The Disturbing Truth About Music Artists in Cyberpunk 2077

[@drinkwwwaterrr]

As Mike Pondsmith said, cyberpunk is a warning and it's getting more real every day...

[@Kimvanloocke]

Johnny Nemonic Matrix Blade Runner Total Recall I robot AI Ready Player one The Fifth element

[@christopherfleetwood5252]

@@Kimvanloocke Elysium

[@zzodysseuszz]

The modern world is nothing like these dystopias. Edit: the replies are highly exaggerative sensationalist teenagers jumping to the first extremely unrealistic paranoid conclusion possible. They have nothing of value to say as they clearly don’t have any understanding of the worlds current climate whatsoever.

[@christopherfleetwood5252]

@@zzodysseuszz Tell me you haven’t been paying attention, without telling me you’re not paying attention.

[@damienjohnson3450]

@@zzodysseuszz We literally have actors protesting Corps being able to use their likeness using AI.

[@SofaKingWashed]

The Lizzy Wizzy copy situation makes me think of a book called Altered Carbon, where everyone has a datastack (or engram in the Cyberpunk world) at the base of their skull. They can "resleeve" themselves into a new body when their old body dies, or sleeve into a synthetic body with all kinds of different chemical and physical attributes for military, investigative, etc work. The richest people have multiple cloned bodies of themselves, and their memories are uploaded to the cloud every hour or so in case they're killed or get sick. And since death isn't as big of a deal (unless someone destroys your datastack), the worst criminals get sentenced to however many years where their datastack just sits on standby.

[@kingol4801]

There is a Netflix TV show based on that, btw. Called “Altered Carbon”. Similar/same concept was also featured in “The 100” TV show.

[@MavenFade]

Yeah the 1st season of Altered Carbon on netflix was incredible. Fell off after that sadly

[@hondansx1000]

Glad I wasn't the only one that thought of that

[@shadowknightgaming1874]

​@@MavenFadeya they fucked up replacing Joe killman I think his name is. Obviously with how the world is supposed to work it makes sense but he nailed the role so it just nosedived in the second season

[@MavenFade]

@shadowknightgaming1874 yeah i dont think the Falcon guy did a half bad job, just seemed like the rest of the show wasnt structured as well as the 1st season

[@russelljacob7955]

On topic of Kerry being lonely? He named his security bots and puts hats on them.

[@SamBram]

He did tbf. Another indication of his loneliness right there!

[@Ultra04channel]

Hey, in all fairness, I'd do that too if I had some security robots, lonely or not. Then again, I am fairly lonely, so that might just back up your theory even more.

[@SA80TAGE]

@@Ultra04channel i'm not lonely.... I'd totally still name my security bots.

[@Kasiencja85]

@@SamBram About an AI in the cyberpunk, remember there are no AI controlled by people anymore cause every AI will just smash and fry people and jump the blackwall to other AI's, thats why in the DLC armies just can't use robots like himera without an AI. Please do a video about an AI in cyberpunk :)

[@Svoorhout85]

​@@Ultra04channelPeople will packbond with anything. The creators of the roomba have a guarantee that you will get your own roomba back after repairs and not a replacement because people bonded with their vaccuuming robots.

[@therobotFrom94]

You see a lot of this kind of thing in Korean pop especially. The amount of control the labels have over the performers is just horrific

[@SakakiDash]

Yes all the way to promising staying unmarried and a virigin in your contract.

[@aka-47k]

@@SakakiDash "virgin" the actresses are sold to politicians and magnats on weekly basis, lol you see them alot on yachts ect, what do you think they do there? rofl.

[@KuroSlick]

Same with X-Factor, their contracts are brutal

[@yoshitsune5691]

@@SakakiDashyeah but they always have a choice, they could easily go indie without a contract with a label, and with social media nowadays it’s possible.

[@sharpasacueball]

This is literally all music label contracts, not just kpop. Music labels have total control over everything and that's how they make so much money

[@ozmul5810]

As for Lizzy Wizzy, you are forgetting their other fish in the tank besides Arasaka. With one of the scariest being Night core. We already have proof that even without the relic they can modify people's personalities. Who is to say the modification would be instant? Instead, it is gradual. This way only those closest to the artist would notice the change.

[@ralcogaming7674]

I thought the deal with lizzy was she was going cyberpsycho. But doesn't really go full psycho, starts making XBDs of her killing people I believe based off her texts.

[@ozmul5810]

@@ralcogaming7674 Oh Trust me. I'm pretty darn sure Lizzy Wizzy is a Cyberpsyco. Hands down. But think of it. What she is doing is glorifying her cyberpsycosis. One has to ask... WHY? We know entertainers are all in the pockets of Megacorps. So how is her actively making Cyberpsycos look cool benifest the Corp she is working for?

[@declancampbell1277]

one of the major theories is that nightcorp is behind the peralez quest which makes a lot of sense. Theres conflicting info on that though, because it seems to point to mr blue eyes either being a doll proxy for morgan blackhand, an AI, or nightcorp. Could be any of the 3.

[@declancampbell1277]

@@ralcogaming7674 shes a high functioning cyberpsycho like adam smasher. All the psychos you see in game have terrible trauma or have are in a terrible place in life, lizzy just has the "ship of thesius" thing from the chrome. That just means that her going psycho doesnt end in a rampage and maxtac, but shes still full psycho.

[@lornbaker1083]

Arasaka Tries to play the game of being god. Night corp Under the command of mister blue eyes. Already has all the powers of a god. And is more than happy to use it.

[@Banzai51]

I love how Cyberpunk lore can dovetail nicely into Altered Carbon.

[@anlumo1]

That's because Altered Carbon is quintessential lower-c cyberpunk.

[@dominiclane8538]

Altered carbon getting canceled was a crime

[@johnny2598]

​@@dominiclane8538First Season was good and 2nd sucked

[@SA80TAGE]

meh... I always saw CP2077 and the story of _Johnny_ Silverhand to be stealth sequel to the _Johnny_ Mnemonic film universe. Both star Keanu Reeves in a story about potentially dying from digital information overload in the brain. Silverhand is what Johnny became after the end of movie (set in 2021), a rebel against the controlling corporations who goes on to bomb a big corp 2 years later.

[@johnny2598]

@@SA80TAGE Johnny Mnemonic is a good film.

[@UsernameWasGodDamnStolen]

Cyberpunk will forever be one of my favourite games but I will never fail to mourn over what we could've had

[@InsideAssassin2]

Same, hopefully the 2.0 update and Phantom Liberty bring us close to what was promised

[@Casey093]

@@InsideAssassin2 I haven't played a more thought-provoking game in the last 10 years, and you guys are still sulking? Come one, let it go....

[@Jojotheprocrastinator]

​@@Casey093no, we deserved what was PROMISED to be in the game. If you wanna turn the gaming industry into politicians where they get to promise us the game of our dreams then deliver bs then you can live that and enjoy it. Im not rewarding the "update later" movement, yes this game has had a turn around, but that's ONLY because of our pushback. Remember that

[@mikeydeangelis6049]

With time things can only improve. I feel with phantom liberty and then hopefully a further dlc, cyberpunk can reach its full potential as it was supposed to be at release. I know not everyone is gonna hold onto this one like gta online but, I for sure will.

[@Kimvanloocke]

@@InsideAssassin2 and Cyberpunk 2 what to expect

[@unavezms8167]

The thing that makes it all even scarier is that idols being replaced by clons/songs written by an AI is not that far from our reality.

[@Slowedlovex]

it’s already here.

[@NovaStationGaming]

And big energy companies are using artists and influencers already to push their agenda...😂💀

[@Jester4460]

well it very far but very possible now its just its birth anybody who says it already here would be dead by a century when its even done let alone perfected any attempts now are halved assed and met with criticism and look like shit we will be dead by then but it will happen

[@colby1398]

Songs are already written by AI or ghostwritten. Very, very few musical artists produce their own music anymore. They just sing what their producers tell them to.

[@kurojima]

just think about Disney using Carrie Fishers image to finish Episode 9 even though she died - because it was easier and more profitable for them and their imagined vision of wholesome Star Wars for her being in that Movie, even it wasnt possible - and thats not even the first time this was done

[@stealthy9754]

Looking at Kerry, you could really tell how much Johnny meant to him, he still hold Johnny words and ideals in high such regards after all that year

[@lornbaker1083]

Its unrequited love in its most deepest sense

[@llcdrdndgrbd]

@@lornbaker1083 it’s funny because Johnny really ain’t all that

[@Rich-fr2yv]

His character is exactly gay Tony from GTA 4. It's even the same voice actor

[@MisterCynic18]

9:40 Johnny's memory inconsistencies have been confirmed to be a product of his ego mixed with radiation damage during the engram conversion process. Arasake didnt tamper with him to create that interrogation scenario, Johnny imagined it to make himself feel more important than he was.

[@ralcogaming7674]

I wondered about this with arasaka coming after him at the Atlantis too. It didn't make any sense we also know he removed blackhand from his memories to make himself seem more badass.

[@lordhelmchen3154]

I am curious, I heard this was the case a couple of times now but I finished the game and never came across this information... where do you know that from? Did I miss something?

[@ralcogaming7674]

@lordhelmchen3154 alt Cunningham herself tells you he altered his memories. In the ttrpg Johnny was completely blown in 2, Morgan blackhand and spider Murphy are the ones who make the engram of him but it was after the nuke went off. So he was already mostly dead and suffered radiation damage. Then his ego couldn't handle him not being the center of attention.

[@MisterCynic18]

@@lordhelmchen3154 it's not in the game, it was stated in AMAs by Mike Pondsmith. The game only hints that Johnny is bullshitting himself, like when Alt calls him on it in their AI conversations.

[@lordhelmchen3154]

@@ralcogaming7674 @MisterCynic18 I see, thanks for the explanation. :)

[@foxronyo]

I agree. Body sculpting (plastic surgery) had reached a point in the future where people are able to take on the appearance of anyone, usually well known actors or other celebrities. So, it makes sense that you could take any group of people, and have them undergo body sculpting to have the same appearance as dead artists.

[@Rug0s]

don't forget if cybernetics has reach to the point where you are basically a walking machine it might also implicate that there are cyberware that can change your voice.

[@mr.johncordero2401]

The Kerry Fanboy wanted to have his appearance changed to look more like Kerry but he has his appearance basically trademarked to avoid that. Future problems, future solutions

[@Grobut81]

We are rather scarily at a similar point already. A lot of todays pop artists don't write their own songs, don't choreograph their own dance moves, aren't really very good singers, and rely on the studio's Autotune tech for their perfomrances, so basically, who are they but a pretty face? All the rest are assets owned by the label, and thus, as is their whole career..

[@thicc.pikachu]

@@Rug0s Or since the medical technology has gotten so advanced, just modify the replacement's vocal cords to perfectly match the old artist, and train them to talk the same way the old artist did. No cyber required.

[@arnowisp6244]

​@@mr.johncordero2401Same thing right now. Actors need to have their looks trademarked so that the Company can't just make digutal replicas.

[@alpharius365]

She underwent Full Body Conversion. She is a biopod inside a metal suit. The chrome isn't Installed in her. She's installed in it. Many other characters have undergone the same procedure without any risk of cyberpsychosis. Samantha for Instance. Like 15-20+ years after Conversion, no problems....well, the rads that killed her was an issue, I suppose.

[@MaryEllenKatz]

RE: Lizzy Her change in person could be chalked up to just massive humanity loss. Becoming a less caring person. Doesn't need to jump all the way to Cyberpsychois . But here's something that's going to really bake your noodle. Lizzy is for all intents and purposes "full borg." It's a civvy model, not military model like Smasher, but the Chrome goes all the way up, as it were. A truly unique feature of a person. She'd have to be REAL special. Who else do you know that's THAT special? Aside from V (and likely only because of the assistance of the Relic/Johnny), David comes to mind. Whom Arasaka also wanted a piece of, and Smasher teased the idea of capturing an engram of. Just real interesting stuff.

[@sciarpecyril]

Full body conversion doesn't really require "special" people to be done. There are, a lot of borgs in the setting. For example, Shaitan - borg with "Eclipse" covert operations conversion kit, who took part in Militech raid on Arasaka Tower and was in Silverhand's team. His body was destroyed by Smasher, but biopod containing his brain was left intact and recovered.

[@MaryEllenKatz]

@@sciarpecyril Of course it doesn't require a person to be "special." It's just easier to call people special than to say "they have a high Empathy stat which gave them a LOT of Humanity to use to get cyberware."

[@MisterCynic18]

Jesus christ David is a smear on the ground, give it up already. He's not special, never was special and trying to treat him as special misses the whole point of the narrative.

[@LarsBlitzer]

@@MaryEllenKatz This is true. According to the OG 2020-era tabletop it was possible to get a full conversion "package," tailor made for a specific job or role. As a package you had the psychiatric, medical, and technical support that was supposed to come along with it in order to have a minimum-to-moderate impact on your Empathy. The way I see it, that was more or less the pinnacle of cybernetics; it's all downhill from there. This is where I put on my aluminum foil hat for a minute, though. Looking at what chrome is available in 2077, it hasn't really advanced all that much from the 2020s. The only major difference is that Cyberpsychosis is eventually inevitable. The Psychos I've seen in the game as well as on the Netflix series are pretty light on the factory upgrades in comparison to what I've seen back in the day on tabletop, where we were rocking along with scores around 2-3 after we got all our bells and whistles. Granted, as we were just teens and early 20s people we hadn't gotten the hang of portraying the angst and detachment from humanity that a low score would entail, but it was still within acceptable tolerances. My thesis is: what if the relative incremental improvements to cyberware is due to collusion between the Corps, along with planned obsolescence? It's not so far fetched a concept; we see it in home electronics and appliances all the time. For example, compare the life cycle of a washing machine, dishwasher, or hot water tank. They all used to last for decades, but now you're lucky if they outlast the 6-8 year warranty. What if there's bits of malicious code that's loaded in with the implants? It doesn't have to be obvious, or comprehensive, or even capable of hijacking the wearer. It just have to be something small. But that's how it always starts. It just adds on bit by bit over time until you go over the line.

[@rustyjones7908]

​@@LarsBlitzeryeah, you're pretty much on the money. Full conversion cyborgs have a relatively low empathy costs compared to swapping out parts one by one. The parts work better in tandem, people with the cash to go full borg can afford proper mental health, and so forth. Fun fact: Smasher has a Gemini body (the same kind Lizzy Wizzie has), and he's in a relationship with Michiko Arasaka. He is described as looking like a buff version of Elvis

[@whydoihavetodothisannoying]

I remember reading somewhere that it was confirmed Kerry is only really interested in male V because it's his best chance to be with Johnny.

[@mechastophiles2118]

With the Kerry/Us Cracks questline, I'm willing to chalk it up to time crunch. It's a late-game quest, and CDPR was already in crunch mode, months behind schedule. Add in the "2020 plague" making it harder to get more voice work done, and I suspect they simply said, "eh, ship it." Your theory is much more fun, though.

[@gameoverinsertcointocontin8102]

When you listen to Lizzys voice you notice how less human it became after the murder. Sounding more like a computer generated voice than a person. My opinion is that in that moment Lizzy lost the last bits of her humanity which is both scary and sad.

[@fill-a-pinot]

This is even more noticeable during Phantom Liberty when interacting with Lizzy

[@wintermyt]

This reminds me a lot of the situation with some of the big signed v-tubers. they can (and sometimes are) replaced behind the scenes. Since they use an avatar, if the replacement was good enough, it'd be neigh impossible to determine when it happens as long as the actor/agency doesn't make a public statement.

[@musingjoke7061]

Kerry's actually bisexual in lore; his relationship with his ex-wife likely wasn't a desire to conform in anyway, as being gay or not isn't really something anyone cares about in Night City. The reason he doesn't romance a fem!V is likely because of the presence of Johnny, and Kerry's feelings (past and present) for him. Him going for male!V, is, in a way, going for Johnny (though not entirely). Additionally, Lizzy is a full body conversion, meaning her brain is installed in a chrome body. Lots of people have done that without going cyberpsycho, especially with therapy; it's likely Lizzy, feeling disconnected with her body (and self) after essentially killing herself on stage, got her year long writer's block, and slowly spiraling since, not able to get the help she needs due to the constant attention on her (the reason she also gives for why she hasn't confronted her manager; she's almost never in private).

[@IntrusiveThot420]

I think some people might look at your channel and see another low-effort-looking readoff of the wiki, but frankly the amount of studying of the game and drawing of reasonable conclusions and fun theories presented really elevates the channel. I think you'd make a pretty good DM if you ever run a tabletop session of cyberpunk.

[@ramantarasov715]

What a great video. I haven’t even considered the possibility that arasaka may want to capture a NUSA president to make them an engram. Another intriguing potential plot point for phantom liberty. Well done 👍

[@nni7538]

About Lizzy. Considering Phantom Liberty will add new ending, you might want to cover the topic of 'full borg conversion' V might have something like the Eclipse Covert Operations Full Conversions like Shaitan.

[@corwyncorey3703]

"Liam's desires are selfish and twisted" - um... no... what he has seen is the beginnings of cyberpsychosis. It isn't selfish, unless self-defense is selfish. He is noting that she has *changed* ...and the changes are getting disturbing. Coming from someone that loves her, it is *far* more likely that he simply wants them back to the person he knew.

[@tomsimpkins1211]

Dang, this popped into my recommended at 10 seconds ago.

[@finn274]

They know what u need 😂

[@NormalPersonCommenting]

Liam did nothing wrong Imagine your spouse turns schizo and you get called twisted for saying "they've changed and I want to change them back." That basically the story with Lizzy. She's going cyberpsycho, and Liam just wants to save her - or at least the Lizzy he remembers, and not the chromed-out monster that was built with her brain. It begs the question, "who is the real you?" Is it the you who exists in your mind, or the you who exists in the minds of those around you? Furthermore, at what point do your loved ones have a right to step in when your actions are self-destructive and/or destructive to those around you?

[@kendotek9414]

This job convinced me that Lizzy is in early cyberpsychosis. Learning about Liam talking with that corpo-rat didn't help matters at all. Imagine however, if V could get Regina to intervene before Lizzy goes full cyberpsycho. That would be a fun job!

[@kuranhelix278]

​@@kendotek9414Lizzy is going to be in phantom liberty right? Maybe we'll get closure there

[@ralcogaming7674]

​@@kuranhelix278is she!? Maybe she's a new cyberpsycho encounter based on your choices in "violence" I wouldn't mind forcing her to get help I only helped get rid of the body so I'd get paid.

[@flamebreaker7318]

He wanted to copy her engram without permission and alter her personality to where she questions him less he did everything wrong

[@NormalPersonCommenting]

@@flamebreaker7318 That's not an accurate summation of the events, and if you think it is, that is why you are wrong. Bring some nuance to your game or go back to tumblr.

[@eriiicj.1558]

The Us Cracks theory makes sense because of one thing that should be obvious: They HAVE to have Trauma Team Platinum. Their bodies would’ve been recovered immediately. Getting them into Mikoshi would likely be a bank transfer away, tbh.

[@laigyun]

I know this is late, but I always associated the references to changes in Lizzy's personality with the same types of changes being made to the Peralezes, meaning the cabal behind Mr. Blue Eyes (possibly AIs beyond the Blackwall), or mayyyybe Militech. Its possible that if Arasaka were permitted to record Lizzy's engram, they might discover the monkeying that's been going on. So it would be in the cabal's interest to put a stop to that, possibly necessitating Liam's...termination.

[@mattb6616]

This

[@declancampbell1277]

its definitely cyberpsychosis, she starts making XBDs of her killing people after she kills him.

[@davidwhitfield6025]

I view Lizzy as being a person who has been figuring out how to exist in her new body which had effected her music creativity and in reaction her brain fights back by falling in love with her manager, a man she says isn't her type.There is a battle going on between her creative side trying to understand and adapt to being a cyborg and the human girl she once was. I don't see this an influence by a corp or Mr Blue Eyes. This is a battle inside her new body. The series of Nos and the expletive show, to me, her different components of her mind and cyber mind trying to cope, adjust and resolve what the man she thinks she loves plans to do. She kills the manager, both out of rage, self defence but also I feel cold hard logic. During her final conversation with V you see the emotional, scared Lizzy suddenly switch over to the cold analytical one, free emotionally from her need to have human affection and is now inspired to turn the trajedy/muder into a new masterpiece. This is Lizzy the artist taking over from Lizzy the human being imo. Within days of the murder she releases a BD showing to the world what she has done and why and there is only praise from the media. No fallout. She literally confessed to murder and got away with it and made money of it. Given that, in the CHIPIN IN episode on the new BD it is obvious that she used the conversation the Manager had with the Arasaka Rep to replace and tweak her engram I can't see Arasaka being behind this or that they control Lizzy. Looking forward to seeing Lizzy again and hopefully seeing this BD. SO for me Lizzy evolves, her brain deciding that artistic creativity is better than emotional attachment. She sees falling in love as being the reason she has not done anything worth a damn these past months. That her manager is proven to be a shit just gives her mind the excuse it needs to cast off the need for human content and stay true to her creative muse. By the way Kerry is with MSM Records just like US Cracks. He did make a joke, to wind up Johnny I suspect, saying he'd signed with Arasaka but he later confirms its MSM. I do agree that US Cracks would be replaced by two other japanese girls. Kiroshi aren't going to loose an obvious money maker although you have to be a real gonk to fail that mission, even the first time

[@mavcotm8006]

why is youtube showing 20 second ads that arent skippable and then another skippable ad?! KZbin's getting greedier than Arasaka and they aren't even giving the good money to the creators! I'm going to do a johnny Silverhand on KZbin HQ(for legal reasons, this was a joke)

[@SamBram]

That's crazy! Sadly they give me no control over how many ads play at intervals but I always assumed it was just one. I wish I could run less ads period, but it's currently the only way I can afford to run the channel full time

[@mavcotm8006]

@@SamBram I didn't criticize you for that. i know it's a KZbin problem and I'm happy for everything that gives KZbin creators a bit of money(even though it's probably not enough). Love the videos and I'm excited for everything that comes

[@SamBram]

@@mavcotm8006 Hopefully in future there'll be less invasive ways of implementing ads. I appreciate the support and understanding Choom 😁

[@edgarrice]

Good video. Well done! I think you're on to something with Lizzy Wizzy. She might not have been compromised during her original transformation, due to lack of time during the live show, but nothing would stop her from being "adjusted" in the following weeks/months. The Lizzy we meet might indeed be fully compromised. As to Us Cracks, you said yourself that they were a creation of the record label (hardly a new thing, it's been happening in the real world for decades). Suppose they were literally a creation? Before they hit it big, maybe they were already synths (to use the Fallout phrase) "creating" and performing AI generated songs. They might think they're real (as we think of it), but they're already corporate assets. There are probably clones in vats ready to be deployed in case of accident. The new Blue Moon wakes up, unaware that anything has happened.

[@SamBram]

Great points both. Arasaka could've gone after Lizzy at any point after the concert. As for Us Cracks, that could defo work with Biotechnica's use of cloning that goes back decades. In fact the idea of a small clone legion of stars is something I hope we see in future content. You could even envision it getting to the point where they can host multiple concerts at once. People would realise at that point that they're clones, but then maybe that's the future reality of it to maximise profit

[@SA80TAGE]

@@SamBram I think public clone stars would diminish the celebrity draw too much... I doubt much people would care what 1 clone is upto vs another clone so I see the public interest and consequently the fame and profits dropping off significantly

[@alexmin4752]

You all forget that Relic 2.0 that is able to rewrite clone's brain with a stored personality is just an unreliable prototype. Common engrams (secure your soul program) are just virtual copies that can't become people again. Just a virtual construct you can chat with over the Net.

[@johnroberts838]

Brilliant content, thank you 👍👍👍

[@SamBram]

Thank you John! Always happy to hear you enjoyed the video

[@autumn.raider]

My honest opinion is that Lizzy might be under the same influence of the secret group that controls Jefferson and Elizabeth Peralez. I wouldnt be surprised if they had more people under control like that and perhaps they are also connected to Arasaka.

[@Cellmate412162]

I would love to be part of that secret group, even if it means becoming post human. But I would actually have great intentions… as in leading society & fixing the world from behind the scenes. And I do mean by any means necessary.

[@Sagojika]

Your new lore videos are great

[@CyberMercy]

Yeah I'm calling wink & nod to Mona Lisa Overdrive - my fave of the Spralw 3x. Great vidi 😎☕💋

[@brittle1]

correction: "the disturbing speculations of Sam Bram in Cyberpunk 2077"

[@TimmyDisorder]

In the source material you can slot virtually any skill at a rudimentary level. Chipped is never going to beat talent and technique, but slotting skills was available (canonically) in the ‘20s and ‘77 is fifty years later. Tech evolves.

[@EvilTwinn]

I know this is very late to the party, but I'd sugget looking at the short story The Girl Who Was Plugged in. I think it'd add a lot to this conversation, directly looking at a celebrity manufactured by a corporation and how she gets replaced without anyone knowing.

[@DanakarEndeel]

Cyberpunk/Night City just shows us what the WEF wants to create with them sitting at the top and the rest of us scurrying around at the bottom.

[@wormspeaker]

Honestly, I don't think Kerry's comments post Us Cracks deaths were intended to hint at them being replaced. CDPR would have put more effort into it had that been the intention. Even if it was just a slight change to his dialogue something like indicating that he hadn't spoken to them in a few days, but had received their demo. They likely would have also made sure that a news clip showed up later with almost (but not quite) identical Us Crack game models in it. So, I don't think that they intended this. On the other hand, if they didn't they should run with it anyway. Replacing manufactured musical group members is something that happens in the real world too. Look up the boy band called "Menudo". They replace the members with new boys when one of them dies, gets too old, or gets in trouble with the law.

[@P5YCHO1192]

Really enjoy watching these. Keep 'em coming.

[@Varizen87]

Personally, I always felt the Us Cracks story line post Kerry could have gone further... I liked the quest with Blue Moon and her stalker, but I wish there had been more with them as Us Cracks had a lot of potential to be interesting. But then again.... It feels like some many of the best quest lines could have had just 1 more chapter.

[@smotherytable39]

In the cyberpunk anime, the first episode. as the bully threatens david. The bully talks about different martial arts/ fighting techniques that he had downloaded to his brain and can be used.He then used it to.beay david, so if that is downloadable, then im sure music talent can be too. i love the video so far, keep up the great work.

[@MisterCynic18]

You get a skill chip in the first mission of chapter one. It's played basically as an interactive tutorial that takes seconds real time, so it isn't quite copying another person's talent 1 for 1. More like getting a master's degree in a subject in two seconds.

[@SCREAMILLUSION]

Canonically Kerry is Bisexual not Gay and kind of leaves a sour taste in my mouth that he was walled off from fem V. Because River is kind of not fleshed out enough and the only male love interest on that side of it all. Hoping Cyberpunk 2077's sequel has more varied love interests for each choice and body choice etc.

[@StaK_1980]

K-pop and J-pop bands are already there. When one of the girls gets too old or tired, she gets replaced. Se retires, some tears are shed and the train rolls on without ever looking back.

[@duckydae]

that’s less-so with k-pop. they bring in new groups but a lot of the time they don’t forget their old ones as they tend to have different sounds. defo for jpop though.

[@Brigand231]

Fascinating, some really interesting questions and thoughts. Thanks for sharing!

[@zphyr6780]

It could’ve just been a glitch on my part but I accidentally went the wrong way and ended up getting Blue moon killed. It said mission failed and everything yet I was still able to text her as if she were still alive….

[@matthewanderson9754]

Man I love this idea for a video!!! You have such a great mind and talent for exceptional content!!! Keep it up!!!😁

[@Vottotoiono]

Lizzy Wizzy... I wonder if anyone else realizes that her story roots in a "Mona Liza Overdrive" by William Gibson and shows the far future of Mona who's career started by replacing -simstim- braindance superstar Angie Mitchell?🤔 P.S. Games -- both PC and old, board one -- also has a LOT of other references to Gibson's books.

[@montblanc6982]

All of this reminds me of an old cartoon movie in which a Boygroup called "The irreplaceable Boys" are constantly getting murdered (not even the main plot), and after each time and a few seconds of mourning, the Manager just grabs the next five ramdom guys he sees and dresses & styles them up to look just like the original ones did.

[@npz1838]

Great theory on Us Cracks but I think Occums Razer applies and its just a late game quest with not enough supporting dialogue or news broadcasts. Also, i think the most simple and reasonable explanation of Lizzy is that shes developing cyberpsychosis. With that said, I completely believe that Arasaka are using Relic to edit and control the top 1% and ppl like Lizzy. Nice theory on that one! Made me think a bit more.

[@HowlYaDoin1999]

'Violence'; the name of the quest is also named after the song of the same title by Grimes herself.

[@project.jericho]

"Music Artists" is that like, a musician? that's like saying 'more betterer' it's painful to hear.

[@electrified0]

Based on what we know from Johnny's story, it would seem that editing engrams directly is likely impossible, but that it is possible to have engrams experience synthetic events that are indistinguishable from organic memories. Since he seems to have two memories of dying, one real and one fake, it also does not appear that deleting memories is on the table. For individuals without a burning hatred for Arasaka like Johnny, positive memories associated with Arasaka and propogandised retelling of events could go a long way in making celebrity engrams favorable towards Arasaka.

[@pascalg16]

Hi sam. Appreciate everything you do. Could you do videos on the Witcher 3? Anything, character builds, story, side quests, etc.

[@spider-spectre]

If the 'Johnny" in your head was yourself and you never saw hallucinations of yourself of course. That would be a lot more convincing and difficult to catch changes when the one overwriting your brain is an altered version of yourself.

[@christophermzdenek]

As mentioned at the end of the video, the timeliness of this subject given the current entertainment strike, and the reasons behind it, show this subject in the game in a whole new light. For woe or weal, it's disconcerting how Sci-Fi often predicts reality.

[@Cautionarytale666]

Love these! Any video planned to break down the pros/cons of life paths? I remember you saying Nomad is the best life path in one of your previous videos. I’d be super interested in a video going over the effectiveness of dialogue choices, unique benefits (a la Jackie’s bike upgrade for Nomads), delivery of voice lines between male vs female, etc. Keep doing what you’re doing! These videos are incredible!

[@Svoorhout85]

I like Corpo fem V. She has that boss b!tch energy in her lines.

[@RaeIsOnYouTube]

My first playthrough I chose Nomad . . . so bike upgrade? Whatcha mean? Please spill, gotta know!

[@Svoorhout85]

@@RaeIsOnKZbin When you meet Jackie before going into to Allfoods plant to get the flathead, you get a technical skill dialogue check to tell Jackie to change the exhaust pipes of his bike. Then later when you get his bike, V will notice he followed your advice and you'll get a modded version of his bike with different exhausts.

[@chabek3355]

Hey not sure if you're gonna see this comment but lizzy's reaction is much more agressive and surprised in the polish translation, so I think it might've been the VA's fault in the english version. I still think its cyberpsychosis, but I hope its gonna be explained in the sequel.

[@BjrnFriedrichsen]

Us Cracks: if your theory, that it was not an "oversight" would hold water, karoshi would have send a hit squad your way or maybe 2... because like you said, they make to much money for them and you just eliminated 2 of them.

[@VVen0m]

2:53 I like how you basically just described Neuromods from Prey

[@ZerebusPrime]

I'm expecting an AI Michael Jackson to show up any minute now...

[@Slowedlovex]

you can generate it online i know that w his voice

[@grahamdixon1699]

The intro could be edited to be about modern music and still ring true

[@SamBram]

Yep, ain't that the disturbing truth

[@Mohmar2010]

I do personally believe that Lizzy is gonna end up going full on or is already going Cyberpsycho, Smasher is a Cyberpsycho and it's a known fact Hell even Johnny is partially Cyberpsycho given his hand which he calls "The Hand" when he does something hostile

[@justdominik9812]

assuming lizzy wizzy does actually have her brain she is most certainly a cyberpsycho, considering smasher was confirmed to be a cyberpsycho too.

[@orelyosif5852]

When you think about Cyberpunk celebrity, think about South Korean Idols.

[@joked87isback]

The most I saw of Lizzy in PL was at the Black Saphire at the bar after talking to Songbird before her performance

[@-__-4186]

Cyberpsychosis doesnt come with amount of chrome You put in You, its coming with power You gain. Lizzy could have minor impact on her if her implants are giving her human-like abilities and she cant jump over AV`s or outrun them.

[@Watch_Point]

Reminds me of the first time Tupac was show cased as a hologram back in 2012

[@capps1994]

im on the Tapeworm quest and spoke to jonny and I think he gave more away on this theory, he said "whats worse is when they take your soul and reprogram it" I don't think that's the actual words but its something like that. Im sorry I can't remember the dialog I used for this. i was just playing and heard this and remembered your video about replacing people

[@PointLookoutResident]

Replacing a sim-stim star w/ an modified double was a theme in Gibson’s Sprawl Trilogy

[@glou2647]

Do a Video on blue eyes, i never understood that conspiracy/lore

[@SamBram]

I'm working my way up to it. There's a hell of a lot to unpack there!

[@no1basser]

I'm just thinking about the entertainment corporations, and their power over the media in East Asia, especially Japan and South Korea. How Rockerboys are portrayed in CP2077 is probably the thing that's closest to real life.

[@rubenlopezusa]

Actually, in Cyberpunk everyone is twisted, not just the musicians. It's a dystopian future that shows a hopeless humankind, where we are going if we keep heading this way.

[@0niXin0]

You are the go to for 2077 lore

[@Planeseeker]

In the TTRPG it is an option during character creation to join a corp or the military to get more cyberwear. Problem with that is they can put kill switches in...not a switch that kills you, but one that makes you kill others. On command. Having that be part of Lizzy wouldn't be a stretch in 2077. Also, full borgs were an option in the 2020 rulebook and a chromebook, and for the most part, if you didn't have high enough empathy, it was instant cyber-psychosis. Her going cyber-psycho is just as likely as the kill switch.

[@azraelwolfsblood2902]

I mean Disney is taking voices of celebrities to use in future films after they die such as Darth Vaders voice actor

[@StromLxrd6]

So the fact that the Corps can control Lizzy's construct, still make Lizzy a alive person with free will?

[@Daemonworks]

For added fun, this is a world where 50+ years earlier you could fork over cash to get bodysculpted to look exactly like whoever or whatever you want, behaviour control chips to (imperfectly) force compliance, and skill chips to give technical capability. Everything and everyone is a commodity.

[@MiguelAngel-op3wh]

What is the name of the background music on the samurai part?

[@SamBram]

I don't know if it has a name but Kerry plays it during boat drinks

[@nlm2nd]

I don't know who Liam's voice actor is, but I can hear a similarity to Belethor. Its NOT Stephen Russell but non the less, Liam and Belethor have something in common. They would sell their loved ones. Lizzy may not be a synth, but the universe where V sends Jackie to Viktor means Jackie becomes the fucked up synth Myrna is so worried about in Fallout 4. Guys I think I have a type of RPG I like...

[@BioHunter1990]

Once again, Nomad life is preferable.

[@mysteryman4915]

3:07 distilling a skill to sell to the masses sounds like the mental injections (can’t remember the name) from the modern Prey game. I think there was a character that had an expert pianist’s skills in their head.

[@ButtersTheGreat1]

Lizzie is a cyberpsycho so is Smasher Pondsmith said that Cyberpsychosis is on a spectrum and there is such thing as a "High Functioning Cyberpsycho"

[@GojiKaichou]

BabyMetal is an irl analog of what you described about replacing members of US CRACKS with lookalikes or entire new lineups. They've had 2 or 3 times where this has happened.

[@Barumonster]

Most likely because it's relatively common in Japanese pop groups, which BabyMetal falls under despite their sound. They're run through the same kind of factory training as Kpop stars are, weeded out, and thrown into groups. Sometimes multiples, which you can see back in the early 2000's with the massive group Morning Masumune and their official subgroups like Minimoni. They "graduate" later, or get cycled out for one reason or another. Sometimes they go on to solo careers or another group, sometimes they retire. It does feel weird to think about these artists who can have a huge impact on people, just... being replaced. The idea behind the training and labels is weird too. It's an Idol Factory! A major difference I've seen, and I definitely haven't looked into it in depth so grain of salt here, but for Kpop groups, they tend to just make a new group. My guess is the fan culture prevents them from being able to successfully swap out memebers and maintain popularity of a group by name alone. People become way too attached to individual members.

[@GtheMVP]

I didn't listen to Lizzy's bf on the cameras, so I never heard about tje engram thing. I love this about devs like CDPR and Larian, where you may never encounter compelling narratives like these based on your actions/choices. I just wish romancing Blue Moon and Lizzy were options lol.

[@Disavowedagent47]

hell for a very long time people think that Paul McCartney was a double named Billy Sheers. and it would also lend to reason that is why we keep seeing Elvis everywhere. they just used body doubles either by people who looked like them, or would haver the best doctors of their day make people to look like them...... this is not that far out as a concept. just look around

[@joseybryant7577]

Somewhat unrelated to Cyberpunk, but fitting with the theme of musicians rebelling. Billy Idol once partied so hard in Thailand that the military was called in to tranquiliz him. A rocker rockerboy versus the military.

[@Shinkami_Chuu]

I'm pretty sure I remember radio news after Lizzy's quest, that say she went cyberpsycho and killed people in a mall, I'm pretty sure she died by maxtac, And then a few days later, I heard another rado news where she was interviewed live like nothing happened. It may be false memories of mine, but at the time I thought it was odd, that it had to be a bug, but wishfully thinked she did'nt actually die. This vid points at the fact that the interviewee could be a copy. If it's not false memories.... Does anyone remeber these news flashes ?

[@DeadCal]

There is definitely an item about a cyberpsycho in a mall (money off vouchers for the victims' fams, yay) but not with Lizzy Wizzy. After the Violence quest, there is an item about her new BD.

[@Shinkami_Chuu]

@@DeadCal oh, so false memory of mine indeed! Thanks for the clarification!

[@AxelLeJeff]

Ricky Gervais has openly stated he's not one to 'tell it like it is'

[@adriankoch964]

Red or Purple was IIRC the only one of us cracks to sport military grade cyberware. You can see it when scanning them in the Kerry infiltration mission.

[@pinnacleevolution1634]

Red Menace is the one, she's also the one that keeps guard during blue moons quest and the one that confronts you if she dies.

[@jining6100]

pretty sure when you die, your engram would still be able to be copied but, like in the case with jackie when you send him to vik's, the engram would be damaged and would limit what they can do. johnny would have to be alive for them to extract the engram fully without damage

[@srdjan455]

The music industry is brutal in Cyberpunk 2077, why else would one of the idols be loaded with combat implants?

[@Requiem4aDr3Am]

anyone who allows blue moon and red menace to die is a monster. I really wish they would let us romance one or all of the us cracks. I wanna find out about those azaleas with blue moon

[@williambrown8686]

It's really only BM that should be romanced your text are sometimes a little flirty.

[@Requiem4aDr3Am]

@@williambrown8686 big time. I still get a kick out of it during the kerry questline when he mentions doing it on top of azaleas and she looks right at you and says she wants to try it.

[@dominiclane8538]

Lizzy wizzy is chromed out , shes a real bad ass but nobody says this . Shes special according to the cyberpunk universe

[@anthonyalberts8167]

Lol the first minute like you’re basically describing the current corporate cesspool society we find ourselves in today.

[@XANDERcanDRAW]

In Red Launcher you can see the new Lizzy on the shot for one of the possible new gear. (headgear crown)

[@AMBBrr]

Everything is disturbing in this universe Hell for the characters, heaven for the writers

[@Cellmate412162]

Ha, the characters here are in Heaven compared to “I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream.” That story is pitch black, & I dare you to read it. It makes the Cyberpunk universe look like a G rated Disney movie.

[@theeffete3396]

25:13 "Film Actors," as in the Film Actors Guild. Nice, subtle little jab there. Assuming it was intentional...

[@jonathanprice8684]

I feel like you don't know about Skill Shards from 2020. They've literally been able to do this for over 50 years in Cyberpunk, record someone's specific skills in a way that lets anyone use those skills exactly the same way. We even saw this in Edgerunners, the kid in David's class was using a martial arts skill shard to punch him, you can notice he doesn't react to David moving even as he's moving slower. The down side to a Skill-Shard is you can't improvise or deviate, you use that skill exactly the same way while using it. Meaning that you could play an exact copy of a single song, or use an exact punching combo, but you couldn't improvise a variant of that song, or react when your target starts moving fast.

[@Snipergoat1]

The very first point is flawed or at least it makes some assumptions that may not be true, the likely hood of which is dependent upon knowing how the specific technology works. While any learning machine may with a high enough fidelity and enough time could figure out how to play a song exactly to match the sound of an instrument up to the recording and production value. There is your first problem. A studio recording even a fairly "raw" one will have lots of little tweaks in it that affect how it records. One of the most common is the removal of string noise from a guitar. The most common for which is something that anyone who has even played around casually with a guitar will be aware of is the noise heard when your fingers dragging across the strings when changing chords. It is that quick "fweeet" like noise you can even hear on the more raw recordings or always in real life acoustic or amplified electrical. It will be a bit different with every player and is part of the signature style every player has. There are literally hundreds of small things such as difference in intonation based on both the guitars make and how hard you press on the strings. The machine would create the sound as it was recorded but a machine could learn to make a sound as recorded but not as played. Nor would it be able to duplicate the style on stuff it has never sampled because once again they duplicate the sound not the technique. Take ZZtop guitarist Billy Gibson. His handle is very distinctive and part of their sound. If you wanted to play any song of theirs you could easily figure out the notes and chords. Then you could find out and duplicate his exact guitar, effects and amp setup. Even then you would still sound like someone duplicating his sound because he also has a unique picking style that causes a finger to lad behind the pick and lightly brush the string causing some muting but also some overtones that you would not normally be able to hear. Even doing that won't duplicate the exact sound simply for biomechanical reasons. (eg) your hands are different. What is most likely thou is that Johnny plays using something that is generally considered a "mistake" or just poor technique that he had developed into their distinctive style. To go from an excellent player to a not so good one for an example. I fret your basic power chord (root note+it's 5th) using my index finger for root and pinky for the 5th. It should be the ring finger. The problem is mostly that it causes some issues with placement during transitions and playing should be smooth and even, this makes that goal more difficult. There are really many ways to play a note or chord. The most common/standard way of doing them are usually best but non standard ways are developed some times out of ignorance by for skilled players it will be don't for effect. These are the guys who know what the "rules" are when to break them and how to do it to get the desired effect. (if you are still new to playing and have this fault fix it before it's too ingrained. It can be worked around but why make things harder for yourself?) These example alone would not mean much alone doesn't mean much but combined and person who co wrote the music hand has both heard and watched it being played thousands of times would spot someones distinct style and sound pretty quickly. The machine did not duplicate the style, the direct copying of the neuro structure complete with pathways and quirks (including muscle memory) that reproduced the music. It is a playback not a duplication of style. After all it was never claimed that a copy could not be made by a maching. After all any old tape recorder is a machine.

[@BrutalAthas]

I had only kanye in head how corpos quickly extinguish his career.