Cyberpunk: Tales from the Oasis

Welcome to the world of Cyberpunk: Tales from the Oasis! This is our very first episode - and we're excited to have you along for the journey! Buckle up, and get ready to leave Night City - it's gonna be a bumpy ride...

The roads leading to the Oasis are dangerous - in the last episode our luxury transport vehicle only narrowly avoided a serious confrontation with would-be hijackers. The intrigue around this Oasis place continues to mount, as the party sets off on the last leg of their journey. What awaits them at their destination?   Find out in this episode of Tales From the Oasis - The Arrival.

Getting arrested is one of the worst things that can happen to edgerunners such as ISO, Mavis, Reed and Sedoy. Society generally doesn't look kindly on people that carve their own path through the systems of beuracracy, and the inside of a jail cell is not a particularly unfamiliar site for any of our characters. The party waits, unsure and anxious about what will happen when the far door opens back up again.   This is Episode 3 - The Welcome Committee.

As our characters ponder the bizarre interviews they just gave, a million questions swirl through their minds. Though, for ISO, one thought rises above the rest - the person on the vidscreen in the waiting room. Her audio is muted, but whatever she's talking about seems important.  Could this be his first Oasis story? And how could he insert himself into the middle of whatever was going on? This is Episode 4 - Trickle Down.

The city around ISO, Mavis, and Reed feels strangely familiar and alien at the same time. The usual sounds and smells an early evening metropolis seem... different in the dusty night air of the Oasis. Piercing through the faint smog, the moon casts an eerie blue light on the buildings and vidscreens surrounding them. Neon signs flicker to life as a couple of food carts set up shop nearby. The Oasis night life is beginning to stir as they head to the "steak" house for a meeting.

The elevator chimes rhythmically as it slowly ascends the dull metal tower on the outskirts of the Oasis. Inside, Sedoy, catches her reflection on the sheen of the glass and steel interior. She notices a few spots of Charles' blood on her face, and absentmindedly wipes them away before checking her agent for messages from her new friends. Nothing. That's odd. 2 floors remaining. She hopes this isn't a trap. 1 floor remaining...

The stench of fresh blood permeates the air around the VIP table of Flaming's Real Steakhouse. Cries for help from the tweakers echo unanswered around the penthouse dining hall. The three remaining Brokebacks stand confidently beside their seats, eyeing the ruthless efficiency of their recent mercenary hires with barely concealed amusement. One of them shifts his cowboy boot slightly, out of the way of the steadily growing pool of blood underneath Reed's victim.

Reed stands alone in his bathroom, shoulders hunched over the sink. The water hisses quietly into the metal basin as he studies his reflection. He scoops water into his hands and splashes it on his face, rubbing away the patches of dried blood with the slow, practiced demeanor of someone who has done this many times before. He inspects his face again, nods to himself, and sighs. Only one more thing to do before he can finally sleep.

In the basement server room of the Trickle Down Hydroponics station, one of the guards peers over Sedoy's shoulder with interest as she roots around inside the central control server. The guard shifts his foot slightly, causing the nearby pressure sensitive LED tile to light up.   After a moment of digging, Sedoy's eyes fly open, and with a sharp gesture she yanks a hunk of wires and circuit boards out from the dark metal frame, holding it triumphantly above her head.

Iso and Reed exit their rooms, give each other a quick nod, and quietly decend the stairs outside their apartment building. The two figures walk away from the lone tower into the rapidly setting sun towards the so called 'Nomad's Paradise'.   Meanwhile, back in the apartment complex, Mavis and Sedoy prepare themselves for their first Oasis Rock show...   And the meeting with their mysterious new superstar client.

Rows of UltraBrite LEDs mounted on the ceiling of the Meat Grinder come to life suddenly, bathing the club in a disorienting burst of harsh artificial light. The club erupts with jeers and booing, as the drunken patrons head towards the exits and begin stumbling out onto the street and into the cool night air of the Oasis. Outside on the corner, several small arguments and skirmishes break out as the crowd from the Rock Show decide on the next venue upon which to inflict their unstructured adolescent rage.

The sleeping form of Reed lies sprawled on the ground, empty bottle in one hand and several more scattered about the floor next to him. He opens his eyes and blinks slowly. As he tries lift his hand to shade his vision from the harsh sunlight emanating from his window, Reed's attention is drawn to one of the small pile of bottles. His heavy pistol has been posed amongst the glass and synth-plastic containers, as if the remains of his drunken bender were used as props for an album cover of an edgy indie punk band. For reasons that currently escape Reed's alcohol-soaked brain, the words 'Mars Sazerac' are scrawled across the barrel. He blinks. He blinks again. His brow furrows as he reaches slowly towards the familiar firearm, which he grasps and weighs it in his hands. Reed looks through his bedroom doorway, and towards his front door, slightly ajar.  Perhaps Mavis remembers what happened.

A large, black SUV waits in the shadow of Oasis Apartment Building 72-BCB. Inside the empty vehicle, a lone computer display bolted to the center front console reads 'Waiting for Passenger - Sedoy. 136 passengers in queue'. After a moment, the door flies open with an impatient swing, and a few moments later, Sedoy slides into the SUV. [Welcome Sedoy. You are [3 and a half] hours late. Is everything okay?] "Is that right? What time is it?" [It is currently 11:32 AM] "I am half-hour early, what are you talking about? Dumb car." The door shuts automatically, and with a soft hum the electric motor comes to life as the luxury vehicle speeds away through the harsh desert sun. 

With a crunch, ISO flips over the front of the handlebars of his new motorbike, as he's flung unceremoniously into the air. Time seems to slow to a crawl as he tumbles head over heels towards a row of abandoned nomad motorbikes. He feels his grapple arm snap as it slams into the roof of an old, rusted sedan. ISO barely has enough time mid-flight to process the loss of his enhanced arm before he crashes clumsily into the row of rusty motor bikes - which in-turn then collapse on top of *him* forming a tangled heap of handlebars, wheels, and one extremely unlucky Media.

A black cloaked figure stands in the middle of the intersection, directly in front of the sleek automated vehicle containing Sedoy. The traffic indicator in front of her car turns green, and the vehicles on the opposite side of the road begin to move. The cloaked figure, however, remains motionless - their expression and appearance concealed by a long dark hood.   There's an awkward pause as the left rear window of the automated vehicle rolls down slowly. Sedoy's head comes into view, leaning out the window with confused expression on her face. She studies this strange character for a moment, but before she can make sense of what she's looking at, a small explosion pops the front end of her car several feet into the air. She slams her head against the top of the window frame, and as the car violently crashes back down to the street, her jaw smashes into the door. 

Hello listeners! This week, instead of our regularly scheduled program, we're bringing you a special segment that I call 'Short Stories from the Oasis'. In these segments, we play a one-off session of some lesser known tabletop games and use it as an opportunity to explore some part of the Oasis that you wouldn't normally get to see! This week we're playing Halo 'n' Horns - A One Page Comedy RPG by Connie Chang (@byConnieChang on Twitter). Connie is the GM behind Transplanar RPG, an all-trans POC-led D&D show about broken heroes trying to save a broken world. You can find out more about that group on Twitter as well, under the handle @TransplanarRPG. You can also find Halo 'n' Horns, as well as other things Connie has made, at https://byconniechang.itch.io/ ! Visitors to Scott Yung's Discount Cybernetics will quickly learn that Scott loves to talk about his products. He'll go on and on about this cybernetic limb, or that neural enhancement, but one thing he's never straightforward about is where he gets his product from. But.. if you manage to find him after he's had a few drinks, and when he's feeling particularly talkative, he may tell you the story... Of how Scott Yung founded Scott Yung's Discount Cybernetics. (This is part one of a two-part standalone series)

Hello listeners! This episode is part two of a two part standalone series, so if you haven't heard part 1, go back one episode! The game we're playing is called Halo 'n' Horns - A One Page Comedy RPG by Connie Chang (@byConnieChang on Twitter). Connie is the GM behind Transplanar RPG, an all-trans POC-led D&D show about broken heroes trying to save a broken world! You can find out more about that group on Twitter as well, under the handle @TransplanarRPG. You can also find Halo 'n' Horns, as well as other things Connie has made, at https://byconniechang.itch.io/ !

Warning! Priority Transmission from the Oasis! The vidscreen on the back wall flashes an ominous warning symbol over a bright red background, bathing Sedoy's apartment in an eerie artificial glow. Sedoy leans against her kitchen table and studies the screen. She wipes a small chunk of partially digested kibble off of her lips, and swallows several times in an unsuccessful attempt to clear the taste of vomit from her mouth. The screen flashes again, and when it comes back, the text beneath the warning symbol has been replaced by two simple words: "Stand By."

Sharp bursts of pain shoot through the arms, legs and feet of ISO, as he slowly tries to push himself upright. After a few half-hearted, painful attempts at readjusting, he leans back and rests his head on a convenient pillow propped up against the armrest of the couch. Less than 10 feet away, Sedoy and Reed sit at Mavis' living room table. Sedoy taps her fingers on the cheap plastic. Mavis catches her eye, and with a quick gesture, yanks the pillow out from under his head, and tosses it aside. He groans in pain as his head thunks against the frame of the armrest. This is Episode 17 - Ellipses.

You collapse into your bunk, exhausted after the long day's work, and begin and scrolling through your agent, looking for some new flashy content to take your mind off the day - when suddenly you stumble upon something that catches your eye. It's a retro '2D film', recommended to you by your agent, called 'Neon Nights in the Oasis'. From the looks of it, it's some old Callum Industries propaganda film... Claims it's the 'True Story' about some guy named Dennis, and how he 'Saved the Oasis'. You roll your eyes, load the video, and settle back into your bunk. These old corpo propaganda films are usually worth a watch... If just for the production value alone. The title slams into the screen of your agent, startling you a bit: "This is... Neon Nights... In the Oasis"