The Haunted Ghost of a Samurai

By Luis Navarro

At the end of my previous article about Johnny, I posed a series of questions that come up when you start talking about Johnny’s digitized consciousness. The narrative of Cyberpunk 2077 goes far beyond the neon-lit streets of Night City. It reaches into our own world, questioning how we interpret our existence and morality. Deep within the game’s storyline, you’ll find a profound exploration of what defines a consciousness, the implications of a digital existence, and the moral intricacies of human choices – and at the heart of it all, the player.

The Enigma of Consciousness

Delving into Johnny’s digitized consciousness really opens up a rabbit hole of philosophical questions and dilemmas. The idea that a “soul” could be reduced to lines of code and implanted in a machine is both thrilling and unsettling. It challenges our age-old beliefs about the intangible essence that defines us as individuals. If we can distill our thoughts, memories, and emotions into binary sequences, does that mean our consciousness is just a complex algorithm? And if that’s the case, what happens to the spiritual aspects we’ve associated with the soul throughout history? On one side, there’s this sense of liberation – the potential for immortality, the ability to transcend the limitations of our mortal bodies. But on the flip side, it raises ethical and existential dilemmas. Are we really preserving our essence, or are we creating mere replicas of ourselves? Can a digital version truly capture the depth of human experience, including the ineffable qualities that make us unique? Johnny’s Relic chip adds another layer to the conversation. Does it retain the essence of a person, or is it just a sophisticated archive of memories and experiences? If our consciousness is stored in a chip, does that mean we’re reduced to a mere collection of data points? It forces us to confront the question of whether our identity is solely tied to our physical form or if there’s something more immaterial that defines us. The implications of answering this question are significant, to say the least. 

If our essence can be transferred to a machine, it challenges the traditional narratives of life, death, and what it means to truly exist. It blurs the lines between the organic and the artificial, leaving us to wonder about the nature of consciousness itself. On the other hand, if the Relic chip is more of an elaborate recording device, we’re confronted with the limitations of technological replication. Can we ever truly capture the intricacies of human consciousness in a non-biological form? It opens up discussions about authenticity, the uniqueness of individual experiences, and whether a copy can ever replace the original. In this context, the Relic chip becomes a vessel through which we explore our own beliefs about identity and consciousness. How we choose to perceive Johnny’s digital presence, whether as a continuation of a person or a sophisticated replica, reflects our own perspectives on the nature of being. The answer to these profound questions ultimately lies in the eyes of the beholder – or, in this case, the player. How we navigate Johnny’s story, the choices we make, and the empathy we extend toward this digitized consciousness become a mirror reflecting our individual philosophies. It’s almost like the game becomes a canvas for us to paint our own understanding of existence and morality.

Personal Demons

Philosophical discussions aside, when we contemplate Johnny’s state as a digital being, it’s hard not to feel a little bit of empathy for the guy. Stuck in this digital purgatory where time doesn’t play by the usual rules, Johnny grapples with a unique kind of existential crisis. But it’s not just the lack of ticking clocks that weighs on Johnny. It’s the baggage of memories and unresolved emotions that he carries. Let’s talk about his relationships – because, let’s be real, relationships are complicated, no matter if you’re a rockerboy or a witcher. Before the relic, Johnny was, well, let’s not sugarcoat it – he was kind of a jerk – and he still is to some extent. He’d use people like pawns on a chessboard, and emotions? Not exactly his strong suit.

With Alt, he didn’t fully grasp just how important and brilliant she was. He was too wrapped up in his own rebellious world to see the depth of Alt’s intelligence and the significance of her work. Classic case of taking things for granted. When Arasaka kidnapped Alt, it was a wake-up call, but not the kind you’d hope for in a romantic tale. No, Johnny, in his self-centered way, couldn’t fathom that Arasaka might be more interested in Alt than in him. 

Johnny: Alt’s kidnapping – It’s collateral shit. They swiped her to get at me.

Thompson: You even know what she does for a living? Girl’s one of the best runners around.

Johnny: So? One of how many? No. Only link to Arasaka is the fact that Johnny Silverhand’s boning her.

It’s like he couldn’t believe someone else could steal the spotlight. Yet, buried beneath his rebellious exterior, it is clear that Johnny cares very deeply about Alt.

In the main storyline quest, “Love Like Fire,” we get a front-row seat to Johnny’s first assault on Arasaka Tower – a desperate attempt to rescue Alt. Amid the chaos, we see a side of Johnny that’s genuinely concerned about Alt’s safety. As he approaches her unconscious form, there’s a mixture of urgency and gentleness in his actions. When he realizes she’s gone, he’s visibly struck, grappling with the silent panic of losing someone he loves.  It’s not until he spots Thompson recording the scene that Johnny loses his cool and vents his overwhelming emotions by punching Thompson’s face into the ground. It’s a messed-up way of showing that Johnny, in his own unhealthy fashion, truly loved her. And if it weren’t for Rogue, he might’ve killed him.

Speaking of Rogue, she is another woman with whom Johnny has a complicated relationship. Rogue was his safety net, the one he could fall back on, no matter how badly he screwed up. But, you guessed it, Johnny took her for granted as well. He consistently overlooked and undervalued her. He had a profound lack of regard for Rogue’s well-being. He treated her as a disposable pawn – but then again, he did so with everyone else. Rogue’s emotions seemed lost on him, obscured by the spotlight of his own turbulent life. Unsurprisingly, the two parted ways when she found out that he had cheated on her on multiple occasions. 

Johnny: You still mad about that thing?

Rogue: What thing, Johnny? That you fucking lied to my face, put my peeps on the line? Or that you were fucking three other women behind my back before we were through?

Johnny: Look, our history, I know. But we don’t really have time for… feelings.

The only reason she agreed to help him storm Araska Tower was to stick it up to the corpos, not because she necessarily cared for him.

Rogue and Alt weren’t mere casualties in Johnny’s tumultuous journey; they bore the full weight of his callousness. Throughout his life, Johnny was, to put it bluntly, an asshole, never truly appreciating the people who surrounded him. It wasn’t until after his death (and resurrection inside of V’s head) that he finally began to reflect on the man he was in life and the manner in which he treated those who cared about him. As the player develops a relationship with Johnny, he will openly lament the aftermath of his narcissistic vendetta. He acknowledges that his relentless pursuits burned every bridge and wounded those who genuinely cared about him. Filled with genuine remorse for his past actions, he is a man out of time who seeks redemption. However, the reality is that achieving this hinges on V’s actions and, consequently, the player’s choices and judgment.

Johnny’s Connection to the Player

Johnny’s relationships with Alt and Rogue are pretty rocky, no doubt. But as the player, you also become an important part of his journey. How you respond to Johnny’s digital purgatory says a lot about your views on life, death, and the nature of consciousness.

If you empathize with Johnny’s regrets and help him find some peace, it shows a belief that maybe a person’s essence can live on even after death through technology. That we all have a soul or consciousness that’s bigger than just our physical bodies. If you look at it that way, it’s almost a digital form of immortality. It’s a compassionate choice, too – recognizing Johnny’s struggle with his new digital existence and wanting to help guide him through it. Not everyone sees it that way, though. Other players may think digitizing your consciousness poses dangerous ethical questions. It could be seen as unnatural or impossible to truly capture the real human experience in code. This view values the sanctity of our fleeting lives in their biological form. Ignoring Johnny’s requests could come from skepticism that a digital copy could ever really be him.

There is a reason why the game developers included a system to measure the player’s affinity to Johnny. You can pause the game at any given movement, and right in the middle of the screen, you’ll see a percentage indicating your friendship status with him. A higher percentage denotes that you’ve had a friendlier disposition towards him, and vice versa. This serves more than just the practical purpose of unlocking, arguably, the best ending in the game. It’s meant to serve as a clear and quantified reflection of the player’s choices and how they see – and treat – Johnny.

Helping or ignoring Johnny forces you, as the player, to grapple with some heavy philosophical questions. It taps into debates about the nature of consciousness, identity, and whether technology can truly replicate a human essence. There are solid cases on both sides here. I won’t pretend there’s some obvious right choice – I’m no philosopher, just a gamer who likes analyzing moral dilemmas in games like this. What makes Cyberpunk so thought-provoking is the tough questions it presents players with where there are no clear answers. Ask 100 people their thoughts on Johnny, and you’ll get 100 different takes. 

So what do you think? Do you empathize with Johnny’s digital purgatory? Or do you believe some lines shouldn’t be crossed when replicating consciousness? Let us know how these existential questions play out in your version of Johnny’s story!

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