Killeroo spent most of his time keeping close watch over Catelyn's recovery. Because of his hybrid nature, he was not allowed to see his ex-wife after Babylon kept their end of the bargain and delivered her to one of the finest facilities in the Sprawl that specializes in treating exposure to bio hazards and radioactivity. To get around this hurdle, Roo used a human go-between to report back to him what they learned from their visitations. Negotiations Edgar made some adjustments to his base and spoke more with Ada Adler on his dummy server. Through a few pointed questions, the mercenary appealed to the AI's large ego and managed to get the former terrorist's side of the story about how Maximilian Hersch let her die on a table and then hid her past from her when he recreated her as an AI that was formed from the previous Ada's memories. He learned about the Scorpions and how the nationalist front they presented swept through Israel after the wars that shook the middle-east for decades were long over. Hearing her brag about how her personal war could never be extinguished because she had already uploaded herself into the matrix, Edgar realized just how dangerous Ada could actually become. Swiftly shutting down the dummy servers and burning any trace of Ada's AI within them, Edgar reached out to Khalil and asked to be put in touch with Naama at Babylon. He told the medtech that he had urgent information concerning the threat Ada could pose to the corporation. Khalil agreed to connect him to Naama soon and promptly hung up. Feeling like the was getting the runaround, Edgar pondered the thought of going to national security himself and alerting them to the situation at Babylon. In his mind, Israel's government would label the corporation a terrorist corp state and move to shut it down immediately. When Naama called Edgar's com days later, he informed her of Babylon's need to cut connections with its own network, or else the consequences would be quite dire. When he explained that he had information about Adler, the businesswoman took some umbrage at this recommendation. "Mr. Edgar, are you trying to blackmail us?" The mercenary assured her that the information he brought back from Jaffa was invaluable and that Ada was more powerful than they had all feared. He followed up this dire warning with a proposition; he would give Naama and Babylon the information and means to deal with this rogue AI in exchange for a major position within the corporation's security apparatus. Naama flatly refuses him, stating that all the information he discovered should have been given to her back in Gaza upon the completion of his contract and that now it was apparent that the runner was trying to push his luck a bit too far. "You want me to install you into a major position at Babylon because you claim to have information that says Ada Adler is more dangerous than we already knew? I'm sorry, but this conversation is over." Forget the Past MC's thoughts on the return trip to the Sprawl consisted of whether or not the right choice was made in denying Adler's offer to receive the memories that the cybernetic assassin had fought so hard to attain. In the end, the cyborg reasoned that the betrayal of the team was too high a cost to pay. Arriving in District 7, MC visits Big Bob and purchases tens of thousands of credits' worth of weapons and stores them in an old low tech vault the automaton keeps out back. MC tells Bob about the trouble involving the fractured memories that constantly haunt the assassin. Bob advises the cyborg to abandon the past and forge his own destiny. "Forget the past, kid. You ask me, we make our own futures out here. 'Cause let's face it, there is no future, right? Leave the past where it is, the past. Get on with it." Taking the android's advice to heart, the cyborg contemplates his situation. Ultimately, however, MC continues preparing for a possible return to Shidao's facilities. The goal this time would be to hurt the people who created Unit 184 and steal back the fractured memories they keep under lock and key. Movers and Shakers Monitoring the news coming out of the middle-east, the team hears about the Fission Authority having investigated possible signs that a nuclear device struck the port city of Jaffa. Many point to it being signs that Israel is testing their nuclear capabilities for everyone to see. Others claim that there was an infestation of ghouls that were threatening to overrun Tel Aviv and so the government sanctioned an orbital strike. In addition to those news, Babylon was seized by the Israeli government after they learned of a possible "conspiracy" that was taking place at the top of the corporation that involved possibly taking over the government by shutting down their power grid, etc. Vindicated, Edgar reaches out to Khalil but receives no response. He's either dead or under arrest, he decides. The global information network that is the matrix mysteriously goes dark for days, leaving many perplexed as to why and how something like this could happen. Some speculate that rogue netrunners, anarchists, have attempted to freeze global networks in order to enact radical change in society's structure while others point to groups like the Heideggers purposefully causing a blackout as a means to prove their point about humanity's dependence on high technology. Many posit that world governments, in light of recent tumultuous happenings, have united behind the idea of instilling order by causing large scale blackouts to the one network that currently unites most of the world's population. Koskov Edgar contacts an old comrade of his named Koskov and is intrigued by the job that he has recently been tasked with by a high profile client. Together they speak in code about meeting back at "your mother's house" and "getting the old band back together". They speak, of course, about meeting up together at their old base of operations outside of Moscow and retrofitting the facility to its once former glory. They're going to need credits and if they're going to run the shadows to get those credits they're going to need to also be well armed. Contacting MC, Edgar decides to visit the Sprawl and meet up at Big Bob's. The mercenary purchases some arms from the automaton and tells MC about the job. Interested, the runners contact Koskov and agree to meet in a discreet place to talk. They all meet up at night in a place called Hypermart. They talk briefly about the job and what it entails. Edgar asks if it would be possible to meet with Koskov's client. Kos notifies his client and is told to lead the team to an upscale part of the Sprawl. Riding the nightrail together for close to an hour, the high speed train brings the trio to a high tiered rotating restaurant called "The White Room". Foxwell Waiting outside is not a door but a single large elevator with a sharply dressed man in a bellhop's uniform. The man's almost-too-good-to-be-real amiable personality leads the group to believe that he is some kind of simulacra, a vat grown slave with one singular purpose--hospitality. The replicant smiles and welcomes the group to the restaurant, ushering them into the transparent tube lift that silently and wistfully elevates them to the lobby of the White Room. Right away the three runners notice that no automatons or hybrids frequent the inside the restaurant. Because of their appearance--especially MC--they are kept from entering further than the lobby by a large man. Before the team is escorted outside by security, the bouncers get word through their comms that a prominent patron is waiting for this group on one of the higher rotating tiers of the restaurant. The group is then shown the way to a large table where a portly Caucasian man in business attire is dining alone. Smiling broadly, the client introduces himself as German Foxwell, a North American billionaire who is interested in hiring some "troubleshooters". Koskov and the team take a seat, order vodka and some expensive venison. MC abstained from eating or drinking, prompting Foxwell to throw disconcerting glances at the cyborg. MC is lost in thoughts about identity and what it means to be human. Foxwell explains that he wants a team put together that will infiltrate a corporate arcology and retrieve a micro robotic prototype that Yokono corporation has created in the labs contained within the hyper structure. Yokono corp, Foxwell recalls, is infamously said to have spent tens of millions of credits developing an artificial intelligence, as part of a secret project, for years. Recently, this AI was rumored to either have escaped its captivity or been rescued by a team of mercenaries dispatched to engage in corporate espionage by a competitor. Realizing that his voice is getting louder, Foxwell gets back to talking about business again. Edgar takes notice that Foxwell gets very emotional when there's talk about automatons or AI's of any kind. The mercenary decides to bluntly address this by flat out asking his potential client if he has any issues against cyborgs and the like. At first, the businessman maintains his cool and dodges the question by stating that his concern is that Yokono's prototype technology may get into the wrong hands and cause further problems for humanity. Edgar continues to bring up the issue of AI's and asks if he's interested in buying one. By this point Foxwell is clearly upset and Koskov attempts to introduce some damage control in order to salvage the job, saying that Edgar is merely attempting to know what kind of price would an advanced AI like Ada Adler fetch. Despite his efforts, however, Foxwell's face becomes flush with anger. He makes it clear that he isn't interested in talking about "them" and that he would like to get on with the rest of the business at hand. MC receives a message from Killeroo saying that the hybrid's received information from Naama concerning the cyborg. Attached to the message are files that she procured from Ada Adler's secret file storage on Babylon's internal network in Tel Aviv. These files, she says, is everything Adler and Shidao had on the assassin. All of MC's memories are there. In her message, Naama cautions MC about going through them and apologizes profusely about what MC endured under Shidao's control. "Our spies inside Shidao have ensured me that they no longer have these records of yours. They destroyed them when you "went rogue". Apparently, they felt that these memories were useless to them after Adler took control of you. Consider this both a warning and a gift; This is what you sought. This is the truth, your truth, and what I found was appalling. I'm sorry for what they did to you." Koskov and Edgar engage in a conversation in their native Russian tongue. Edgar tells his comrade that they need to have a conversation in private and away from "their friend". MC, he says, needs to be "watched" and suggests that his client get everyone out of the restaurant. Oblivious to what's happening, MC reads and re-reads the message--the full weight of it beginning to sink in. Koskov excuses himself from the table and uses a subvocal microphone to contact Edgar through his custom helmet and discuss their course of action. After suggesting to his client that they move their biz to another venue, away from MC, Foxwell stands up and starts to walk out of the White Room. Edgar walks over to the men's restroom, meets up with Koskov and asks if he can get Foxwell back on the comm. He insists that the AI he has in his possession is worth way more than the 50k credits Foxwell proposed for payment on this run. Foxwell answers and Koskov, on Edgar's instruction, suggests that Foxwell detain or at least keep watch on MC while they talk somewhere else. Furious, Foxwell demands to know whether or not MC is an android or not. Not sure how to answer, Koskov and Edgar claim that whether MC is an AI or not doesn't matter, because Edgar has an advanced AI that he is interested in selling. While the two men attempt to salvage the deal, MC stands outside the men's room and is lost in thoughts and vague memories. When the files are accessed, MC is treated to a crystallized view of all of the elusive memories that haunted the cyborg's dreams for so long. Blurry shapes are given form and those forms are given names. Sarah, Miles, Darryl, Ray, Samantha. Wife, father, brother, husband. MC remembered being these people and more. There are memories of a family, a husband, a wife, children, no children. As memory after memory play themselves out for the cyborg, MC realizes that each of these memories belong to someone else. Someone who, more than likely, has long since died. After forwarding through the rest, the former assassin came to a shocking realization; there are no real memories. All of the memories that the cyborg had received belonged to someone else. Shidao corporation had used these memories and events to shape MC's manufactured life, giving the assassin a reason to always come back to them. No one was ever waiting at home. Noticing movement coming closer and faster than before, MC looked up from the carpet to see an advancing group of Foxwell's armed security. The restaurant was completely devoid of its patrons. They seemed to have disappeared, like a magic trick, from the heartbeat of one memory to the next. As the men took up positions around the restaurant and took aim at the cyborg, MC experienced an epiphany; he could fight back--defend himself against these men and possibly live. Live to create a new life, free from the sins of the past. The first real decision MC ever made would be one that resulted in choosing life, instead of death. Instead of always being forced to choose death. Alternately, this could be a moment where surrendering everything is the only real option that matters. A real option for the non-person with a manufactured past. To Shidao, MC was just a living breathing killing machine. For once, the cyborg's killing would end with the first real decision in MC's life; the decision to die.