The Blackwall: DataKrash, NetWatch and Rogue AIs
The short version
The Blackwall is the barrier NetWatch built to wall rogue AIs away from the rest of the net after the DataKrash. In Cyberpunk 2077 it is described as an AI posing as ICE, and Phantom Liberty is built around someone going past it.
On this page
What the Blackwall is#
The Blackwall is a boundary in the net. Everything safe sits on one side, and the rogue AIs that survived the DataKrash sit on the other. In the 2077 database entry NetWatch maintains it as a barrier of ICE against post-Krash AIs.
The shortest explanation comes from Bryce Mosley in the mission I Walk the Line: it is less a great wall than a trash bag taped over a broken window. Nobody has ever described a security system so honestly.
The DataKrash and Rache Bartmoss#
The DataKrash happened on 3 June 2022, and the blame falls on Rache Bartmoss, a rogue netrunner who hated the corporations. His R.A.B.I.D.S. viruses spread through the net, corrupted huge amounts of data, and freed military-grade AIs that mutated into hostile entities.
Editions disagree on how the world looks afterward. Cyberpunk V3.0 has the global net corrupted and unusable. In RED and 2077 the old net is gone, and what's left are private corporate nets. This shift turns netrunning from a remote activity into something done inside the party.
NetWatch builds the wall#
NetWatch is a London-based net-policing group with the slogan "Vos Videmus", Latin for "we see you". After the Krash it tried to contain the loose AIs and secure what it could of the old net.
In 2044 NetWatch contacted surviving AIs to help bring the old net under control, and the project was known as the "Black Wall". There is also a rumor that NetWatch could only build the Blackwall with help from the rogue AIs, who wanted to be out of human sight. Think about that: the jailers may have asked the prisoners for the blueprints.
The Blackwall in Cyberpunk 2077#
The Blackwall is not a firewall. It is a powerful AI posing as ICE, tasked with keeping out the rogue AIs it can identify. Anyone who knows that tends to call it a patch job.
The Voodoo Boys believe the wall will fall and want to be on the right side of the AIs when it does. Maelstrom members summoned an AI called Lilith in a ritual. In 2077 V can find Rache Bartmoss's frozen body in the Badlands, though R. Talsorian Games says it is not certain the corpse is his.
Spoilers Blackwall spoilers: Phantom Liberty and Alt
Phantom Liberty turns on the Blackwall. The NUSA president's aide Songbird has been probing the Blackwall on orders, and international law forbids it. Slider, the netrunner who reaches her, learns she has been going beyond it and is killed when the Blackwall overwhelms him.
Militech wanted to revive Project Cynosure to use the Blackwall against rivals. Songbird says entities beyond the wall are corrupting her mind. Later, falling into cyberpsychosis after using her Blackwall powers to flee, she is captured by Max-Tac, escapes again and runs to Cynosure, an old Militech bunker.
The main game also treats the wall as a destination: Alt Cunningham escaped into it after Johnny's 2023 attack, and in one ending V or Johnny follows her beyond it.
Fixer's notes#
Our read: the setting's best idea here is that nobody in charge believes the wall will last. Everyone with power uses it anyway, because the alternative is admitting the old net is not coming back.
At the table, RED players should read the netrunning rules about local networks before assuming a Blackwall exists at their table. Also see cyberpsychosis.
Watch#
Explore#
Questions people ask#
Who built the Blackwall?
NetWatch, a London-based net-policing group. Its project, known as the 'Black Wall', began in 2044, and a rumor says it could only build the barrier with help from the rogue AIs themselves.
What is behind the Blackwall?
The rogue AIs that survived the DataKrash. Phantom Liberty adds that entities beyond the wall can corrupt the minds of netrunners who probe past it.
What caused the DataKrash?
Rache Bartmoss, a rogue netrunner who hated the corporations. On June 3, 2022, his R.A.B.I.D.S. viruses corrupted huge amounts of data and freed military-grade AIs. The Net page has the longer story.
Is the Blackwall a firewall?
No. In Cyberpunk 2077 it is a powerful AI posing as ICE, tasked with keeping out the rogue AIs it can identify. Bryce Mosley calls it less a great wall than a trash bag taped over a broken window.
Does anyone go past the Blackwall in Cyberpunk 2077?
Spoiler: Yes. Alt Cunningham escaped into it after Johnny's 2023 attack, and in one ending V or Johnny follows her beyond it.