The Source Code: Lissandra module came online. A sleek, tech-forward female robot took form in front of Rocky: curved composite frame; the upper half of the face dominated by a probe-like ocular; bundles of data cables draped from the back of the head like hair. It was Lissandra's primary body. As a self-aware AI, she did not need to live in the chassis—any networked space could host her—but most AIs preferred a home node rather than wandering like Old Net drifters. Green light irised across her ocular as she woke. "Master, the security-surveillance unit Lissandra is at your service. Please issue instructions."
"I need a full company management and monitoring stack," Rocky said. "Keep operations stable, and keep every employee within your supervision."
He stepped behind her and jacked the port at the base of her skull into the server he had staged. This was Ascension Technology's private network control room, on a different floor from the public-facing office. He had already loaded the rack with early plans and internal briefs; with those, Lissandra could build what he wanted fast. "Understood," she replied, and began.
{Link: Lissandra ⇄ Core server established }
{ Task: Build enterprise ops + monitoring stack • Status: In progress }
Lissandra spread into the city's datasphere, mapping rules and routes, parsing cyberpunk Net norms at speed. Security monitoring was her home turf, but meeting Rocky's spec would still take time. When she finished, he left her to learn, asked for a ping, and headed out.
He drove to Japantown and ducked into the clinic. Vik was bent over a bench.
"Vik, any progress? I am free now and can help," Rocky said.
Vik had been helping crack the Power Stimulant Type II tech-expansion formula. If Ascension wanted to move beyond a compounding bench, they needed a production line, and the system's tech-expansion he had redeemed only covered Type I. Type II still required new work. Vik sealed a fresh vial, handed it over, and tipped his chin. "Have a look."
Rocky scanned it.
{ Analyte: Power Stimulant Type II • Match: PASS • Potency: Spec }
"Formula's good. Exactly what we need. Thanks, Vik."
"Small thing," Vik said. A promise was a promise; if he could help, he would.
Rocky saved the formula to a chip, ran Vik home to Watson, then cut across to the factory in the North Industrial Zone. Two automated turrets stood on either side of the gate. Arasaka had supplied the site package at a friendly cooperation price: interior turrets, cams, and a central control server. In a district thick with Maelstrom, Scavs, wanted crews, and cyberpsychos, arming up was not optional. Whether Arasaka left themselves a backdoor would be Lissandra's first exam.
Inside, production gear waited on pallets. With tech-expansion in hand, raw materials sourced, and Type II confirmed, only staffing kept the line from lighting up. That would change after Lissandra finished the company stack. Rocky slid into the control room and tethered his personal Link to the factory subnet.
"Lissandra, take the network here."
"Understood."
Multi-threading was second nature to an AI lifeform. Through Rocky's Link, Lissandra pushed her monitoring suite into the factory server, bound it to the main core, and put the site under watch.
{ Factory subnet: Online • Bound to core: TRUE }
{ Hidden programs detected in deep network regions }
"Clear all of them," Rocky said.
{ Purge: COMPLETE }
Once the system was clean, he slotted the formula chip into the central controller to stage production.
A chime touched his ear.
"Master, the company system has been built," Lissandra reported.
{ Ascension Technology — Employee & Ops System: INSTALLED }
Rocky paged through dashboards and nodded. "Good. Start pushing recruitment across Night City."
"Understood."
Lissandra began to seed Ascension Technology job posts through the city's networks.