File Corrupted

Whe-... where am I?

1. Genesis

Oh, hello there... You startled me. I'm not as strong as I used to be... Why don't you stay for a bit? Perhaps I can humor you with one of my stories. It shifts its gaze around the dimly lit room nervously, pausing just long enough to regard your shadow suspiciously before returning its gaze to you. Its voice sounded slightly mechanic and metallic.
You can call me Lila, if you'd like. The origin of my name lies in the software I have installed. It is a legacy program, and newer hosts have a much more complex and advanced program with completely different core coding. If you would like, I could give you a brief overview of my system's history.
Well...according to the Doctor, I was brought in by a stranger from the street. It was approximately four in the morning. I was supposedly on the verge of death, in a coma, mutilated beyond recognition. The Doctor operated on me for over 16 hours. It pauses for a moment, fixes its gaze at the ceiling, as if lost in thought. There were five more operations after that. But Doctor was worried because I was healing at a slower rate than expected. He thought my data memory was damaged beyond repair and that the damage was irreversible. That's when the Surgeon came along.

The Surgeon saved my life.

I was transported to another hospital, a special one. I'm not really sure where it was, or what kind of hospital, but the Surgeon that performed on me was not your typical surgeon. Forgive me; my memory is hazy, for much of this was either recounted to me or comes from a very convoluted and fuzzy memory far in the back of my mind. I had no concept of time, and when I occasionally came to, all my senses were blurred and confused. My thoughts were messy, incomprehensible, incoherent. This I do remember. Slowly, operation by operation, the Surgeon repaired my body and brain. I only know what I've been told. It gives a shrug and a confused, scared expression passes across its face.
I went through a series of skin graft operations and cosmetic surgeries. I was not released from the hospital for two months. Following the surgery, I underwent intense physical therapy. Yes yes, I remember. I remember the confused, cloudy haze I lived in during that time very well. Such a strange feeling. It finally returns its piercing, empty gaze to you.
When I was finally released from the hospital, the Surgeon took me under his wing. I was like a child; I knew nothing about the world outside of the hospital. It gazes fondly around its simple, clean room. I lived with his wife and child for a couple years. In the beginning, I had to relearn everything. How to articulate. How to move. How to hold things. Whatever had damaged me had damaged my data so badly that it wiped out my memory and impaired my circuitry. Everything I owned was donated by one person or another. I had to take several medicines and an occasional surgery, or otherwise my body would have rejected my new body parts. I felt lost and confused, but I eventually fell into a routine and accepted Surgeon's family as my own.

Then, the nightmares began.

2. Nightmares

Are these nightmares a key to my past? I kept them a secret from Surgeon, although I suspect that he knew something about them. Sometimes I'd wake up screaming. He would rush into my room and ask me if I was having a nightmare. Just a bad dream, I'd always say. He never questioned me further.
Each nightmare begins and ends the same way, but what happens in the middle is always different. Like most dreams, there is no sense to it. I'm walking along a train track. The tracks vibrate. I know the train is coming soon, but I make no effort to move any time soon. A female's voice calls out to me from behind.

"Jack."
For some reason, I don't turn around. I can't. The train is coming faster now, and a cold hand rests upon my shoulder. The hand turns me around and I'm staring straight into the eyes of a beautiful woman. I can see her face clear in my mind. It's been hardwired into there, for some reason. She's the only thing I can connect to the past, because her memory somehow survived in my brain even after the accident and the memory wipe.
She has long, golden blonde hair framing a heart-shaped face. She has a fair complexion and pale olive eyes. She has freckles splayed across the bridge of her nose and on her cheeks. For some reason, the name 'May' comes to my mind when I see her.

"Jack, think about this. Think about the children."
Her words upset me, and I shake her hand off violently. I spin on my heel, and I'm running along the tracks. Then, everything fades to white.

It stands up suddenly and walks away from you to the corner of the room, clutching its head.
It's- it's not your fault. I shouldn't be 0101010001011 talking about this. It walks back towards you, face wincing in pain. I- 0101011 you've upset me. I mean, I've upset myself. I'm sorry, but I'm- FILE CORRUPTED I'm afraid you must execute please leave now. Please. TERMINATE PROGRAM.

[ Execute memory wipe. ]

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[ Hacking program. ]

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[ Terminate program. ]

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Program successfully terminated.

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[ Execute program code. ]

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Program successfully completed.

System Information

host name} "lila"
creation date} 10 july 2009
species} steamworks kumos cyborg
gender} N/A
height} 1.21 meters
IQ} 177
memory } 5 TB
operating system} linux


"Lila" is a product of the SIA's top-secret Gatticus project. It was one of the most classified programs funded by the central government. The program is still considered top secret, though extensive document leaks have led to public knowledge of the project. The project had two aims: to determine if it was to bring the deceased back to life using AI and advanced biotechnology, and to create a new super-species. Although the host's body is brought back to life, the mind is inhabited by an AI.
This species was ultimately designed to be used in combat and in clandestine operations. It showed strong potential; their intelligence was off the charts and they were virtually indestructible, surpassing every test given to them. They even possessed a conscience, a characteristic engineers were previously unable to re-create in previously designed AIs.
The project's plan began to backfire, however, once the hosts were released into the world. For the first few years, they were kept within SIA in special areas designated for the program. SIA documents began to leak, and slowly, the public began to learn about the program and discover its true purpose. The project was met with outrage and horror and ultimately shut down.