Epics of India

Night City is a place where anyone who needs anything can get it anywhere at anytime. That is, if they have the right resources. Every day, guns are hired to get jobs done, whether it be simple hit jobs, complex robberies, or just sending messages to the competition in the area. But in this line of work, this means high risk high reward jobs that stray from the norm pay the most. In doing so, this requires high stress relief. But where can mercenaries all go after hours to relax and kickback, enjoying a drink or two before their next gig? Cue the Afterlife. Known as one of the most prestigious clubs in Night City, one could only gain access by having a reputation behind their name, as the club only served to the hottest mercs in the city. For a club to be so exclusive, the service provided was a cut above the norm, with the alcohol following suit. Many rare and discontinued liquors could be found at the Afterlife.  When the club died down during business hours, staff would take thi...

-The tale of the Two Pigs is a jataka holding a message about love. Most of the stories I have been adding to my portfolio have just been chronicling the adventures of V without sending any sort of important message to the reader. It may be a nice change of pace to write a story with some deeper meaning. -The Two Pigs can also be rewritten as another day in the life of V and Jacky and how they outsmarted people coming after them. The deeper message can be removed from the tale and turned into another gritty story in the world of Night City where V and Jacky must survive their adventure. -The Patient Buffalo is a short story that has potential to be condensed into a micro fiction. The point of the story can be translated into any other setting involving two characters where one has power over the other, and then the message of the original story would still hold the same weight. Monkey on a buffalo Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales , by Noor Inayat

 - The Monkey-Bridge is a moving story of sacrifice and benevolence, one that would be a great addition to the Cyberpunk universe. The general idea is the secret of a tasty fruit, but once discovered, for the safety of a specific group they must flee. A hidden treasure in Night City would fit this story. - The Guilty Dogs looks like a tale that could fit the world of Night City, as a kill order on a certain demographic would not be surprising if there was gang-related activity going on. V could clear a misunderstanding between gang leaders and save an entire group of people. - The Jataka Tales in this anthology are short but sweet, which is an element that needs to be kept to the shorter portfolio stories. Hit every essential point while building towards the climax appropriately. The fruit that was so coveted by the monkeys, mangos Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales , by Noor Inayat

ORIGINAL: For Honor - The rain poured hard, pattering against the building as V approached the hostage. They laid kneeling, hands cuffed behind their back, neon lights from the billboards painting the room in red and purple lighting. Time was running short, and V had to move soon. Suddenly, a flash of lighting and thunder rocked the room, stunning V and forcing him to freeze. Eyes blinded by the light, he froze until his vision recovered, showing him the assassin before him, blade drawn and against the neck of the hostage. "Too late", he said. V screamed as the sword swung. Author's Note: I wanted to capture the moment in action movies where the hero is about to rescue someone, which is why I used imagery describing the scene to help add that idea to the narrative. Sometimes the hero saves someone at the last second when they think all is lost, so I ended the story right at the moment he would have saved her to leave it up to the reader to interpret how they think things ...

Jacky was off on another moneymaking scheme, this time resorting to his world-renowned (so he thought) sales tactics, rather than some sort of half-bungled heist that V would have save him from, along with the score. Jacky considered him a man of many skills, whether it came to gunfights, bargaining, or simply being a man for the ladies. Today's adventure would put his brain to the test, truly gauging his ability to adapt to any situation. He was on a trip to sell a weapons cache he and another mercenary had stumbled across in the Badlands, and so they had been hauling their separate crates in their vehicles back to Night City. Neither of them had a car big enough to haul the entire load, which is why they had decided to split it. The other mercenary was driving in front of Jacky while he tailed him, as the other guy had stronger weapons fitted onto his ride. Weapons would not be enough for these two to safely return to Night City with their treasure though. The sun shining down on...

 -In the world of Cyberpunk, there are nomadic tribes living in the Badlands outside of the city that sometimes do work for corporations. The deer could be replaced by the tribes, and the offerings of deer can be replaced by volunteer workers of some sort being sent into the city. -There are two herds of deer in the original story, so the replacement of them with two differing nomadic tribes would be easy as there are multiple in the world of Cyberpunk. -The element of hunting could also be replaced by some sort of sick bloodsport by the extremely wealthy folk of Night City getting off on hunting human beings. The story could have a different ending where they end up killing those hunting them for fun. The Banyan Deer Bibliography: Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.

 - The Wise and the Foolish Merchant is not a comedy story, but I think I would be able to turn it into a comedic buddy adventure for V and Jacky on the road, with Jacky falling for some sort of scam that V has to end up saving him from, like con artists. - I might keep the element of merchants, but rather than having them travel, V and Jacky would be selling goods from their adventures in a night market of sorts. Jacky would try to get a good deal on his goods, and end up losing it all thinking he made an excellent bargain. - There are no demons in Cyberpunk, but there are plenty of gangs and lowlifes in the world that prey on unsuspecting folk like Jacky. There are also "hacks" known as "daemons", so Jacky could get robbed via his cybernetics by an outside hacker. A futuristic night market Bibliography: Jataka Tales, by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.

EDIT: The latest version of this story can be found here . In the year 2077, there was a man of much honor, but with no master, wandering the streets of Night City. This man's name was Goro Takemura, former bodyguard to the now-deceased CEO of the Arasaka Corporation, Saburo Arasaka. Once a distinguished man, now he was nothing more than another street rat, seeking for a way to survive in the dirty gutters of the city. He had been unable to save Saburo, as he had been told to step out the room moments before Saburo's own son committed patricide and killed his father in a fit of rage. Then he had been left for dead, unsuccessfully attacked by assassins sent by Yorinobu to tie up any loose ends. During his escape from Yorinobu's hitmen, he was with V at the time, who had unfortunately been in the middle of a heist in Yorinobu's penthouse when the family feud went down. Fate had brought them together, and now they walked the streets of Night City trying to find a way to br...

- The Sandy Road is a short but riveting tale, as the men are put into danger within a few sentences thanks to a poor decision and unfortunate event. The setting of the Sandy Road would fit perfectly into the setting of the Badlands in Cyberpunk. - Oxen in the futuristic world of Cyberpunk would not make that much sense, so I could replace their method of transport with normal vehicles, but keep the element of having a pilot lead them with either a physical navigator or some sort of AI navigation system. - The plot of the Sandy Road is extremely short, with the story being finished within a couple scrolls of the webpage. This means when I write my own story on it, I need to flesh out each section of the story, and add some dialogue so that it is entertaining to read even though it is longer than the source. A desert scene, easy to get lost in without a pilot Bibliography: Jataka Tales , by Ellen C. Babbitt

 -The story of the Ox Who Won the Forfeit would be an easy tale to rewrite in the Cyberpunk universe, especially with the elements of a man boasting too much and being unable to deliver. This would be a perfect scenario to write Jacky into. -Rather than have the ox be a person or an animal, it could be a piece of machinery Jacky does not understand how to operate and attempts to flaunt off to the public as some amazing piece of tech. -Most jataka tales involving tricksters seem to follow a pattern where I can insert Jacky into the stories as his personality is one that matches the energy being carried by the stories. Ox pulling one wagon with the help of another Web source: Jataka Tales , by Ellen C. Babbitt

 - The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking involves two geese transporting a turtle since he doesn't have the means to travel with them, so I could write a story in Cyberpunk about someone from another district who doesn't have the funds or status to move elsewhere. - If it is a short story, add photos with little captions showing actions so that there is some form of progression.  - Instead of having someone fall from the sky to their death, the reason the new "Turtle" dies could be from getting shoved out of the car onto the highway or falling off a bridge. With a human element there's many different ways I could write in the downfall of the Turtle, especially in Night City. Geese and the turtle Web source: Jataka Tales , by Ellen C. Babbitt

 - The Merchant of Seri's storyline is one that fits the Cyberpunk universe easily. There is a black market in Cyberpunk, so a fair amount of bartering and trading objects of worth is present in the world. Rather than trading brass and tinware, I could have merchants trading cybernetic implants or weapons and ammo. - A story can be told in a few conversations. The Merchant of Seri is nothing more than a conversation between the grandmother and the first merchant, followed by an exchange with her granddaughter, and then a conversation with the second merchant. Keep dialogue interesting and moving so that it does not feel like extra fluff. - In the original story the merchant escapes across the river by boat, but there's no dividing segment like that within Night City. Instead that could be replaced with access to a housing area for the elite, or just a new apartment. A golden bowl Web source: Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt

A greedy and glutinous organization, better known as the Arasaka Corporation, had once decided Night City needed a beautiful and extravagant haven strictly for the elite. Within the borders of Night City, the wealth disparity was so vast that one moment you could be walking in a shopping plaza that would cost you half a lifetime's worth of work, followed by entry into the slums where even rat fought rat to survive another day. Arasaka sought to create a mecca for the wealthy and privileged, and so Konpeki Plaza was born from this idea - a hotel with a mantra stating they combined "American largesse" with "Japanese minimalism". The corporate elite loved stopping by on business and in-between, leading the hotel managers to constantly cycle in and out the hottest performers and entertainers Night City provided. While the clientele of the hotel consisted of a higher tax bracket, the same could not be said of the entertainers. Enter Jacky, V's best friend and lif...

For Honor - The rain poured hard, pattering against the building as V approached the hostage. They laid kneeling, hands cuffed behind their back, neon lights from the billboards painting the room in red and purple lighting. Time was running short, and V had to move soon. Suddenly, a flash of lighting and thunder rocked the room, stunning V and forcing him to freeze. Eyes blinded by the light, he froze until his vision recovered, showing him the assassin before him, blade drawn and against the neck of the hostage. "Too late", he said. V screamed as the sword swung. Author's Note: I wanted to capture the moment in action movies where the hero is about to rescue someone, which is why I used imagery describing the scene to help add that idea to the narrative. Sometimes the hero saves someone at the last second when they think all is lost, so I ended the story right at the moment he would have saved her to leave it up to the reader to interpret how they think things would end....