In 2097, celebrity is not just a career—it's a high-stakes industry, a political platform, and often, a corporate intelligence operation. The glittering facade of fame is a battlefield where influence is traded, secrets are mined, and personal brands are weapons of mass manipulation.
Kerry Eurodyne: The last of the old gods. Now in his 80s but preserved by subtle, perfect Bioware, Kerry is a revered institution. He no longer tours, but his music licenses fund half of Night City's indie media. He maintains a quiet, strategic friendship with Michiko Arasaka, often hosting discreet salons at his villa where corporate reformers and artistic dissidents mingle under the guise of "retro parties."
Lizzy Wizzy: The chrome diva. After her very public "death" and full-body conversion, Lizzy transcended humanity to become a performance art piece and a Sovereign Church icon. Her concerts are now digital-physical hybrid rituals, and her every public utterance is parsed for meaning by synth and human alike. She is less a musician now and more a prophet of the post-human condition.
This generation knows their fame is a currency to be spent on power, protection, or revolution.
Nyx'Anne
Role: The BD Baroness. As a top director/fixer at Elysium Studios, she doesn't just record braindances—she engineers emotions and memories. Corps hire her to craft propaganda BDs, fixers hire her to create perfect alibis or blackmail, and the public adores her for her critically-acclaimed horror-fantasy immersives.
Cyberware: High-grade, hidden neural recorders and editorial suites. Her "fingerless gloves" conceal subdermal data-ports and micro-tools.
Alliance: A free agent, but has a standing offer from Vespera Lévana to head Raven Microcyb's experimental "Experience Design" division.
No Throne
Role: The Heywood Hope. A conscious heir to the Silverhand legacy, but smarter. His music funds his crew and his mercenary work targets specific, corrupt corporate entities—often those quietly opposed to Michiko's Reformists. The rumors of his Arasaka bloodline are true; he is Michiko's illegitimate nephew, a fact they both deny publicly but use as a secret channel for communication and deniable actions.
Cyberware: A custom, guitar-integrated cyberdeck and combat-grade synaptic boosters.
Alliance: Unofficial asset of Michiko Arasaka's Kage no Kiri; idolized by the Jodes Nation for his anti-corporate anthems.
Sora
Role: The Combat Streamer. She has perfected the monetization of intimacy and violence. Her braindance streams offer full-sensory experiences of her mercenary gigs and private life, creating a terrifyingly loyal parasocial army. Corps like Kang Tao pay exorbitant rates to have their smartgun HUDs or soda brands subtly featured in her sensory feeds.
Cyberware: Pink Kiroshi optics with built-in streaming lenses; tactical-grade cyberlimbs finished in pastel metallics.
Alliance: A corporate mercenary. Her primary contract is with Kang Tao's marketing division, making her a walking, fighting advertisement.
Akara
Role: The Geisha's Masterpiece. A Binary Geisha sleeper agent wearing the skin of a top model and socialite. Her entire career is cover. She attends galas to extract secrets through hypnotic conversation and neural-tap pheromones. Her "haunting look" is the result of biosculpting designed to bypass psychological defenses.
Cyberware: Seemingly only Fashionware. In reality, her biosculpted body contains pheromone diffusers, a subcutaneous data-storage layer, and a kill-switch implanted by her Geisha handlers.
Alliance: Property of the Binary Geisha. Her fame is their listening post.
Nae Whiny (Nae Nae)
Role: The Viral Revolutionary. A raw, authentic voice from the streets of Pacifica who weaponizes her transparency. Her "accidental" braindance leak was a masterful marketing ploy. She is the voice of the disenfranchised, channeling the anger of Heywood and Pacifica into anthems that scare corps because they can't buy or control her.
Cyberware: Minimal street-grade chrome. Her power is her authenticity and her deep, enduring connections to the Voodoo Boys and Mox networks.
Alliance: The People. A constant thorn in the side of corporate PR departments, especially Network 54, which simultaneously vilifies and obsessively covers her.
Vespera Lévana: The CEO as Icon. She has merged her corporate and celebrity identities completely. Her product launches are fashion shows, her scandals are curated news cycles, and her persona is Raven Microcyb's most powerful marketing tool. She is fame applied as a corporate takeover strategy.
Michiko Arasaka: The Celebrity Stateswoman. She uses her visibility not for product placement, but for diplomacy. Her interviews are policy speeches, her charity galas are intelligence gatherings, and her public rivalry with Vespera is a controlled narrative that distracts from her shadow war within Arasaka.
In 2097, a celebrity's value is measured in:
Influence Reach: How many neural feeds they can command.
Deniability Factor: How useful they are for covert corporate or factional agendas.
Brand Resilience: Their ability to survive manufactured scandals and NETWATCH data-audits.
Conversion Rate: How effectively their fame can sell products, shift public opinion, or recruit for a cause.
These entertainers are the new aristocracy. They don't just live in the spotlight; they weaponize it, knowing that in the attention economy of 2097, fame is the most versatile and devastating chrome of all.