Lucius Rhyne

Lucius Rhyne is the Mayor of Night City in Cyberpunk 2077. When he unexpectedly dies, the focus of Night City politics turns to who will replace him: Deputy Mayor Weldon Holt or Councilman Jefferson Peralez.

Biography
In 2045, before he became mayor, Lucius was a rare idealist working to make the world a better place. He was well-known for his inspiring speeches and calls to action in the newly formed Watson Development.

In 2060, Lucius Rhyne was elected to the notoriously corrupt Night City Council as a member of the Devolutionist Party. By the time of the Unification War (2069-2070), Rhyne had risen to become Mayor of Night City, and led its defense effort against the New United States of America. Rhyne was the one who convinced Arasaka to come to Night City's aid, which brought the war to an early close. Night City secured its independence, and Arasaka was welcomed back to the city and permitted to rebuild Arasaka Tower. Rhyne's time in politics made him a wealthy man, but appeared to have dulled his ideals. By 2077, public opinion had split, and he was either respected as the city's savior or reviled as its most crooked politician.

Rhyne's office is located in The Glen in Heywood. He was one of only four residents of Night City who owned a Rayfield Aerondight S9 in 2077.

2077
Later in 2077, Lucius Rhyne was gearing up for re-election and facing Councilman Jefferson Peralez. He held a press conference to speak about Night City's recent drop in crime rate, an accomplishment only made possible by Rhyne re-designating Pacifica an "independent district" of the city to exclude its crime statistics from official numbers. Shortly before the press conference, a cyberpsycho named Péter Horváth breached Night City Hall on the heels of NCPD Detective River Ward in an apparent attempt to kill Rhyne, but was gunned down by Ward before he got close enough.

Shortly after the cyberpsycho attack, Rhyne died of seemingly natural causes attributed to cardiac implant failure in his sleep. Deputy Mayor Weldon Holt became acting mayor, and announced he would run against Peralez in the upcoming election in Rhyne's stead. The abrupt nature of Rhyne's passing fueled a number of conspiracy theories which alleged that Holt either had Rhyne assassinated or helped Rhyne fake his death. Peralez himself reached out to V and hired them to investigate.

V, with the help of Detective Ward, discovered that after the cyberpsycho attack and press conference, Rhyne had gone to the invitation-only sex club Red Queen's Race to unwind. There, he contracted a lethal virus that had been deliberately inserted into a braindance. He was dead for over an hour in his private room before the club's staff realized. Weldon Holt sent Detective Harold Han to retrieve Rhyne's body and cover up the circumstances of his death, then later hired a group of Animals to trash the club.

Associated Quests

 * The Heist (Briefly)
 * I Fought the Law