Dogtown - a splinter in the eye of Night City

Dogtown - a splinter in the eye of Night City is a readable shard in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.

Transcript

DOGTOWN - A SPLINTER IN THE EYE OF NIGHT CITY

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The combat zone known as Dogtown was meant to be Night City's proud calling card. Today, it's but a stain on its conscience, forgotten by NC and its residents, who consider it a monument to grand but futile designs, failed investments and complete loss of control. Dubbed "Serenisands" to convey a sense of tranquil ocean shores, it became everything but – a haven for the excluded, fugitives and common criminals. It was only a matter of time before someone capitalized on this mess and took over the district. That "someone" was, of course, colonel Kurt Hansen and his BARGHEST unit. This is the story of the district's downfall and subsequent rise of Hansen's criminal empire. In order to paint the full picture, we have to start at the time of the Fourth Corporate War. Pacifica is being flooded with refugees from Night City proper. They seek shelter on the outskirts of the metropolis, but it quickly becomes clear they aren't welcome there. The constant influx of people creates tension, leading to a conflict with Pacifica's security forces that quickly escalates into full-blown riots. Streets are littered with bodies after violent clashes that often last for days on end. Wealthy locals and investors fear the situation is getting out of hand and decide to leave the district for good, thus expediting its downfall. Pacifica finds itself on a downward spiral and falls into ruin. Fast forward to the 2050s. The Night City Council works to restore Pacifica to its former glory. New investors appear, enticing the city officials with bold plans and promises of prosperity. The decade begins with wide-scale construction spearheaded by Militech. Modern buildings replace dilapidated relics of the past and a high-speed road network connects Pacifica to NC and beyond. The investment is meant to be a display of Night City's economic strength, but any such act inevitably breeds resistance. A large explosion under the construction site for the local entertainment complex ruins the buoyant moods of the Night City Council and Pacifica investors. An extensive investigation does not provide any answers and results in doubling the local security detail. More importantly, the council-members decide to build a wall separating Serenisands from the rest of the city. Construction work resumes and for a time, it seems the new measures are enough to bring the investment to completion. However, just a few years later, the Unification War breaks out, halting progress once again. Investors back out as completing the construction of a luxury resort drops down the financial priority list. The area, devoid of any law enforcement, becomes a criminal haven controlled by the Voodoo Boys. A lawless, walled-out district neighboring an enemy city seemed like a perfect place for a military assault. Militech also seems to share this view and in 2070, the corporation sends their troops to Serenisands. A full-scale attack on Night City seems to be imminent, but it never happens, in large part thanks to Arasaka's supercarrier, entering Coronado Bay as a result of an agreement signed with Saburo Arasaka by the then-councilman Lucius Rhyne. Militech orders retreat, but a large number of troops decide to ignore the directive and remain in the area. The Arvin Accord turns Night City into a fully autonomous metropolis. The abandoned district becomes no-man's land and this is the perfect opportunity for Colonel Kurt Hansen and his ex-Militech unit to take over what is now known as Dogtown. Soon, along with his veteran comrades, he establishes BARGHEST, growing his newly-found army by first recruiting mercenaries and later – all willing renegades and gangoons. The district once again becomes a sanctuary for refugees, fugitives and travellers. Today, Dogtown has its own law enforcement and trade relations with Night City, the NUSA and other countries. NC officials are in no hurry to address the issue of the city's noisy neighbors and chances of rebuilding Serenisands in the future are illusory at best. It's much easier to simply look the other way, towards greener pastures. New, exciting opportunities are easier to sell to investors than troublesome combat zones. They'd much rather start from scratch.

ep1_generic_cz_history_shard

Acquisition

• Can be found in Heavy Hearts.
• Can be found in Hasan Demir's place.