Thorne felt the deck tilt, or perhaps it was just his equilibrium failing. He had been on this station for three years. He had "downloaded" his own consciousness into the station’s mainframe months ago to manage the facility’s complex life support. He looked at his own hands—scarred, aged, real. Then he looked at the screen.
Describe the lurking outside the station's lights. Which part of the Abyss should we dive into next?
The "donor pool" was a classified database of deceased naval officers. Thorne watched as the clone in Vat 7 pressed a wet, pale palm against the glass. He traced a name in the condensation: ELIAS .
The last thing he saw before the monitors went dark was the version number at the bottom of the screen. It was already beginning to change. v0.1.4.12. Initializing next cycle. If you'd like to explore more of this world, I can: Write a about the discovery of the deep-sea vents. Detail the technical logs of the failed v0.1.4.11 update.