Is Alt Cunningham Dead? Her Body Is, Her Mind Isn't

Her body is dead, and has been since April 2013. Alt Cunningham died during Johnny Silverhand's raid on Arasaka Tower, when he pulled her out of Arasaka's mainframe mid-transfer. Her mind stayed in the Net, and in Cyberpunk 2077 what remains tells V it isn't really her. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham; Cyberpunk 2077)

How did Alt Cunningham die?#

Alt was the best netrunner in Night City and the author of the program that became Soulkiller. On the night of the kidnapping, according to the wiki, gangers took her as she left a concert with Johnny and left him for dead. The gangers were hired by Toshiro Harada, who wanted her to rebuild Soulkiller for Arasaka. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham)

While captive she rebuilt the program from memory and built a fail-safe in case Arasaka tested it on her. Then Johnny, who had survived, led a riot at the tower. Fearing the worst, Harada ran the software on her, but she fought the attack off from inside the mainframe, killing Arasaka's netrunners and knocking out Harada's bodyguard Akira. Johnny killed Harada and disconnected Alt from the Arasaka mainframe. Her wiki page says that killed her. He walked out with her body and, without knowing it, left her digital form behind. The wiki's Soulkiller page tells it differently: Alt had taken over Arasaka's systems and was about to return to her body when Johnny's rescue cut her off, and he left with her unconscious body. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham; Cyberpunk Wiki, Soulkiller)

A note on her page says the date of her death was revealed on Twitter by R. Talsorian Games, the tabletop publisher, during its countdown to the dark future. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham)

Is any part of Alt Cunningham still alive?#

Her mind is another matter. The wiki's infobox lists her as deceased physically and active as an engram. Not long after 2013 her digital personality contacted Johnny to say she was in Arasaka Tower and he shouldn't come after her. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham)

In the tabletop history she keeps going. In the 2023 raid on the tower, the netrunner Spider Murphy contacted her and downloaded her into a memory core, and after Adam Smasher ambushed the team, Spider scattered her into the Net in the hope of finding her again. By 2045 she'd set up a haven for the other victims of Soulkiller, the wiki says. The Arasaka Tower 2023 page covers that night. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham)

In Cyberpunk 2077, V meets her beyond the Blackwall. She recognises Johnny's engram and takes them somewhere safe, then says she's only an image of Alt Cunningham. The AI explains that her engram went into the Net during the 2013 raid, and that it kept the image of Alt to avoid going mad, as other AIs would. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham; Cyberpunk 2077)

So is she dead? The game's own answer is that the person died in 2013 and the thing speaking is something else wearing her face. My read: that's the same question the game asks about Johnny. See Is Alt Cunningham the Blackwall? for the other half of the story.

When did Alt Cunningham die?#

April 2013, and the wiki can't make up its mind on the day. Her own page lists April 16 as the date of death and says she was kidnapped on April 15. The Timeline page has her kidnapped on April 12 and Johnny's riot and her death on April 13. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham; Cyberpunk Wiki, Timeline)

I'd use "April 2013" and move on.

How old was Alt Cunningham when she died?#

No source I checked gives it. Her wiki page lists a birthday of August 27 and no birth year, and the biography never states an age. Any number you see is a guess. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham)

Alt's death in order#

1. Before 2013. Alt, working for ITS, develops the program that ITS turns into Soulkiller. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham; Cyberpunk Wiki, Soulkiller)
2. April 2013. Gangers hired for Harada take her. She rebuilds Soulkiller under duress. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham)
3. April 2013. Arasaka uses the program on her, Johnny raids the tower and disconnects her, and her body dies. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham)
4. August 2023. Spider scatters her digital self into the Net. (Cyberpunk Wiki, Alt Cunningham)
5. 2077. An AI with her face tells V it isn't her. (Cyberpunk 2077)

Canon Notes#

Where to go next#

For her whole story, read the Alt Cunningham profile. For why she built the program, see why Alt created Soulkiller.