Yeah, I know.
For me, this is the most honest reaction to the events on V's part, plus it's the only one that gives you that lovely screen saver in the menu afterwards that I like much
On the other hand, there are nuances here. Honestly, I think this variant of the game "pre-ending" is underdeveloped.
1. "President Myers is dead" - and no one has seen her body. So Mi yells that you killed the president, congratulations! But So Mi is the last person to be believed here.
2. On the news there is no official obituary from the NUSA, Hansen also calmly announces the current news on the radio like nothing happened.
3. There is still a data card in the Kress Street building with the signatures of all the former tenants of the apartment, personally I interpret the last letter R. as "Rosalind", but there is no electricity and the computer does not work. That is, Myers probably got to the building by herself, but she didn't have the sense to turn on the generator and just ran off somewhere to spend the night.
You just imagine Mayers survived but stayed in Dogstown and became homeless like many former corpos before her! What an irony.
4. The secret room under the Moth bar is closed, but the cameras are working, which means Alex or someone is continuing their activities downstairs
5. Unclear what happened to Songbird: the landing pod from the shuttle is in place, meaning she at least landed. The door to the container under the building above the Elizabeth Kress Street Building is locked, there are no signs of explosion or fire, so the Chimera robot remained inactive.
6. No noticeable Max-Tac patrols, meaning no one in Dogstown is having cyber psychotic seizure lol
7. The crack in the wall and the gap to the Cynosure bunker does not appear, meaning So Mi did not get into the bunker, most likely.
8. "Pray we don't meet again and I mean ever!" - So it's still possible to meet So Mi somewhere here?
9. Solomon Reed no longer appears in the bar as a bodyguard, i.e. he has been reassigned or disappeared.
With this scenario, nothing is clear. The situation is uncertain.
But when it comes to V's actions specifically, unfortunately he has no chance to personally shoot Mayers, So Mi, and/or Hands.
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So when will we get a romance-able Mr. Hands? His...wife can be...written...out...right?Here's the thing: Mr. Hands always wears a facial implant (Behavioral Imprint-synced Faceplate* ) in every conversation with V. We've never seen his real face.
What's interesting is that no one even wants to appreciate the fact that V reports directly to Mr. Hands on the results of the operation to eliminate Hansen, as well as the installation of a new leader for Bargest.
Not to Reed, not to Alex, not even to Mayers afterwards - they are all interested only in catching So Mi - but to Hands.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
* Advanced FIA spytech based on abandoned Militech research. Pairing it with a behavioral imprint allows the user to take on the appearance of another person as well as replicate their facial expressions and speech pattern. An experienced agent equipped with a faceplate is virtually indistinguishable from the person they're mimicking, and are capable of clearing even the most sophisticated security scans.
What's interesting is that no one even wants to appreciate the fact that V reports directly to Mr. Hands on the results of the operation to eliminate Hansen, as well as the installation of a new leader for Bargest.
Not to Reed, not to Alex, not even to Mayers afterwards - they are all interested only in catching So Mi - but to Hands.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
* Advanced FIA spytech based on abandoned Militech research. Pairing it with a behavioral imprint allows the user to take on the appearance of another person as well as replicate their facial expressions and speech pattern. An experienced agent equipped with a faceplate is virtually indistinguishable from the person they're mimicking, and are capable of clearing even the most sophisticated security scans.
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Seem obvious to me. I'll give you some hints, you do whatever you want withHere's the thing: Mr. Hands always wears a facial implant, in every conversation with V. We've never seen his real face.
View attachment 11392927
What's interesting is that no one even wants to appreciate the fact that V reports directly to Mr. Hands on the results of the operation to eliminate Hansen, as well as the installation of a new leader for Bargest.
Not to Reed, not to Alex, not even to Mayers afterwards - they are all interested only in catching So Mi - but to Hands.
Unlike Rogue, Wakako, Regina or Padre, who are well known and respected fixers, Mr Hands who have a family, who operate in arguably the most dangerous and unstable neighbordhood in Night City which probably brings together the worst criminals of all Night City, decided that anonymity was the best protection.
Then I won't say that Myers don't care about Hansen, but it's nothing compare to So Mi... So Mi is the living proof that Myers and so, NUSA intentionnally violated the intertional laws by piercing the black wall and used So Mi and the black wall as a weapon. So Mi can literal ruin Myers carreer and create a big crysis for the NUSA. So yeah, for Myers and so for Reed, nothing matter more than finding So Mi, dead or alive.
But for Mr Hands, who does buisness in Pacifica and in Pacifica only, nothing matter more than Hansen fate...With Hansen dead and with a "nice" guy instead, business can only flourish for him.
Sure. And we even know exactly what Hands' business in Pacifica is - redefining the Arvin AccordSeem obvious to me. I'll give you some hints, you do whatever you want with
Unlike Rogue, Wakako, Regina or Padre, who are well known and respected fixers, Mr Hands who have a family, who operate in arguably the most dangerous and unstable neighbordhood in Night City which probably brings together the worst criminals of all Night City, decided that anonymity was the best protection.
Then I won't say that Myers don't care about Hansen, but it's nothing compare to So Mi... So Mi is the living proof that Myers and so, NUSA intentionnally violated the intertional laws by piercing the black wall and used So Mi and the black wall as a weapon. So Mi can literal ruin Myers carreer and create a big crysis for the NUSA. So yeah, for Myers and so for Reed, nothing matter more than finding So Mi, dead or alive.
But for Mr Hands, who does buisness in Pacifica and in Pacifica only, nothing matter more than Hansen fate...With Hansen dead and with a "nice" guy instead, business can only flourish for him.
I'd say he and Mayers have a joint venture, so to speak. Both are born businessmen.
Edit: Just to remind people, it's interesting to read:
The entire ending of "Phantom Liberty" straight up screams otherwise!
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The entire ending of "Phantom Liberty" straight up screams otherwise!
In what way? And let me be VERY CLEAR here, I'm not saying Myers, and the NUSA, don't commit evil acts, I'm not saying they're the "Good Guys". I'm not saying that working for/with them is a Morally superior position.
What I am saying is, In a world where Arasaka is a massive world power, more so than most Governments, They could press a button and wipe out half the planet, and they can literally steal someone's consciousness, trap it on a drive, and then interrogate, manipulate or torture that person, or worse replace someone else with a new psyche, A world where Millitech hands out nukes to mercs just to get a job done, A world where XBDs containing the most vile acts a person can commit to another human get sold on a not so secret black market. Not to mention all of the other insane stuff I've already mentioned in my last post. How is a fixer working with the NUSA "The Most evil" ?
Even accepting that Myers is evil, or the NUSA as a whole is evil, Hands is just another player in the game, sure He's more skilled than others, and wins more times than not. But if we are to look at "Evil" in the world of CP2077, and there is plenty enough to go around. I would say that the Worst evils of this world are the Corps, followed by the true sadist of the world. The fact that Hands will play different sides against each other or see an opening to manipulate events to his advantage, still seems way less evil than many characters we come across.
@ DjSpyder Don't take offense, please, this is not an ignore, no - I will answer you - but later. Right now I have only video for you ))
Now, given that I won't be on the forum for about +- the next 24 hours, I'd like to address my questions to the wider public, I mean all those who care about this thread at all: do you think Mr. Hands is even aware of what he's doing in Dogstown? Well, does he know who he's hunting, and why? What are the reasons for Hansen's actions, who is Hansen anyway? What are Hands' own reasons? Or is Hands just out to make money? Or, uh, he just felt like it, I don't know, intuition proly.
Now, given that I won't be on the forum for about +- the next 24 hours, I'd like to address my questions to the wider public, I mean all those who care about this thread at all: do you think Mr. Hands is even aware of what he's doing in Dogstown? Well, does he know who he's hunting, and why? What are the reasons for Hansen's actions, who is Hansen anyway? What are Hands' own reasons? Or is Hands just out to make money? Or, uh, he just felt like it, I don't know, intuition proly.
Whether or not Hands is evil, the entire ending(s) of the overall game make it clear that Hands is not the most evil person in the game. I mean, without giving away any spoilers, the "Devil" ending is called "The Devil" ending for a reason. CDPR gave it that name,The entire ending of "Phantom Liberty" straight up screams otherwise!
Mr. Hands knows exactly who he's chasing in Dogstown. He knows Colonel Hansen's background.
Now, let's go to the Cyberpunk Encyclopedia and take some of the data, not on Hands, but on Colonel Hansen:
"...Most of the files on Kurt Hansen's military past were classifed as top secret following the end of the Unification War. Only top Militech execs and certain members of Congress in Washington have clearance to learn just who this former Colonel truly is. He's the man who secured a foothold for the NUSA in Night City as part of Operation "Midnight Storm". The same man who then, after being abanonded by the NUS government at war's end, built from that foothold a new homeland for himself, all financed by smuggling and arms deals on a global scale.
To some, he's a glorified gangster and war profiteer, to others – a deserter and terrorist. To others still, he's the charismatic leader of BARGHEST, the liberating force that keeps Dogtown free from NCPD jurisdiction and corporate influence and that has turned the derelict district into a new home for so many without one.
Kurt Hansen is a man of many faces. But if you ask Dogtown residents, most will say it's safer to keep your head down than to see any of them for yourself. "
cyberpunk.fandom.com
Now help me choose the correct answer to the question of who Hands is:
1. Community forum (some part of people ) - "Hands is just a fixer".
2. Cyberpunk Wiki (option one) - "Hands is one of Militech's top executives".
3. Cyberpunk Wiki (option two) - " Hands is a member of Congress in Washington".
And the last thing I'll say here is a reminder that some NUSA presidents got to this position precisely by being Militech's top managers.
Such as one Rosalind Mayers. So future contains a very interesting option for Hands personally.
"Don't play with the FIA, don't play with the government (of NUSA)! Be reasonable. You won't win this game."
That's exactly the message Johnny Silverhand is trying to get across to V ( and users, us ) in the video I cited above, talking about "season players".
It's what So Mi and Alex's "mental striptease" shows, what the FIA did to them, and what became of their hopes in the end. And what they themselves have become, not to mention Reed. And what awaits anyone who wants to be like them.
And all the Phantom Liberty's endings simply describe different choices within the same scenario, which will be the same for anyone who wants to play "spy games".
Now, speaking on the topic of the thread: all I did was just read one Wikipedia article. And found a description of the phenomenon I was interested in, i.e. Hands. To me - the description matches 100%, not sure about you.
The original article is in French, and it's called "Éminence grise". Bu-uu-t since French is, apparently, the language of the world elite, it is spoken by especially gifted and talented people (and I am not one of them), and since there is no one French-speaker seen in close sight on forum, I had to look for a surrogate in English. It turned out something like this: Éminence grise or Grey Cardinal.
And here's the problem: If Hands is truly the Grey Cardinal of the game, then neither the hapless V nor the players have the methodology or the ability to determine the nature of the phenomenon being observed. It's just not there in principle. The game provides no such opportunity. In terms of the game's terminology, the culprit of all social evil is corporations and corpo-tyranny.
That is, we are stuck with elliptical structures - "Corporations are the source of evil because they do all sorts of terrible things. Why is that? Because they're run by evil people like Saburo Arasaka. And why is Saburo so evil? - Because he's in charge of the most evil corporation in the world," etc.
The game makes us colorblind, in Hands' case, we have discovered a phenomenon that cannot be explained by the internal philosophy of the game, it goes beyond it, and its real color we cannot see. And our beloved V doesn't see it either. All he sees is a kind correct old fixer who gives him interesting tasks.
Mr. Hands is a UFO on the radar screen.
One example: take Bargest. What is it in essence? It's a corporation in its infancy. If Hansen manages to take a few necessary intermediate steps, he'll have a functioning social structure. Like Arasaka. Like Night Corp. Like others.
Hands removes Hansen - by other hands, of course - and puts, say, Bennett in his place. Suppose Bargest starts a war with, say, the Aldecaldo clan and bombs them with phosphorus bombs. Whom will Panam hate and whom will everyone blame? Bennett. Maybe Hansen. Maybe V.
It's not like anyone will remember the reshuffling Hands did at Bargest before that, or who actually runs the organization.
There's no method in play to detect phenomena like gray cardinals. However, purely logically, an entity of this nature is detectable. I've found too much on Hands for it to be a mere coincidence.
Back to Phantom Freedom and V's interactions with the FIA - Hands is more dangerous than all the other agents combined.
Because, just like in my hypothetical example with Bargest, Hands treats a monstrous organization like the FIA the same way. He uses it for his own ends. If he wants to, he'll just disappear from the organization. If he wants, he'll change leadership. If he wants to, he will remove the President of the NUSA and clean up the evidence (with other people's hands, of course). If necessary, he will create a parallel organization.
And V has been on the Hand's hook since the beginning of the Kompeki Plaza story, and has no chance to realize it.
Now, let's go to the Cyberpunk Encyclopedia and take some of the data, not on Hands, but on Colonel Hansen:
"...Most of the files on Kurt Hansen's military past were classifed as top secret following the end of the Unification War. Only top Militech execs and certain members of Congress in Washington have clearance to learn just who this former Colonel truly is. He's the man who secured a foothold for the NUSA in Night City as part of Operation "Midnight Storm". The same man who then, after being abanonded by the NUS government at war's end, built from that foothold a new homeland for himself, all financed by smuggling and arms deals on a global scale.
To some, he's a glorified gangster and war profiteer, to others – a deserter and terrorist. To others still, he's the charismatic leader of BARGHEST, the liberating force that keeps Dogtown free from NCPD jurisdiction and corporate influence and that has turned the derelict district into a new home for so many without one.
Kurt Hansen is a man of many faces. But if you ask Dogtown residents, most will say it's safer to keep your head down than to see any of them for yourself. "
Kurt Hansen
Kurt Hansen[3] is the Colonel of BARGHEST and one of the antagonists in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Hansen is the leader of the BARGHEST faction, operating in Dogtown. His military background doesn't mean he just acts in violence, as Hansen's keen intellect and strategic prowess make him a...
cyberpunk.fandom.com
Now help me choose the correct answer to the question of who Hands is:
1. Community forum (some part of people ) - "Hands is just a fixer".
2. Cyberpunk Wiki (option one) - "Hands is one of Militech's top executives".
3. Cyberpunk Wiki (option two) - " Hands is a member of Congress in Washington".
And the last thing I'll say here is a reminder that some NUSA presidents got to this position precisely by being Militech's top managers.
Such as one Rosalind Mayers. So future contains a very interesting option for Hands personally.
The whole Phantom Liberty is a direct warning to players:
"Don't play with the FIA, don't play with the government (of NUSA)! Be reasonable. You won't win this game."
That's exactly the message Johnny Silverhand is trying to get across to V ( and users, us ) in the video I cited above, talking about "season players".
It's what So Mi and Alex's "mental striptease" shows, what the FIA did to them, and what became of their hopes in the end. And what they themselves have become, not to mention Reed. And what awaits anyone who wants to be like them.
And all the Phantom Liberty's endings simply describe different choices within the same scenario, which will be the same for anyone who wants to play "spy games".
Now, speaking on the topic of the thread: all I did was just read one Wikipedia article. And found a description of the phenomenon I was interested in, i.e. Hands. To me - the description matches 100%, not sure about you.
The original article is in French, and it's called "Éminence grise". Bu-uu-t since French is, apparently, the language of the world elite, it is spoken by especially gifted and talented people (and I am not one of them), and since there is no one French-speaker seen in close sight on forum, I had to look for a surrogate in English. It turned out something like this: Éminence grise or Grey Cardinal.
And here's the problem: If Hands is truly the Grey Cardinal of the game, then neither the hapless V nor the players have the methodology or the ability to determine the nature of the phenomenon being observed. It's just not there in principle. The game provides no such opportunity. In terms of the game's terminology, the culprit of all social evil is corporations and corpo-tyranny.
That is, we are stuck with elliptical structures - "Corporations are the source of evil because they do all sorts of terrible things. Why is that? Because they're run by evil people like Saburo Arasaka. And why is Saburo so evil? - Because he's in charge of the most evil corporation in the world," etc.
The game makes us colorblind, in Hands' case, we have discovered a phenomenon that cannot be explained by the internal philosophy of the game, it goes beyond it, and its real color we cannot see. And our beloved V doesn't see it either. All he sees is a kind correct old fixer who gives him interesting tasks.
Mr. Hands is a UFO on the radar screen.
One example: take Bargest. What is it in essence? It's a corporation in its infancy. If Hansen manages to take a few necessary intermediate steps, he'll have a functioning social structure. Like Arasaka. Like Night Corp. Like others.
Hands removes Hansen - by other hands, of course - and puts, say, Bennett in his place. Suppose Bargest starts a war with, say, the Aldecaldo clan and bombs them with phosphorus bombs. Whom will Panam hate and whom will everyone blame? Bennett. Maybe Hansen. Maybe V.
It's not like anyone will remember the reshuffling Hands did at Bargest before that, or who actually runs the organization.
There's no method in play to detect phenomena like gray cardinals. However, purely logically, an entity of this nature is detectable. I've found too much on Hands for it to be a mere coincidence.
Back to Phantom Freedom and V's interactions with the FIA - Hands is more dangerous than all the other agents combined.
Because, just like in my hypothetical example with Bargest, Hands treats a monstrous organization like the FIA the same way. He uses it for his own ends. If he wants to, he'll just disappear from the organization. If he wants, he'll change leadership. If he wants to, he will remove the President of the NUSA and clean up the evidence (with other people's hands, of course). If necessary, he will create a parallel organization.
And V has been on the Hand's hook since the beginning of the Kompeki Plaza story, and has no chance to realize it.
Well, that depends )
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While I fully understand (And agree with) the fact that the FIA and NUSA cannot be trusted and are capable of Betrayal/Wrong Doing/Evil.... I still don't see how that definitively makes MR. Hands the most evil.
1st It's a bit subjective to begin with, as it can vary based on how one defines "evil" and what scale they see as lesser or more evil. But 2nd, there are so many blatantly "Bad" characters in the game It's easy for anyone to have their own ranking. For me The true Sadistic monsters of the world will rank as the true evils. MR. Hands may be unscrupulous and underhanded.... But I think he has some sort of moral code, and a vision.
The question is how in a world full of "bad" and "evil" do we rank what is the worst. Is it by most harm done? is it by intention? is it by who it effects ?
I'd say the people making XBDS with kids, are the most purely evil in this world. Or the Scavs harvesting organs and implants... If evil is a spectrum from Least to Most.... I just don't thinks hands ranks all that high. Sure of all the Fixers in the game he is definitely the most mysterious, secretive and least trustworthy. (Not counting Dex who does outright betray V) But definitively most evil I just don't agree. Now the claim he the most Dangerous I can agree with that, Intelligence plus self interest plus indifference to others is a dangerous combination, I just don't think he's the type of guy to watch the world burn just for kicks or to harm the innocent for a laugh.
1st It's a bit subjective to begin with, as it can vary based on how one defines "evil" and what scale they see as lesser or more evil. But 2nd, there are so many blatantly "Bad" characters in the game It's easy for anyone to have their own ranking. For me The true Sadistic monsters of the world will rank as the true evils. MR. Hands may be unscrupulous and underhanded.... But I think he has some sort of moral code, and a vision.
The question is how in a world full of "bad" and "evil" do we rank what is the worst. Is it by most harm done? is it by intention? is it by who it effects ?
I'd say the people making XBDS with kids, are the most purely evil in this world. Or the Scavs harvesting organs and implants... If evil is a spectrum from Least to Most.... I just don't thinks hands ranks all that high. Sure of all the Fixers in the game he is definitely the most mysterious, secretive and least trustworthy. (Not counting Dex who does outright betray V) But definitively most evil I just don't agree. Now the claim he the most Dangerous I can agree with that, Intelligence plus self interest plus indifference to others is a dangerous combination, I just don't think he's the type of guy to watch the world burn just for kicks or to harm the innocent for a laugh.
I accept that, except there's one point: Hands isn't just "potentially dangerous" - he's realizing his potential against V. Most of the "assignments" he gives V, acting as a fixer, involve the naive protagonist in the villainous networks of the FIA and the NUSA, with V having no immunity to this, nor even a full understanding of what Hands is doing or who he is.
I had to be absent for the last week as I was visiting Belgium, so I missed this topic which I requested. So I took the time to read everything and it was very interesting.
Lots of assumptions and grey areas but I think you did a great job explaining your theory Avalon_railguns, it was fascinating.
I have my own opinions on this though, yes, I am sure that the Hand we know is only who he wants us to know, and for a cautious man paranoid to be discovered it kinda make sense that even when we meet him in person he could be wearing a facial implant to protect himself while still "giving us the honor" of his presence.
If you think about it, it still is kind of a big deal, because even without his exact identity, we are still in the same room as him, on the same couch and nothing could really stop us to end him here and there if the game would let us choose this path. As a merc V got so many tools for this sort of business that are not even considered as fire weapons. I mean, what are you going to do with a mantis blade cutting your throat at sandevistan's speed of light ?
So I still respect the man, and in a way, props to him for his will to protect himself and his family as much as possible.
Now you depict him as the most horrible and evil char in Cyberpunk to which I absolutely disagree... Somebody else here already mentionned some absolute piles of trash like Jotaro, Woodman and Fingers and Hands does not even come close to them. This are the darkest filth of Night City. We could also mention most of the scavs in my opinion.
Now, for "refined", "elegant", "it was all part of the plan" kind of evil, Hanako and Saburo Arasaka are the most heavy weighters of this category. Sure, Hands have a lot of infos on top secret stuff and he has his own ambitions, but he does not come close to the megacorps. Even the NUSA has to bow down to Arasaka and their international presence as the biggest corp.
Because in the end, evil or not, Hands treats his contacts with respect and decency. He invited you to meet him in person while the only way for you to get in touch with the Arasaka family was through invasion of Konpeki Plazza and kidnapping of Hanako during the eulogy ceremony. And we both know how these mega-corpo tyrants have little concerns about anyone that is not from their closest relatives (I put an exception on Yorinobu because I like the theory that he is the real hero of Cyberpunk 2077).
And intentions has a lot to do as well. You will not be able to convince me that the horrible deeds that Jotaro did was considered as "a good thing" even by him. He embraced evil to the point that he doesn't care as long as his kinks are performed, but you can bet your ass he knows what he's doing. Same for Woodman and Fingers. They are all egotistical, interested monomaniacs and it's been a long time since they even considered doing something good for someone.
The intentions of the Arasaka family is pure domination but in a way, they are not seeing this as a bad thing. They are twisted as hell but they convince themselves that they will be able to provide a great future for Arasaka's industry and for the world as a whole, as long as they're in control.
The intentions of Hands are mysterious but he clearly showed his interest of elevating Dog Town and its people. I am sure that he sees himself as a good man even. He's the one that gives you the gig to save the only doc working "pro bono" in Dogtown after all. Not sure this doc has a lot of money to give to Hands, I think he recognizes that Dogtown simply needs the ripper.
Lots of assumptions and grey areas but I think you did a great job explaining your theory Avalon_railguns, it was fascinating.
I have my own opinions on this though, yes, I am sure that the Hand we know is only who he wants us to know, and for a cautious man paranoid to be discovered it kinda make sense that even when we meet him in person he could be wearing a facial implant to protect himself while still "giving us the honor" of his presence.
If you think about it, it still is kind of a big deal, because even without his exact identity, we are still in the same room as him, on the same couch and nothing could really stop us to end him here and there if the game would let us choose this path. As a merc V got so many tools for this sort of business that are not even considered as fire weapons. I mean, what are you going to do with a mantis blade cutting your throat at sandevistan's speed of light ?
So I still respect the man, and in a way, props to him for his will to protect himself and his family as much as possible.
Now you depict him as the most horrible and evil char in Cyberpunk to which I absolutely disagree... Somebody else here already mentionned some absolute piles of trash like Jotaro, Woodman and Fingers and Hands does not even come close to them. This are the darkest filth of Night City. We could also mention most of the scavs in my opinion.
Now, for "refined", "elegant", "it was all part of the plan" kind of evil, Hanako and Saburo Arasaka are the most heavy weighters of this category. Sure, Hands have a lot of infos on top secret stuff and he has his own ambitions, but he does not come close to the megacorps. Even the NUSA has to bow down to Arasaka and their international presence as the biggest corp.
Because in the end, evil or not, Hands treats his contacts with respect and decency. He invited you to meet him in person while the only way for you to get in touch with the Arasaka family was through invasion of Konpeki Plazza and kidnapping of Hanako during the eulogy ceremony. And we both know how these mega-corpo tyrants have little concerns about anyone that is not from their closest relatives (I put an exception on Yorinobu because I like the theory that he is the real hero of Cyberpunk 2077).
And intentions has a lot to do as well. You will not be able to convince me that the horrible deeds that Jotaro did was considered as "a good thing" even by him. He embraced evil to the point that he doesn't care as long as his kinks are performed, but you can bet your ass he knows what he's doing. Same for Woodman and Fingers. They are all egotistical, interested monomaniacs and it's been a long time since they even considered doing something good for someone.
The intentions of the Arasaka family is pure domination but in a way, they are not seeing this as a bad thing. They are twisted as hell but they convince themselves that they will be able to provide a great future for Arasaka's industry and for the world as a whole, as long as they're in control.
The intentions of Hands are mysterious but he clearly showed his interest of elevating Dog Town and its people. I am sure that he sees himself as a good man even. He's the one that gives you the gig to save the only doc working "pro bono" in Dogtown after all. Not sure this doc has a lot of money to give to Hands, I think he recognizes that Dogtown simply needs the ripper.
Well, I hope your trip was successful and enjoyable )
You know, I wouldn't call this thread a requested topic - Rather, it was just time to talk about Hands a little more seriously than a simple fixer.
Regarding "gray areas" - yes, of course, discussing a character like Hands will inevitably lead to gray areas - he is too well protected by both the story and the game itself to be able to make logically consistent accusations against him.
Regarding "evil" - I stand by my opinion, organizations like the FIA and Militech are far more evil than sadists and psychopaths. Those are isolated, while this is a systemic, self-sustaining and structured evil.
(Yes, please note that my position is closer here to Silverhand's point of view with his fight against corpo-tyranny, our voices unexpectedly overlap, even though I don't like him )
But I am not imposing my opinion on anyone. Maybe someday there will be more people on the forum who think like me.
P.S. Categorically disagree with your perception of Arasaka! )) A noble Japanese family and Colonel Hansen are the two walls that keep our beloved Night City from being taken over by the sinister NUSA corpo-empire led by the insidious Rosalind Mayers!
It was the aircraft carrier Arasaka that foiled the FIA's operation to invade Pacifica back in the day. Take Arasaka out of the equation and Night City is defenseless...
You know, I wouldn't call this thread a requested topic - Rather, it was just time to talk about Hands a little more seriously than a simple fixer.
Regarding "gray areas" - yes, of course, discussing a character like Hands will inevitably lead to gray areas - he is too well protected by both the story and the game itself to be able to make logically consistent accusations against him.
Regarding "evil" - I stand by my opinion, organizations like the FIA and Militech are far more evil than sadists and psychopaths. Those are isolated, while this is a systemic, self-sustaining and structured evil.
(Yes, please note that my position is closer here to Silverhand's point of view with his fight against corpo-tyranny, our voices unexpectedly overlap, even though I don't like him
)But I am not imposing my opinion on anyone. Maybe someday there will be more people on the forum who think like me.
P.S. Categorically disagree with your perception of Arasaka! )) A noble Japanese family and Colonel Hansen are the two walls that keep our beloved Night City from being taken over by the sinister NUSA corpo-empire led by the insidious Rosalind Mayers!
It was the aircraft carrier Arasaka that foiled the FIA's operation to invade Pacifica back in the day. Take Arasaka out of the equation and Night City is defenseless...
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To be clear about what I'm about to say, I'm not trying to insult you so try to keep an open mind with my post.
Or maybe you're reading wwwwaaaaayyyyyyy too much into very little. It's confirmation bias. You want to see something so you start to see something and interpret everything in a way that supports what you want to see.
It's something you seem to do often. I mean, you did start a thread about Silverhand being a scam artist because you read a shard that was clearly meant as an easter egg/pop culture reference to a well known scam.
So maybe the reason why the game doesn't actually give any real indication of Hands being anything more than a fixer is because... he is nothing more than a fixer. The game is generally pretty clear about what it wants to be in your face and what it wants to leave an air of mystery about. Hands isn't one of them. Hands is pretty clear cut. He's a fixer. Nothing more.
Now let me be clear. You say we see him as a "simple" fixer and it might be true for a lot of folks but the reality is that there isn't such a thing as a "simple" fixer. Canonically, you don't become a fixer in Night City by being an average Joe. It stands to reason that Hands isn't an average Joe and his backstory supports that but that doesn't negate the fact that he's just a fixer.
Or maybe you're reading wwwwaaaaayyyyyyy too much into very little. It's confirmation bias. You want to see something so you start to see something and interpret everything in a way that supports what you want to see.
It's something you seem to do often. I mean, you did start a thread about Silverhand being a scam artist because you read a shard that was clearly meant as an easter egg/pop culture reference to a well known scam.
So maybe the reason why the game doesn't actually give any real indication of Hands being anything more than a fixer is because... he is nothing more than a fixer. The game is generally pretty clear about what it wants to be in your face and what it wants to leave an air of mystery about. Hands isn't one of them. Hands is pretty clear cut. He's a fixer. Nothing more.
Now let me be clear. You say we see him as a "simple" fixer and it might be true for a lot of folks but the reality is that there isn't such a thing as a "simple" fixer. Canonically, you don't become a fixer in Night City by being an average Joe. It stands to reason that Hands isn't an average Joe and his backstory supports that but that doesn't negate the fact that he's just a fixer.
Well... Sure. Arasakas are so protective and care so much about Night City, no doubt.
Hence Saburo's thoughts before meeting Yorinobu. He's so nice! He trully care about Night City and its citizens!
From Saburo's Diary 117-121/77
And the old man had every right to do so - after all, he himself had once almost been blown up in his own house by a nuclear bomb!
So did he end up turning Night City to ash or not?
It's quite possible that the same applies to you, to one degree or another ))
Let me remind you that the game is designed in such a way that it does not give unambiguous answers, and we can always to some extent think only at the level of interpretations of known events.
Well yes, it was starting a thread about Silverhand that I wasn't 100% serious about, that's true. I don't like rockers, so what can I do about it?
But the topic about Mr. Hands is another matter. I'm very serious in this thread. So I wouldn't jump to conclusions if I were you.
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He did not, only thanks to Hanako... and Yorinobu who killed him before he have to take a decision
Without her (and Yorinobu), he would have killed every citizens in Night City simply because of the Relic. And I'm sure he would have found a nice (and dead) culprit to point out, like I don't know... Johnny Silverhand.
Arasaka only care about Night City, because it's the only territory in North America they control. That's all. They couldn't care less about people who live in the City (according to him, Westerners are "barbarians")
Sure, confirmation bias is something we all do to various extents. I try to be as aware as I can about my own but it is something that is typically insuperable.
With that said, I'm not the one throwing wild theories out there. Some of which fly in the face of what the game is completely unambiguous about. Like this whole "Arasaka are good guys" argument. They're not. They are clearly not. That's just black and white writing canon both in CP2077 and every iteration of the tabletop games. The Arasakas position themselves as this "noble" Japanese family for PR but they're everything but. That's not interpretation, that's literally the universe's canon and it has been for decades now.
Hands is no different. The game's CANON is that he is a fixer. The game literally tells you so. Unambiguously. He's a fixer. Yet, you are here claiming he's some hidden top level executive from a corpo. Or, even better, a congressman. All while the game tells you, outright, that he's Wade Bleecker. An ex Petrochem executive who had to go into hiding. Plain and simple.
Not everything has to be a conspiracy theory or have layers upon layers of deeper meaning.
There is a reason you're not getting much support on this argument.