Slowly, I opened my eyes. A creaking of metal filled the air, as I took in my surroundings. I was in a dark room, with only a single door that I could see. I try to move my arms, but feel something metallic holding them in place. I grit my teeth, making a grating sound. Worried, I moved my tongue to feel out my teeth, which felt normal enough. But the sound didn’t stop until I stopped moving.

Suddenly, the door opened. A blast of light made me shut my eyes before opening them again.

“Oh, it seems that it’s awake.” A light voice said, before setting something down.

I started trying to speak, but it felt like my throat was way too dry to talk.

“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you. You’ll only strain your components.” The brightness has calmed down enough that I could make out the figure to be standing in front of me. They’re wearing a suit, but it has scratch marks on some parts, though none seemed to get all the way to skin.

“Now, I’m sure you have questions, so let’s get the most obvious ones out of the way. Firstly, you signed up for this. Hard to believe, I’m sure. But, you made this choice. Secondly, the reason you can’t remember anything is because you asked not to. Something about… nothing to return to? Oddly enough, there’s a fair few like you that took this option. It was mostly included for particularly bad cases, but hey! Glad to see it was useful. Now, open up, would you? I’m sure you’re quite thirsty.” The figure approached with some kind of container, about as big as a large soda bottle.

I opened my mouth, and felt a flavorless liquid pour down my throat. A few seconds later, it stopped.

The figure stepped back a bit, “Try talking now.”

I moved my jaw around, getting feeling back into it, “Who-” I stopped. That’s… not my voice, “What happened to me?”

The figure sighed, “I was hoping to tell you after a few other questions, but oh well.” They straightened up, “You signed up for an experimental procedure, even paying for some quality of life improvements. Unfortunately, the stock material was rather shoddy, so we had to drain some of those funds to provide a stable foundation to build upon. I mean, really. Take better care of yourself. You only have one life. Well, until we figure out how to fix that, too.”

I started putting two and two together, but something wasn’t adding up, “What did I sign up for?”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The figure grinned, “A once in a lifetime opportunity to become so much more than just a stepping stone for someone else. You have signed into the Improvement Initiative. Or the II, if you don’t want to mince words. Essentially, we give you a new lease on life, without worrying about previous problems following you to your new reality.”

A growing sense of dread starting festering in me, “... What do you mean by that? And don’t dance around the answer!”

The figure takes a step back, before turning on some previously unnoticed lights, revealing the room to be a sterile white, “I hate that they never got these systems fixed up to operate automatically. It would save me so much trouble.”

Stepping closer to me, the figure has a swept back black hair style, and piercing blue eyes, “We disassembled you to the bone, brain, and nervous system, before repairing the thousands of microfractures you walked in with, then really got to the good part. We began improving you wholesale. Your legs were made digitigrade to provide proper support for the more unwieldy portions, even if it made energy consumption more of an issue. Your arms were fitted with a multitool capable of assimilating certain approved technologies and swapping out utility features. Your chest was replaced with a mini-reactor and processing facility, along with the ability to produce the nutrient bath your nerves need to continue working. Your head was largely improved by adding more defensive materials and supplementing your cognitive capabilities, as per your request. And to top it all off, you were given the multitool premium package, allowing the ability to interface with II and associated terminals, given the proper clearance. I hope that’s direct enough for you.”

I just paused, reeling from this… information flood. My body… is gone? Am I a robot? A cyborg? Am I even human? I… what am I? What’s… why don’t I remember my name?! I’m me! I will always be me, regardless of some kind of… body replacement. I can deal with this. Okay, calmed down. I can fully deal with the horror of this whole thing when… this guy leaves me.

I ask, “Who am I? Who are you?”

The figure’s grin opens wide enough to reveal his lower teeth, “You were no one. Now, you’re what you make yourself to be. As for me? Well, call me Mister Ingston. I’ll tell you my first name if you behave for the next week.”

“What’s happening this next week?”

“Acclimation trials and… stress testing. It’ll be tough for both of us, so please try to not cause too many disruptions.”

“What are you, to me?”

“To you? Your benevolent king. Just be careful not to upset the Emperor. Now, he’s really someone to watch out for. He’d break you back down to your components if he thinks he’d learn something from it, so I’d recommend not being too interesting. He has a PHD in psychopathy. But don’t tell him I said that,” Mr. Ingston glances off to the side, “Ah, and that’s my time. Well, this was thankfully pleasant. See you when you finish updating!”

“Updates?”

Then there was only darkness, and a swirling circle.