Alt Cunningham

Altiera "Alt" Cunningham is a character first introduced in Cyberpunk 2013's mini adventure Never Fade Away as the girlfriend of the famous Rockerboy Johnny Silverhand. She is described as a beautiful and talented netrunner; having developed the Soulkiller program for the ITS corporation before being kidnapped by Arasaka. She is the first victim of Soulkiller and her consciousness exists only as a digital ghost on the Net.

Early History
Alt became a highly skilled netrunner, famed for her skills at seeing software development on a different level. At some point she was poached by the ITS corporation and during her employment she began development on a revolutionary human/AI transfer program. Alt invested heavily in neural processing cyberware to augment her Netrunning, spending large amounts on European biosculpting to enhance her beauty as well as having a golden cyberarm installed. During this time she met Johnny Silverhand and the two entered into a relationship.

2013
Fascinated by the development of artificial intelligence Alt made a breakthrough in the transfer and containment of intelligence - both AI and the human mind. The unnamed program was able to transfer the users mind into the net and explore independent of their existing body. Her employer ITS capitalized on the breakthrough and developed it further into a weapon known as the Soulkiller - Instead of transferring personalities, it imprisoned them.

On April 15th 2013, whilst leaving a concert with her boyfriend, she was kidnapped by gangers and Johnny was left for dead. Toshiro, the then head of the corporation in Night City, kidnapped Alt to force her to recreate the program for Arasaka. While captive she rebuilt the software from memory and though watched closely she feared that Arasaka would test it on her, to prevent this she built a fail-safe to ensure that she could make her escape.

Having survived his injuries, a team led by Johnny Silverhand started a riot at the Arasaka complex, with his legion of fans. Fearing the worst, Toshiro used the software on Alt, but before he was successful she managed to fend off the attack, killing the Arasaka netrunner team and incapacitating Toshiro's bodyguard, Akira, from within the Arasaka mainframe. Johnny detonated an explosive charge which gave Toshiro the chance to disconnect Alt from her body. Johnny killed Toshiro and left with Alt's lifeless body, unknowingly leaving her digital form behind.

2023
At some point after her death in 2013, her digital form managed to escape to the Net. By 2022, Arasaka have recaptured her during the Fourth Corporate War, and held her yet again in the Arasaka Tower in Night City. A strike team lead once again by Johnny Silverhand led an assault the tower, in hopes of rescuing Alt, wiping the new Soulkiller and putting an end to the war. During a surprise ambush, Spider Murphy released Alt back onto the Net to ensure she escaped the clutches of Arasaka.

2045
In the years following the Fourth corporate war, Alt set up a digital haven for the other victims of Soulkiller. It was rumored to be hidden on a server somewhere in Night City or in the great white north of Canada, but after the bioplague wiped out the population, Ghost Town was established in the ruins of Hong Kong.

2077
In 2077, Alt is still an entity on the net. V encounters her after crossing the Blackwall with the help of the Voodoo Boys; while doing so relives Johnny Silverhand's memories from her physical death in 2013. A memorial niche to Alt Cunningham can be found at the Columbarium in Night City. After Alt Cunningham is revealed to be living behind the blackwall, Johnny Silverhand takes upon himself to free her from net. After managing to free Alt through various missions, however, it is revealed that she is nothing but an image of Alt Cunningham and is not actually her. The rogue AI explains that the engram was transferred to the net during the 2013 raid. However, due to Johnny disconnecting the physical embodiment of Alt Cunningham while she was still in the net, her consciousness was split from the engram leaving her mind stuck in the net while her body and consciousness laid dying in Johnny's hands.

The engram kept the image of Alt Cunningham to keep itself from going insane as any other AI would in the net over a prolonged time as Mikoshi didn't exist back then to protect engrams from interference.

After Johnny reveals the nature of V's goals, the rogue AI explains that it can create an engram of V if they are subjected to a soulkiller program and then transfer it back to their body. Doing so would "kill" V but allow the engram to be transferred back to their body allowing their brain to overwrite Johnny Silverhand's engram. In this scenario, V would still keep their consciousness as long as the connection between their body is not disconnected during the transfer process like Alt's was.

Dependent
In the Path of Glory ending, V accepted Johnny's help to storm Arasaka, Johnny eventually made his way to Mikoshi under Arasaka tower where V will be subjected to a soulkiller program. After Alt reveals herself, she explains to V that she has subjected them to a soulkiller program and that she is currently processing their engram. This enrages V as they believe they are now dead and a computer code. Johnny reveals himself as dead and a computer code while V is a real person that needs to live on and finish the mission. Alt is successful in destroying Mikoshi, freeing the AI.

Alt asks who will leave the body, following her to the Blackwall and who will keep the body. If Johnny were to keep the body, the brain would function normally. If V keeps it, however, they will only have 6 months to live before their nerves deteriorate from the damage caused by the relic.

Database Entry (2077)

 * Alt Cunningham - the best netrunner in Night City, the most powerful "entity" on either side of the Blackwall and the only person who can put Johnny Silverhand in his place. Fun fact: Soulkiller was created by Alt before Arasaka stole it for nefarious purposes, making her more rogue AI than human. The last weak link to her past is Johnny - he and V are the ones who used the Voodoo Boys to lure Alt from out past the Blackwall.

Trivia

 * The date of Alt's death was revealed via twitter, during the #CountdowntotheDarkFuture campaign by R.Talsorian Games.
 * The illustration of Alt is re-used in the Night City Sourcebook as an advertisement for the Virtual Vicky Escorts.
 * An updated version of the same illustration can be seen in the Cyberpunk 2077 reveal trailer.
 * The illustrations of Alt from Cyberpunk 2020 Japan Editions are among only images of Alt Cunningham in the flesh and not in lingerie.