You ever walk into a place in Night City and just feel the grease on the walls? Not the literal oil, but the kind of moral slime that makes you want to take a chemical shower? That's the Cyberpunk 2077 Talent Academy gig in a nutshell. It’s a job from Mr. Hands that starts as a simple data heist and ends with you looking into the eyes of kids who are being turned into high-performance meat-puppets for corporate sports.
Honestly, Dogtown has a way of making the rest of Night City look like a playground. While the NCPD is busy ignoring crimes in Heywood, the Center for Neuromotor Development—the "Talent Academy"—is operating right under everyone's noses in Luxor Heights.
The Setup: Infiltrating the Meat Factory
You don't just kick the door down here. Well, you can, but Mr. Hands usually prefers a bit of finesse. He sends you in with a cover story and an invitation to an exhibition. You’re supposed to be a scout.
The first thing you notice is how sterile it is. It’s clean. Too clean for Dogtown. You walk past a bar where "athletes" are hanging out, but they aren't adults. They’re kids. Barely teenagers, some younger, all of them loaded with more chrome than a Maelstrom ganger.
Getting In Quietly (Or Not)
If you want to play along, you sit at the bar and talk to the bartender. He’s going to test you. If you say you’re with the San Diego Shredders, a guy named Caden is going to start sniffing around your business. He’s a scout too, or at least he plays one well. Eventually, security is going to get suspicious and ask you to step into a back room for a "biometric scan."
That’s usually where the lead starts flying.
But if you’re smart—or just lucky—you can find other ways down. There’s a window in the back of one of the offices you can slip through, or you can just hack your way into the dormitory levels. This isn't just a school. It's a lab.
Meeting Tommie Walker: The Reality Check
Deep in the facility, past the guards and the "recovery pods" that look more like coffins, you find a kid named Tommie.
He’s small. He’s nervous. And he’s rooting through a desk looking for something to help his dad. This is where the Cyberpunk 2077 Talent Academy story really starts to hurt. Tommie isn't some elite warrior in training; he’s a soccer player. Or he wants to be. He’s been fitted with top-tier neuromotor enhancements that his young body can barely handle, all for the chance to get signed by a European team and get his family out of the slums.
Talking to him is optional. Don't skip it.
He explains the "deal" better than any data shard could. If these kids don't make the cut, they don't just go home. They get "de-chromed"—a process that is often lethal or leaves them as shells—because the hardware is too expensive to leave in a "failure." It’s basically a lottery where the ticket costs your soul and the prize is a golden cage.
The Confrontation: Fiona Vargas and the Big Choice
Eventually, you reach the office of Fiona Vargas, the woman running this whole circus. You try to download the data, but she catches you. She doesn't call the guards immediately, though. She’s a professional. She offers you a deal.
Fiona suggests a "controlled leak."
Basically, she gives you enough data to satisfy Mr. Hands and the client, but she keeps the academy running. She argues that without her, these kids have zero chance. With her, at least one percent of them become superstars. It’s the classic "greater good" argument used by every corporate monster in the history of the genre.
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Option 1: Take the Deal
If you agree, you get the data, and Fiona stays in power. You can even negotiate a spot for Tommie. If you tell her to give the kid a contract, she actually does it.
Option 2: Fuck the Deal
You take the data by force. Fiona might live, or you might put a bullet in her brain. If you choose this path, the academy eventually gets shut down. You’d think that’s the "good" ending, right?
Well, this is Night City.
The Aftermath: What Happens Next?
This is why the Cyberpunk 2077 Talent Academy gig sticks with you. If you go to the stadium market later, you can actually find Tommie and his dad, David.
- If you took Fiona's deal and got Tommie signed: David is ecstatic. He thinks his son is going to be a star in Europe. He even gives you a discount at his clothing stall. Tommie is there, kicking a ball, looking "happy." But you know the cost. You know he’s a corporate asset now.
- If you shut the place down: You’ll find David in the same spot, but he’s miserable. He’ll yell at you. He’ll tell you that you took away their only ticket out. Tommie is there too, but he’s just another kid in the dirt, likely suffering from the side effects of implants that were never meant to stay in him.
It’s a lose-lose situation. It’s perfect.
Making the "Right" Choice
There isn't one. Honestly.
Fiona Vargas is a predator, no doubt about it. She views children as "stock." But in the vacuum of Dogtown, her "meat factory" is the only thing offering a path that isn't joining a gang or starving.
If you want the most tangible reward, taking the deal and helping Tommie gets you a permanent discount at a vendor. If you want to sleep (slightly) better, you burn the place to the ground and kill Fiona. Just don't expect a thank you from the people you "saved."
Practical Steps for Your Playthrough:
- Bring a Silenced Pistol: Using "Her Majesty" (if you've started the main Phantom Liberty questline) makes the stealth sections of this gig a breeze.
- Check the Emails: Before you talk to Fiona, read the terminal in the lab. You’ll see how they treat the "rejects." It makes the decision to kill her much easier.
- Visit the Stadium: Don't forget to follow up. Seeing the consequences of your choices at David's shop is one of those small details that makes the DLC so dense.
Whatever you decide, just remember: in Dogtown, every "win" usually leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Next Steps:
If you want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes with Mr. Hands' other jobs, you should check out the "Treating Symptoms" gig. It deals with similar themes of corporate exploitation, but with a much higher body count. You should also check the local vendors in the EBM Petrochem Stadium to see if your choice with Tommie has already updated his father's inventory.