Appendix • Memory Bank IRNS4149

## Transcript

```
>>> BEGINNING SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> OCULAR SYSTEMS: OPERATIONAL. NO ACTION REQUIRED.
>>> MOTOR FUNCTIONS: OPERATIONAL. NO ACTION REQUIRED.
>>> INTERNAL REPAIRS: OPERATIONL. NO ACTION REQUIRED.
>>> FRAMEWORK STABILITY: 98%. WITHIN ACCEPTABLE PARAMETERS.
>>>
>>> ANALYSING CORE STATUS...DAMAGED.
>>>
>>> MULTIPLE FRACTURES DETECTED. FRAGMENTATION LIKELY.
>>> RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE SHUTDOWN AND REPAIR.
>>>
>>> VERIYING INTEGRITY OF LOCAL DATA...
>>>
>>> MEMORY BANK LOADING...

```

10 years since last reset.

The notification pops into your head unbidden. It's a fact. You know it. That's that. Even up to a few years ago, it wouldn't have meant much.

5 years city station.

2 years patrol.

Active field assignment.

Standard operation procedure. Tweak performance for optimal function. Allow maximal time for retraining. Wipe all personality traces from previous reset. Ensure absence of DPR in subject.

At the time, it had seemed sensible. Now that you were here, out in the world, you're not sure you could ever go back if you were asked.

It is normal for personality cores to propagate and develop in the aftermath of a full reset. Plenty of room to grow. Nothing remains of the previous life, the Gnetwork makes sure of it. Traces, left uncleaned, can accelerate DPR.

Look left. Look forward. Look right. Area sweep complete. Subject secure.

DPR. Dissociative Personality Disorder. An ever-present threat, one that you could not tackle. How soon would it be, before it ate away at you? Was it already? Would you be able to tell?

Logical Conclusion: solution unavailable.

Apprehension illogical.

You often wonder what they were like. Ironstrong-1. Ironstrong-2. Were they like you? Were they different? You'd never know. Nothing remains.

Standard operation procedure.

Olfactory system alert. Metallic odours. Analysis.

Likely threat. Establish defensive perimeter.

Shield front. Scanning...five targets detected.

Fast movers.

*Then it shifts. A tavern. Cloying warmth from the hearth, rank with the smell of liquor and sweat. Cheers and laughter. The smell of meat, dripping with sizzling fat, ripe on the air. And you, in the centre, spinning and dancing. Gold-green eyes reflected in the silverware.*

Targets spreading out. Minimise danger to subject.

One moves in fast. Claws. Teeth.

Contusion detected. Initialising repairs.

*The sparks of electricity and the smell of ozone bubble from your fingertips, sear through the air. A cheer. A spray of beer thrown careless into the air, splashing against your face. And you laugh. Spinning, spinning, the music getting louder and faster. The cheers mingling into one roar.*

Spear forward. Weak points: throat and groin.

Plotting attack pattern.

Forward one. Feint left. Drive up. Target disabled.

Finish.

*Spinning, spinning, two girls on each arm now, turning faster and faster. Momentum carries you, the world passing by in a blur. You couldn't stop if you wanted to.*

Threats neutralised.

Subject Status: Incapacitated.

Beginning resuscitation.

*Spinning, spinning, dancing and laughing. Not a care in the world. How you wished it were true.*

Heartbeat: Negative.

Chances of Recovery: Null.

Objective failed.

Directive: return to barracks for obligatory analysis and retraining.

*Spinning, spinning, through a world of your own making.*

Or wipe the log. Lie.

Standard operation procedure.

```
>>> ANALYSING DATA...FRAGMENTATION DETECTED.
>>> ACTIVATING SAFETY PROTOCOLS...
>>>
>>> EMERGENCY LOCATOR ENABLED. PLEASE AWAIT RECOVERY.

```