Arasaka Towers
| Arasaka Towers | |
|---|---|
| Type | NAM Division HQ |
| Owner | Arasaka |
The Arasaka Towers were the first North American headquarters of Arasaka, in the old Corporate Plaza of Night City. They were the tallest buildings in the city and could be seen from most districts on a clear day. The complex was destroyed in a nuclear blast during the Fourth Corporate War. The new Arasaka Tower now stands on the same ground.
History
The First Tower
Arasaka put a huge sum into Night City while the city was still being built, and made it the base of its North American branch. The first tower was a much smaller building. Johnny Silverhand once started a riot in front of it to break in and rescue Alt Cunningham. Many Arasaka staff died that night, among them the head of the branch, and the damaged building was soon replaced.
The Towers
The new complex followed the style of other Arasaka offices around the world. Two great towers were joined by bridges and shared one lobby, and two smaller office towers stood in front of them. During the Fourth Corporate War, the company's chief executive ran the whole war against Militech from here.
The Fall
Late in the war, a Militech strike team led by Morgan Blackhand and Johnny Silverhand broke into the towers. They dropped onto the roof from a flying car and fought their way down to the laboratories. Their aim was to free Alt from the Arasaka network and destroy the Soulkiller program. The netrunner Spider Murphy uploaded a virus to wipe out Soulkiller's data.
The team carried a small nuclear bomb, meant to wreck the shielded laboratory without harming the city. Somehow it went off early. The blast split the towers and brought them crashing down, and their fall flattened the buildings around them. Thousands of people died at once, and many more died of their wounds and the radiation in the weeks and months that followed.
After the Blast
Nobody ever settled who set off the bomb. The official story claimed that Arasaka had destroyed its own towers to keep them out of Militech's hands. Others blamed Militech's hunger to crush its rival. The government of the day took control of Militech and drove Arasaka out of the country.
The heart of Night City became a radioactive ruin known as the Hot Zone. During the rebuilding, much of the rubble was dumped into Del Coronado Bay. Arasaka only came back after the Unification War, cleared the ruins and built its new tower on the same spot.
Arasaka Towers Map
The map shows the new Arasaka Tower, built on the same site.
Arasaka Towers map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Inside Arasaka Towers
The Complex
The towers had smooth walls of black glass and steel, with the Arasaka name on a black marble plaque by the main walkway. Both roofs had landing pads for flying cars, and armed guards patrolled the roofs, the grounds and the parking at all hours. Only the lobby was open to the public. Visitors went no further without an appointment or a company escort.
Most of the floors were offices, with management, conference rooms and luxury suites higher up. Both towers held laboratories, penthouses and apartments for staff.
The Bunker
Far below the parking lay a command bunker used during the war. It had its own nuclear reactor and living quarters, a mess hall, a gym and a dojo. A huge holographic display at its centre showed the Earth in real time. The Arasaka database and the core that stored the minds taken by Soulkiller were kept here. Escape tunnels led out under the city, one of them to a small submarine.
The Memorial
A part of the old building was kept when the new tower went up. It stands in front of the new tower as a memorial to the disaster. The story of the towers is seen again through Johnny's memories in the Relic.