"Someday, Yamamoto." I whispered, "one of your puppets will climb up his strings and strangle you with them. The next time you come to Seattle, I’m going to apply for the job."
* * *
Tark's call to Harry Braxen mobilized an army of Lone Stars to take the bad cops and surviving gang members into custody. Raven confirmed to Nadia that Valerie had succeeded in rebuilding her identity and reinserting it into the Natural Vat computer in a form that could not be cracked.
He also said Valerie had infected the Burkingman database with a virus that destroyed any mention of Nadia or Lattie. The same virus would be transferred to any other bases that worked with the Burkingmen to destroy traces that might cause future trouble.
We discovered that Cortez’s source of information about Dawn McGrath had. in fact, been the decker who first stole Nadia’s file from Natural Vat. He'd passed the information to Cortez before Valerie had a chance to warn him off. In return for a phase loop recourser, he was content to forget everything he knew about Dawn. Shortly thereafter, Valerie told me, Mycroft heard about what had gone down. He was so impressed with the kid who cracked his file that he began to funnel work to Jack, making him too busy to worry about the secrets of some vice president at Natural Vat.
I returned the bracelet to Nadia so she could give it back to Lattie. I knew just enough about magic to know the bracelet had served as a focus for a masking spell that allowed Haesslich to assume human form. That reinforced for me the realization that Nadia Mirin. or Dawn McGrath, was a far more powerful magician than I ever wanted to imagine.
As for the Dragon, I sure as hell didn’t want Haesslich coming to get it from me. In fact, anything I could do to make him forget I ever existed became part of my daily routine.
But Nadia, she was someone I didn’t want to forget. Not just because she was beautiful and intelligent, or because Natural Vat bought me a new Fenris sports car to replace my Mustang. I refused to forget her because she didn’t have to come after me on Westlake. She could have walked away and still made it to the meet with no trouble at all.
She didn’t abandon me. She’d used powers she’d foresworn to put me back together again. That’s the kind of debt you can never pay back, but you always have to try.
I did my best.
Six months later, a corporator promised me anything if I’d agree to get her daughter out of a Humanis Policlub breeding camp. When I brought the girl home safe and sound, the woman found my asking price more than reasonable. And, because her Little Dear wasn’t a Little Mommy, she even went me one better. Not only did the Beatrice-Revion bigwig pherotype a woman I said I wanted to impress, she even sent Nadia an extra large flask of "Rialta Odalisque," with my compliments.
GLOSSARY OF SLANG: 2050
KEY
(jap) = Japanese or "Japlish" loanword
(vul) = vulgar
adj. = adjective
v. = verb
Bagman n. Criminal courier.
Biz n. Slang for crime.
Bleed v. To attack, injure, or kill.
Breeder n. Ork slang for a "normal" human.
Brush-up n. A shadowrun to collcct background information.
Buff v. To attack viciously with intent to maim or kill.
Business n. in slang context, crime.
Buzz Go away. Buzz off.
Cat n. Cat burglar.
Chip-truth The absolute truth.
Chiphead n. Person addicted to simsense chips.
Chipped adj. Senses, skills, reflexes, muscles, and so on enhanced by cyberware.
Chromed adj. Equipped with obvious offensive augmentation.
Chummer n. "Pal" or "buddy."
City Speak n. Hybrid street language not part of any formal language group.
Comm or Telecomm n. Telephone.
Corp. n. adj. Corporation. Corporate.
Dandelion Eater n. adj. Elf or elven. Highly insulting.
Deck n. A cyberdeck. v. To use a cyberdeck, usually illegally.
Decker n. Pirate cyberdeck user. Derived from 20th-century term "hacker."
Deckhead n. Simsense abuser; anyone with a datajack or chipjack.
Dreamqueen n. Simsense abuser.
Drek n. (vul) A common curse word. adj. Drekky.
Dumped v. Involuntarily ejected from the Matrix.
Electricur n. Guard dog with augmented offensive capabilities.
Flashdealer n. Street vendor who carries his wares concealed inside his voluminous coat.
Frag v. (vul) Common curse word, adj: Fragging.
Geek v. To kill.
Gillette n. Street samurai.
Grunge n. (vul) Derogatory term for an ork.
Gutterpunk n. Street riffraff.
Heatwave n. Police crackdown.
Hoi. Familiar form for Hi or Hello.
Hose v. Louse up. Screw up.
Ice n. Security software. "Intrusion Countermeasures," or IC.
Jack v. To jack in, or enter, cyberspace. To jack out, or to leave cyberspace.
Jander v. To walk with an arrogant strut.
Joy boy n. Male prostitute.
Kobun n. (jap) Member of a Yakuza clan.
Mr. Johnson n. Refers to any anonymous employer or corporate agent.
Meat rack n. House of ill repute.
Mundane n. adj. (vul) Non-magician or non-magical.
Nutrisoy n. Cheaply processed food product, derived from soybeans.
Nuyen n. World standard of currency.
Oyabun n. (jap) Head of a Yakuza clan.
Pervo n. Freakish-looking individual.
P!ex n. An urban complex, or "metroplex."
Poli n. A policlub or policlub member.
Razorguy/girl n. Heavily cybered samurai or other muscle.
Rigger n. When jacked into a security system or vehicle, a rigger becomes one with the machine.
Samurai n. (jap) Mercenary or muscle for hire. Implies honor code.
Sarariman n. (jap) From "salaryman." A corporate employee.
Shag v. To bamboozle.
Shaikujiii n. (jap) Lit. "Honest citizen." A corporate employee.
Simsense n. ASIST sensory broadcast or recording.
Skagman n. Dealer in illegal wire or chips.
Skat n. Gross-looking individual.
Skiv v. To rob on the street.
Skrag v. To kill, to off.
Slot and run. Hurry up. Get to the point. Move it.
Slot. Mild epithet.
Smoothies n. Ork slang for non-orks.
So ka (jap) I understand. I get it.
Soykaf n. Ersatz coffee substitute made from soybeans.
Sprawl n. A metroplex (see Plex); v. fraternize below one’s social level.
Suit n. A "straight citizen." See Shaikujun, Sarariman.
SIN (System Identification Number) n. Identification number assigned to each person in the society. A SINIess person does not officially exist and has no access to education, social services, and so on.
Towntalk n. City Speak.
Trid n. Three-dimensional successor to video.
Trog n. (vul) An ork or troll. From "troglodyte." Highly insulting.
Vatjob n. A person with extensive cyberware replacement, reference is to a portion of the process during which the patient must be submerged in nutrient fluid.
Wage mage n. A magician (usually mage) employed by a corporation.
Wakarimasu-ka? Do you understand?
Watch-over n. Surveillance shadowrun.
Wetwork n. Assassination. Murder.
Wired adj. Equipped with cyberware, especially increased reflexes.
Wirehead n. Addicted to simsense chips.
Wizard n. Magician, usually a mage; adj. great, wonderful, excellent.
Wizworm n. Slang for dragon.
Wizzer adj. Great, fantastic, terrific.
Yak n. (jap) Short for Yakuza, an organized crime syndicate. Refers to either a clan member or a clan itself.
Zonies n. Armed security patrols.
CONTRI
BUTORS
Jordan K. Weisman is the editor of this collection of braided short stories as well as the creator of the Shadowrun universe. To meld the existence of magic to the world of the near future, he found inspiration in the ancient Mayan belief that a "New World" is born every 5200 years. To record each of these cycles, which the Mayans named the Long Count, they created one of the world’s most accurate calendars. The birth of every new cycle was accompanied by cataclysmic changes in the outer world as well as within the psyche of man. Only the luckiest and strongest lifeforms would survive. According to the reckoning of the Mayan Long Count, the date of the emergence of the next New World is December 24, 2011.
Elizabeth T. Danforth is a freelance illustrator, writer, editor, and computer game designer. In addition to writing "Graverobbers," she illustrated "Striper" and collaborated with Jeff Laubenstein on the illustrations for "Graverobbers" and "Would It Help to Say I’m Sorry?"
Tom Dowd, one of the co-designers of the Shadowrun role-playing game, holds an advanced degree in communications/filmmaking, has worked professionally in the film and television field, and tends to write long sentences when he’s not paying attention.
Paul R. Hume was trained as an actor and so, naturally, he now programs computers for a living. He has been writing games on and off for 15 years, but "Tailchaser" is his first fiction. Paul studies the Hermetic Tradition and impatiently awaits the year 2011.
Lorelei Shannon is a multi-media artist, belly-dancer, and writer. Inspired by her iove of Victorian fiction, she wrote most of the "Whitechapel Rose" late at night with a rat on her shoulder.
Nyx Smith lives in a basement on Long Island with an IBM Selectric and a salmagundi of Doloris Nocturnum.
Michael A. Stackpole is a writer and game designer who got wind of Shadowrun back in February 1989. Within a week, Wolf. Raven, and the crew were born. He is also the author of Warrior and the Blood of Kerensky trilogies based in FASA’s Battle Tech Universe.
Ken St. Andre is best known for his design work on such games as Tunnels & Trolls, Monsters! Monsters!, Stormbringer, and, for personal computers, Wasteland. In real life, he is something of a low-level wizard-warrior with a very high personal luck attribute, and he thinks he would feel right at home in the world of Shadowrun.
TIMELINE
Following is a brief history of the events that have shaped the world of 2050 and the city of Seattle, in which these stories are set. The Earth and her people have undergone awesome changes, the like of which no 20th-century forecaster could even have imagined.
2002
New technology makes it possible to construct the first optical chip that is proof against electromagnetic pulse effects.
2002-2008
The Resource Rush, United Oil, and other major corporations demand and get licenses to exploit oil, mineral, and land resources on U.S. federal lands, including designated Indian lands. Radical Amerindians respond by forming the Sovereign American Indian Movement. (SAIM).
2004
Libya unleashes a chemical weapon against Israel. Israel responds with a nuclear strike that destroys half of Libya’s cities.
2005
A major earthquake in New York City kills more than 200,000 people, with damage at 20 million dollars. It will take 40 years to rebuild the city.
2006
Japan announces the creation of a new Japanese Imperial State. The Japanese deploy the first solar-powered collector satellites to beam microwave energy to receptors on the Earth’s surface.
2009
Angry that the government has leased additional Indian lands to United Oil, SAIM commandoes capture the Shiloh missile facility. They launch a Long Eagle missile toward the Soviet Union, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war. The crisis ends when the warheads mysteriously fail to detonate.
2010
In retaliation for the Shiloh affair, the U.S. government passes the Re-Education and Relocation Act. authorizing the detention of thousands of Native Americans in concentration camps (euphemistically known as "reeducation centers.")
First outbreak of Virally Induced Toxic Allergy Syndrome (VITAS), which kills 25 percent of the world’s population before year’s end.
2011
The Year of Chaos. Governments begin to topple, famine stalks the world, nuclear power piants suffer meltdown, with extensive radiation fallout.
The first mutant and changeling children are born, signaling the start of the UGE (Unexplained Genetic Expression) Syndrome. The news media dub these new beings as "Elves" and "Dwarfs."
On December 24, thousands of Japanese witness the first Dragon to re-emerge from dormancy on Mt. Fuji. The same day, Daniel Howling Coyote, Prophet of the Great Ghost Dance, leads his followers out of the Abilene Re-Education Center.
Beginning in this year, political chaos begins to engulf the planet. In 2011, the Federal government of Mexico dissolves in riots, while Tibet regains independence as magical defenses seal it off from invasion and render the region incommunicado.
2014
Ghost Dancers announce the formation of the Native American Nations (NAN), with the Sovereign Tribal Council at its head. The Dancers claim responsibility for the eruption of Redondo Peak in New Mexico; Los Alamos is buried under 100 feet (30 meters) of ash. A federal force sent in to retaliate is destroyed by tornadoes called down by the Ghost Dancers.
The United Free Republic of Ireland is established, while the white-controlled government of South Africa collapses.
2016
In a period of three weeks, U.S. President John Garrety, USSR General Secretary Nikolai Chelenko, Prime Minister Lena Rodale, and Prime Minister Chaim Schon of Israel are assassinated. All but the Garrety assassin are killed in violent shoot-outs with local law officials.
2017
U.S. President William Jarma issues the infamous Resolution Act, sanctioning the extermination of all Native American tribes. In response, the Indians begin the Great Ghost Dance. Freak weather and other uncanny events destroy or disrupt U.S. military bases hosting troops slated for use in the Resolution Action. On August 17, Mount Hood, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams erupt simultaneously just as government troops are finally about to begin their attack.
2018
First-generation ASIST (Artificial Sensory Induction System) technology created by Dr. Hosato Hikita of ESP Systems in Chicago.
The Treaty of Denver is signed. With this agreement, the federal governments of the United States, Canada, and Mexico acknowledge the sovereignty of NAN over most of western North America. Seattle remains as an extraterritorial extension of the U.S. government in Indian lands.
The U.S. spaceplane America, with its secret military payload, disintegrates in orbit. The wreckage lands in Australia, killing 300 in the small town of Longreach.
2021
Goblinization. On April 30, 10 percent of the world’s population suddenly begin to metamorphose into new racial types known today as Orks and Trolls. This transformation, popularly known as Goblinization, marks another threshold point in the reemergence of magic on Earth. Humans react violently to the presence of the metahuman races in their midst.
In 2021, Quebec declares its independence, receiving immediate recognition from France.
2022
Severe rioting continues all over the world in response to the phenomenon of Goblinization. The U.S. government declares martial law for several months, while reports trickling out of the Soviet Union indicate deaths on a mass scale. Many changed beings go into hiding or withdraw into separate communities.
Only another outbreak of VITAS quells the racial violence, leaving another 10 percent of the world’s population dead in its wake.
The term "Awakened Beings" is coined to describe the metahumans and other emerging lifeforms.
2024
First simsense entertainment unit (a kind of sensory VCR) becomes available.
President Jarman is reelected U.S. President in a landslide victory based on the firs
t use of the remote-vote system. Opposition parties claim fraud.
2025
Several prestigious U.S. universities establish the first undergraduate programs in occult studies.
2026
The U.S. Constitution is amended to include all metahumans.
The first cyberterminal (a room-sized isolation chamber for a single operator) is developed. Funded by various intelligence agencies, the goal of the research is to make it possible to strike teams of "cybercommandoes" to raid data systems.
2027
First commercial fusion reactor power plant comes online.
2028
In the United States, the CIA, NSA, and IRS pool their resources to recruit and train Echo Mirage, the first team of "cybercommandos."
2029
Computer Crash of ’29. A mystery virus attacks databases worldwide, resulting in total financial chaos. The government and the megacorps attempt to fight the virus with their own cybercommandos, but eventually must recruit maverick hackers to fight the virus. In the course of fighting the virus and attempting to rebuild the world data system, the Matrix is born. The surviving hackers now have knowledge of cyberdecks and begin to cobble together their own units.
NAN declares that the emerging Elven folk are welcome in tribal lands.
2030
The remaining United States of America merges with Canada to form the United Canadian and American States (UCAS). A coalition of southern states opposes the idea.
2030-2042
Euro-Wars. In this twelve-year period, Europe and Asia are rocked by a series of wars that result in a complete political transformation.
The former Soviet Union fragments, while the Awakened come to dominate vast wilderness areas, including portions of Siberia, Mongolia, and the mountains of northeastern China. Switzerland remains, as always, neutral. The Germanies recombine, becoming one of the stronger states in the new Europe. In a return to city-state politics, Italy, southern Prance, and southeastern Europe fragment into hundreds of tiny sovereignties.
2034
The first "gray market" cyberdecks become available.
The government of Brazil topples in the aftermath of an invasion by Awakened forces, including three Dragons. The Awakened declare the new state of Amazonia.
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