range.
Here's the fully revised version, cleaned up, grammatically polished, with the names updated as requested:
"The situation is not optimistic. His brain nerves are severely burned."
A weary female voice spoke softly in the room.
"Just state the result."
A cold male voice cut through, tinged with impatience.
"Alright… The result is, even if he wakes up, there's a significant chance he'll become a fool. If not, then it's highly probable he'll suffer from memory loss. His brain nerves have been eroded to such a fragile state that even a small network fluctuation could make it impossible for him to stand." The woman sighed as she finished.
"Understood. Has the technical department's assessment come out? Was it an AI or the Blackwall?" The man turned his head toward another person.
"Unable to determine, but most likely an AI. If it were the Blackwall, it wouldn't be so gentle as to only burn one person's brain."
At that moment, another cold female voice entered the conversation.
"Once he wakes up, we'll do a test assessment. If he's a write-off, follow procedure. I'm going to a meeting first."
"Understood."
Footsteps retreated, followed by two clicks as the automatic door opened and closed. The room fell quiet again, save for the steady dripping of an instrument—once every ten seconds.
Arthur strained to open his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, he saw nothing. He tried to move his arms, but it was as if they were gone; only his body twitched weakly.
"Click." The door opened again.
"Don't move." A calm female voice spoke: "Listen carefully. You'll find you can't see anything, can't move your arms, and feel dizzy, nauseous, maybe even want to vomit. These are all normal, because most of your cybernetic implants have been removed."
"As for the blindness, your cybernetic eye was forcibly shut down. We'll recalibrate it later."
"Next, I'll activate your cybernetic eye. Please try to remain calm."
Arthur let out a muffled hum. The sound of fingers tapping on a screen echoed, and soon his vision flickered.
[Arasaka Seed.3 Cybernetic Eye restarting.]
[Recalibrating…]
"Just like the first time you had your cybernetic eye installed. Take a deep breath—the blur will fade."
Arthur obeyed. After ten seconds, his hazy vision cleared, as though correcting extreme myopia. Bright operating lights revealed a sterile room. Nearby, a woman in a white lab coat studied data on several screens.
Arthur glanced down at himself. His hands were still there, but restrained. The inability to move came from his neural links being shut off. Interfaces along his forearms were cut open, flesh and cybernetics exposed, held down by cold restraints.
"Very good, the data from your eye is stable. It seems you're not completely useless yet." The doctor sounded relieved. "Now, stay awake. We need to test your cybernetic capacity gradually. If you feel headaches, nausea, or mental disturbances, speak immediately."
"Okay…" Arthur replied weakly. The stabbing pain in his head had dulled but still hit him like spasms, forcing tremors through his body.
"Do you know your current situation?" The doctor asked, tapping the screen. From Arthur's angle, he could only see her—an East Asian middle-aged woman, well-preserved, elegant, yet stern.
"I heard a little," Arthur admitted, then asked: "What does 'handle according to procedure' mean? Fired?"
"Most likely." The doctor turned to face him, expression blank. "If I were you, I'd focus on how to report this incident to the company. This is the first time a rogue AI has impacted a server. The training facility is halted, the supervisor held accountable. The severity exceeds your imagination. In the worst case, the project ends, staff are dismissed or reassigned, and as the direct instigator… being fired might be the best outcome you can hope for."
Arthur twitched his mouth bitterly. Truly Arasaka—no, truly corporate thinking in the Cyberpunk world. They send ignorant young hackers to mine the Old Net, where AIs lurk, and when disaster strikes, they blame the children they exploited.
But Arthur quickly realized: he couldn't let them pin this on him. If deemed useless, Arasaka agents might kill him outright under the guise of "protecting corporate interests."
"It wasn't my fault," Arthur said firmly. "It was Tony's problem."
Tony—the boy who had sat beside him, whose brain was fried on the spot. Though Arthur hadn't fully digested the original Arthur's memories, they were accessible like files waiting to be opened.
"Tony and I were mining the same sector when a tall, red female AI appeared. Its traits matched the company's tutorial warnings about Alt Cunningham." Arthur lied smoothly, almost instinctively. "Tony was touched once, and his ICE collapsed instantly. When I saw Alt, I prepared to log off. I followed procedure, returned to the safe side of the Blackwall, and completed logout—but Alt still noticed and attacked. Luckily, the Blackwall held, preventing a direct breach. Even so, the overflow of data nearly killed me."
"A very good explanation," the doctor said coolly. "If I were you, I'd also add that the company's firewall failed. Unfortunately, I'm just a doctor. Your excuses are wasted on me." She tapped the screen. "Still, your thinking is sharp and your memory intact. Anything else unusual you need to tell me?"
"…Nothing for now," Arthur said.
"Good. Your brainwave activity is improving. Rest for a day, then we'll restore your implants step by step, testing if you can still serve as a hacker."
She eyed his body. "I'll reattach your hand implants first. If any abnormalities occur, call me immediately. Contact information has been sent. If you can't speak, press the red button beside the bed."
An avatar popped up in Arthur's vision—Junko Oda, the doctor's name. He saved it, watching as her arms transformed: one finger reshaped into a syringe. She filled it with medicine and injected it into his neck.
"Alright, sleep. Your hands will be reattached when you wake."
Arthur had no choice. Within ten seconds, consciousness faded.
When he woke again, sensation returned to his hands.
[Data connected.]
[Arasaka Bio-monitoring System evaluating…]
[Arasaka Monowire (Corporate V2.03) connected.]
[Hand circuit normal.]
Arthur blinked. The cold room was empty. Alone at last, he exhaled and sat up slowly, phantom pains flickering across his body. Oddly, the pain didn't overwhelm him. His mind felt sharper—far sharper. Thoughts fired at blinding speed, and the original Arthur's memories poured into him like a film playing at a hundred times speed.
Childhood memories of writing his first virus at six… scoldings from his adoptive mother… the greed in his foster father's eyes when Arasaka bought him for fifty thousand eurodollars… the grueling "elite education"… the endless classes.
Knowledge—hacking, cybernetics, survival instincts—compressed years into minutes. Just hours ago, he'd been a mere office worker playing games. Now, in a dozen minutes, he had digested the life and skills of a prodigy hacker. In pure ability, he was now stronger than the original Arthur.
He rubbed his temples. The acceleration tormented his fragile brain, but it was worth it. Then his thoughts turned to the voices he'd heard before fainting:
Codename: FF:06:B5 operation successful.
Operation Codename: Ragnarök.
What were these?
FF06B5… in hex code, it translated to "magenta." Codename Magenta? Strange.
Ragnarök—the "Twilight of the Gods." That sounded ominous.
Clearly, these were tied to rogue AIs. His transmigration, his sharpened mind—it was all connected. But the Old Net swarmed with dozens, maybe hundreds, of rogue AIs. Diving back recklessly would be suicide. Humans against AIs were like babies against tanks. Until he was strong enough, he had to avoid direct contact.
For now, survival came first. He had to endure the company's investigation and escape Arasaka's Hacker Training Institute. Staying meant death.
"Click." The automatic door opened.
A small girl stepped inside—not Lucy, as Arthur half-expected, but a cute child with red twin pigtails.
"…Rosie?" The name surfaced instantly. Rosie, a genius hacker from Osaka, only eleven—the youngest here.
She froze at his call, watching his face nervously. Then, cautiously, she walked closer, golden light flickering in her eyes as she scanned.
After a pause, she asked softly, "Arthur… are you alright?"
"Me? Still alive for now." He studied her expression.
"That…" She switched to Japanese. Arthur understood without a translator—Arasaka's compulsory "mother tongue." Most trainees here were Japanese orphans, recruited through Arasaka's welfare centers. Arthur himself was mixed-race, adopted before being sold off.
Rosie searched his face, then whispered, "If you need help, please… please contact me. I… we're still friends, right?"
Arthur smiled faintly. "Yes, we're friends."
Relieved, Rosie scanned the room again before saying cautiously, "When you leave the hospital, let's talk. Me, Lucy, Da Di-kun, Leon—just us. Do you want to come? Just a small gathering."
Arthur narrowed his eyes. "If I'm still alive. With a suspected rogue AI attack, my situation is uncertain—fired, transferred, or worse. Now isn't the time for gatherings. The company will be investigating everyone."
Rosie's eyes widened. She hadn't even explained, yet he knew.
"I'll tell them! Then rest well, Arthur!" She turned to leave, but glanced back suddenly. After hesitation, she blurted: "Arthur… I… I actually saw it. Anyway… I believe you!"
She looked like she regretted it instantly and fled in a panic.
Arthur narrowed his eyes. Saw it?
Could it be… she saw those AIs?