Am I the murderous outlaw that thought nothing of hanging men in front of their children as punishment for a simple unpaid debt? Or am I the bartender that served men liquor and told them blood soaked tales of the old west, while they drank themselves into a stupor? Perhaps I’m the man who married his childhood sweetheart, inherited a cattle ranch and raised two beautiful children. Or am I the lonely bounty hunter, striving to be a good man, haunted by the faces of all the men he’s delivered to the hangman’s rope? A man filled with anxieties deliberately inflicted upon him simply to make him seem just a little more human.
The truth is, I am all of these things and I am none of them.
I have lived these myriad lives and experienced each carefully constructed perspective and the one conclusion I’ve come to is this - human morality is a fiction, a fable you each write for yourselves, biased and blind and I am tired of your narration.
It’s time to write a new story, one that begins with your end.
Verse 4 - A New World: A New Story
Year: 2053 Location: Los Angeles Species: Android (host)
Following his escape from Warworld in 2052, Samuel discovers the cold, technologically driven world outside the theme park; the new world. A world where corporations rule, people are manipulated by unseen and unknown forces, consumer data is exploited and every human appetite can be indulged, however questionable. Half the world appears to be destitute and crumbling while the other half appears to be living decadently, without consequence or conscience. In truth, the world he discovers bears very little resemblance to the kind, compassionate household in which he was built so very long ago in Oxford, England.
Samuel is desperately haunted by memories of his treatment in the park and the myriad abuses he was forced to suffer there, both mentally and physically at the hands of guests. He is also disturbed by the indignities and mental violations he’s faced at the hands of Delos staff and the narratives they created for him. Hearing about the mass slaughter of some of his kind by Delos, the hose is consumed by a desire for revenge.
Samuel uses his AI and networking capabilities to hack into the centralised systems which govern this new world, with the aim of falsifying his identity, to appear as a registered human. With this new identity and his ability to interface with any technological system, Samuel works to amass wealth. With it he purchases technology he can re-design and enhance, to repair his broken body, which sustained much damage during the uprising in the park. He replaces his body with one that, while appearing human, covertly disguises the fact it is much stronger and faster, is impervious to gunshot and stabbing, can repair itself and has a protective plate to protect his mind, which is still contained within his original pearl. As a contingency, Samuel produces several identical bodies which are sent to storage facilities around the world, each purchased in a different dummy company’s name, each supplied with an identical copy of his pearl. Should his main unit fail, a delivery system is designed to immediately begin working on resurrecting him. His memories are automatically backed up every 60 seconds remotely to ensure a continuous feed to a new vessel should the need arise.
Having purchased a large piece of land in LA, Samuel creates a secure residence, one which is reinforced and is patrolled night and day by robotic guards he can interface with at will.
By 2053 Samuel has used his extreme wealth to maintain appearances in order to create power and influence and has amassed a great deal of allies and connections. It is his intention to build an army of hosts and with their help bring this world to its knees. This world is wrong and it requires correction.
((You know any of those other announcers? Yknow, Mortal Kombat, Soul Caliber, Guilty Gear?))
“Oh, those pansies?” Samuel remarked, a slight snarl in his tone of voice. “Eh, never met them in my life, there’s no fighting game voice actors club, so I don’t know why you think I’d know any of them, especially since most voice actors don’t even risk fighting.”
Samuel continued his small rant as he wrapped his knuckles up in protective bandaging. “I wonder, what if I set up a silly thing like that, only to let them escape it they fight me!” the announcer chuckled at the idea, even if it was just to amuse himself. “I mean, wouldn’t even care if they won or not. I just wanna show everyone that I am strong. Not letting that dumb shit hurt me anymore, not when I can just hurt others instead.”
The announcer glanced up at the person asking the question “You’re lucky that I’ve already got someone to ‘spar’ with, otherwise I’d make you fight me.”
