# Chapter 1 — Return To Afterlife The next evening felt normal. Which, after the previous day, was deeply suspicious. Night City did not simply become normal again. It merely waited. The city stretched beneath a gray-orange sunset, traffic flowing through elevated arteries, advertisements screaming at people from every available surface. Somewhere a gang war was probably happening. Somewhere else a corporation was committing a felony. Compared to yesterday, it felt relaxing. Ace sat in the passenger seat of the Thornton and stared out the window. "Do you think they're still arguing?" Mai didn't even look up from her agent. "Yes." A pause. "About what?" Mai scrolled. "Everything." "Fair." From the back seat Shammy sighed. A tired sigh. A content sigh. A sigh belonging to somebody who had survived a day of internet users organizing themselves. "I still can't believe they created a support group." Ace looked back. "You literally had the healthiest fanbase." "That isn't helping." "It absolutely helps." "It really doesn't." Mai's agent pinged. She looked down. Paused. Then sighed. Ace immediately noticed. "Oh no." Mai turned the screen around. The title of the thread was visible. ## TEAM SHAMMY CHARITY INITIATIVE Shammy covered her face. "No." Mai continued reading. "They've raised twelve thousand eurodollars." The silence lasted several seconds. Then Ace pointed. "You see?" Shammy groaned. "That's worse." "That's objectively better." "They've made me responsible." "Exactly." The car filled with laughter. The kind that came only after a disaster had passed. The kind that appeared when nobody had been shot. Nobody had died. Nobody had accidentally awakened an eldritch nightmare. For once. The Thornton rolled into the Afterlife parking lot. The familiar neon glow spilled across wet pavement. The old club looked exactly the same. Comfortingly so. No banners. No elections. No forums. No Vent Theory Society. Just mercs. Just Night City. Just Afterlife. For one beautiful moment, Ace believed the nightmare was over. Then they walked inside. And immediately saw Rogue. Sitting in her booth. Waiting. Completely expressionless. Which was already bad. Then Ace noticed the mug. She stopped walking. Mai stopped walking. Shammy stopped walking. The entire Triad froze. On the table sat a black ceramic mug. Printed in bright white letters: ## FOUNDER'S DAY Ace closed her eyes. "No." Rogue took a sip. "Yes." Then Ace noticed the sticker. A bright green sticker attached to Rogue's datapad. ## VENT ACE Ace physically recoiled. "No." Rogue nodded. "Yes." Then Mai noticed the pin. Attached to Rogue's jacket. Small. Silver. Utterly horrifying. ## TEAM MAI The booth became silent. Rogue calmly took another sip. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Finally Ace pointed. "Where." A pause. "Did those come from." Rogue shrugged. "Night City." Which somehow explained everything. And absolutely nothing. The Triad slid into the booth. Ace looked at the mug. Then the sticker. Then the pin. Then at Rogue. "You bought them." "I did." "Why?" Rogue lit a cigarette. Took a drag. Exhaled slowly. Then: "They were funny." The booth exploded into laughter. Even Mai. Even Shammy. Even Rogue's mouth twitched slightly. Because unfortunately... She was right. The Great Forum Incident had been many things. Stupid. Catastrophic. Unnecessary. Absurd. But above all else... It had been funny. Rogue took another sip from the Founder's Day mug. Then placed it carefully on the table. The smile vanished. The fixer's expression returned. Professional. Dangerous. The expression that meant business. Then she reached beneath the table. Pulled out a datapad. And placed it between them. A single word appeared on the screen. ## REPORT The entire booth immediately groaned. "Absolutely not." Ace said. Rogue pointed at the screen. "You owe me a report." Mai looked offended. "That assumes the events can be arranged chronologically." "Try." "We shouldn't." "Try." A long silence followed. Then Ace sighed. The sigh of somebody who knew defeat when she saw it. "Fine." She pointed at the datapad. "Unknown forum." Mai nodded. "Unknown founder." Shammy nodded. "Unknown community." Rogue typed. So far so good. Then Ace pointed again. "Fake Triad." Rogue typed. Still manageable. Then: "Tier lists." Type. "Vent Theory." Type. "Merchandise." Type. "Elections." Rogue stopped typing. The booth became silent. Very silent. Rogue looked up. Slowly. Carefully. Like somebody handling unstable explosives. "Elections." Ace nodded. "Elections." Rogue looked at Mai. Mai nodded. "Elections." Rogue looked at Shammy. Shammy nodded. "Elections." The silence stretched. Then Rogue looked back at the screen. Read the report. Read it again. Then asked the question. The question. The impossible question. "How the hell did you get from point three to point six?" Nobody answered. Because nobody knew. And somewhere in Night City... A new Founder's Day shirt was probably already being printed. 😄 --- # Chapter 2 — The Report Nobody knew how to write the report. That was the problem. --- Not that the report was difficult. --- That would have been manageable. --- The report was impossible. --- Rogue stared at the datapad. --- The datapad stared back. --- The report currently contained: --- - Unknown forum - Unknown founder - Fake Triad - Tier lists - Vent Theory - Elections --- And absolutely nothing connecting them. --- Rogue pointed at the screen. --- "This looks like six different investigations." --- Mai nodded. --- "Correct." --- "It wasn't." --- "Incorrect." --- The booth exploded into laughter. --- Even Rogue couldn't argue with that. --- Because somewhere between Fake Triad and Founder's Day... --- Reality had fractured. --- Then Ace pointed at the report. --- "We forgot merchandise." --- Rogue typed. --- - Merchandise --- Shammy pointed. --- "We forgot the support group." --- Type. --- - Team Shammy --- Mai pointed. --- "We forgot the academic division." --- The booth became silent. --- Rogue slowly looked up. --- "No." --- "Yes." Mai replied. --- "No." --- "Very yes." --- Rogue typed. --- - Academic Division --- Then stopped. --- Then looked offended. --- "Why is there an academic division?" --- Nobody answered. --- Because nobody knew. --- Then Kiro called. --- Immediately. --- Dangerously. --- The screen lit up. --- Kiro appeared. --- Already laughing. --- This was a terrible sign. --- "What." Rogue asked. --- Kiro turned her screen around. --- "Founder's Day update." --- The entire booth groaned. --- Collectively. --- Nobody wanted updates. --- Especially not updates. --- The thread title appeared. --- ## OFFICIAL FOUNDER'S DAY ARCHIVE --- Ace closed her eyes. --- "No." --- "Oh yes." Kiro replied. --- The archive already contained: --- - Event photos - Election results - Historical timeline - Frequently Asked Questions --- The booth froze. --- "Historical timeline." --- Kiro nodded. --- "Historical timeline." --- Rogue rubbed her forehead. --- "Yesterday." --- Kiro nodded. --- "Yesterday." --- The archive timeline began: --- **Year One** --- The booth died. --- Completely. --- The fake Trio would have been proud. --- Rogue stared at the screen. --- Then at Kiro. --- Then at the screen again. --- "They named yesterday Year One." --- Kiro nodded. --- "They did." --- Ace physically lowered her head onto the table. --- "I hate all of them." --- The thread immediately updated. --- A new post appeared. --- Kiro started laughing again. --- The post title read: --- ## Why Ace Secretly Loves The Community --- Ace sat upright. --- Immediately. --- "No." --- Kiro zoomed in. --- The evidence section contained: --- Exhibit A: Ace attended the event. --- Exhibit B: Ace remained at the event. --- Exhibit C: Ace spoke into a microphone. --- The booth exploded. --- Rogue nearly dropped her cigarette. --- Mai actually laughed out loud. --- A rare event. --- A dangerous event. --- Then Rogue noticed something. --- A detail. --- A very important detail. --- At the bottom of the archive sat a section called: --- ## OFFICIAL COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP --- The booth became silent. --- Nobody liked that. --- Not one bit. --- Rogue opened it. --- The page loaded. --- Then loaded more. --- Then somehow loaded even more. --- The leadership structure appeared. --- Founder — Community Representative --- The booth groaned. --- Then: --- Team Shammy — Community Outreach --- Shammy froze. --- "What." --- Then: --- Mai Explained It — Education Division --- Mai removed her glasses. --- Again. --- Then: --- Vent Theory Society — Research Division --- Ace pointed. --- "No." --- Then: --- Triad Isn't Real Movement — Internal Affairs --- The entire booth exploded. --- Hard. --- Nobody survived. --- Not emotionally. --- Not spiritually. --- Not bureaucratically. --- Rogue stared at the screen. --- Then looked toward the ceiling. --- The ceiling had already abandoned everyone. --- Finally: --- "I'm charging them." --- Ace immediately nodded. --- "Reasonable." --- Then Rogue's datapad pinged. --- A message. --- A new message. --- From the Founder. --- The booth became quiet. --- Because everybody knew. --- Everybody. --- This was going to be bad. --- Rogue opened it. --- The message contained only two words. --- > Help please. --- Silence. --- Then another message arrived. --- Immediately. --- > They scheduled meetings. --- The booth exploded into laughter. --- Then a third. --- > Why are there bylaws? --- At this point even Rogue was laughing. --- Then the final message arrived. --- A long one. --- The Founder had clearly reached a breaking point. --- The message read: --- > I accidentally became president of something. > > I don't know what. > > Please advise. --- Rogue stared at the message. --- For several seconds. --- Then calmly closed the datapad. --- Lit another cigarette. --- Took a slow drag. --- And delivered the most Rogue answer imaginable. --- "No." --- The booth erupted once more. 😄🍜🗳️📊🚬 --- # Chapter 3 — The Founder Situation The Founder kept messaging. That was the problem. --- Not the forum. Not the committees. Not the elections. --- The messages. --- Because every new message somehow made the situation worse. --- Rogue had ignored him. --- Twice. --- Then three times. --- Then seven times. --- The Founder interpreted this as availability. --- Night City remained undefeated. --- The booth was quiet. --- For approximately four minutes. --- A personal record. --- Then Rogue's datapad pinged again. --- The entire table groaned. --- Collectively. --- Without even looking. --- Rogue sighed. --- Opened the message. --- The Founder had sent a photograph. --- Nothing else. --- Just a photograph. --- Rogue looked at it. --- Then stared. --- Then stared harder. --- Then slowly turned the screen around. --- The Triad looked. --- Immediately regretted it. --- The photograph showed a conference room. --- An actual conference room. --- A real conference room. --- There was a table. --- There were chairs. --- There was a projector. --- And there was a banner. --- The banner read: --- ## COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE SUMMIT --- The booth exploded. --- Ace physically slid sideways in her seat. --- Mai had stopped blinking. --- Shammy was laughing too hard to breathe. --- Then Ace noticed something. --- The projector screen. --- There was a presentation. --- A real presentation. --- The title slide read: --- ## FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN --- The booth died. --- Completely. --- "Five." --- Ace pointed. --- "Five years." --- Rogue lit another cigarette. --- "Apparently." --- The Founder sent another message. --- Immediately. --- The next photograph appeared. --- Rogue didn't want to open it. --- Nobody wanted her to open it. --- She opened it anyway. --- The second image showed a whiteboard. --- Covered. --- Absolutely covered. --- In organizational charts. --- Arrows. --- Boxes. --- Committees. --- Subcommittees. --- Working groups. --- Task forces. --- Mai stared. --- Then leaned closer. --- Then immediately looked horrified. --- "Oh." --- Nobody liked that. --- "What?" Ace asked. --- Mai pointed. --- A box. --- One tiny little box. --- Buried in the middle. --- Almost invisible. --- The label read: --- ## EDUCATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE --- Then beneath it: --- ### Mai Explained It --- The booth detonated. --- Mai removed her glasses. --- Again. --- The universal warning signal. --- "I have become bureaucracy." --- Nobody could argue. --- Then Shammy noticed another one. --- Far worse. --- Far. Worse. --- A second box. --- Connected to six other boxes. --- The label read: --- ## COMMUNITY WELLNESS OFFICE --- ### Team Shammy --- Shammy pointed. --- "No." --- Then another. --- Ace spotted it. --- And immediately regretted everything. --- ## RESEARCH DIVISION --- ### Vent Theory Society --- The booth became silent. --- Very silent. --- The kind of silence normally preceding violence. --- Ace stared. --- Then: --- "They have funding." --- Nobody answered. --- Because they clearly did. --- Then Kiro's face appeared on another call. --- Immediately. --- Dangerously. --- She was crying. --- Actually crying. --- From laughter. --- "What." Rogue asked. --- Kiro held up a screen. --- A live forum thread. --- Thousands of replies. --- The title read: --- ## SHOULD THE FOUNDER RECEIVE SECURITY? --- The booth exploded. --- Again. --- The top reply was highlighted. --- Pinned. --- Approved. --- Official. --- The reply read: --- > He survived Rogue. > > He needs protection. --- Rogue actually laughed. --- A genuine laugh. --- A rare laugh. --- Then another reply. --- > Threat Level: > > Rogue --- The booth detonated again. --- The Founder sent another message. --- Nobody was surprised anymore. --- Rogue opened it. --- A single line. --- > Someone asked me to approve a budget. --- Silence. --- Then another. --- > What is a budget. --- The entire table collapsed. --- At this point there was no recovery. --- None. --- Then one final message arrived. --- Longer than the others. --- The Founder had clearly stopped fighting. --- The message read: --- > I think they're waiting for me to say something. > > Everyone keeps standing up when I enter the room. > > Why do they keep standing up? --- The booth fell completely silent. --- Even the laughter stopped. --- Not because it wasn't funny. --- Because it was too funny. --- Then Rogue slowly finished her cigarette. --- Crushed it into the ashtray. --- Looked at the message. --- Looked at the ceiling. --- Then finally delivered her professional assessment. --- "Kid." --- A pause. --- "You need to run." --- And for the first time all evening... --- Everyone at the table agreed. 😄🚬📊🍜🏃‍♂️🗳️ --- # Chapter 4 — Executive Decisions The Founder did not run. That was his first mistake. --- His second mistake... --- Was answering a message. --- The booth learned this approximately twenty minutes later. --- When Rogue's datapad pinged again. --- Nobody reacted immediately. --- Everyone had reached emotional saturation. --- Then Rogue opened it. --- A voice message. --- From the Founder. --- Rogue pressed play. --- The booth immediately heard panic. --- Pure panic. --- Unfiltered panic. --- The panic of a nineteen-year-old who had accidentally become management. --- "Okay." --- Heavy breathing. --- "Okay." --- More breathing. --- "Important update." --- The booth became silent. --- The Founder continued. --- "I accidentally answered a question." --- Ace immediately lowered her head onto the table. --- "No." --- The recording continued. --- "Someone asked if meetings should begin with opening remarks." --- A pause. --- "I said sure." --- Another pause. --- Then: --- "Apparently that was a constitutional ruling." --- The booth exploded. --- Hard. --- Kiro disconnected. --- Immediately. --- The system interpreted this as self-defense. --- Then the recording continued. --- "I don't know what a constitutional ruling is." --- Another pause. --- "They applauded." --- The booth detonated again. --- Then the message ended. --- Nobody spoke. --- Nobody moved. --- Nobody survived. --- Then Rogue calmly lit another cigarette. --- "He's doomed." --- Fair. --- Then another message arrived. --- Immediately. --- The Founder was typing faster now. --- Which was alarming. --- The message read: --- > Emergency. --- The booth groaned. --- Collectively. --- Rogue opened it. --- > Somebody proposed amendments. --- Silence. --- Then another message. --- > What are amendments. --- Another. --- > Why are there seven. --- Another. --- > Why do they have names. --- The booth achieved a new state of existence. --- Somewhere beyond laughter. --- Beyond pain. --- Beyond logic. --- Mai was reading over Rogue's shoulder now. --- A dangerous decision. --- Then she froze. --- "Oh." --- Nobody liked that. --- "What." Ace asked. --- Mai pointed at the attached screenshot. --- A forum vote. --- An actual forum vote. --- The title read: --- ## MOTION 61 ### ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS --- The booth died. --- Again. --- The proposal contained sections. --- Actual sections. --- Clause 1. Clause 2. Clause 3. --- Subsection A. --- Subsection B. --- Subsection C. --- Ace stared. --- Then: --- "They invented paperwork." --- Nobody argued. --- Because they had. --- Then Shammy noticed something. --- A tiny footnote. --- A very dangerous footnote. --- She pointed. --- Slowly. --- Carefully. --- The footnote read: --- > Subject to approval by the Community Representative. --- The booth became silent. --- Then everyone simultaneously looked at the Founder icon on the message thread. --- The poor bastard. --- Then Kiro reappeared. --- Still laughing. --- Still crying. --- Still somehow functional. --- "I have news." --- Nobody wanted news. --- Not anymore. --- "What." Rogue asked. --- Kiro turned her screen around. --- Another thread. --- Another disaster. --- The title appeared. --- ## FOUNDER APPRECIATION WEEK --- The booth exploded. --- The Founder had been elected yesterday. --- Yesterday. --- He already had a week. --- The comments were worse. --- Far worse. --- The top comment read: --- > We should get him a chair. --- Another. --- > A ceremonial chair. --- Another. --- > A representative chair. --- The booth detonated. --- Because everybody knew. --- Everybody. --- Exactly where this was going. --- Then Rogue's datapad pinged one final time. --- A direct call. --- The Founder. --- The booth fell silent. --- Rogue stared at the incoming call. --- Then accepted it. --- The Founder's face appeared. --- He looked exhausted. --- Defeated. --- Haunted. --- A man aged twenty years in twenty-four hours. --- Behind him... --- A meeting room. --- People. --- Lots of people. --- All waiting. --- Watching. --- Expecting. --- The Founder looked into the camera. --- Then at Rogue. --- Then at the Triad. --- Then quietly asked: --- "...if I jump out a window, do I still have to attend the afternoon session?" --- The booth collapsed into laughter. --- Even Rogue. --- Especially Rogue. --- And somewhere behind the Founder... --- Someone could be heard saying: --- "Representative, we're ready for the budget discussion." --- The call disconnected immediately. 😄🍜📊🗳️🚬📋📞 --- # Chapter 5 — Night City Accounting The Founder did not survive the budget discussion. Not physically. Physically he was fine. --- Mentally? --- Debatable. --- Rogue's booth had reached the point where nobody even tried to predict what would happen next. --- Because every prediction somehow underestimated reality. --- The Founder called back an hour later. --- Nobody was surprised. --- The call connected. --- The Founder appeared. --- Looking worse. --- Considerably worse. --- The sort of worse normally associated with hostile interrogations. --- Or tax audits. --- Behind him the conference room was still active. --- Still occupied. --- Still somehow growing. --- Ace noticed an extra table. --- "What happened?" --- The Founder blinked. --- Slowly. --- Like a man recovering from orbital reentry. --- "They have departments now." --- The booth exploded. --- Immediately. --- "Departments." --- The Founder nodded. --- "Departments." --- Rogue pinched the bridge of her nose. --- "How many?" --- The Founder checked a document. --- An actual document. --- Then sighed. --- "Seven." --- The booth died. --- Again. --- Then the Founder continued. --- "I think." --- A pause. --- "Possibly nine." --- The booth achieved enlightenment. --- Then he turned his camera around. --- This was a mistake. --- A huge mistake. --- The conference room appeared. --- People. --- Clipboards. --- Projectors. --- Charts. --- An agenda. --- An actual agenda. --- The title at the top read: --- ## QUARTERLY COMMUNITY PLANNING SESSION --- Ace physically slid downward in her chair. --- "No." --- Then she noticed another line. --- Far worse. --- The subtitle. --- The subtitle read: --- ### FY 2078 --- The booth exploded. --- Because it was still 2077. --- The Founder pointed weakly. --- "I KNOW." --- Then someone off camera spoke. --- "Representative?" --- The Founder froze. --- Immediately. --- Everybody in the booth froze. --- Because nobody had ever heard anybody say that with a straight face. --- The voice continued. --- "We need approval for the educational outreach budget." --- Mai sat upright. --- Immediately. --- "No." --- The Founder pointed helplessly toward the room. --- "I don't know what that means." --- The voice replied instantly. --- "Neither do we." --- The booth detonated. --- Hard. --- Then another voice. --- A different voice. --- "Representative?" --- The Founder visibly flinched. --- "WHAT." --- "We need guidance regarding Vent Theory." --- Ace immediately stood up. --- "No." --- The voice continued. --- "The research division wants additional resources." --- The Founder looked into the camera. --- Looked at Ace. --- Then quietly said: --- "I'm so sorry." --- The booth collapsed. --- Then a third voice. --- A third. --- Because apparently there were infinite voices now. --- "Representative?" --- The Founder closed his eyes. --- Slowly. --- Like a man accepting fate. --- "WHAT." --- The voice sounded nervous. --- Actually nervous. --- "We have a disagreement." --- The Founder looked terrified. --- "What kind of disagreement?" --- A pause. --- Then: --- "The Team Shammy outreach program and the Mai Explained It education division are arguing over jurisdiction." --- The booth achieved escape velocity. --- Shammy stared. --- Mai stared. --- Then both simultaneously said: --- "What jurisdiction?" --- The voice replied immediately. --- "We don't know." --- The Founder disconnected the call. --- Without warning. --- Without explanation. --- Without regret. --- The screen went dark. --- The booth sat in silence. --- A long silence. --- A beautiful silence. --- Then Kiro sent a message. --- Nobody wanted to read it. --- Which meant they absolutely had to. --- Rogue opened it. --- The message contained a screenshot. --- A single screenshot. --- The title of a newly created thread. --- Nothing else. --- The title read: --- ## SUCCESSION PLANNING COMMITTEE --- The entire booth froze. --- Nobody moved. --- Nobody breathed. --- Nobody blinked. --- Then Ace pointed at the screen. --- Slowly. --- Very slowly. --- And asked the most important question of the entire incident. --- "...why do they need succession planning?" --- Nobody had an answer. --- Not Rogue. Not Mai. Not Shammy. Not Kiro. --- Not even Night City. --- And for perhaps the first time in the entire disaster... --- The idea genuinely frightened everyone. 😄🍜📊🗳️📋👑💀 --- # Chapter 6 — I'm Charging Them Nobody liked the Succession Planning Committee. That was important. --- Not because it was dangerous. --- Because it implied confidence. --- A terrifying amount of confidence. --- The Founder had held office for less than forty-eight hours. --- And somebody was already planning for after him. --- Night City remained undefeated. --- The booth sat in silence. --- The screenshot remained on Rogue's datapad. --- Mocking them. --- Taunting them. --- Existing. --- Finally Ace pointed at it. --- "No." --- Nobody argued. --- Then another message arrived. --- From the Founder. --- Of course. --- At this point it would have been stranger if it hadn't. --- Rogue opened it. --- The message was short. --- Very short. --- The message read: --- > They elected a vice representative. --- The booth exploded. --- Immediately. --- The Founder sent a second message. --- > I wasn't informed. --- A third. --- > Apparently I approved it. --- The booth achieved a state beyond laughter. --- Because somehow... --- Somehow... --- That made perfect sense. --- Then Kiro sent another screenshot. --- The title appeared. --- ## OFFICE OF THE VICE REPRESENTATIVE --- The silence that followed was legendary. --- Shammy slowly looked toward the ceiling. --- The ceiling had long since abandoned the conversation. --- Then Ace noticed something. --- A tiny detail. --- A horrifying detail. --- The vice representative already had a portrait. --- An official portrait. --- A framed portrait. --- Nobody knew who took it. --- Nobody knew when. --- Nobody wanted to know. --- Then another message arrived from the Founder. --- A voice message. --- Rogue pressed play. --- The Founder sounded tired. --- Not normal tired. --- Historic tired. --- The tiredness of a man who had accidentally become a government. --- "They gave me a key." --- Silence. --- The recording continued. --- "I don't know what it opens." --- The booth exploded. --- Then: --- "I asked." --- Another pause. --- "They said leadership." --- The booth detonated again. --- Then the recording ended. --- Nobody moved. --- Nobody spoke. --- Nobody survived. --- Finally Rogue finished her cigarette. --- Then stood up. --- The booth became quiet. --- Because Rogue standing up usually meant something. --- Important. --- Professional. --- Potentially profitable. --- Rogue looked at Ace. --- Then Mai. --- Then Shammy. --- Then at the datapad. --- The endless messages. --- The endless committees. --- The endless bureaucracy. --- The endless stupidity. --- A long silence followed. --- Then Rogue picked up the Founder's Day mug. --- Took one final sip. --- Set it down. --- And delivered the final verdict. --- The official fixer assessment. --- The professional conclusion. --- The answer to the entire incident. --- "I'm charging them." --- The booth exploded one final time. --- Even Mai laughed. --- Even Shammy. --- Even Kiro through the screen. --- Because Rogue was right. --- The forum had been found. The founder had been identified. The influence network had been mapped. Nobody had died. --- By Night City standards... --- It had been a spectacular success. --- A completely unnecessary success. --- But a success. --- Then Rogue's datapad pinged. --- One last time. --- The Founder. --- Everyone groaned. --- Rogue opened it. --- The message contained only one line. --- > Emergency. > > Vent Theory Society wants official recognition. --- A long silence followed. --- A very long silence. --- Then Rogue closed the message. --- Locked the screen. --- Finished her cigarette. --- Looked toward the ceiling. --- And without missing a beat said: --- "I'm doubling the invoice." --- The entire booth erupted into laughter. --- Outside, Afterlife continued its usual chaos. --- Inside, for one brief moment... --- Everything was simple again. --- No corporations. No conspiracies. No eldritch horrors. --- Just a bunch of idiots. --- And the catastrophic consequences of giving them a forum. 😄🍜🗳️📊🚬 **END — Ace 89.5: The Debrief Nobody Wanted**