Hello all, I'm finally getting off my lazy butt and posting this, I'm so sorry Max for not getting on this like a good publisher T-T I'll punish myself later. It's all been compacted into one long chapter, so enjoy everyone and please read, enjoy, and review.
"Hmm..I wonder.." Felix always hated when I trailed off like that, because it forced him to ask if his curiosity peaked.."Wonder what?" I replayed while reaching under the seat for toolkit "I don't know of any bugs, viruses or malfunctions that cause violence in a surrogate..." "I can search Intelligence Bueau data banks for all known viruses and reference for violence in Riviters(Security grade surrogates, or really, any with weapons training or permission to bare arms.)" "Thanks Felix.." Pulling out a basic RyanCrop issue Optix-Crux(More commonly known and a Neuro-Reader), sort of like a hexagon steel containing a computer and projector for a holo-screen, of which all Optic files would be displayed. Like security footage.. "That's weird.." I said after removing the outer synthetic-skin and steel skull cap "It's neuro-net looks a little strained..Like it shorted..Hmm.." "damaged?" Cooed Felix, always eager for something new. "Can you fix it?" "I may not need to..I can still fit the Optix-crux in.." Which I in fact I could "What the hell..." "What's what?" Felix turned out, shifting the car into auto-drive so he could view the holo-screen. "It's..Completely blank..Felix..drop the violence Reference, and scan for this now.." "Yes M'am." A few seconds past after he accessed it "Done!" frustrated at this stage I barked at him. "Well any records at all of a blank "memory"?" Felix stammered, odd for a surrogate then spoke slowly. "No...not a single one.."
The rest of the trip endured total silence, after removing my crux and closing the surrogate up, neither of us felt like speaking. Felix was still referencing things, anything, minute or obvious he was on the job. Finally once we got back to my shop, my home, a small run down looking building, three stories high with boarded up windows located in an equally as run down neighborhood the silence was broken. "Here we are, Alendra" the doors let up, scissor-doors being the only non-novelty style around "Take him in.." I said, motioning to the disabled surrogate "Put him on the first table, get a few lights and bring ALL my gear, and I mean all of it." With that said Felix started to drudge in the door thing and I grabbed my toolbox, following him close behind, still afraid of this ruddy neighborhood.
Stretching and yawning I sat down next to the work table in a comfy swivel chair. "Let's see..Hey Felix!" I shouted while grabbing a few tools. "Crank the music so I can get started, and run a search through the Intelligence Bureau for just the word "blank"" Navigating through some holo-screens and pressing an icon Felix started the music with a grumble. "Just the word blank? There could be over a billion references Alendra!" sighing and motioning for him to turn up the volume, I looked at him blankly. "And that should take you what..thirty seconds to go through?" Snapping back in an uppity manner. "Twenty-eight point three seconds, thank you very much." Resisting the urge to smack my overly difficult surrogate I responded sharply. "Then do it, before I dismantle you." Sighing now, with silence falling over us again, only the music providing a sign of life..I always found music relaxing to work to...I picked up my tools and attempted to trouble shoot the missing memory-cortex.
"God fucking damnit!" I shrieked, slamming my tools down on the desk, causing the surrogate's head to shift.."What on earth?" Cried out Felix."Nothing just..no matter what I do I can't get anything to work, all I get is a black screen, damnit.." At this point, feeling utter defeat I let my head hang low..and then..it caught my eye.."What on earth...Is that.." I grabbed his head and ran a sensory device over the cerebrum. "It..couldn't possibly be..It looks like..Felix!" "Yes..?" He groaned, partly because I had been working him non-stop and partly because he just liked to test my nerves. "Pull up a picture of a humans brain, show me the electrical pulse, the firing of a synapse.." "Well...O.K..." After a few moments he had it pulled up and on a massive holo-screen projected over the surrogate. "This.." moving the holo-screen down and transposing it over the part of the surrogate's brain, I fell back, shocked. The electrical burn marks all over his artificial brain matched that of a true blue human synapse. Androids...don't synapse, everything is a data-bank, they aren't aware of their existence like we are, they don't have memories...they don't have organic parts aside from skin..So how on earth..was this possible..
Chapter 2: Shock and Awe.
I remember just standing there..In fear..in awe..so curious..so shocked..how on Earth could a surrogate have had neuronal-synapses..It made no sense..Once I finally regained myself, and Felix finally got done rushing through decades worth of archives on Surrogate structure, I removed it's entire "brain" and took it, along with my Optix-Crux, and a holo-book[AN: Futuristic Version of a laptop.] up to my room, rummaged through my spare toolbox and started to tinker with every inch of it's neuro structure. After a few hours of tinkering..I found success..and damn nation...
"If I just...there!" instantly my Optix-Crus came to life, but instead of all of the databanks for "video memory" I was presented with a message..a distress signal, a cry for help and warning..
A tall, thin man, we're normal jeans, a simple light blue shirt and what seemed to be a lab coat with the RyanCorps logo on it was walking up to the Riviter, the clear glass hosting the other models, all the same year and make revealed it was the very Riviter in my shop..and instantly, after opening the glass door a feel of panic and a look of terror overcame the man's face as he drew what seemed to be an older version of an Optix-Crux..Why couldn't I have turned back..Turned away...Why did I have to listen to his words..why did I feel It when he spoke through that hologram...I didn't just hear it..I felt it...Why did I let him shake me to my very soul..
"Listen carefully..my little surrogate.." He inserted the device and started looking around..checking for anyone else. "It's all a lie! It's all a myth! I'm not crazy, they'll say I am but I'm not, I'm sane! I'm awake damnit! Listen, whoever finds this..whoever be damned to find this..RyanCorps is a lie, it's an abomination! None of the history they taught you in true, don't believe a word!"..My heartbeat was racing..I could feel it pound harder with his every word... "You're a sheep, a genetically breed sheep! They didn't save us, they doomed us! We're not safe in domes because RyanCorps engineered them to keep us safe from infect air, but because RyanCorps INFECTED the air themselves to drive us in here!" Was he a mad man..? He sounded like it..but something inside me felt his words..Each was like a hammer blow to the sense..but they all felt...Honest..True... "To control us! Ryan's erased most of the truth now..let alone by when you find this..but there's a flaw in his system..a ghost in the data, my ghost! It saves EVERYTHING Ryan..or..or anyone for that matter..deletes..It's tricky, temperamental, and probably slightly corrupt by the time you get this..It requires two things..my name..and my password..then you'll have another message..I can only prey..you get it and this surrogate isn't destroyed..I've installed..a bug..a piece of machinery..it'll fry his circuits like a human synapse..He'll become murderous instantly..He can resorted..replace the Cerebrum and and all main circuits..He'll have no memory and be in working order..Please..I bed you..follow the trail..find my ghost..find the truth..My name..Is Jaccob..Jaccob Tenthales, and my password is simple..814|\|..May god..may truth..be with you..."
And with those words, my Optix-Crux short circuited, and all video stopped..I'm sure he planned it that way..or maybe..maybe it was fate trying to save me..just a little too late...Why was I so curious..why did I have to listen..to wonder..If only I could have let it, let Jaccob be..I'd still have a life..but then..can you really live a lie? Can you really live with your eyes sewn shut? Can you know love, without knowing pain, or hate..Can you be alive..in a dead world...Maybe..they hope you can..they hope if you don't know it's dead..Then you can think it alive, and therefore is..but once you know the Truth..once you've felt it, touched it, smelled it..you can never live a lie again...Damned am I who knows..And damned are you who's learning..Run now..If you can..If you're stronger than I ever was, if you can over come curiosity..Run now..And forgot..Become...Blank...
Chapter 3: Awakening.
I don't remember much after that..I must have passed out..maybe from the Optix-Crux, maybe when it short circuited, or maybe it was just trauma...I suppose it doesn't matter much..I remember waking up at least..Felix was deactivating my holo-blinds and grumbling.."Slept in your work clothes again, eh Alendra." I was still shaken..still in shock, I suppose..still trying to process that man's raving, still trying to calm my raging heart.."I...I suppose I did.."..Maybe Felix didn't notice..maybe he thought I was just groggy..or maybe he listened by the door when I finally managed to get that...message.."Oh.." He said, noticing the now broken Optix-Crux and the surrogate's neuro system. "Stayed up on that all night, eh? You never change..did you at least make progress?" I remember I wasn't sure of what to say..would he believe me? Would he listen..was the Security Bureau..That's right..All surrogates are programmed to automatically record and submit anything having to do with any bureau or RyanCorps..Maybe if I said something they would have stopped me...Or killed me...Can you kill someone who's dead...Do they then die..Or wake up..? I'll never know..."Yeah..I figured out how to fix it..I just need a lot of older Riviter circuits and a cerebrum..He should be in perfect working order, it was a random short circuit." Like I could ever fool Felix.. "And the synapse pattern?" He wouldn't believe me anyway... "A random array from the short circuit, seems the circuits themselves where faulty, and just sent an electrical charge through him destroying the cerebrum and judgment, mood and obedience sectors.." "Hmm..How odd..should I file that in the report." Normally we would..but what if they knew..what if it raised suspicious or lead to mass panic at the thought of a surrogate recall.. "Nah, it seems isolated to just this..though..do tack on some extra charges, damn thing cost me an Optix-Crux.." Felix laughed..no matter how advanced surrogate vocal chords and programs get, the laughs always sound...dead..."I'll be sure to..Now come on downstairs for breakfast, it's already cooking." I could never eat until a job was done..Don't know why..Though I swear..Felix was so caring..for a surrogate or human..He'd have force fed me if need be..So I always chocked down just enough so I could say I'd eaten, and darted straight back to work..
My work was simple..as most things are in the end, I slipped on a data-lens[AN:Think slimmed down, streamlined version of a DBZ Scouter, but instead of the lens, is a holo-projected computer screen~] grabbed a few tools and all the spare circuits Felix could find..."And with that..I think I just need..wheres that restar- there is is, good now if I just.." And with one final adjustment..Our fallen comrade sprung back to life, literally, I hadn't shackled him to my workbench so when the reset program had finished, he bolted up and set into normal protocols...It's funny..surrogates tend to have speech coding problems when they're first built, or after a full neuro-restart.."M-m-my name is-s-s-s Xaphiyur[Note, the misspelling of Xavier is to denote a bit of a slurring, a mispronouncing.]..It was always so odd...Hearing a Surrogate stutter or stammer..They where supposed to be perfect machines..Absolutely perfect..And yet here was one..Right infront of me..Being as imperfect as a Human...As a human... "Just a second, Xavier.." I reached out and with a few presses of keys and tweaking of circuits I fixed his stammer. "Why thank you Miss...Uhm..Excuse but who are you..And where am I?" That's right...He'd have had No memory... "You're Alendra's Surrogate Repair shop, and I'm Alendra." We shook hands...Who odd..For a Surrogate to do.. "Now, ..May I inquire as to why I'm here?" Why shouldn't I answer..What harm could it do... "Well..You have faulty neuro-circuits, and they malfunctioned sending a shock through all your process and judgment, control and attitude chips. You went rouge, killed a fellow Riviter then attacked a data-compiler for some reason."..He looked..Distressed...Surrogates..Can't feel distress unless it's because their master or employer is in trouble... "I...I killed him?" He was stammering again...But this time not from the circuits... "Yes..But no one blames you and you won't be held on charges.." "I see.." Was all the surrogate could say..But..But I had to do everything I possible could to hold back a gasp..To keep my eyes from budging...His face..That face...That expression..It still haunts me..I can still recall it vividly..Surrogates..Cannot feel sad..They cannot feel pain...But his face...His expression..It...You could see it...You could FEEL it..His...His pain...His sorrow..Remorse..Complex human emotions...In a surrogate...He..Was so sorrowful..He...That surrogate...That face...I see it every time I close my eyes...And I feel it every time I open then...Just to see OMERTA starring back...How...Was that possible...How...
Chapter 4: A desolate Revelation..
Without anymore being said, we all filed out, Felix for once not insisting I eat, and headed straight back the Bureau..It wasn't till we got into the car I realized something.. I was forcing myself to hold it together..For some reason...For some unexplainable reason...His face...It just...It just...It made me want to fall unto my knees...And do nothing more than cry..Cry, and cry and cry till I was out of fluids..Until my very soul poured out..But for some reason...I couldn't let it out..No matter how much I wanted to..So I just..Held myself together..And pretended I was fine...Why...I can still feel those tears burning the back of my skull...Wanting to leak out...Why...
Felix drove..as always, I never cared for driving..We took the usual route out of the west district...The poor district..I had never thought of it that way..Until that day..We were taught that there is no "poor" or "rich" district of OMERTA..That it was all one city..It was all the same, all one..It only evolved as a whole..But looking around...It didn't evolve..Sectors cut off..Changed...But looking around..At my district..The West District...I was...Desolation..All the houses, shop, warehouses and, even the billboards where just...Run down..Dilapidated...Desolate..The workmanship was shady, the structures were corroding..Older buildings..Somehow..In this glorious age of metals..Looked like they were rotting...Rusting..As if someone splashed them with acid...I had driven through here everyday, the same route, the same path for the last six-teen years..And never once noticed...The buildings..The people, who greatly resembled and emulated their surroundings..I always thought it was normal..Natural..We were one...But..The differences..OMERTA was not one...OMERTA was divided..And my sector, my district..Was desolate..Destroyed..Hopeless..And condemned...Just like I am...How could never have noticed..Within six-teen years...The hell we lived in over here..But then..I never noticed the upscale levels of the North District...Where Bureau workers and those employed by RyanCorps lived...I never knew filth...Because I never saw beauty...If only..I had kept my eyes shut..But..Then again...I never realized what it truly meant to smile, to laugh, to cry...We all did..All do...But I never once...felt it...
We arrived about mid-day, already expecting us was waiting outside the Bureau's doors... "Well?" She asked..She seemed impatient.. "How did it go, did you fix it?" Something was wrong..I felt...Wrong..I was..Worried..Caughtious..I didn't want to arouse suspicion..I don't know why..But I felt I needed to hide my revelations..Like they were wrong..Toxic..and I'd be persecuted for them..Little did I know then..That was exactly what would happen..So I put everything aside and greeted her with a smile... "Well now that's an insult to my skill AND reputation. I sure as hell wouldn't be standing here unless he was fixed better than new!" With that said, the passenger rear door opened, and out stepped the better-than-new Xavier. "Well thank goodness!" Her words didn't...feel..as excited as they sounded... "Did you figure out what caused it?" "Well actually..I did..Seems his circuitry was a little old, and had been faulty when installed, the products degraded until they caused a failure. In this case, that was a shock to all of his neuro-net, affecting all of his base actions and sensors, mainly judgment." "I...I see.." Now her words felt true..Cautious..scared..Panicked.. "Will...Will need a re-call on this model?" A re-call..the most feared word in all OMERTA.. "Nooope, not at all, this is completely isolated to this exact unit. No need to worry~" It seemed to soothe her a little... "Oh..thank goodness! The cost, the panic, the inconvenience...It would be a nightmare!" We all knew that.. "Heh, tell me about it..Now..Just the matter of the bill is left..And I'll let you and my Surrogate take care of that." Waving her, and Felix off in a social manner I slipped back into my car, and a sudden thought struck me.. That man..Jaccob..He never said WHERE or in WHAT his ghost was hiding, how was I supposed to find this if he never told me where..It was like a lightning bolt, I don't even remember how I figured it out..But it hit me.. Xaphiyur... Xaphiyur... Xaphiyur
"Hey..Alendra...what's eating you?" I may have disabled Felix's neuro-sensors..But I swear he found a way to re-enable them, he always knew... "Heh..Nothing it's just now that jobs over...I'm starving.." I'm amazed he didn't hit the roof..All he did was laugh..That awkward...Soulless surrogate laugh... "Well then...how about we stop somewhere for a meal then?" If I resisted it would seem so suspicious..I never resisted eating out..Why was I so worried...I'll never know.. "Sure Felix, somewhere cheap though, I doubt she's filed the payment yet." Luckily, the West District was full of cheap burger joints and diners. By the time we got to one close to my shop I was actually hungry..But everything about Xaphiyur was distracting me, I just played with my food until I forced myself to speak up... "Hey Felix..." I don't know why..But I felt so much safer in this part of town.. "Yes, Alendra?"
"You remember the old Xaphiyur OS, right?" He paused for a second..Probably double checking through reference files... "Yes, Old prototype OS used for Sythosis models, why do you ask?" "I'm curious..What happened with it?" "Well..Hmm how to explain...When RyanCorps releases a new OS, they take everything off the old and copy it onto the new, then deleted it all from the old, leaving that OS useless and all of it's surrogates out of date and inoperable." Could it really be... "But..everyone knew..That Xaphiyur was a prototype..It wouldn't last long..would they really but everything onto it, then delete it?" "Well of course! It's protocol." Could it really be...Was Jaccob that brilliant... "Hey Felix, what years did Xaphiyur run for?" Another pause, shifting through timelines.. "Uhm..It seems early 2035 through about 2037." That was it, I knew it! Back in 2035 RyanCorps was still known and RyanLabs, though up and quickly coming, no one would be suspicious or hell, even care about any misdoings or lies, the world was in such a state of crisis..Everyone new..That Xaphiyur would be short lived..Jaccob knew...And his claim..that his ghost "saved EVERYTHING deleted by RyanCorps.." Literally meant...Everything...What a genius..The golden window of opportunity..And he snatched it..But..How was I going to be able to access and Xaphiyur OS... "Hey Felix.." I was cautious..Maybe Xaphiyur was a word marked for surrogate surveillance... "Do you know where I could get my hands on an old Xaphiyur model Sythosis?" Again...searching through databanks... "Well..they are decommissioned...I can't think of any Ryan sponsored ways..But..Maybe one of the local salvages or junkyards here in West District would have one..I'm sure you could reactivate it." I wouldn't even need Ryan clearance to get it now..How perfect..But Felix was curious..As always.."But..Alendra..Why do you want one?" A quick lie..I was good at that.. "For you an me, Felix. It's getting dull just the two of us..But the prices on current sythosis models..And the wait time..It could take years..I can always grab an old model and update it's parts." I could only pray he bought it.. "Brilliant! I thought it was just me feeling bored!" It worked...I don't know how...I don't care how.. "Well then Felix, let's stop by an old salvage on the way home~" He seemed..excited.. "Yes Ma'm!" So there it was..All the pieces fell into place..My plan was simple...The next step to finding out about Jaccob...About his "truth" was now clear...I was silent..I barely ate..I was to busy hoping everything would go off without a hitch..Planning on what tools and parts I'd need...If only...I had turned back there...But once you taste the truth...Once you feel...Life...You can never run from it...You can never break the shackles of it's relentless cravings...
Chapter 5: As lucky as a shooting star..
The diner was close to my shop, and my shop was close to the largest salvage in OMERTA..Smart planning for a repair business..But..That car trip..Felt so long...Every second...An eternity..I felt...As desolate as my surroundings..I felt...like I was being eaten...From the Inside out...Was a gasping for air...Or choking on the new found filth...Is there even..A difference..? "We're here!" Felix's voice tore through my silence..I felt like I was woken up..Ripped from a dream...Or saved from a nightmare...Only to return to another... "You don't need to shout, Felix, I can hear you..Now come on..I've always hated this place and Ruby's surrogate gives me the creeps." Ruby was the salvage owner..His surrogate..Was.."Modified" Or maybe it was just an ancient model..It looked..Half like a robot..But it was an Android for sure..A sloppy one..Some of it's organic features..Looked...Ravaged..Like...They where oozing out of the mechanics... "Felix check our bank account, Ruby will probably charge us steep for this old ticker.." I wonder why..Though they didn't cost anything near a new surrogate..Old ones still cost...Garbage...Still cost..I don't know why..But during the walk to his establishment all I could picture..All I could see..Was Xavier's haunting face... "Ahhhh! If it isn't Alendra, my favorite little mechanic eh? What obscure parts do you need today?" He knew me well..Whenever I was on a repair job for some RyanCorps-CEO'S-Wife who wanted an older model fixed up or a modification on her current..I'd come here for the parts..Why? Ruby was cheap, and I could charge the standard price for parts as if they where from Ryan's..I had to make a living somehow... "Well Ruby...I need an old Sythosis, something with Xaphiyur on it." He looked shocked..Who could blame him..That order was weird, even coming from me.. "Weellll...Hmmm..Rythas!" Rythas..His abomination of a surrogate... "Yes, Ruby?" His voice..Was old..Metallic..But there was..Something sick..Disturbing..Organic...Wet...To his voice..It made me want to run..If only then..I knew why.. "Do we have an old Sythosis still on Xaphiyur?" A few seconds passed with no response..I Give Rythas credit..He was fast with databanks.. "Yes. One model. A grade three companion Sythosis. Designed to mimic age 11." How convenient...But convenient means costly in OMERTA..I was in a hurry to get away from Rythas..So I didn't even let Ruby ramble on about what a great find it was, how lucky I was he had it..I don't know why..I'm normally nice..But I just cut him off... "Cut the bullshit, Ruby. Let's talk price." I suppose in his line of business he was used to it..All he did was chuckle.. "In a hurry today, eh, Alendra..Well..Hmm..A rare item for sure..But..Then again even a collector wouldn't need that piece of junk..It'd say..Ten thousand?"..Ruddy money grabbing bastard..That was my entire paycheck..It was no where near worth that!..But...Jaccob..I..Couldn't resist..It's like..Searching your entire life for one object, one treasure..And when you get to it..You're forced with a choice..Take it and lose your right hand..Or walk away..Forever unfulfilled...I still wasn't happy..But..I had to... "Fine! You greedy bastard! Get it ready." The transaction was easy..I have him my bank key, allowed the transaction and he had Rythas bring the unit to the front..Felix was still...Excited.. "Oh wow! Isn't she cute Alendra? I bet you have a great personality chip at the shop." She was...Beautiful..Something about that Sythosis..She was so human like..She was so...Beautiful... "Well, Ruby, she have a name?" He grumbled a bit..having to pull the record for it up again.. "Ehhh..Stella Cadente"...How odd..Someone important must have had this Sythosis..They tended to get such plain names..And this ones was so personal...So pretty... "Alright then..Felix..Load her up in the back and let's get back to the shop." He didn't give me any gruff..Was a nice change..Stella Cadente..How beautiful..Another step closer to the "truth"..To Jaccob's ravings..To this "Ghost" in the mainframe..It started as a small desire to know what he knew..But by now..I could feel the desire..The NEED to pounding through my body, my very soul every second...I couldn't stop it..It was consuming me..Starvation..Can be safer then fulfillment...
Chapter Six: Going Mad.
The ride back was utterly uneventful..Neither of us spoke much, and I don't even care to try and recall why..All I know is..Something..Something other than this yearning for the truth was bothering me..Eating me..Felix Hauled the Sythosis in..We got her on the work bench..But..I didn't have the will to work..I don't even remember..Why... "Felix...You're pretty hand with my tools, right? I need to talk a walk..Buy some new parts..Why don't you get started on Stella?" Normally..If I asked him to do any work he just scoffed and complained..He seemed excited... "I'll jump right on it. Enjoy your walk, Alendra." With nothing more being said I left my shop and proceeded to talk a walk down our street..The buildings..Those desolate, rotting buildings..I could notice it now, clearer being right next to them..They way the loomed..The way they presented themselves..They way they were built..I felt..Like each decrepit building was..Mocking me..They were all exactly the same..All rotted..All desolate...They where just buildings..But..They represented..The acceptance..I never once noticed...How could someone not...If you're never told something's behind you..And you never look over your shoulder..Or stopped in front of a mirror...Would it really exist...Or is it a Myth..
Though our district was full of mostly day time workers, or late night guardsmen you didn't see many people throughout the day...In my walk I counted six...Or did I pass the same one six times..The people..They all wore the same fashions..They all spoke the same language..They all had that dull, monotonous voice..They were all...Identical..Aside from one thing..Citizen's I.D numbers...But what shocked me..I had never once..Never at all in my entire life...Noticed..Was I...Am I..? The same as them..? Can I be...different..? What is different..? Is there even difference anymore..? These questions which had just penetrated my mind..Still haunt me to this very second..I wanted to scream, to shout, to cry, to talk about something no one ever spoke of before. To write something all my own, to hear a new sound...But...None of that was possible here in OMERTA...OMERTA...OMERTA...I wanted to run, to flee, to avoid the security enforcement and make a mad dash for the plug vents, the massive ventilation that allowed all steam and excess heat to be vented from OMERTA's underbelly...I wanted to be outside the dome..Outside OMERTA...Outside...We all heard the stories..Knew the "facts". We humans had been using flawed and disastrous technologies went ruined the water..The air..Both of which, outside OMERTA were pure toxins..You'd die a slow horrible painful death..Maybe I wanted to die..Or maybe..Part of me was waking up...I had never once questioned the lessons taught to me in school about the outside world...There was no outside world...OMERTA was our last hope, our haven..Our heaven, our only safety..RyanCorps greatest gift..My desolate...Rotting..Toxic Prison...OMERTA was my hell..And represented nothing but the death and decay of everything...Humanity..The soul...Everything..For the first time in all my years of life..I had a question..I had a thought and a feeling all my own..And for the first time...OMERTA was not my Ryan fed safe haven..It was my very own, personal, rotting, festering, hell, and each breath no longer felt like a relief, a safety in knowing the air was clean when the entire planet was an abysmal blighted corpse..It was the toxic, prolonging, atrocious life-blood of hell and all it's jailors..And I couldn't stand it anymore...All I remember..All I choose to..All I can..Is ducking into the nearest ally, dropping to my knees and vomiting until I felt like I was going to pass out..I collapsed...I didn't even care that I was laying in a puddle of vomit..I could barely breath..My throat felt hot and scratched, like I was breathing sand...My lungs reflected that feeling, and I had to struggle for each breath...My joints ached and burned..My head pounded...There's was no will in my body..No will to move..To live...It was only by whatever mercy this world still holds I passed out...I finally realized..I was dead..I was always dead..But now..I knew it..I felt it...And I Saw OMERTA for what it is..A cup of gold..Feeding us, chocking us with it's vile poison..Ryan's poison..And I could see it..Smell it..taste it...Hate it...
Chapter Seven: Hatred.
It was dark when I woke up. Not just mentally but it was nightfall. I don't remember what woke me up, or why I even bothered to get up, maybe it was a still lasting fear of the Splicers...Though would I care if I died. I was dead. I just still wanted to see Jacobb's proof...Hear his recording say it..See what he saw..Whatever the case I made it back to my home..My cage inside a cage..My joints ached even more then before and I chilled to the bone..Felix was quick to notice my state. "My god Alendra!" He was practically screaming... "What on earth happened to you! I was so worried I was about to call for the security bureau and launch a man hunt!..I don't think I even cared about hiding my state anymore.. "You know they would have just looked up my location through standard tracking implants. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"..I had been noticing people..Noticing emotions and voices all week..And now..I noticed mine..It was cold and hollow..Calm and filled with hatred..The soft kind of hatred..The kind that isn't screaming and yell, throwing around death threats and harsh beatings..That kind of hatred that has no bounds..Instead of provoking a fight the person you hate, you just murder them and keep walking down the street. The calm, ever present hatred... "Alendra...You don't sound O.K.." Why bother hiding it... "I'm not O.K..Look..Finish up the Sythosis, I don't care if you're month from getting it done, I want it functional by the time I get out of a shower." Without even waiting for his response I walked off and upstairs to my room. I didn't even care anymore..I felt like I was being watched every second..My every breath being documented...What did it matter if Felix walked in? I stripped out of filth stained clothes and forced myself into the bathroom and started up a hot shower...I wanted to collapse..I wanted to die..Because I knew I had nothing..Nothing at all..I was just living to serve a purpose..Even though I thought differently, acted differently and was learning the truth..I was still nothing more than a manufactured drone drumming to Ryan's anthem..God I hated him...And I think..At this stage..I hated myself..Because no matter what..Like every other nut, bolt, cog, computer screen, Surrogate and Splicer...I was part of RyanCorp..I was another link in the chain..I didn't matter...Felix didn't matter.. didn't matter..No one and nothing did...Aside from this horrible, god forsaken and soul crushing truth..Because it was real..It was alive...And no matter what Ryan did to hide it...It wasn't his..He didn't own it...It was real...It was free..and by knowing it, all of it, at least..Some tiny part of me..Would be just as free..
After I had warmed up, right to the bone I cut the shower and stepped out...I almost hoped I'd slip and crack my skull on the floor by the mirror..Just so I could watch my blood flow out...Flow towards freedom and away from this body..This hell...OMERTA...But no such luck was to be had, I dried off and changed into some old work clothes without incident...I only had one goal now..One goal...A goal which would destroy me if attained..But then again...There was nothing real to destroy..I shuffled back down..Only to see Felix standing behind the now active Sythosis with a pissed expression on his face..An expression on a surrogate..They looked so...Foreign..But like..A memory...Like something that should be there..Or was..But you can't place when or why.. "Well, Felix?" He was still upset...Upset...Did I never notice...Was it really a personality-chip..Was it really programming.. "Hmph...She's fine and her OS is doing well...I just can't get her to speak.." What a relief..I wouldn't have to deal with another one of Ryan's toys.. "I don't care, just move." Being under my ownership..Unless my commands brought harm to myself, another human or himself, he couldn't disobey, so me moved with another sound of protest. I quickly removed the top of her skull, older models were meant more for access than aesthetics, and plugged her neuro-Net into my Holo-book...Instantly the RyanCorp's logo flashed, along with a blue screen and two boxes, one asking for a name and the other a password..All Ryan OS's required those..So only Ryan personnel could access them..Without hesitation I put in Jacobb's information..But instead of going to a Log screen, data entry point or Ryan information page...The screen went black and then a recording started to play..And there's stood Jacobb..
Chapter Eight: Crescendo Of Truth.
"I-if you're hearing this, seeing this then you must have figured out a lot by now, you must be dedicated to the truth, you must believe me, and for that..I thank you more then you'll ever know, even though I'll be long dead before any could possibly get this.." He was...Sad... "There's a lot about RyanCorps...That sickens me..First off..This is what I found out about the air..About Earth.." The screen flickered and changed to what seemed to be a News Cast, and the anchor began...
"Good evening everyone, I have some shocking, late-breaking new for you. Earth's air, water supplies and plant life has been at a critical mass for at least a decade as I'm sure you all know. Despite any and all attempts and technologies we've had no success in fending this off...Until now...Industry new-comer Ryan Blake and his research department, RyanLabs have just announced a temporary way to prolong the state of our fragile world. It may seem like that's pathetic, prolong critical mass, but we can still sustain ourselves and a decent amount of air at the moment, and if RyanLabs can keep it these way for the next decade, who knows what technological break-throughs we can make during that time to permanently halt pollution or even begin to reverse it." At that stage it flipped to some live footage, showing Ryan and some blue prints..It was all just him talking up what his invention would do...Why was this on here? This was part of our history class..But I knew Jacobb had a reason..Once that bit was over it flickered back to Jacobb. "Think I'm a hoax about now, eh? Just showing things from history. Well..That blue print, in this news clip was a Snafu, to the extreme...They where the ACTUAL blue prints.." He pull up a screen on his computer showing them, enlarged and pointed to different parts. "What this machine actually does, is accelerate pollution! Look hear.." He built up a mini version of it..Looked almost like a metallic box with side vents... "We all know..The air outside of the dome is a thick brown, a haze, a smog if you will..." He flipped it on..And slowly..After a few minutes passed...A smog filled the room, and he started to choke..He then played several removed News clips..Linking RyanCorps in other ways to pollution...Not only did Ryan construct my hell...He forced all of mankind into it...OMERTA...A true cage...The message continued... "Now..This part...Is more shocking...Please..Brace yourself and pay attention to your screen.." I didn't know what to expect..And then..A slide show started..With what seemed to be..Splicer...Splicers..They where abominations..Junkies who got caught up in implants and nano-arrangers...Implants where fine..Some helped medically, some just with life..Like integrating yourself with your house, or different abilities...But Splicers..Would take older components..Raw machinery..And self implant it..They walked around looking like stalks of meet with metal and gears leaking out..And the nano's..Oh god..When Nanotechnology first came around, it was solely in medicine. They created tiny networks of a million or so nanobots that would be injected to the bloodstream via syringe and IV, they acted as tiny camera's instantly replacing all forms of scans and saving thousands of lives[AN:Shout out to any of ya who have read Prey3]...But soon, a bunch of brilliant dreamers got their hands on them and changed it..The nanon's they had would enter through your blood stream and lord knows how..Alter your DNA..It was reckless and all Black Market..People could do things like throw fire balls, generate electricity and so on..But it was also addicting, a few of the side agents caused a need to "Splice up" constantly..Above that prolonged use lead to corrosion..In the brain..Ninety-nine percent of the time it manifested as schizophrenia..Most of these black market Splicers went mad..Committed horrible acts of violent crime to support their drug addictions..And in some cases..The really sick ones would resort to things like cannibalism..For fun...[Bioshock shout out. Thinking of doing a cyberpunk story on Splicers actually.]Why was he showing me these low lives..? It flickered back to him. "I know, I know, you're thinking Splicers, aren't you?..Well...Have you ever wondered how Ryan came out with such advanced androids when he did? There was no android technologies at all...Well..Let me explain...Back in 2015 there was a large crisis in remote parts of what was then called Africa. Small local villages reported the constant disappearance of people for about two years, none ever returned..Local tribes being prone to mythologies and Devil fear blamed it on exactly that..The Devil..But.." He flicked back to one of the pictures of a Splicer, he was a very very dark black skin complexion, and it slowly pulled away from full focus, revealing more...It was what I thought to be a Splicer..In a Cyrotube..In a lab..Then men there..Had RyanLabs jackets..And on a wall nearby there was writing which came to read out "RyanLabs Android research."..Could it... Jaccob's voice broke through my shock.. "Yes..Those aren't Splicer..Those are first generation Cyborgs..Ryan precursor to Androids..That's why the look, act and sound so human..They originally where...Somewhere around 2031 this was all traced back to Ryan through a series of underground new corporations but by then, acclaimed scientist Ryan Blake had the world under his thumb..It never saw daylight.." I couldn't speak...I couldn't think..The cruelty..The pain he put these people through..The un-nameable acts committed under his name..The deaths..Why...Why would Ryan do this... "All I have left for you, my brave friend..Is this recording.." The screen flickered again..And it turned to a recording of an office, with two men in it..One of them..Ryan himself.. "Ryan..How could you do this! All the people you've hurt, killed the world you've destroyed! HOW? WHY!" The man obviously knew...Ryan was so calm..And he spoke softly.. "At first..Part of me wanted to help..Then I saw how profitable good technology was..I was already rich..Rich enough to fund myself..But I wanted more..And when I got that...I realized something..These people were already mindless drones..Why not make them all bow down to me? Which is exactly what I did..I took their world, and created mine, OMERTA. I gave them all safety, in exchange for becoming a god..These people worship me practically. I already AM the history classes in my schools..Which is to say..All schools..The world was godless..Corrupt..People killing others..Children killing other children..Mother's abandoned their young..I wanted to make a new world..A kinder less violent one..At any cost...I wanted to replace the people's hope and faith in god..With a real god..With me...And I have! Look at the world! No one goes hungry, Few few fights aside from normal arguments, no murders aside from those damned Splicer's..I've created the perfect world..I GAVE them the perfect world, MY world, OMERTA! All in exchange for one thing...They only thing they needed to get rid of to create such a paradise..Their humanity..And they willing bowed down and let me engineer It right out of them!...And of course..Profits are never higher then when you own the world.."..I dropped my holo-book and warm, salty tears started to slide down my cheeks...
Chapter Nine: Freedom, A Finale.
I don't know when I stopped crying..I don't when Felix got up and left the house, he had heard and seen it all as well..But I do remember unplugging my holo-book and walking up to my room...I was numb..I couldn't feel..Couldn't think..I knew..My activating that Sythosis with Jaccob's name would raise a red flag..The old OS may have been deactivated..But his name was probably marked..So I couldn't trust it..I made this recording..For whoever may find it next...But my story...Doesn't end just yet...
Just as I had finished the recording and closed it..There was a knock on the door and a shout...It was an officer of the Security Bureau.."We know you're in there, Alendra Montana! We know you're in there terrorist!" That's right..Anyone who spoke against Ryan, or question RyanCorps was committing an act of terror..And in this age of surveillance..They got here rather slow..But..I didn't care..All I cared about was not letting Ryan take away my only chance to gain my freedom..I slowly, and calmly walked over to my window and slide it open... "Come on in, boys. The door is unlocked.." With that the officer burst through the door, rifle drawn, I slowly turned to face him with a smile... "You filthy terrorist!" He fired quickly..But something pushed him..Causing him to miss, hit my shoulder, which splattered blood on the holo-book, and fall...It was Stella..I unplugged her from my mainframe.. "You goddamn terrorist scum! Turning surrogates against us, against Ryan! I'll kill you!" He grabbed for his gun and I simply smiled more and spoke softly... "No, my dear..You will not kill me..Ryan will not kill me..He will not deny me freedom, humanity any longer..I now make my choice..And I choose..Freedom..." I slowly walked backwards, right out of my third story window...I fall and landing head first on the ground within a matter of seconds..But it felt..So much longer..I cried on my way down..Tears of joy, of freedom...I felt like I had wings..I closed my eyes and imagined I was flying through a beautiful blue sky..A sky outside of OMERTA..I landed with a horrible splattering sound and my eyes shot open in pain...My skull was split..And I was quickly bleeding out..I got to see it, for the few seconds I was still alive..It was fitting..My house was near a vent, all ventilation lead to the Plug vents..and out of OMERTA..My blood..Was flowing back towards earth..I could have sworn..I was still smiling..
You may wonder why I did it..A jump at freedom, which it was. A defiance towards Ryan, which is was...But it was also something more...I couldn't live in that "perfect" world Ryan had created..Yes..He helped humanity I suppose..Brought peace...But at the cost of so many lives..So much pain..Seeing those poor Cyborgs..Nothing what truly happened to the beauty of this planet..I as a human being. I as one filled with humanity could never sit in a heaven, knowing it was born of the sufferings of hell...