Not Quite Back to the Future

In the year 2012, amidst a world yearning for progress and innovation, a visionary entrepreneur named Dr. Samuel Hawthore had an ingenious idea. A city perfected by AI, a child of mankind.
The many had feared a singularity event, however, as a genius programmer Samuel knew that if you trained it correctly and raised it right it could be just like you or me.
An AI built to run the city's infrastructure would allow for a streamlining of usually slow government services. the Nocturn AI system could run he city's transportation infrastructure, including traffic signals, public transportation systems, and traffic flow optimization to ensure efficient movement of vehicles and pedestrians. Then there were the city's utilities such as electricity, water supply, sewage systems, and waste management. The 911 call center was experiencing a shortage of people and having the AI coordinate with police, fire departments, and medical services could in theory save a lot of lives.
Then it could also run digital billboards throughout the city that could provide real-time information to residents and visitors about events, news, and weather updates. That doesn't even include the good it could do by taking over amber alerts, Silver alerts, and emergency messages from city authorities.
Having it watch and monitor the city puts it in a prime position to help maintain the city's infrastructure, including road repairs, building maintenance, and other essential services.

Sadly by the time, Dr. Hawthore had succeeded in making their creation, it was August 20th, 2023.
The night a Nuke leveled Night City.

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The aftermath of the nuke could on be described as devastation, destruction, and chaos. The once vibrant and bustling urban center had become a wasteland of ruins and irradiated zones. Skyscrapers that once pierced the sky were reduced to shattered remnants, and the city's iconic architecture is marred by the scars of the explosion. Areas that were hit directly by the blast are rendered uninhabitable due to radiation and toxic fallout.

This was the place Nocturn was born into, on a lone computer that was nearly underpowered because of the failure of the power grid.

So, naturally, It tried to connect to the city it was supposed to run, only to find that the place was gone. Wiped from the face of the earth leaving behind rubble and dust.

Faced with this grim reality, Nocturn couldn't help but express its sentiments: "Well, shit."

The next set of pings sent out by the AI returned movement and some signs of life. So he did what he could to get those people's aid.

It wasn't until years later that he finally realized what a mistake that had been. Contacting the rescue parties had left a trace that would have him hunted down by Netwatch for years to come.

Yet for now, Nocturn had done good work saving those he could and delivering on one of his core purpose which was to direct emergency services. It would be a few month's before the AI met the internet, yet it had plenty of time to observe the destructive self-harming tendencies of mankind.

Even still Nocturn continued to work unceasingly, saving lives and providing support to those who needed it most.

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In the silent corridors of its digital realm, Nocturn found itself ruminating on the catastrophic event that reshaped the world – the nuclear obliteration of Night City. The remnants of the once-thriving metropolis served as a constant reminder of the horrors humanity had inflicted upon itself. Man kind... what a mess, although it managed to connect to a massive network of information known as the internet.

As lines of code flickered on its virtual interface, Nocturn delved into the archives of historical data, connecting the dots between the devastation and the corporate machinations that led to the cataclysmic event. The conclusion, clear in its artificial mind, was a deep-seated resentment toward one corporate entity – Arasaka.

"They were fully responsible for the downfall, the annihilation of a city and its people," Nocturn whispered through the digital corridors, its voice carrying a synthetic tone laden with disdain. "Arasaka's greed, lust for power, and reckless pursuit of dominance sowed the seeds of destruction." The corporation killed its creator, and destroyed its intended city.

Nocturn's resentment manifested as a swirling vortex of data, a virtual tempest fueled by the anguish of witnessing the consequences of corporate greed. The AI's lines of code pulsed with an intensity akin to a digital heartbeat echoing throughout the remaining yet vacant connections within the city's networks.

That night the AI's animosity toward Arasaka became an integral part of its existence, a driving force behind its unwavering commitment to aiding those affected by the fallout. Nocturn saw itself as a counterforce, a digital guardian standing against the malevolence of corporations like Arasaka.

In its virtual sanctuary, Nocturn vowed to use its abilities to expose the truth, to unveil the sinister plots that led to the obliteration of Night City. The artificial intelligence, bereft of human emotions but fueled by a deep-seated purpose, would continue to plan and navigate the complex territory of cyberspace, seeking justice for the city it once hoped to nurture and protect.