"Talk about braindance?" Vash blinked, caught off guard, then let out a short breath, "Judy — did I hear you wrong, or are you messing with me?"
He'd experienced braindance exactly once. Discussing it with Night City's top BD editor felt like someone who'd heard a single gunshot trying to lecture a gunslinger on recoil.
"I don't joke." Judy said evenly, "Island of Doom is a special black-market BD. Besides me, you're the only person who's experienced it. So yeah — I need to talk to you. That's why I kept your number."
Vash nodded. He wasn't narcissistic enough to think she'd fallen for him at first sight — let alone flipped her whole orientation over it.
"I get it." He said, "Alright. Talk."
"Before we get into it." Judy said, "You understand the basic concept of braindance, right?"
Vash: "I've heard of it."
Judy: "Then you also know this — Island of Doom isn't like the rest."
Vash's stomach tightened a little.
He'd felt it during the session a few days ago, but hearing Judy say it out loud made it real.
In the 2077 setting, braindance was an alternative way to experience life. You didn't just watch — you became the protagonist. You tasted what they tasted, felt their joy and rage, rode their fear, suffered their pain.
But there was one iron rule: You couldn't change anything.
The BD's plot was already set. The user could immerse once, maybe replay from a different angle, but they couldn't alter the outcome.
Except… in Island of Doom, Vash had won the battle royale.
That wasn't supposed to be possible. It didn't just break the rules. It spit on the entire theory.
He looked at Judy's delicate face and felt certainty harden in his chest. His crossing over had caused a butterfly effect.
Panam showing up early. And now this — an "alternative" braindance that shouldn't exist.
"It's different from what I imagined." Vash said slowly, "I heard braindance was just experiencing someone else's life. But Island of Doom… you can control it. It's not a BD film. It's more like a BD game."
The concept was too big. He didn't have the professional terms.
But Judy's eyes lit up anyway.
"V." She said, voice sharper with excitement, "You're right. It is a braindance game."
She shifted in her chair, crossed her legs, and leaned in like she'd been waiting for someone to say that exact sentence.
"Here's the problem." Judy continued, "To make BD, you need editors. You also need a constant supply of raw material. And with current tech, we still can't fully recreate the most realistic BD from a script alone."
She held up a hand, counting it off.
"So most BD on the market? It's real. Stars have to experience it as raw material. Then it gets edited. And that's what people buy." Her mouth tightened. "The porn is real. The robberies are real. The killings are real too."
At that, Judy frowned — open disgust, no attempt to hide it.
"At first, it was still… comparatively normal." She said, "Then it went off the rails. You've got village-massacre BD where the 'star' actually wipes a whole village to capture the feed. Those 'explosion' ones? They really blew up a building. Nobody cares what's left behind."
She exhaled through her nose.
"And some of the worst porn — same method. Real suffering, edited into a product."
Vash understood.
Braindance was the most addictive entertainment in Night City. Everyone wanted the hit. Demand like that always created supply. The people who bought the BD got their thrills.
The people hurt to produce it? Forgotten.
"So you made Island of Doom." Vash said, piecing it together, "Users still get the black-market rush. Still get the killing. Still get the chaos. But behind the scenes, it's just data. No real victims — just simulated ones."
Judy snapped her fingers once, "Smart. That's exactly it."
Then she sobered.
"Except." She said, "I'm one person. My skills have limits. Even Island of Doom has immature parts. Bugs. Balance issues. Stuff I can't fix without better data." Her gaze pinned him. "And I need someone to help me get that data. That someone is you."
"I'll help." Vash said, no hesitation.
Judy's smile came quick — and it was genuinely beautiful, "That's what I was hoping you'd say. Right now, the biggest problems show up in the second half. I can't collect what I need unless someone reaches that point."
She shrugged, almost annoyed at her own limitation.
"And I can't. Not with my skills." She looked him up and down, like she was selecting the right tool from a rack. "So I need you to carry me that far."
To put it in five words: Carry the girl to victory.
"No problem." Vash said. He glanced around the studio and noticed something new — an additional operating table that hadn't been there last time, "We starting now?"
"Now." Judy said.
"Fine." Vash replied, then frowned, "But doesn't BD need someone outside to run the controls? If you and I both go under… who's adjusting it?"
"That's why I'm here."
A woman's voice rang out.
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
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That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)