Genesis Enhancement Protocol: Stage 1

The Genesis Program, established xxxxx.xx.xx, exists for the creation, development, and training of new assets for humanity's defense. The Genesis Program uses the gift of human complexity along with state of the art artificial intelligence to augment receptive humans with additional "wiring". These extra-neural pathways, along with synthetic transmitters, allow for rapid information processing, increased muscular reaction time and performance, and emotional regulation, while retaining the inherent humanity of the subject. Humanity's best defenders are not lab grown or factory made - they are just humans with a firmware upgrade. *A playthrough of Anamnesis as Tessa Genesis, awakening immediately after the Enhancement protocol prior to the start of Mecha Society: Tears in Your Eyes* (link-reveal:'Content Warnings: ')[non-consensual manipulation of emotions and memories, self-harm (in the section titled: "the fight", this can be skipped)] [[Continue->Identity]]

The room is a stark white except for the poster on the wall in front of the bed. (click:"poster")[The poster: A person in a Service flightsuit is walking towards the viewer away from the wreckage of a mech/kaiju battle. The metallic iris of their left eye catches the starlight. They are unscathed, but the collar of their flightsuit is open at the neck and a faintly glowing red circuit almost looks like a burn. The text below them: "Efficiency in action. Success is evident. We are the [[Change->a word]]."] Card drawn: Death || This card is your Shadow and represents who you were in your past.

(enchant: ?forget, (text-style:'blurrier')) My mouth is dry. My throat hurts. My lips crack around nothing, forming a something that could make (link-reveal:'a word')[|forget>[(Mother)]], if there were air and water to propel it. Around me machines whirr and beep and I am alone, but in the space where words go, it feels like something has just been (link-reveal:'said')[ |forget>[(Father)]]. A long pause in the conversation from my sleeping self to my waking self. When I ask Blue to re-roll the footage of my awakening later, I will hear the last sibillant syllables of a (link-reveal:'name')[ |forget>[(is it a name or is it a kiss)]]. Whose name? I don't know. I can't [[remember->tattoo]]. Card drawn: 7 of Pentacles & the Lovers. || There is a word on the tip of your tongue. Which word is this?

The circuitry covers my neck, goes down my chest. I can't tell if it's just circuitry or circuitry melded with nerves. Branching silver and black lines on my skin, just slightly raised. They join in a circle (click:"circle")[(to represent Balance and Progress, Blue tells me later)] above my heart and pulse softly, the color deepening from silver to blue to red. Blue says this is a sign that the Enhancements are working, that signals and chemicals are being sent through my body. I want to ask them why the colors intensify when I try to remember, but then it doesn't seem so important. { (live: 2s)[ (stop:) (t8n:"instant")[(text-style:"blurrier")[Does anyone miss [[me->seeds]]?]] ] } Card drawn: 4 of Pentacles & Justice. || When you look over your body, you notice a tattoo on your skin. What is this tattoo? Where is it located?

When they free me from the convalescent wing of the Infirmary, they let me collect my things from my old quarters. There's not much there. This first training period is over and my roommate, whoever they were, is gone. (enchant: ?forget, (text-style:'blurrier')) My desk is empty. It's just uniforms to pack, really. (I must have had some civilian clothing? from (link-reveal:'before?')[|forget>[a sunflower yellow sweater, a hat the color of the Martian dirt]] I pull on the overcoat hanging in the closet. It'll be easier to transport this way and leave my hands free for doors and boxes. Depositing my room key in the pocket temporarily, I freeze. (link-reveal:'My hand brushes against small hard objects.')[ Seeds. Sunflower seeds? Why are they here? The biodome wouldn't accept just any seeds for planting. I wonder if I was going to give them to someone. Or start some plants in a growth chamber. I look around the room. There's no sign of a little hydroponic enclosure. I shrug. Whatever it is I was planning to do, I have forgotten it. I throw the seeds in the [[trash->the reason]].] Card drawn: 8 of Pentacles & the Empress. || Your hand closes around a memento in your pocket. What is this memento? How does it make you feel?

The Enhanced have a communal area on the opposite side of Academy grounds. It's so that our training can progress at our pace, without having to worry about the safety of the fully human cadets. It's only temporary, just until we understand the full effects of the changes. I drop my things off in my new room (a single, there are few enough of us that space isn't an issue). We're on the edge of the campus now, right against the clear dome separating the Academy from the rest of the colony. I can see a playground just past the glass. A child and their parent are playing a game of (link-reveal:'toss and catch.')[(text-style:"blurrier")["Papa I want to fly! I want to be a pilot!"]] Maybe one day that child will be where I am. Maybe one day they'll know that one human's strength is not enough to launch them into the sky so that they can fly and never come down. I look into the sky and wonder if we will have changed enough to [[survive->pride]]. Card drawn: King of Swords & the World. || You see a child swinging from their parents' arms. How does this sight make you feel?

Every morning, we assemble in the courtyard for physical training. In our case, physical training involves more than strength and conditioning. Grappling, sparring, all forms of hand-to-hand combat, in numbers that would be increasingly unfair to a normal human - we are a pristine mass of movement. We don't sweat anymore, but the grunts of [effort]<time| are as real as we ever were. (click:?time)[As the morning passes, the shadow of a statue crosses over our striving forms. The founder of the Genesis Program watches over their creations as we [learn]<lesson| to give names to our skills.] (click:?lesson)[Lying on my back catching my breath after a particularly brutal kick from a partner sent me sprawling, I can't help but hope they are proud of what we have [[accomplished->memories]].] Card drawn: 2 of Swords and the Wheel of Fortune. || Your eyes are drawn to a statue. What is this statue of? Which emotions does it stir in you?

We are granted a day off every week. Blue says this is to give us time to develop hobbies and interests of our own. I sometimes wonder what my past self liked. I asked Blue and it told me to take a [walk]<walk|. (click:?walk)[Abandoned buildings are rare. We haven't been here long as a colony anyway. Blue said that the security footage shows me coming here often in the past. There's a (link-reveal:'marquee')[(text-style:"blurrier")[a ni_h_ un__r the st__s, classic mo__es from ear_h that wa_]] with some letters covered in dust and others are lying around the ground. I think it was a movie theater once. There are signs that say it will be developed in the next year. There are feelings trying to force themselves into my brain. I can tell because the lines around my neck are starting to [glow and pulse]<memory|.] (click:?memory)+(align:'===>')[a memory: laughter, hands entwined, freshly popped popcorn. a head nuzzled into my neck. the scent of soap, metal, [sweat]<back|.] (click:?back)[[My eye flashes white.]<new|] (click:?new)[Blueprints are overlaid over the husk. [**Genesis Laboratories Testing Facilities**]<change|] (click:?change)+(text-colour:'red')[Everything will be [[remade.->trash]]] Card drawn: 4 of Swords & the Lovers. || An abandoned building stirs up memories. What used to be here? Why did it matter?

Going through Blue's archives on one of their update nights, I find a databank with my name on it. Contents: * astrophysics problem set * a report "Alternate Outcomes for the Earth-Mercury Trade Agreement" * a (text-style:"blurrier")[movie ticket receipt] * a distorted message(text-style:"blurrier")[Hi, T, are you sure you want to go on with this? I keep hearing things about Ge] Blue wakes up partway through. [[My vision goes white.->trash2]] Card drawn: 3 of Cups and the Fool. || You look inside your wastebin. What do you find?

Blue helps me unpack my belongings and decorate my new rooms. A box is full of posters. I cannot tell if they are new or old. We fill my room with posters of the planets. One day, when this is all over, I will visit all of them. Again, maybe. [[I don't remember.->gift]] Card drawn: 7 of Cups & the World. || The walls are adorned. What is hanging from the walls of your home?

Blue receives updates frequently. They have a constant exchange of information going on, I think, because they always know what is happening elsewhere, even if base-wide social media has only started pinging about it. Neither of us expects to find the hardware upgrade waiting for us. A note from the Program: "Tessa - congratulations on your progress. Your time in training is valuable in teaching us about the way that you are using the gifts given to you. Please accept this new human-form chassis for your Handbook. This [[should->nightmare]] help increase the speed of your re-integration into normal society." Card drawn: 6 of Cups & the Emperor || You find an item that was gifted to you. What is the item? Who gave it to you?

I wake from a dream with a scream on my lips. My heart is pounding. My chest glows red-silver-blue-white in the darkness. I want to remember. I want to know what I was saying. The Emotional Regulators are working to calm me down, shunt my panic into logic and reasoning. My brain processes this information the same millisecond it takes for the fear to lessen, the urgency to dissipate. (link:'The fight')[I tear at my clothes, scratch at the circle for balance and progress on my chest. I want it out, I want to feel, I want to know. Nails against the skin of neck, scratching, pulling. I try to use my strength against myself, but strength belongs to muscles and muscles are controlled by signals and the struggle seeps out of me replaced by cold and drowsiness.] The scream dies in my throat as I fall into sleep. Blue catches me, (link-reveal:'strokes my hair. ')[One last flash of fear, [memory]<remember|.] (click:?remember)[(text-style:"blurrier")[hands, holding me, a whisper in my ear, i'll miss you] I [[sleep.->alone]]] Card drawn: 7 of Wands and the Moon. || You destroy one of your belongings. What do you destroy? Why?

(font:"Tahoma")[To: The Genesis Program Supervisor Fr: Cadet Tessa Genesis (serial number: 810.Blue.xxxxxx) My sincere thanks for the opportunity to represent the Service and the Genesis Program to the world. I am aware of the honor and responsibility that having been chosen has accorded me. I am writing to verify a fact that was given to me by my Academy Handbook. Is it true that I am not missed? My research into human psychology suggests that if an attachment is present, the absence of one party should lead to a feeling of emptiness or lack. As I am not cloned or purely synthetic, I should expect that I had a family or other acquaintances developed before the procedure. I would like to formally request leave to meet my progenitors. I have run simulations and I think it would restore balance to my emotional system.] (font:"Courier New")+(text-style:'underline')[MSG WITHDRAWN. ANOMALY IN SUBJECT DETECTED. [[HANDBOOK ADMINISTER CORRECTIVE MODULATION->Who are you? What do you do next?]]] Card drawn: Queen of Wands & the Emperor || You sit down to write a letter that you will never send. Who is this letter for? What does it say?

I have a new assignment. I'm ready to do what I was chosen for. I will represent the Program and the Service to the best of my abilities, which put me in the 99th percentile with regards to my intelligence and reaction speed. I have been given a gift and I will share that gift with my new team. [Together, we will succeed.]<success| (click:?success)+(text-style:'smear')[I dream, sometimes. I try not to panic, let the Regulators act. If I panic, I forget faster. I do not ask Blue questions any more. They do not mean to harm me. They are here to help me. But I fear that they make me forget.] **End** Card chosen: the Star

On one of Blue's update nights, I look through their records for my family. I find nothing from [[before my Enhancement->wish I was there]].

Morning. My memories of the night are a blur. My pajama shirt is still shredded around me. There are flecks of blood under my fingernails. Looking down, logic tells me that I should see gouges in my skin, but there is just the circuitry, pulsing faintly. The tell-tale scent of a flash medkit use lingers in the air. Blue does not need to sleep, but its eyes are closed. They do not open when I [ask my question of it.]<question| (set:$blue to (font:'Courier New')) (click:?question)[(align:'===>')[Am I missed?] $blue[You have been given the day off. You were unwell.] (align:'===>')[No. That's not what I mean. Did I have a family? Friends?] $blue[You do not need to know. You are successful.] (align:'===>')[I am asking a question that requires an answer.] $blue[You are in a better place now. Your gift to them is that you do not need to ask. You are not missed.]] I do not believe them, but [[I do not tell them.->a letter]] Card drawn: Knight of Wands and the Chariot. || You destroy one of your belongings. What do you destroy? Why?