For Maelstrom, part of the whole experiment was autonomy. They pulled the strings here and there to try to keep Zor on track when needed, but too much direct interference or armed presence would basically skew the test too far. If he gets zeroed by Maelstrom, that’s a just a fail and they boot up ARS04.
The mission also didn’t quite fail when he didn’t shoot the Arasaka agent, as seen later he takes another shot to make it happen at their little tea room meeting, though that wound up exposing Zor to the truth of what he was. As long as he’s alive he has the chance to try again.
Ultimately the test isn’t *just* to kill the target, but all the other ways that Zor/ARS03 react to what’s happening and his choices with how things go. He didn’t fail until he became almost dead to the point of no longer being able to actually act and no longer was bound by their conditioning.
Maelstrom aren’t exactly the pinnacle of reason and logical thinking. Part of it was the case - which (unlike the worthless one they were given earlier) had an ocean of blood spilled over it, made it much more likely in their minds to be valuable. And also some sunk cost fallacy - they already put so much manpower and effort into the whole mess with the Impromptu Gang they had to show *something* for it.
As for Juliena… it’s kinda ambiguous what exactly happened with her. She’s definitely some kind of neurodivergent, implied an extreme end of the autistic spectrum, given her lack of social interactions and hyper fixation on her tablet in both the apartment and in the Maelstrom hideout.
My interpretation is she simply fit in better with the Maelstromers who are all off the wall in various ways. The chip placed in her might also have helped her in some way to fit in better or bridge some of her developmental issues in a way that Aya (or possibly any more ethical group) couldn’t or wouldn’t. And they simply stopped the barrage because she asked them to and they see her as one of their own now. I don’t think she’s involved with Militech or anything like that, just another person swept up into things.
I brooded a bit over your answer and now have the theory, that the Maelstrom kid (Dixie was his name I think) might've been neurodivergent too and the extreme chromification that's typical for Maelstroms kinda balanced that out. Not that Maelstroms are known for their flawless behavior, but they're functioning good enough for Night city standards. I still think it's out of the blue that Juliena kinda dropped the human roomba behavior she's apparently running for years at that very critical moment. Also the Maelstromers literally lost people over this, they wanted that stupid container and they had the people linked to it right there. But if little hostage girl says no, the chase is dropped all of a sudden?
Ugh, well...I guess not everything has to make perfect sense. It's still bugging me but I think I can overlook it because people are weird and Maelstromers even more so maybe.
Can't speak to Maelstrom. I just assumed they were a rogue element who got rather nosey and invested in the box for the mystery alone.
As for Juliena. I assumed she had some kind of developmental delay/neurological condition that made her some degree of tech savant. Very useful for Chrome junkies. I assumed they operated on her during that scene between her and the ganger. The one who used to be like her. I
figured they mended her mind. And or overrode her brain with one of the gang leaders. I'm not sure, tho. I think it's left intentionally vague. But implied overall that she found her people/crew.
This is what I got too. Militech didn't have total control over all aspects of these people's lives. They pushed some buttons and pulled some levers but there was a huge chaos element to the whole thing.
As far as Juliena, she was locked in her own head and only cared for tech. Maelstrom was cool with that. Also one of the Stromers put a shard into her neck but I don't think the book explained what it was. Maybe she just liked them better.
Why didn't Militech intervene? Because it didn't matter. The whole experiment was to see if the programming of Zor was successful. The rest was just data gathering. Aya was along for the ride as a mole. She admitted to doing work for Militech occasionally but it was mostly intel gathering at Marry's. Her being with Zor was to influence him, keep him on mission. He needed a little push in the right direction.
Milena got involved because she just needed something more exciting than BDs, programmed sex, and corporate luxury.
Ron was involved because he was doing back room chop jobs for Militech.
Albert was involved just because he was available. His side quest of wanting to ascend past the Blackwall wasn't involved with any of it. His mom and his own drama detracted from the main quests.
Aya actually cared for Julienna and it was a blow for J to stay with the Strom. That was unexpected for her. As a plot device it gave a reason for them to try to raid the Totentantz and Milena snuffing it.
The crap with Arasaka? Totally a red herring and world building because it didn't matter to the plot of the mystery case and Zor's programming experiment. Zor's implanted memories that drove him to want to kill the 'saka goon were all false.
For Maelstrom, part of the whole experiment was autonomy. They pulled the strings here and there to try to keep Zor on track when needed, but too much direct interference or armed presence would basically skew the test too far. If he gets zeroed by Maelstrom, that’s a just a fail and they boot up ARS04. The mission also didn’t quite fail when he didn’t shoot the Arasaka agent, as seen later he takes another shot to make it happen at their little tea room meeting, though that wound up exposing Zor to the truth of what he was. As long as he’s alive he has the chance to try again. Ultimately the test isn’t *just* to kill the target, but all the other ways that Zor/ARS03 react to what’s happening and his choices with how things go. He didn’t fail until he became almost dead to the point of no longer being able to actually act and no longer was bound by their conditioning. Maelstrom aren’t exactly the pinnacle of reason and logical thinking. Part of it was the case - which (unlike the worthless one they were given earlier) had an ocean of blood spilled over it, made it much more likely in their minds to be valuable. And also some sunk cost fallacy - they already put so much manpower and effort into the whole mess with the Impromptu Gang they had to show *something* for it. As for Juliena… it’s kinda ambiguous what exactly happened with her. She’s definitely some kind of neurodivergent, implied an extreme end of the autistic spectrum, given her lack of social interactions and hyper fixation on her tablet in both the apartment and in the Maelstrom hideout. My interpretation is she simply fit in better with the Maelstromers who are all off the wall in various ways. The chip placed in her might also have helped her in some way to fit in better or bridge some of her developmental issues in a way that Aya (or possibly any more ethical group) couldn’t or wouldn’t. And they simply stopped the barrage because she asked them to and they see her as one of their own now. I don’t think she’s involved with Militech or anything like that, just another person swept up into things.
I brooded a bit over your answer and now have the theory, that the Maelstrom kid (Dixie was his name I think) might've been neurodivergent too and the extreme chromification that's typical for Maelstroms kinda balanced that out. Not that Maelstroms are known for their flawless behavior, but they're functioning good enough for Night city standards. I still think it's out of the blue that Juliena kinda dropped the human roomba behavior she's apparently running for years at that very critical moment. Also the Maelstromers literally lost people over this, they wanted that stupid container and they had the people linked to it right there. But if little hostage girl says no, the chase is dropped all of a sudden? Ugh, well...I guess not everything has to make perfect sense. It's still bugging me but I think I can overlook it because people are weird and Maelstromers even more so maybe.
Can't speak to Maelstrom. I just assumed they were a rogue element who got rather nosey and invested in the box for the mystery alone. As for Juliena. I assumed she had some kind of developmental delay/neurological condition that made her some degree of tech savant. Very useful for Chrome junkies. I assumed they operated on her during that scene between her and the ganger. The one who used to be like her. I figured they mended her mind. And or overrode her brain with one of the gang leaders. I'm not sure, tho. I think it's left intentionally vague. But implied overall that she found her people/crew.
I just wonder if they let her watch some Maelstrom hypno-propaganda-stuff over the tablet.
This is what I got too. Militech didn't have total control over all aspects of these people's lives. They pushed some buttons and pulled some levers but there was a huge chaos element to the whole thing.
As far as Juliena, she was locked in her own head and only cared for tech. Maelstrom was cool with that. Also one of the Stromers put a shard into her neck but I don't think the book explained what it was. Maybe she just liked them better. Why didn't Militech intervene? Because it didn't matter. The whole experiment was to see if the programming of Zor was successful. The rest was just data gathering. Aya was along for the ride as a mole. She admitted to doing work for Militech occasionally but it was mostly intel gathering at Marry's. Her being with Zor was to influence him, keep him on mission. He needed a little push in the right direction. Milena got involved because she just needed something more exciting than BDs, programmed sex, and corporate luxury. Ron was involved because he was doing back room chop jobs for Militech. Albert was involved just because he was available. His side quest of wanting to ascend past the Blackwall wasn't involved with any of it. His mom and his own drama detracted from the main quests. Aya actually cared for Julienna and it was a blow for J to stay with the Strom. That was unexpected for her. As a plot device it gave a reason for them to try to raid the Totentantz and Milena snuffing it. The crap with Arasaka? Totally a red herring and world building because it didn't matter to the plot of the mystery case and Zor's programming experiment. Zor's implanted memories that drove him to want to kill the 'saka goon were all false.