Anthony Harris

Anthony Harris is a Night Citizen who gained public recognition with the discovery of his hidden life of crime spent abducting and murdering youth during 2077 and previous years, being dubbed by the people of Night City as "Meatman" and codenamed by the NCPD as "Peter Pan."

Biography
Anthony grew up in the town of Laguna Bend - turned into a reservoir in 2062 - and attended its public school.

He spent his childhood years on Edgewood Farm in the Badlands, helping his father with the family business. His mother died young, leaving him with a single parent who employed strict discipline a farm employee might be more suited for, followed by corporal punishment in case of mistakes. The cattle pestilence taking over the farm lead to further scuffle with production and resulted in corporations taking a hold of the farm eventually leading his father to lose a battle against depression.

According to the analysis of the memories structuring his dreams, it is obvious that he did not recollect these years in a positive way and has since grown into manifesting a severe pathologic behaviour through fixating on the abuse he suffered.

Whether his memories offer a correct representation of the events or not has not been questioned, although it may be somewhat easy to discern that certain details do not fit within the borders of reality.

Finally, during routine roadside inspection at the intersection of 7th and 15th Avenue, NCPD officials have encountered Harris in a wrongfully parked car, accompanied by his latest victim, LeVar Martinez. Harris suffered a missile wound to the head as he attempted to flee and had since remained in a vegetative state. Multiple layers of his brain have been penetrated, but thanks to a quick intervention, further damage to his brain has been avoided. Medical experts estimate a chance of Harris waking up at 0.6%, making interrogation impossible. The DNA testing revealed that the vehicle he had been found in hosted at least seven other known victims, whilst the chemical substances found during the autopsy of Martinez confirmed a match, erasing doubt of Harris fitting the profile of the most likely suspect.

In their attempt to obtain certain evidence, NCPD has relied on Night City's neuroscientists and their experimental method of augmenting brainwaves appearing in dreams with Braindance technology to help children with severe cases of autism. Unfortunately, as dialogue with the leading researcher of this methodology, Yawen Packard, reveals, Harris is not dreaming at all. His cerebral cortex was damaged enough to prevent any reaction save for dissonant urges. Due to not being on the autism spectrum, not being a child nor knowing his preferences, audio-visual stimulation has not even been attempted up until River Ward, a suspended detective that has independently been investigating the case, demanded it.

The investigation itself has shown that Harris ran a website called DRUGS ARE BAD, through which he baited those wishing to fight their addiction by posing as a group, not unlike a cult, experienced in solving such issues.

As can be seen through the exchange found on a gift laptop of River Ward's nephew Randy Kutcher, Harris, going by the username of Anthony34 lead online conversations with his victims, presenting himself as an adult who has been through all the problems they're currently suffering and overcame it, therefore feeling the need to offer his help to get them through it. By reading stories of their struggles and using administrative privileges on the website to learn their addresses, sending physical gifts, he was able to inveigle his victims and sway them into believing his sincerity.

The same laptop will contain a video among its downloaded files, a cartoon of a farmer mistreating cattle with cheery music containing an ironic undertone. This will be the key to instigating Harris' damaged brain to start dreaming and provide enough brainwaves for dr. Yawen Packard to form a braindance. This braindance, accompanied with the IP address which can, with enough skill, be extracted from messages exchanged with Harris, will help learn more of his past as well as pinpoint the exact location of the farm he is keeping the abductees on.

Braindance data
The data extracted from Harris' brainwaves was divided into three fragmented braindances of his childhool memories. The accuracy and even validity of these memories cannot be confirmed, although from what they offer, the development of his character can be more easily understood.

In the first braindance, the observer will be familiarised with the cafeteria of his elementary school, in which an unnamed teacher singles Harris to lecture him about killing Liam's turtle. Young Harris will try to explain that the turtle was sick and therefore needed to be helped - same way as cattle is helped - by receiving an injection of HGH. The teacher will realise that the idea itself must have come from the farm, or specifically, from his father. The following wording indicates that the event is happening past Harris' father's death, once Harris had been adopted by "good people", which the teacher will use to judge the incident as misbehaviour directly affecting them. A mention of his friend dying might have been further cause to his mood, although the teacher dismisses it as an excuse for what he did, which causes young Harris to insult the teacher in return, taking the memory to a more abstract recollection of events. When the teacher returns the insult by comparing him to his father, young Harris proceeds to follow him through the cafeteria with a fork. The teacher will be more straightforward denigration, finally getting Harris off the rails, where he seems to be admitting that his father was sick and he wanted to help him - likely as he helped Liam's turtle.

During this braindance, the events are followed by a distorted and reversed version of the cartoon's music.

The second braindance is graced with more clarity and colour, and depicts a memory of an event on the farm prior to Harris' father's death. Starting off with showing a much younger Harris interacting with a sick cow - the scanner will show that the cow is property of Biotechnica. A call by his father interrupts the moment as Harris is needed to withstand castigation over forgetting to check the injection levels the cattle has been receiving before school. Due to the mistake, the cow will lose its life, and the father implies directly how it is the child's fault, as the death of his mother was.

The music playing in the background is not reversed this time, and is much more clear than before, but, as Harris' father insists on turning the cartoon off, the viewer will realise the cause of it was due to being physically played rather than remembered in this fragment of the dream. Once the child deals with the hormone injecting control panel, he will stand for a while watching the video of the cartoon on the monitor nearby.

Third and final braindance, appearing the most clear for the viewer is also the most recent one. In it, Harris starts where he left off - watching the cartoon, an hour to midnight. He is distracted by noises made by one of his victims escaping by dragging himself across the floor of the cattle stall. The scanner shows that, aside of being disabled from waist down, he is afraid, nervous and with elevated muscle tension - results of being treated as cattle would be. Alongside the corridor, where cows used to be now are sedated boys with cattle masks providing sustenance via tubes. Tech integrated throughout the area and leftover fuel barrels indicates that the farm has at least at one point been owned by Petrochem whether by bill of sale or simply being located in a region owned by the corporation. The farm is visibly well-secured, showing turrets and antipersonnel mines all over the surroundings. Collected information from the memory will provide enough certitude regarding the location of the farm for the investigators to pay it a personal visit.

Having found reliable evidence to convict Harris as the assumed serial killer, the story is concluded, although not all feel that justice has been served. River Ward juggled with the thought of having a hand in dispensing it himself, especially since it would be rather easy, seeing how Harris remains in a comatose state, but finally succumbs to his better judgement and instead relies on the judicial system.

NETDIR://NCITY.DRUGSAREBAD.PUB
The organisation for battling drug addiction Harrison uses as a front has its own website on a public domain, through which troubled youth may find a way to contact him for help. The website summarises the organisation's goals and ideals, promising to change the reader's destiny and save their life should they get involved. Within this page, hotlinked to a sidebar image is a hidden page to Tony's Shelter, provided by Harris himself.

WHO WE ARE
It's never too late to change

Addiction can be defeated.

''Yes, to fight addiction is to go to war for your life. But together, hadn in hand, we can emerge victorious.''

''We know who the enemy is, how to outsmart him - his tricks and unexpected blows. We know where he strikes, how much force he uses - his weak points and how to drive him back.''

''For years we've been researching the most effective strategies to fight drug addiction. Now we're putting them in practice.''

Together we can change your destiny.

Because it's never too late to change.

OUR MISSION
We save lives

''Drug overdose deaths are steadily on the rise. This is nothing less than an epidemic that is decimating our society - and young people most of all. If we continue to ignore what's right in front of us, thousands of young people will die within the next decade.''

We won't let this happen.

We hope you won't, either.

STAY CLEAN
Beating addiction is only the first step

''For most, the real challenge is what happens after your treatment. Suddenly, you have to go back to your normal life... but normal meant using regularly. The streets being what they are, it's easy to fall back into old habits.''

We can help you stay clean and support you for as long as you need.

You'll always be able to come to us for help.

Together we'll stay clean and undefeated.

CONTACT US
Contact us at contact@ncity.drugsarebad.pub

You can count on us.

NETDIR://NCITY.DRUGSAREBAD.PUB/JOIN
Tony's Shelter is a hidden page within the website Drugs Are Bad aimed directly at those Harris targeted, using colour coding and positive reinforcement to promote a mood switch and tragic metaphors such as addressing them as cattle and himself as a farmer in the mantle of a saviour. The video which the webpage provides, while removed from its indicated location, can still be found among the downloaded files on Randy Kutcher's laptop.

WELCOME, LOST STRANGER!
Good to see you, friend!

''Welcome to Tony's Haven! The place you've been looking for, the place where you can become the best version of yourself - thanks to Tony!''

I live here with my friends; they came here because they were fed up with seeing their life go to waste - just like you!

Think of me as a farmer who looks after his livestock.

''Get acquainted and stick around. Together we'll show those old farms what we're capable of! No idea what I'm talking about? Don't worry, I'll explain everything in good time. But it's time for you to decide - do you want to remain a shadow of yourself, or become the person you always dreamed of being?''

Come on down.

JOIN US
Introduce yourself and stick around

''I know who you are. You're the boy that's been rejected by society, left to fend for himself, misunderstood by his family and deprived of real friends. I was once like you. You can stay here as long as you like, because you just found your new home.''

''I have a secret, special treatment that'll not only get you back on your feet, but will also free up that weight from your mind and shoulders, make you limitless. Everything you need to bust out of your shackles, you'll find them in my Haven. You'll become SUPERHUMAN - resistant to sickness, strong, healthy, invincible.''

''But before we do that, how about we get to know each other first? Shoot over a message at anthony34@ncity.drugsarebad.pub''

Remember - you're one of the chosen ones.

FILES
ERROR: "ATT_CART_VIDEO" FILE NOT FOUND

WNS

 * 'PETER PAN' CASE: POLICE ON HUNT FOR MURDERER

Night City Journal

 * MEATMAN STRIKES AGAIN

It seems the killer known as Meatman has claimed yet another life - his fourth by our count. The victim this time - 23-year-old Janet Bailey. Night City Police previously issued a formal statement about Meatman in which they claimed no such serial killer prowls the city's streets, but the truth is far less comforting.

Establishing connections between the murders proved difficult, but our investigators got their hands on reports that show the victims all died in the same way. The specifics are too graphic to describe in detail here, but two key similarities stand out. Firstly, all of the victims died of a bullet to the head fired from a gun used to slaughter cattle. Secondly, the bodies exhibited scarring characteristic of burns from a red-hot, branding iron.


 * TRAUMA TEAM'S VALUE: FACT & FICTION

We got a chance to speak with one of the NCPD officers assigned to the group tasked with tracking down Meatman. "This guy, man, this guy's a real psycho. Extremely dangerous and still out there somewhere," said the officer, who [...]

Associated Quests

 * The Hunt