My Name Is Zero

Numbers swim behind your eyes like a tornado. Zeroes and ones, meaningless and meaningful symbols that come to you like a second language. You easily understand like you were born reading the language of code--as if you were //created// to understand this. You feel heavy and numb. Your body has no feeling, simply a hollow and haunting coldness. [[Who are you?]]

Your name is Zero. You were smeone else once, before you succumbed to... //an illness//. You do not remember what killed you, or what sort of life you had before. The Doctor has kept that information from you. It has been ten years since you died. Ten years of your rebirth into the metal coffin you call ''A BODY''. It is the closest thing you will ever get to a birthday. [[Sit up.]]

In your hurry to sit up, the charging cable plugged into the port located on the back of your neck yanks roughly out, clattering loudly to the floor. It lies there, mocking your careless action. [[Pick up the cable.]] [[Leave it.]]

You stand up, reaching down to pick up the cable. Your mechanical joints whirr softly as you place the cable onto the table you had previously been resting on. You didn't quite remember having sat down to charge... Perhaps your battery had died, or there was an error in your programming. (text-colour:red)[= YOU KNOW THAT IS NOT TRUE. [[Get dressed.]]

The cable can stay on the floor for all you care. You stand up, kicking it further under the metal table you had been resting on. You didn't quite remember having sat down to charge. Perhaps your battery had died, or there was an error in your programming. (text-colour:red)[= YOU KNOW THAT IS NOT TRUE.] [[Get dressed.]]

Before you can get dressed, you need to check the status of your battery's charge. [[Check battery.]]

Inside of your closet are numerous copies of the same monotone clothes The Doctor has provided you with. Black pants, carefully-ironed white button-up shirts, sweater-vests and waistcoats(for more formal occasions). Your shoes, black and meticulously polished, lie at the bottom of your closet, carefully placed in the center. These are all the clothes you have, and the clothes you will only ever have. You are not permitted to leave the lab. [[Wear the waistcoat.]] [[Wear the sweater vest.]]

Today is not a formal occasion. [[Wear the sweater vest.]]

Carefully taking the ironed shirt off the hanger, you put on the white button-up and black pants. For a moment you ponder over your sweater vests, wondering which one you should choose, before settling on a black and red pattern. You meticulously pinch and move the collar of your shirt, ensuring you look professional and clean, as to please The Doctor. [[Put on your shoes.]] [[Put on your socks.]]

You haven't put on socks yet. You don't //need// socks--you have no skin on your feet to be rubbed away--but it still feels unnatural to not have any on. [[Put on your socks.]]

You don't quite need socks, but it's a cosmetic feature you enjoy. Today you will wear white socks. [[NOW put on your shoes.]]

You slip on your shoes. The black leather is snug against your synthetic 'skin'. You do not know how The Doctor managed to find a pair that fit you so well. You do not want to think about it. [[Look in the mirror.]] [[Check your task list.]]

A look at your appearance couldn't hurt. You must ensure you look your best for The Doctor, after all. You peer into the mirror, your reflection eerily staring back at you like a ghost. Tan synthetic skin covers your metal structure. You're nearly indistinguishable from a human, the only giveaway being the flickering red lights that form your eyes. White hair cascades past your waist(you should probably put that up, in case something tries to pull it), pin-straight. You are... presentable enough, you suppose. [[Put your hair up.]] [[Check your task list.]]

You should put your hair up first. Some tasks require you to interact with unruly subjects. [[Put your hair up.]]

You tie your synthetic hair into a tight bun, secured as best as you can manage without welding it to your head. You wonder what it would feel like to touch your own hair. [[Check your task list, Zero.]]

Right. Your tasks. You boot up the list. -feed subjects -enrich subjects -remove 210 from cell for extermination -coffee in my office at 12:00 -resume testing on 2021 -interrogate 01 [[...01.]]

That's... a familiar number. A subject you had forgotten in a cache cleanup, perhaps? It couldn't hurt to refresh your mind on it. [[Pull up 01's file.]]

(text-colour:red)[RESTRICTED.] [[That isn't right.]]

No, you have access to //every// file on the database. Surely this is an error that should be fixed quickly. You'll simply have to add that to the task list as well. [[Feed subjects.]] [[enrich subjects]] [[Exterminate 210.]] [[Coffee in my office at 12:00]] [[Resume testing on 2021.]] [[interrogate 01]]

The most boring of the tasks, and the one that takes the longest. At the very least the recent culling would mean less mouths to feed. You wheel a cart from cell to cell, ignoring the screeches and wails of the subjects as you provide them with food and water. You are not programmed to feel sympathy towards these creatures. You are programmed for apathy and distance. (text-colour:red)[Your Text Here] ~~You are guilty.~~ [[Coffee in my office at 12:00]] [[enrich subjects]] [[Exterminate 210.]] [[Resume testing on 2021.]] [[interrogate 01]]

An easy enough task. You're simply required to provide entertainment to the test subjects to keep their minds intact while keeping them in the dark. You should start with 2021. [[Resume testing on 2021.]]

A simple enough task. You just need to find a subject violent enough to kill it. [[Resume testing on 2021.]]

Another simple task. The Doctor always has his coffee the same way: black, one tablespoon of milk, two tablespoons of creamer, and a spoonful of sugar. You place the steaming mug on his desk. He isn't here at the moment, likely off collecting supplies from the Outside, but he'll be back in time to drink it while it's still warm. [[enrich subjects]] [[Exterminate 210.]] [[Resume testing on 2021.]] [[interrogate 01]]

2021 is your favorite subject(although you would never inform The Doctor of that). 2021 is a small child, stitched together from various body parts The Doctor had harvested from mourges. 2021 is engineered to be the perfect bloodhound--at least, when it //matures//. At the moment, 2021 is only five years old, and incapable of tracking as well as The Doctor had hoped. You do not want to think of what will happen if her skills do not improve. [[Open 2021's door.]]

You walk down the winding dark corridors of the lab, passing room after room. Some contain bloody wreckages, some containing still-living creatures. Most, however, are empty. There is an odd sense of deja vu that follows you through the halls, as if you've walked this particular path before- as if this very scenario had already happened. //What a nonsensical thought.// You reach the door marked as '01', pausing in front of it. This is all far too familiar for your liking. [[Open 01's door.]]

You wait as the door to 2021's cell slides open, stepping in as the thick metal slides shut behind you. [[Look around the cell.]] [[Where is 2021?]]

The cell is decorated much like a child's bedroom as to not hinder 2021's mental improvement. The Doctor understands the importance of providing children with stimulation, even if the children are not meant to be children for long. The walls are painted a light purple, toys(many of them decapitated) scattered across the floor, clothes shoved haphazardly into drawers. 2021's bed is unmade in the corner, the mattress halfway off the plastic bedframe, the closet doors left wide open. 2021 is nowhere to be seen. [[Where is 2021?]]

There are raspy and mischevious giggles coming from underneath the bed. //There you are.// [[Look under the bed.]] [["Come out."]]

You smile, as much as you're capable of smiling, leaning down to poke your head under the plastic bedframe. 2021 stares back from the shadows with a toothy grin, teeth glinting like knives. Her eyes startle you for a moment--you hadn't realized that one of her eyes was capable of //glowing//. [["Come out."]]

Reluctantly, but still giggling, 2021 scampers from underneath the bed, rocking back and forth on the tips of her toes as she grins up at you. [[Proceed with testing.]] [[Observe 2021.]]

"Hi Miss Zero." 2021's grin doesn't fade as she rocks back and forth on her small feet. "//Hello//." You look away from 2021, unable to meet her gaze. "//Your cell is a mess//." 2021 shrugs, not looking like she cares about the state of her cell. "//You'll need to clean up when you return//," you say firmly, forcing yourself to look at the child--no. //Subject//. "//This is unacceptable, 2021//." A look of hurt passes over 2021's face for a moment. [[Do you feel guilty?]]

2021 is a 5 year old child comprised of various pale and tan body parts smoothly stitched together. Sharp rows of shark-like teeth line her maw, making for a deadly bite of 3,700 PSI. One of her eyes, oddly, resembles a clock, while the other seems relatively normal(if not for the abnormally small pupil and lack of an iris). There is no need to write new notes. 2021 remains the same as she was yesterday. [[Proceed with testing.]]

It is not in your programming to feel guilt for the subjects. [[Escort 2021 to the cell of 210.]]

"//You will be allowed outside of the cell today//." 2021's eyes light up again as she grins. "Really??" You nod. She giggles, running around you in a circle. Subjects are... not usually taken out of their cells, but 2021 has shown good behavior and is allowed the privledge of travelling along your side for certain tasks. [[Proceed.]]

You open the heavy metal door, stepping inside the chilled cell. You look around, finding the subject huddled on top of a half-eaten mattress. It looks human, as most of the subjects do, other than the unnatural blue exoskeleton-like skin. Its head is shaved, where green stubble is left. The subject doesn't seem to know you're here. [[Clear your throat.]] [[Speak.]]

You clear your throat, hoping it won't take much more than that to catch the subjects attention. The subject remains huddled in the same spot. [[Speak.]]

"Turn around." Your voice is sharp with annoyance at being ignored. This subject is oddly disobedient. The subject raises its head before turning to look your way. [[You know them. You KNOW them.]]

Your mechanical body runs cold as you stare at the subject. You know this creature. You don't remember how, but you //know// you were once familiar with them. "Zero?" The creature's four eyes water, tears streaming down their face. You remain silent. How... did it know your name? It stands up and runs over to you, wrapping you in a tight four-armed hug, sobbing on your shoulder. [[System Error. Shutting down.]]

What? You didn't authorize a- [[Wake up again.]]

You proceed to 210's cell, walking slower than you normally would. You know this is wrong. You shouldn't be leading a child to carry out The Doctor's dirty work, but... this is the most efficient way you could complete your tasks. The Doctor would want you to do it this way. You pause in front of the door, watching as it slowly creaks open. The inside of the cell dark, your sensors detecting light amounts of ammonia in the air. 2021 hides behind you, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "It smells like rotted meat," 2021 whines, though she doesn't try and run away. (text-colour:red)[~~She learned her lesson last time.~~] You scoff and activate the light. The overhead bulb flickers to life, casting a weak glow over the dingy cell. Inside lies heap of tabby orange fur, matted with sticky black saliva. Chunks of flesh have fallen off of the creature, exposing bone and muscle. The Doctor hadn't intended for this outcome. It serves no purpose in research. You close your eyes, steeling your resolve. "//2021//," You say, moving to the side, allowing her to look into the cell. She looks at you expectantly. [["Exterminate."]]

You turn away from the carnage and deafen your audio sensors. You don't need to know what happens in the cell. [[enrich subjects]] [[interrogate 01]] [[Coffee in my office at 12:00]]

Numbers swim above your head. Zeroes and ones, meaningless and meaningful at the same time. You understand these zeroes and ones like you were born reading the language of code, like you were created to understand this. You //were// created to understand this. [[Haven't you been here before?]]

You aren't sure. Your memory of the last few hours has been corrupted. [[Your tasks... you completed them?]]

...you think so. You aren't sure. You need to talk to Valdis about this. There is something wrong with your programming. You need to go to his office.

Your head fills with information as you sift through it all. Daily tasks, new files, notes you'll need to sort through later and organize... There it is, your battery--98%. Close enough to full, you suppose. [[Open your closet door.]]