Autonoma

I've never regretted anything more...

"If you're listening to this, it means my escape was successful."

A voice rises from a crackling radio frequency, an edge to its alien lilt. Its followed by labored breathing.

"My name is Bax Derezzo, formerly known as the test subject RX-771. Three days ago I escaped the laboratory I was being held in on the planet Tarnar, and I have seemingly crashed on an uninhabited planet. The atmosphere is not breathable..."

The voice becomes inaudible. The frequency screams, only to clear up a second later.

"...From what I can see-" cough " The planet was once heavily forested but has been reduced to a...graveyard. Everything is dead, and I will be if I don't find cover." coughs. "Some type of storm is moving in."

No more words come; just uneven footsteps and the broken mechanical breathing of an injured Automaton.

"I think I may die here," the voice returns with a defeat. "And if anyone is listening to this, you need to know something. Something...extremely important but dangerous and confidential. " The voices coughs are turning into violent fits. "About a year ago, according to my memory, I started college at the University of Advanced Systems Dynamics on Alycone. I was going to study Automatons."

The frequency dies to a whine as a storm sends electricity hurtling planetside. It crackles along with the lightning until it finds its signal. The voice breaks through with urgency, accompanied by rainfall.

"I've found...I think I've found the shell of an old building, i'm gonna hide in here-"the sound of the rainfall cuts off completely. The voice sighs heavily and mumbles inaudible words. "Anyways, I need to get this out before I...before I bleed out."

The frequency goes silent. Not even static to give it life.

The voice comes back some time later, louder. "I was going to study Automatons. I hadn't even been there a month when I was approached by these...doctors. See, I was having some problems paying back my loans and they...gave me an offer." The voice fills its pause with a cough. "They told me if I donated some of my knowledge, they'd give me enough money to pay back my loans tenfold. I was broke and very, very stupid so I of course...said I'd do it. The rules were simple-they would come get me whenever they needed me and I would comply no matter what I was doing. My knowledge was greatly appreciated."

"A week later they showed up at my dorm in long black hover cars, ready to take me to whatever place they did their research in. They served me coffee...and I learned about their company, Divine, INC., how they were a subsidiary of the university and what they researched. They handpicked people to work with them, based upon their knowledge. I was excited...I got to use what I thought to be useless knowledge and get paid..." The voice stops. A loud clicking sound replaces it and the frequency crackles again until the voice picks back up.

"Their lab was deep in some basement..they blindfolded me before entering as a way to...ensure security. We took an elevator even further down...it went so fast I nearly puked." The voice gives a half-hearted laugh. "They took me to a room and then told me to wait. I waited for hours until one of the doctors came in, asking me to sign a document to ensure confidentiality. I signed it without reading it...w-worst mistake I've ever made." The voice sputters. It's silent while the owner shifts their position.

"A-after I signed it he took me to another room, where I was held down onto a table by six other doctors. I regretted e-everything at this point...and I was scared...they injected something into my neck and I passed out. Seven months of my life went by before I woke up and realized they didn't just use my knowledge...they u-used my entire brain. T-they'd made me into a new type of Automaton...a-a Cyborg they called me...they put my brain into an Automaton. They l-locked in me in a cell for studying...until I escaped during a power outage three d-days ago."

"So please, if anyone is listening to this..D-divine needs to be stopped...i'm not the first and i'm not the last they've done this to...t-this is no way to live. I think my...organic p-parts have started to reject the m- mechanical parts..." The voice sputters again and sound like gears jamming in a machine bursts through the frequency. It stops abruptly before the voice returns, loud and clear.

"Don't let them do this to anybody else." The frequency returns to crackling and the voice doesn't resurface.

Somewhere close by, a doctor switches a radio off and turns to his colleagues. "Retrieve the body, we have work to do."