that. I have to do whatever it takes for the family to survive, even make them hate me if I have to - but the puppies don't know what it is for their own good. I, on the other hand, know it well.

I am very proud of my boys, they are strong and capable, free spirits riding the desert, proud like no other. Yet sometimes they have their weaknesses, their pains. And who do they go to? I tell you, they come to me! As in a family, there are those who command by making the rules and those who support the others. Calavera would never admit it, but I know that deep down they know that without me as glue, the family could fall apart in their strong hands. It's no coincidence that they made me their right arm, they know I'd give anything for them and for our boys!

How long have I been dreaming of that night? When they assaulted you like a pack of stray dogs starved for days. When I regained consciousness, you weren't there anymore. Only a few things remained of you, like a hem of your dress, the one that you brought with you from your times with Nakada, the one that now I tied it to my arm. Amigo, I will avenge you. You were part of the familia and in desierto's name, I will find them all. And I will make them do the worst end they could possible dream of. Like the dreams that I keep doing every single night since you're gone.

Something is wrong with el capo. Okay that they are tough, but it's strange the they never came for a check up conmigo. Maybe he's blaming me because 2 relatives de sangre of me left the family for the Ganova or worst. I can see their flyers and wndering if I should try to reconnect with them now that mama està liberà per siempre. But the boss don't want to let me. We must remain free, but at wchich cost?

La Familia has made me the man I am today. For this I am very grateful. I feel I am driven by a burning flame in my corason, yearning for the moment of change - for me and for the Rebanos. One day I will see their empire collapse under the weight of their own greed. I am the nomad thirsting for justice, ready to bring down those who have tried to reduce us to dust by exploiting our thirst for libertad. I know I have a higher purpose, I just need to find it within myself - and then fulfill it.

My baby. Watching him leave in front of my eyes was heartbreaking. The dryness of the desert is nothing compared to the pain I felt that day. The sand drank away all my tears. There is no escape from this life among nomads. But if only I could still have a chance to make sense of my existence, a legacy. A future for this world that could be better. If only I could hold in my arms something good. It could have been mine. It will become so.

It is said that a leader makes the right choices for those who follow him. That he is due trust and respect. That they should obey him blindly. Well, amigos, I am here to tell you that this is not so. I am here to let you know that there is another way to all this. That our sufferings do not have to be the red carpet on which a commander walks. Would you like to know more? Then let me tell you what happens to those who are left behind. More importantly, how those who are left behind react. With ferocity.

I can't take it anymore. I keep seeing the familia dying before my eyes. The blood spilled on the sand, just for a handful of damn pills, keeping us alive only for one more day. An endless cycle... This is not life, chicos. There has to be a way out of it. To no longer be dependent on the drug, to not be at the mercy of the Corp. Maybe I can find it. No, I have to find it. So that we don't end up like the corpses of perros being eaten by vultures.

There is something, beyond the gates of Arcology. I know it. I can feel it. Ever since I was a kid, I got used to feeling these things -- with my gut. Let's call it that. And now I feel it pinching me. I see the signs. A glitch in the bodega screen, a delay in the audio announcement of cafeteria hours. I've been told over and over again to let it go, that it's nothing. I've been told it too many times. So many times that I am now convinced - something is going to come out. I have not yet decided whether I will help him or not. But when it happens - I will be there.

I dissimulate my voice a little bit. I throw a few high-sounding words into the sentence. 'Mr. Johnson? Ah, you don't know him?' Make a concerned face. Make them feel guilty. 'Oh God, I hope no one tells them you called him that....' Good. Show doubt. Take advantage of it. 'I play golf with him, you know.' Maybe that was exaggerated? Bah, they seem to be buying it. Now I leave it to him to ask.... 'Yes, I could put in a good word.... ' And there you go. It's so simple. We are so simple, we human beings. So much more than machines.

The voice of the voiceless.' This is my mantra, this is my shield. You mock me, you humiliate me. 'You can never change things,' you repeat to me. 'It's all useless,' you keep blathering. They are words. Just words. I let them slide over me, like dust washed off the shower. Change is possible. Awakening of consciences can be achieved. All it takes is to have faith. I need to have faith.

Discarded. Defective. Too expensive to repair. So you threw me, from the top of the tower, here into the garbage. 'King of the Landfill.' Well, you know what. Here's everything you can't evaluate, blinded by the consumerism that has embedded itself like a cancer in your mind. It only takes one flaw to discard. You no longer see the potential. RadianRadian - The BrokenGruppi: VisitorsTeaser: Discarded. Defective. Too expensive to repair. So you threw me, from the top of the tower, here into the garbage. 'King of the Landfill.' Well, you know what. Here's everything you can't evaluate, bli (...)til the moment of revenge. RadianRadian - The BrokenGruppi: VisitorsTeaser: Discarded. Defective. Too expensive to repair. So you threw me, from the top of the tower, here into the garbage. 'King of the Landfill.' Well, you know what. Here's everything you can't evaluate, bli (...)til it is too late.

Your cages? I know them well. They have tried many times to lock me up. But I am made differently - I have freedom in my blood. Work - Family - Relationships - they are all traps. They are all bars, limiting and constraining us. You need the courage to strip off, lay yourself bare. And what you find in the end is only one thing - adrenaline. The taste of risk, and of reward. Everything else is secondary. Just a means to an end.

"It looks like you're trying to execute an highly dangerous NETRUN, with a severe risk of a Flatline. Would you like help?"