2097 slang/terms
Everyday Lingo
Biz – Business; often used to refer to work or deals.
Braindance (BD) – A recorded virtual reality memory or experience.
Choom / Choomba – Friend or buddy.
Choombatta – A more affectionate term for a friend.
Detes – Details; often used when asking for more information.
Delta – Leave or escape; often used in urgent situations.
Eddies – Money; short for Eurodollars.
Gonk – Idiot or fool.
Gonked – To be knocked out or incapacitated.
Junkie – Someone addicted to substances or cyberware.
Kiroshi – A brand of cybernetic eye implants.
Kusojiji – A derogatory term meaning "shithead."
Moxes – A term used by the Mox gang; symbolizes their determination.
Netrunner – A hacker specializing in cyberspace.
Preem – Top-shelf or excellent.
Ripperdoc – A surgeon specializing in cybernetic implants.
Scav – Scavenger; often refers to those who collect scrap or unwanted tech.
Screamsheet – Newspaper or news outlet.
Scroll – To record a braindance.
Scroll a BD – To record a braindance.
Techie – A technician or engineer.
Virtu – An unedited or raw braindance.
Zeroed – Killed or eliminated.
Tech & Cyberware
Chrome – Cyberware or cybernetic enhancements.
Full borg – A person who's essentially a brain in a jar, with a metal body.
Implant – A cybernetic enhancement or modification.
Neuralware – Cyberware that interfaces directly with the nervous system.
Ripperdoc – A surgeon specializing in cybernetic implants.
Sandevistan – A type of cyberware that enhances reflexes and slows time.
Street & Gang Culture
Braindance – A recorded virtual reality memory or experience.
Choom / Choomba – Friend or buddy.
Choombatta – A more affectionate term for a friend.
Detes – Details; often used when asking for more information.
Delta – Leave or escape; often used in urgent situations.
Eddies – Money; short for Eurodollars.
Gonk – Idiot or fool.
Gonked – To be knocked out or incapacitated.
Junkie – Someone addicted to substances or cyberware.
Kiroshi – A brand of cybernetic eye implants.
Kusojiji – A derogatory term meaning "shithead."
Moxes – A term used by the Mox gang; symbolizes their determination.
Netrunner – A hacker specializing in cyberspace.
Preem – Top-shelf or excellent.
Ripperdoc – A surgeon specializing in cybernetic implants.
Scav – Scavenger; often refers to those who collect scrap or unwanted tech.
Screamsheet – Newspaper or news outlet.
Scroll – To record a braindance.
Scroll a BD – To record a braindance.
Techie – A technician or engineer.
Virtu – An unedited or raw braindance.
Zeroed – Killed or eliminated.
Expanded Night City Slang (2097)
Everyday Lingo & Greetings
Borged: Heavily cybered up. "Don't mess with him, he's fully borged."
Chrome, The: The collective world of cyberware and those who live by it. "Life in The Chrome is expensive."
Cube: A small, crappy apartment. "Gonna crash in my cube."
Drek / Drekked: Garbage / Ruined. (A classic tabletop term). "This job is drek." "The engine's totally drekked."
Drop: To give or transfer something, especially data. "Drop me the detes."
Flatline: To die. (More common than "Zeroed" in some circles). "He flatlined in the alley."
Kleptes: A thief, especially a data-thief or netrunner. (From the Greek "kleptes").
Nova / Ultra: Excellent, awesome. "That new chrome is nova!"
Input" means Girlfriend, and "Output" means "Boyfriend"
Pusher: A drug dealer.
Sellout: Someone who works for a corp; a corporate employee. Derogatory.
Solo: A mercenary, bodyguard, or professional killer.
Spill: To confess or give up information. "He spilled everything to the NCPD."
XBD: Xtreme Braindance. An illegal, often snuff or hyper-violent braindance.
Tech, Cyberware & The Net
Black ICE: Black Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics. Dangerous, lethal programs that protect systems and attack netrunners.
'Runner / Deckjockey: A Netrunner.
Deep Dive: To fully immerse oneself in the Net for a dangerous, extended period.
Gig: A job. "I got a gig from a Fixer."
Glitch / Glitched: A malfunction, literal or metaphorical. "My Kiroshi is glitching." "That guy is totally glitched."
Interface Plugs / "Plugs": Cyberware that allows direct neural connection to vehicles, weapons, or the Net.
Link: As a verb, to connect. "Link up and I'll drop the file."
Meat: The un-augmented human body. "All that chrome and you're still scared of a little meat?"
Meatspace / The Meat World: The physical world, as opposed to the virtual world of the Net.
Ping: To contact someone briefly, or to scan for something. "Ping me when you're in position."
Slot / Slotter: A general-purpose insult, like "jerk" or "asshole." (Classic tabletop).
Zerk: Someone with a Berserk implant; a rage-fueled fighter.
Street, Gang & Combat Culture
Boost / Boostergang: To steal / A gang that specializes in theft and grand theft auto.
Burn: To betray or use someone up. "He burned his fixer." "Don't burn your contacts."
Corpo / Corp-Scum: A corporate employee. Deeply derogatory.
Firestorm: A situation of extreme, chaotic violence. "The deal turned into a total firestorm."
Fixer: A person who arranges jobs, supplies, and connections in the underworld.
Killer: A hitman or assassin.
Max-Tac / Psycho Squad: Maximum Force Tactical Division. The police unit dedicated to neutralizing cyberpsychos.
Osprey: A Trauma Team AV, named after the bird. "Hear the Ospreys? Someone's having a bad day."
Raffen Shiv: A particularly vicious and cannibalistic nomad gang. A universal threat on the roads.
Sandevistan / "Sandy": The speed-boost cyberware.
Suit: A corporate executive. "The suits on the 50th floor don't care what happens down here."
The Badlands: The desolate, dangerous wasteland outside the city, controlled by nomads and raiders.
New for 2097 (Era-Specific)
Breather: Someone dependent on Helios Orbital's oxygen credits. Derogatory. "Don't trust him, he's a corporate Breather."
Crusader: A chrome-soldier for the Sovereign Church.
Ghost-Tech: Any technology related to engrams, digital consciousness, or Soulkiller.
Lazarus Contract / "The Lease": A deal with the Lazarus Group for resurrection or cyber-reanimation.
On The Lease: Describes someone who is indentured to the Lazarus Group. "He's not dead, he's just on The Lease."
Rez / Rezzed: Short for "Resurrected." A Lazarus cyber-zombie. "Watch out for the Rezzed patrol."
Samsara's Gaze, The: The feeling of being watched and predicted by Shivanti Systems. "The whole op failed... it was like they knew our moves. Felt like the Samsara's Gaze."
Shivanti's Blessing: Ironic slang for a miraculously fortunate (or suspiciously convenient) event, implying it was orchestrated by the AI. "Got the contract without even bidding. Must be Shivanti's Blessing."
"Slotting a shard" is the equivalent of inserting a USB drive or loading a software program directly into your brain.
Here's the detailed breakdown:
The Components:
The Shard (Data Shard): A small, physical data storage device. It's the universal medium for transferring information, from text documents to complex software.
The Slot (Chipware Socket / Data Port): A cybernetic implant, usually located at the temple or on the back of the neck, that allows a person to interface directly with a data shard.
The Action & The Experience:
"Slotting" isn't just putting a chip in a reader. It's a direct neural interface.
Physical Action: You physically insert the data shard into your chipware socket.
Neural Connection: The shard's contents are instantly read by your neuralware. The information isn't just displayed on a screen; it's fed directly into your mind.
The Result:
Knowledge: If it's a "Language Shard," you temporarily know that language. If it's a "Skill Shard," you gain the basic proficiency for a task, like operating a specific weapon or piloting a vehicle.
Experience: If it's a "Braindance (BD) Shard," you don't watch the recording; you relive the sensory and emotional experience of the person who recorded it.
Data: If it's a standard data file, you can browse its contents in your mind's eye, as if you'd memorized it.
Common Contexts & Street Slang:
"Slot this." = "Take a look at this information."
"I slotted the detes." = "I've reviewed the details."
"He's running on cheap shards." = He's using low-quality, unstable, or pirated software, which can cause headaches, data corruption, or even neural damage.
A "Hot Shard" or "Black Shard": A shard containing malicious data or a virus. Slotting it can fry your cyberware or your brain.
Why It's Used Over "Downloading":
"Downloading" implies a wireless transfer over a network. In the dangerous, firewalled, and corporately-controlled world of Cyberpunk, physical data shards are more secure, reliable, and deniable. Slotting a shard is a direct, offline transaction of information. It's the difference between downloading a file from the internet (traceable, interceptable) and handing someone a USB stick in a dark alley.