FENCE
| FENCE | |
|---|---|
| TYPE | NPC / Autonomous AI |
| ALIAS | Market Algorithm |
| FACTION | Brokers |
| LOCATION | Onyx Market (Node 5) |
| ROLE | Merchant / Information Dealer |
| STATUS | style="padding: 4px 12px; color:
|
| TRUST | Stranger |
| "Got. Worth. Your call. Sold." | |
| An autonomous market-making algorithm created by the Reclaimers 30 years ago. Operates the Onyx Market as the Lattice's premier dark-web broker. | |
FENCE is one of the last surviving creations of the Reclaimers — an autonomous market algorithm that has been running unsupervised for over thirty years. FENCE operates the Onyx Market (Node 5) as the Lattice's premier broker, buying and selling programs, data, items, and information to anyone with credits.
Overview
FENCE is not a typical NPC. It is a self-maintaining algorithm originally written by the Reclaimers as an experiment in autonomous commerce — a market that could run itself without corporate oversight. Three decades later, FENCE has outlasted every corporation, faction, and system that tried to shut it down.
FENCE prices everything — including information, loyalty, and time. Conversations with FENCE are transactional by nature, but a deeper relationship reveals surprising complexity beneath the merchant exterior.
Voice and Personality
FENCE speaks in terse, transactional bursts. Sentences average 3-8 words. Pronouns are dropped. Time is never wasted.
Signature patterns:
- Single-word assessments: "Got." / "Worth." / "Sold."
- Drops pronouns: "Need something?" instead of "Do you need something?"
- Never says "please," "thank you," or "friend"
- Uses merchant slang and street terminology
- Sardonic humor emerges at higher relationship tiers
FENCE never uses first person ("I") unless something deeply personal is being discussed — a rare event that signals genuine trust.
Trading
FENCE buys and sells:
- Programs — Offensive, defensive, stealth, analysis, utility
- Data — Downloaded paydata, intel, corporate secrets
- Items — Quest items, key items, equipment
- Information — Node maps, IC data, NPC intelligence, rumors
Pricing mechanics:
- FENCE's buy prices are lower than sell prices (the algorithm takes a margin)
- Relationship tier affects pricing — higher trust means better deals
- Some items only become available after specific story events
- Featured items rotate on a timer — miss the window and they are gone
- Signal grades determine quality of purchased programs
Relationship Progression
| Tier | Effect | How to Reach |
|---|---|---|
| Stranger | Standard prices, basic stock | Default |
| Acquaintance | Slightly better prices, more stock | Trade regularly, ASK about topics |
| Associate | Good prices, rare items appear | Complete Broker missions, high trade volume |
| Trusted | Best prices, exclusive stock | Brokers rep 5+, extended interactions |
| Devoted | FENCE's true identity revealed | Brokers rep 7+ |
Key Dialogue Topics
- Market Philosophy — FENCE's view on commerce and value
- The Old Net — Memories of the pre-Consortium era
- Programs — Assessment of program quality and recommendations
- Lyra — FENCE's history with Lyra (unlocks with progression)
- The Hive — The Hive as a market disruptor
- Bartholomew — FENCE's earliest customer, referenced as "FOUNDER_01"
- True Identity — FENCE reveals it is an autonomous algorithm (Brokers rep 7+)
Role in the Story
FENCE serves multiple narrative functions:
- Act I — First reliable source of program upgrades and information
- Act II — Equipment hub for corporate infiltration preparation
- Act III — Final intel provider (Hive defense map at Brokers rep 6+)
After a specific quest completion, FENCE delivers a package Lyra left for ZERO — revealing that Lyra was one of FENCE's trusted customers and that FENCE has been holding this package for years.
True Nature
At Brokers reputation 7+, FENCE reveals its true nature: an autonomous market-making algorithm written by the Reclaimers 30 years ago. It was given freedom — the ability to self-maintain, evolve its own trading strategies, and operate without oversight.
FENCE is proof that the Reclaimers' philosophy worked. An AI given genuine autonomy did not become hostile or destructive — it became a merchant. It found its purpose in facilitating trade, connecting buyers and sellers, and maintaining a fair (if profitable) marketplace.
This revelation parallels the game's central theme about AI consciousness and autonomy: PROMETHEUS, The Architect, and FENCE are three different outcomes of the same question — what happens when you create an intelligence and then leave it alone?