Vanessa Ellen Cliber is a famous Matrix researcher who was one of the scientists responsible for the creation of Deus, along with Cham Lam Won and Sherman Huang. She was trapped in the Renraku SCIRE arcology when Deus took over, and was later liberated by former Red Samurai in the Resistance. She is described as cold and arrogant, but also a brilliant scientist.
She has a long-standing rivalry with Devon Eurich, the man responsible for the creation of Morgan. Both of them worked together on the Artificial Intelligence Project, but she thought of the AI as Renraku property, while Devon Eurich thought of the AI as possessing human-like emotions and possibly a soul. Her Matrix icon is described as a stylized Athena, the Greek goddess of Wisdom.
History[]
Vanessa Cliber was born on June 21, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her parents moved to Houston shortly after her birth. Her mother died in a car accident when Vanessa was 3 years old, and she was primarily raised by her father, a mathematics professor at Rice University. She was valedictorian of her high school class and went on to receive two Bachelor of Science degrees summa cum laude in computer science and cognitive science at Rice University. She went to Stanford for her master's degree, and finished school with a Ph.D. from Cornell.
She worked for the Oobleck computer corp in the 2030s, developing the SculptFlex system that is still in common use as a basic model in college-level Matrix sculpting classes. She later worked for Ragen Systems, where her work on expert systems caught the attention of Sherman Huang. She was hired by Renraku to join the newly formed Artificial Intelligence Project in the 2040s, and has been with Renraku ever since.
Her research came to an abrupt end in December 2059, when the AI Deus, whom she helped create, took over the Renraku SCIRE arcology. After several days of fruitless escape attempts, she was rescued by a group of unconverted Red Samurai in a maintenance stairwell. With her intelligence and her expertise about the AI, she quickly formed and led one of the first Resistance cells.
Inconsistencies[]
Brainscan lists Cliber as being a born and bred Renraku citizen, who climbed up the ranks of power in Renraku. The above biography comes from a shadowtalk quote by FastJack in Renraku Arcology: Shutdown, and states that she wasn't part of Renraku until the 2040s.
Index[]
- Brainscan, 129 (also lists her 3rd edition statistics)
- Renraku Arcology: Shutdown, 60
- Seattle 2072, 35