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Silverhand Speaks: The Truth Behind the Disappearance

When Mr. Silverhand stepped into Aurelio's, he ordered an iced coffee. He wore black leather pants, a jacket, and an artfully torn cropped tank top. It would no doubt be a dream come true for many to catch their favorite rockerboy in such an everyday moment — ordering an iced coffee.

At his request, the interview is being published without any edits.

NCG: Alright. Let's start with the basics. Could you give me a brief introduction?

Johnny Silverhand: Uh... okay. Well if you mean me, I'm Johnny Silverhand. Samurai, SINS of Your Brothers, A Cool Metal Fire. Don't think I need much more introduction than that. If you don't know who I am, this isn't for your benefit.

NCG: Why did you choose this location for the interview? Do you come here often?

Johnny Silverhand: Well... yeah, I do. It's pretty quiet, and the sandwiches are fuckin' huge. Coffee's not bad either though.

NCG: Let's talk about your disappearance. Clearly, you didn't die. Our readers came up with some pretty wild theories. Some think it was a terrorist attack, others think it was personal problems. What's the truth?

Johnny Silverhand: Obviously not. Honestly, even "disappearance" is an overstatement. Haven't fuckin' gone anywhere. The theories are... interesting, but it's not as extreme as either of those. There's a reason it's mostly my fans that are freaking out. Not a big fan of the social media thing, so I picked somewhere with a smaller crowd. Which has come back to bite me in the ass, because I've now been banned with zero notice.

NCG: What might've caused the ban? A lot of people are guessing it was you speaking out against the corps, others think it was all the sexually-charged questions you were getting.

Johnny Silverhand: Honestly, could be either. I mean I kinda thought it was the horny stuff at first, but according to their policies I haven't done shit. The corps thing... yeah, sounds pretty likely. I've been doing some digging and... hold on, I need a cigarette for this. [lights a cigarette, takes a slow drag] See, what I thought was a pretty small site is actually owned by a company called Mannual which has some ties to... you guessed it... Ara-fucking-saka.

NCG: Do you think your words could carry enough weight to step on Arasaka's toes?

Johnny Silverhand: Please, they've had it out for me for years. Wouldn't put it past 'em to find real fuckin' petty ways to shut me up.

NCG: So corps big enough to run half the planet, and they're supposedly wasting resources on shutting up one rockerboy?

Johnny Silverhand: You think that's a waste of resources? Takes 'em five seconds. Probably used fuckin' AI to throw up any mention of 'Saka, and boom. [mutters] Only noise I'd ever like to hear from 'em by the way.

NCG: So it sounds like you're saying it was actually your anti-corp remarks that got you banned. That's interesting, because as far as we know, that's one of the topics you got the fewest questions about — but there was no shortage of questions about your penis, your sexuality, and your relationship with Kerry Eurodyne. Speaking of which — are you and Mr. Eurodyne still together?

Johnny Silverhand: Well look, your guess is as good as mine on this shit, just saying, it wouldn't fucking surprise me. I got a lot of questions, but there was definitely corp shit in the mix. Wasn't that long ago I told someone starting the day with Never Fade Away was a good start, but to throw in something that makes you wanna blow up a corp or... [waves hand] Somethin' like that.

NCG: With all due respect, Mr. Silverhand, that wasn't quite what we asked. So, one more time: yes or no, are you and Mr. Eurodyne still together?

Johnny Silverhand: I didn't answer that cause it's a fuckin'... loaded question. Me and Kerry have never been "together". We're best friends. But for what it's worth, things are... good between us. Better than they've ever been... [clears throat] Y'know, compared to when we were at each other's throats all the time.

NCG: Even so, our readers aren't really buying it. At least since the V3ctory concert, it's basically treated as fact that the two of you are together. How is Kerry handling all these rumors swirling around either of you?

Johnny Silverhand: I mean... people can treat it as whatever they like, doesn't mean it's true. He's... fine, he's... I mean you don't even have to ask me. He's his own person. [pauses] What did you just write down?

NCG: That you smiled the moment Kerry's name came up. Just a small observation. But let's circle back to Kerry for a second. One reader claims they saw him in a car, apparently pretty loudly having sex with someone. Was that you?

Johnny Silverhand: Yeah, well I'm happy for the bastard. Uh... I don't... I don't know what Kerry was up to on Saturday, I was home prepping for looking after my choom's cat.

NCG: I never said which day, Mr. Silverhand. So does that mean it was you in that car with him, and I quote, "moaning and whining" — and this is just a desperate attempt to deny whatever's going on between the two of you?

Johnny Silverhand: [faint flush] I... read the article in your screamsheet. Or... if the date wasn't in the article, maybe I just... assumed 'cause Saturday was the last night we weren't hanging.

NCG: Doesn't it hurt Kerry, that you won't claim him publicly?

Johnny Silverhand: Nothing like that is fuckin' happening, and can you stop writing shit down?

NCG: Last question, Mr. Silverhand. What's your message to your fans who've been worried about you these past few weeks?

Johnny Silverhand: [gives a slightly threatening glance at the notebook] Right. That's the only reason I agreed to this shit. I've seen the response to me disappearing and despite all the theories and shit... it's really kinda sweet. I just want you all to know that I'm gonna do all I can to get back to talking to you all. I'm not backing down. Whether it takes six days, or six years, I'll be back.

At the end of the interview, Johnny Silverhand gave us plenty of words, and precious little in the way of straight answers. A ban he can't fully explain. A relationship he insists doesn't exist, despite the tells that say otherwise. And a promise to his fans that, ban or no ban, he's not going anywhere.

You want to know the last thing I wrote down, chooms? I tore the page out and folded it up, never handed it to Johnny Silverhand — it just disappeared into my bag with the rest of my stuff. Here's what it says: He denies it. He keeps denying it.

Make of it what you will, chooms. We know we have.

"T"

The Empress.