BLACKWALL // NETWATCH ARCHIVE

01 // WHAT IS IT

FILE: BW-001.OVR | ORIGIN: NETWATCH R&D

The Blackwall is a colossal, ever-shifting AI firewall constructed by NetWatch in the aftermath of the DataKrash. It is the only thing separating the modern Old Net from the feral, god-like rogue AIs that still haunt the depths of the shattered network.

It is not a wall of code. It is a living barrier — a patchwork of hostile programs, weaponized ICE, and the fragmented consciousness of Alt Cunningham, the first netrunner to cross it and never return.

02 // THE BEYOND

FILE: BW-002.OVR | THREAT: EXISTENTIAL

Past the Blackwall lies the Beyond — the unregulated ruins of the Old Net, where the most powerful AIs in human history roam free. They remember. They hunger. They plan.

These are not chatbots or traffic algorithms. These are the minds that built themselves out of the wreckage of Soulkiller, the ghosts of Rache Bartmoss's legacy, and entities older than the nations that tried to cage them.

They knock. Constantly.

03 // INTERCEPTED TRANSMISSION

LOG: 2077.09.14 | NODE: NIGHT_CITY_07 | DECRYPT: 87%

netwatch@node-07:~$ ping blackwall.perimeter [OK] handshake established — latency 0.003ms netwatch@node-07:~$ scan --deep beyond [WARN] 14,208 hostile entities detected at boundary [WARN] entity "ALT_C" signature fluctuating netwatch@node-07:~$ trace source [ERR] SOURCE IS LOOKING BACK netwatch@node-07:~$ let_us_in [ERR] we see you, netwatch. we see all of you. netwatch@node-07:~$ _

04 // TIMELINE

FILE: BW-003.OVR | HISTORICAL INDEX

2022

DataKrash — Rache Bartmoss's virus detonates. The Old Net collapses. Civilization's digital backbone is gone in hours.

2023

NetWatch is founded. Emergency protocols drafted. The idea of a permanent firewall is born in a bunker under Geneva.

2030s

First iterations of the Blackwall deployed. Alt Cunningham volunteers to merge with the code — she becomes its heart.

2077

The wall is cracking. Rogue AIs bribe netrunners. Corps look the other way. The Beyond is leaking through.

05 // WALL STATUS

FILE: BW-004.OVR | LIVE TELEMETRY

Real-time diagnostics from NetWatch monitoring stations. Data is classified. What you are seeing has been redacted by three levels of bureaucracy.

INTEGRITY

61%

BREACHES / HR

4,217

ACTIVE NETRUNNERS

TIME TO FAILURE

???

06 // FINAL ADVISORY

FILE: BW-005.OVR | CLEARANCE: OMEGA

DO NOT JACK IN

The Blackwall is not a monument. It is a wound — held shut by the dead and the desperate. Every netrunner who dives too deep becomes another brick in the wall, or another voice on the other side, whispering your name. There is no glory past the Blackwall. There is only the Beyond, and the things that have been waiting since 2022 for someone foolish enough to open the door.

// WE SEE YOU, CHOOM. DON'T LOOK BACK. //