Author's note:
This will be another series. Though, I am taking my time with this one and will not rush anything as I want it to be done the way I wanna do it. It may be an ambitious series, but I love the challenge and I think it can be a good one.
Anyhow, I truly hope you enjoy the read.
Also, this story is dedicated to Kull Warrior, for all the great work he does for all of us in the communities on Discord.
*
Free will. What does that even mean? To have a free will? The term itself is defined as the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion. Free will is not limited to your thoughts. It is the ability to exercise it. What if you took all that and locked it away? Not only locked away but locked in your very own body. Stored away to be forgotten. By everyone... except yourself.
*
Janina woke up. Or did she? Was she ever asleep? Her mind was spiraling to the point of dizziness. She tried to look around, to fix her eyes on something, but everything was blurry. Everything was wet. Very wet. She was submerged in water, it seemed. She tried to flail her arms around but felt powerless as she did. No matter how much Janina tried, her arms would not move.
Where was she? Why was she submerged in water?
Janina desperately tried to remember. Anything. Anything at all. But it was all a huge blank. She knew her own name. That was it. She didn't know what she looked like. She didn't have any memories. Nothing. It was all a huge blank.
Janina heard voices, and saw something white move around somewhere in front of her, but could neither see nor hear properly. A loud screeching noise sounded right in front of her ears. Something crashed into the ground. A loud clunk echoed throughout the room with an echo that made it sound like the noise came from far away. The noise went on for quite some time before stopping abruptly.
Then everything faded to black again. An endless dark sensation draped across her. She lost track of time. She had no idea how long she remained in darkness, and all her other senses seemed to be turned off, leaving her disoriented.
Janina was lost, even if she didn't understand what that meant. She felt conscious, but was she really? It was hard to tell.
...
*
There was no way of telling how long Janina had been out of it. Her mind was in a daze, confused by the constant darkness. Time was but a distant concept. A parameter beyond the scope of her wiring.
Suddenly bright light pierced through, and Janina's vision was restored. She blinked several times, taking time to adjust to the return of her vision. The brightness was so strong, such a contrast, that it made Janina nauseous.
But her body would not let her throw up, despite her heaving and the suppressed violent convulsions. If only she could move. Her body was restrained by an unknown force. At least she was no longer submerged in water.
Janina took the opportunity to look around at the meager facilities surrounding her. The small room was dimly lit by a red light bulb hanging from the roof. It wasn't even that bright. Yet it still hurt her eyes to look at.
Beneath her was a dirty, worn mattress. The walls were concrete. The roof was concrete. And the floor was concrete. The door was a big heavy metal door with giant beams locking it in place. And that was it.
Janina looked down.
If she could gasp, she would've. Instead, her eyes went wide at what she saw. Janina didn't remember a whole lot, but the body she saw below was far from what she expected to see. Nothing like what she surely had before, right? Right? Janina was sure she had been something different than... this.
Though Janina swore she could
feel
her legs, those legs were made out of a shiny, slick metallic substance, dark and even menacing. It looked solid, but yet fluid enough to replicate what should've been skin. The metallic skin formed strong muscles which she could feel every fiber of, but still could not move an inch. Where her knees and ankle were supposed to be, metal joints were in place. Her arms were much the same. Strong, dark, and metallic. Metal joints holding them together.
Janina's stomach was firm, with a hint of tight abdominal muscles showing through her dark olive skin. At least it looked to be skin, though seeing the rest of her made her doubt even that.
Her body was in ruins!
Looking how she looked made her wonder about the parts she couldn't see, like her face and her back. Janina couldn't do anything but hope her face wasn't as abysmal as her body.
Janina wished she could cry, but all her actions and feelings were buried and locked away deep within her. It was like a lock had been put on her ability to show emotion.
The door started to clank and make loud noises as the beams started moving. It was getting unlocked. Janina braced herself to make a dash to escape, but as the door opened and a small balding man came shuffling in, she was unable to do anything.
Without saying a word, the balding man, looking like a weasel wearing a white lab coat, moved behind her. She felt a jab of something into her lower back, near her spine. Some clicks of the lab coat typing on a keyboard.
Janina then felt something change. Like a lid had been removed and replaced by something else. It was another nauseous feeling, actively feeling her mind being altered. Not altered. Changed? No, not that either.
It was like her mind was... added to.
"Janina, what is your name?" The coat squealed, reading from a clipboard.
"I am Janina," Janina said. It was completely involuntary when Janina spoke. She had no control over whether or not she spoke, or what she said. It was like a rehearsed sentence that just got blurted out. Her voice was flat and unenthusiastic. And forced.
"What is your utility?" the lab coat asked.
"I am a pleasure vessel, programmed to satisfy almost any need of almost any customer. For the right price of course," Janina answered, turning on a bit of a cheek at the end.
