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  “What does culture want?

  To make infinity comprehensible.”

  Umberto Eco

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  Adam awoke to the sight of a light swaying gently overhead as it burned over the photoreceptor cells of his electronic retinas. The room itself was cool from the relentless hum of the old second-hand air conditioner he could hear in the far corner. Around him was a cacophony of chatter. Adam blocked the light from his face and let his eyes adjust to the room. As he did this, the chatter stopped. He sat up and looked around the room.

  The room was small, his preset intelligence estimating it to be about half the size of an inpatient room. It had a work table he currently sat on, a cat poster attached to the door, a window, and two chairs stacked in the corner. The people were all in white lab coats. Most had goggles, with a few in welding masks.

  All the people cleared the room as Adam looked at his hands. Purposely imperfect, his right hand had two freckles and a small scab, while his left hand had three freckles, and the nail on his left pointer finger looked like he chewed on it. Based on his arms, he would guess he was made to look around twenty-one. He wished there was a mirror.

  After everyone cleared out, Adam noticed a man in a black lab coat walks in. He had a dark gray mask, red glasses that clashed with the cool-colored room, and a clipboard with what looked like a pink Tamagotchi attached to it. “Good Afternoon, Adam 017,” Red-Glasses said. “I am Dr. Genos.” He stated, correcting the nickname Adam had predesigned for him.

  “Question: who was Adam 016?” Adam asked, briskly becoming aware.

  Genos ignored him. “I see you can think and communicate, so we can skip most of the routine checkup.” Dr. Genos wrote something down. “Please stand up.” Adam had no reason not to and stood up to be eye-to-eye with Dr. Genos. He could barely make out his eye color through the glasses, but judging by the tint, he would estimate they were dark green. Dr. Genos backed up, unfazed. “Step towards me.” Adam stepped towards Dr. Genos.

  “What is my purpose?” He took another step. “And why am I able to feel things, pain included?”

  Dr. Genos got closer to Adam, sizing him up and inspecting him. Adam felt uneasy, like they were going to do something his preset intelligence called a kiss. “You're referring to the burning sensation from the light, if I am correct. Yes, you have an ever-adapting growth of feelings, emotions, and sensations. All to make you blend in with humans.” Dr. Genos put his hand on Adam's shoulder and nudged him back to the table to sit.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Adam knew there was something more there.

  Dr. Genos then stepped back, planted his feet, and said something he appeared to have said many times before. “Your purpose is to explore a new world every day. Potentially hazardous multiversal realities that are too dangerous for humans to explore without a masked drone like yourself. Your intelligence will be broadcast back here.”

  Not what Adam expected. He thought he was made to work at one of those Robot Kitchens…

  Dr. Genos noticed Adam’s furrowed brow. He noted Adam’s facial expression 3.9 system appeared to be working- “You did this before- I'll ask again, what happened to the other Adams?”

  “You are not owed this knowledge, Adam…” Dr. Genos pointed out, a hint of annoyance showing.

  “I can leave,” Adam pointed out.

  “Go ahead… leave.” Dr. Genos challenged. Adam stood up and began to move to the door, not because Dr. Genos had given the express order, but because Adam felt annoyed as well. An interesting sensation. But before he grabbed hold of the handle, Dr. Genos snapped his fingers.

  Adam felt another new sensation triggered by an unknown line of code separated from his main CPU that caused him to suddenly fall to his knees. He couldn't bear this feeling; It felt like an itch in every part of his body, external and internal hardware down to his very code. It was a feeling that commanded him to do what he was told. Then it stopped when Genos snapped his fingers again. “I just had the engineers activate the ITCH protocol.”

  Adam stood up weakly. Something he didn’t like feeling “Instant Technical Cooperation Hardware… So I have been given free will, only to be controlled via digital pain receptors…”

  Dr. Genos took the piece of paper he was writing and slid it into a slot under the window. He then handed the pink Tamagotchi to Adam. “This is your assistant, THEA.”

  Adam raised his eyebrow. “I need to feed my digital assistant?”

  Dr. Genos placed it in Adam’s hand. “It’s not a Tamagotchi…”

  “It looks like-”

  Dr. Genos raised his hand, ready to snap. Adam put it in his jeans pocket. “Not a Tamagotchi. Understood, sir.”

  “Correct. She will activate upon arrival.” Dr. Genos then took out what looked like a bulky gray and orange snap bracelet; Adam thought they were just LARPing the 1990s at this point. Genos took Adam’s hand and snapped it on Adam’s right wrist where it then self-screwed into the flesh of his arm and displayed a clock at his wrist. The clock's face seemed to have infinite faint reflections of themselves fading into a deep void, but only if you looked at it just right.

  “This is your Blackgate watch. There’s a small button on the side, press it and you will be transported to an unexplored universe.” Adam stared at it. Dr. Genos collected his stuff. “You have one minute until you will be forced to travel.” Dr. Genos then left the room, leaving Adam with a Snap Bracelet, and a Tamagotchi…

  He then noticed a small desk near the door, approaching and looking under it he found a small mirror with an orange cat sticker on it.

  Adam picked it up and gazed at himself in a mirror he neglected to notice until now. He touched his face, watching the mirror mimic his movements. It felt strange. Standing at 6'1", he had light brown hair in a fade cut short on the sides, but soft and easily tousled on top. A quirky human flaw in his otherwise perfect design. His bright blue eyes, white tank top, and jeans made him look completely human. Adam sighed, realizing that he could breathe and also realizing that there was nothing more to be done here with Sultan. It was time to start, and he hoped that the next time he saw himself, he'd have a clearer sense of his identity...

  Adam looked over and saw a calendar on the wall. “Monday-” His predesigned intelligence kicked in. “Of course, it's a Monday,” he said, quoting a cat meme.

  Not wanting to risk another ITCH, he pressed the small glowing button on the side of the watch—He was launched forward and vanished in an electric blast of crackling energy.