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: 00ff41;" \| Active;
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

⚠ SPOILER: FENCE's True Identity [show/hide]

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?