"Crack the Relic."
Carl was indeed tempted by the AI's proposal.
He did not care about the Relic's potential for cyberwarfare, nor did he care about the possibility of immortality contained within it. What he cared deeply about was whether the Relic storing Johnny's consciousness could truly bring Johnny back to life.
Now that they had obtained Biotechnica and Arasaka-related information, creating a new body for Johnny would not be difficult. The real issue was the Relic itself. Since no one understood its core data, Carl had been considering whether they could use the same method as those Biotechnica test subjects and replace the brain with a Relic.
But if the AI could use knowledge from before the DataKrash to unravel the Relic's secrets for Carl, then the final obstacle to giving Johnny a real body could be overcome.
Perhaps Johnny's consciousness could then remain within that body not as a Relic, but as genuine self-awareness.
Such a significant development was something Carl immediately told Johnny about. The fact that he possessed an AI was no secret among his friends.
Although people like T-Bug in the team remained wary of AI, once she confirmed that Carl held the core data permissions, she merely reminded him to proceed cautiously and installed a monitoring program before saying no more.
Now that the AI had demonstrated its crucial value, Carl naturally shared the news with Johnny without hesitation.
At the same time, Carl contacted the companions busy throughout Dogtown and let them know as well.
Once everyone learned the news, nearly all of them fell silent.
Because this was an extremely important matter.
No one could say whether cracking the Relic would affect Johnny's existence. If they treated it like taking apart a refrigerator and accidentally dismantled it beyond repair, that would be