Status: This is my first original piece in years, please bear with me while I ground myself again in writing. However, feedback is so precious. Thank you!
Bethany
Kitted out.
"State your name for identification purposes."
"Vincent Donkoski."
"State your national identification number."
"136392."
"Identification for Vincent Donkoski approved. Please proceed to biomechatronic engineering for calibration."
The machine's screen flickered, switching from lines of security protocols, to encouraging words of positivity and obviously false procurement of the employee benefits and pay enhancements. Rolling his shoulders, a click was heard from the other side of the door, decompressing hissing followed by a sliding door revealing the long dark hallway. The area suddenly burst with light from the strips of blinding luminescence above, causing Vincent to squint his eyes, eyebrows furrowing and wincing as he bit his lip. His eyesight adjusting, Vincent finally paced down the hallways, looking round the empty warehouse-like spaces that scattered shadows across empty desks and terminals.
"Remember to fill out your Neurotech employee questionnaire, your feedback is important to us!"
Looking to the drone that floated, stationary in its position as it repeated the line again, watching as Vincent carried on walking. Stopping at a door further down, Vincent looked to the keypad that held security in place, keying in his identification number.
"Please place your thumb on the scanner. If this is not possible, face the scanner to the other side of the door and allow retinal scanning."
Looking down to his hands, Vincent gave out a sigh. With his prosthetic arms, he had no fingerprints. Shuffling over to the scanner, he opened his eyes wide, his eyes watering as the lights quickly scanned his sight, a small beep of approval ringing in the silence before the door began to open. Making his way through, Vincent began to undress, leaving himself covered by a plain white t-shirt with a small logo on the upper right chest, representing Neurotech to absolutely no one but machines and Vincent. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat, running a hand through his dark locks and sitting himself in front of the dark screen of his terminal.
"Employee 136392, Vincent Donkoski, terminal number 917 activate."
The terminal lit up with code, the usual Neurotech logo and bios loading and filling in the credentials automatically. Vincent watched and finally grabbed the mouse that connected to the computer, navigating to the e-mails, seeing automatic responses and information on results and previous studies. The buzz of technology filled his ears, seeing an email three steps down fro the top with the headline, 'BETHANY.'
Raising his hand, the cold surface of his mechanical fingers slid across the scar that was healing from his procedure of installing the chip into his brain. This was 3 months ago, and a bald patch still lingered across his scalp. Vincent's reflection appeared on the screen within the dimming of the inactivity, causing him to get lost in what he was now. His prosthetics were not medically in place, it was simply enhancement of the human body. Neurotech employee benefits as they put it. His eyes were grey, losing their blue hue from countless eye surgeries or enhancements that were carried out by the machinery aboard the station. They were precise, steady and without error.
Shaking his thoughts away, Vincent finally opened the drawer to his right, seeing a sterile connection kit. It wasn't the first time something like this had to be done, but it was Vincent's first time. He had only heard of the higher-ups and CEO's doing it to show that it was safe to employee's upon other stations. Nerves made his legs shake, still organic and considered 'impure' and subject to human errors. Taking the kit out, he unwrapped it, the metal needle causing his eyes to go wide as he began to plug the other end to the terminal. Bracing himself, he opened the email named Bethany, seeing a executable program that was to be installed onto the bios. Following the instructions, he looked to the needle as it finally instructed him to insert the needle into the lower left area of his arm. Looking, he opened the connection port that was embedded into the prosthetic, inserting the needle and feeling a jolt of electric cycle through his hand.
Looking to the screen, he was advised to give his identification and a phrase to confirm the application had approval to continue.
"136392," Vincent breathed. "Neurotech symphonic."
Sitting back in his chair, he watched as the application began to run lines of code, a light feeling taking over him as he began to relax into the chair. It was the painless, but highly uncomfortable. Moments later, the file had executed it's command, advising Vincent to unplug the connection kit and dispose of it in a sanitary manner. Sitting forward, he done just that, standing up and getting a hold of his surroundings before making his way over to the recycle and waste bins.
"Organic, no... Paper? No? Metal and plastic."
"Hello Vincent," a voice called out.
Gasping, Vincent dropped the connection kit, the loud clack of the metal hitting the ground ringing in his ear, which he didn't realise was sensitive, reaching up and covering his ears. Blinking a few times, Vincent took a breath, looking round.
"He-- Hello?"
"Please state identification number for us to continue."
The voice was high, female and oddly chirpy compared to Vincent's, catching him off guard.
"136392..."
"Thank you," it continued. "I am Bethany, your new AI plant. I will assist you in your studies regarding biomechatronics. Please grant me access to learn and grow from your advancements and results."
"Gr-- Granted," Vincent whispered.
It was silent once more, the AI now embedded into him causing his heart to race.
"Your heart rate is now exceeding normal levels, Vincent Donkoski. Please rest until it is stabilized. Once you are at a capable resting rate, please let us begin calibrations."
Vincent took a seat once more, slowly breathing deeply to allow himself to calm. It was strange, to finally hear another voice that wasn't mechanical. Almost as if it had been based on someone's actual voice. Licking his lips, Vincent let his eyes scan the empty room, expecting to see someone else, which was ridiculous. No one else had been aboard the station in just under 10 years.
"Bethany," Vincent called out.
"Yes, Vincent? How may I assist you?"
"What is your primary function?" He asked, letting himself get up once more to straighten his posture. "How will you learn?"
"My primary function is to help obtain information and executive commands that will help improve your biomechatronic prosthetics and enhancements to a degree that is seen as acceptable. This will be gained by my observation of your daily routines, calibrations, tests, studies and results. I shall also keep a log of your daily activities, results and terminal accesses and records, as well as keeping a log of your emotions and what is considered human. This is to allow me to see how human emotions and organic matter will affect prosthetic and cybernetic engineering."
Vincent simply stood, nodding and running his fingers over his lips before making his way out of the calibration room.
"I-- Well, best get used to this."
"Vincent Donkoski."
"State your national identification number."
"136392."
"Identification for Vincent Donkoski approved. Please proceed to biomechatronic engineering for calibration."
The machine's screen flickered, switching from lines of security protocols, to encouraging words of positivity and obviously false procurement of the employee benefits and pay enhancements. Rolling his shoulders, a click was heard from the other side of the door, decompressing hissing followed by a sliding door revealing the long dark hallway. The area suddenly burst with light from the strips of blinding luminescence above, causing Vincent to squint his eyes, eyebrows furrowing and wincing as he bit his lip. His eyesight adjusting, Vincent finally paced down the hallways, looking round the empty warehouse-like spaces that scattered shadows across empty desks and terminals.
"Remember to fill out your Neurotech employee questionnaire, your feedback is important to us!"
Looking to the drone that floated, stationary in its position as it repeated the line again, watching as Vincent carried on walking. Stopping at a door further down, Vincent looked to the keypad that held security in place, keying in his identification number.
"Please place your thumb on the scanner. If this is not possible, face the scanner to the other side of the door and allow retinal scanning."
Looking down to his hands, Vincent gave out a sigh. With his prosthetic arms, he had no fingerprints. Shuffling over to the scanner, he opened his eyes wide, his eyes watering as the lights quickly scanned his sight, a small beep of approval ringing in the silence before the door began to open. Making his way through, Vincent began to undress, leaving himself covered by a plain white t-shirt with a small logo on the upper right chest, representing Neurotech to absolutely no one but machines and Vincent. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat, running a hand through his dark locks and sitting himself in front of the dark screen of his terminal.
"Employee 136392, Vincent Donkoski, terminal number 917 activate."
The terminal lit up with code, the usual Neurotech logo and bios loading and filling in the credentials automatically. Vincent watched and finally grabbed the mouse that connected to the computer, navigating to the e-mails, seeing automatic responses and information on results and previous studies. The buzz of technology filled his ears, seeing an email three steps down fro the top with the headline, 'BETHANY.'
Raising his hand, the cold surface of his mechanical fingers slid across the scar that was healing from his procedure of installing the chip into his brain. This was 3 months ago, and a bald patch still lingered across his scalp. Vincent's reflection appeared on the screen within the dimming of the inactivity, causing him to get lost in what he was now. His prosthetics were not medically in place, it was simply enhancement of the human body. Neurotech employee benefits as they put it. His eyes were grey, losing their blue hue from countless eye surgeries or enhancements that were carried out by the machinery aboard the station. They were precise, steady and without error.
Shaking his thoughts away, Vincent finally opened the drawer to his right, seeing a sterile connection kit. It wasn't the first time something like this had to be done, but it was Vincent's first time. He had only heard of the higher-ups and CEO's doing it to show that it was safe to employee's upon other stations. Nerves made his legs shake, still organic and considered 'impure' and subject to human errors. Taking the kit out, he unwrapped it, the metal needle causing his eyes to go wide as he began to plug the other end to the terminal. Bracing himself, he opened the email named Bethany, seeing a executable program that was to be installed onto the bios. Following the instructions, he looked to the needle as it finally instructed him to insert the needle into the lower left area of his arm. Looking, he opened the connection port that was embedded into the prosthetic, inserting the needle and feeling a jolt of electric cycle through his hand.
Looking to the screen, he was advised to give his identification and a phrase to confirm the application had approval to continue.
"136392," Vincent breathed. "Neurotech symphonic."
Sitting back in his chair, he watched as the application began to run lines of code, a light feeling taking over him as he began to relax into the chair. It was the painless, but highly uncomfortable. Moments later, the file had executed it's command, advising Vincent to unplug the connection kit and dispose of it in a sanitary manner. Sitting forward, he done just that, standing up and getting a hold of his surroundings before making his way over to the recycle and waste bins.
"Organic, no... Paper? No? Metal and plastic."
"Hello Vincent," a voice called out.
Gasping, Vincent dropped the connection kit, the loud clack of the metal hitting the ground ringing in his ear, which he didn't realise was sensitive, reaching up and covering his ears. Blinking a few times, Vincent took a breath, looking round.
"He-- Hello?"
"Please state identification number for us to continue."
The voice was high, female and oddly chirpy compared to Vincent's, catching him off guard.
"136392..."
"Thank you," it continued. "I am Bethany, your new AI plant. I will assist you in your studies regarding biomechatronics. Please grant me access to learn and grow from your advancements and results."
"Gr-- Granted," Vincent whispered.
It was silent once more, the AI now embedded into him causing his heart to race.
"Your heart rate is now exceeding normal levels, Vincent Donkoski. Please rest until it is stabilized. Once you are at a capable resting rate, please let us begin calibrations."
Vincent took a seat once more, slowly breathing deeply to allow himself to calm. It was strange, to finally hear another voice that wasn't mechanical. Almost as if it had been based on someone's actual voice. Licking his lips, Vincent let his eyes scan the empty room, expecting to see someone else, which was ridiculous. No one else had been aboard the station in just under 10 years.
"Bethany," Vincent called out.
"Yes, Vincent? How may I assist you?"
"What is your primary function?" He asked, letting himself get up once more to straighten his posture. "How will you learn?"
"My primary function is to help obtain information and executive commands that will help improve your biomechatronic prosthetics and enhancements to a degree that is seen as acceptable. This will be gained by my observation of your daily routines, calibrations, tests, studies and results. I shall also keep a log of your daily activities, results and terminal accesses and records, as well as keeping a log of your emotions and what is considered human. This is to allow me to see how human emotions and organic matter will affect prosthetic and cybernetic engineering."
Vincent simply stood, nodding and running his fingers over his lips before making his way out of the calibration room.
"I-- Well, best get used to this."