ᴀᴍɪᴅꜱ ᴅᴇᴄᴀʏ I
E3 - Day M:06.09 | Hour 08:00
I'm here... s-sorry for the delay!
Thank you, Mitch, for gathering them already.
— 8:02 AM —
Good morning, everyone.
What a delicious little pleasure to finally meet you.
You may call me Mr. Smile.
Your new supervising teacher.
…One moment.
I seem to have misplaced my welcome speech. I spent hours on it, too—
Where did I put the damn thing?
Ah, never mind. Introductions aren't really my style.
You're the ones desperate for lessons, after all.
And it's my job to make sure they're worth wanting.
Now, before we begin—one tiny thing.
For the privilege of attending my class, I ask for a special kind of payment.
Call it... compensation. Or, if you like the drama, protection money.
Don't worry—nothing physical.
But make no mistake: there is a price. And it will be paid.
Willingly… or not.
You've been warned.
Now—what do I offer in return?
Questions.
That's what I have.
A curious gift, really. Especially since I'm still looking for answers myself.
We'll be riding the rollercoaster called Life, with a dear friend guiding us.
But first, let's handle the boring bits. Rules, disclaimers… the usual professor talk.
Attendance.
I don't care if you show up.
But absences may cost you more than just knowledge.
You'll miss things.
Assignments.
No tests. No essays.
Instead, I'll give you tasks that stretch your mind—and maybe bend your perception of reality.
What kind of tasks?
Wouldn't you like to know. Let's just say... you'll remember them.
Grading.
I don't do letters or numbers.
I measure impact.
How much have you changed?
How deeply did I make you think?
If you get me to smile—well, then you've passed.
Etiquette.
We don't need many rules.
Just respect the process.
Disruption will be handled... creatively.
And not in ways you'll enjoy.
Your Peers.
FK-104.
That's where you'll be.
Your classmates may become rivals, allies… or something in between.
We'll see how it unfolds.
Now then—
Are you ready to sign?
________________________X
— 8:20 AM —
No, not there—here.
Pay attention. Mistakes have consequences, you know?
Excellent. Off to a promising start.
Name?
Ah. Creature Number 33.
Do you know what 7 + 8 is?
Because I certainly don't.
You've got fifteen minutes to read and sign.
After that, we'll continue.
— 8:35 AM —
Lockers, alarms, cafeteria, nurse—ask another teacher. One of them should know.
Now, about my subject...
You might've noticed your schedule doesn't list a name for it.
That's intentional.
Oh? Those faces…
Don't tell me... you still don't have the plan?
Hah! That's brilliant. The perfectionist actually messed up?
I'm dying—I'm dyiiing.
He's going to be so embarrassed.
Don't worry. I'll grab some copies from the office during break.
Tomorrow, your precious professor will walk you through everything.
Let's just hope you at least have the key to your room.
Otherwise... well, there's a bridge about 3 kilometers from here.Right in front of the school.
But if I were you, I'd find a nice shelter for the night.
Might rain.
Or something worse.
Anyway—back to business.
My subject doesn't have a name, because it's not easily defined.
But let's give it one for now.
How about...
Existence.
Yes. That will do.
We're going to study Existence.
You should be familiar with it—but I'd wager you know almost nothing.
Even you older ones.
Learning never ends.
And trust me—this will be chaos.
That's the only kind of class worth having.
So now, my dear students...
Make yourselves uncomfortable.
That's how we grow.
And now...
Those timeless, terrible words that mark the beginning of everything:
"Once upon a time..."
˜"°•. ♪ .•°"˜
A distorted and damaged fusion of man and machine lay in a desolate expanse, where distant whispers echoed through scattered debris.
The body, composed of silver plating, exposed wiring, and broken strands of organic matter, leaned lifeless against a narrow, withered tree.
Then, slowly, from silence—
[SYS] Initializz#zation Sequence... engaged.[SYS] Opera#ting system… 17% ▓░░░ — 37% ▓▓░░ — 68% ▓▓▓░ — 100% [OK]
Electrical pulses coursed through severed joints. Circuits flickered, twitching in waves.
[SYS] Awak#kening from dig#gital slumbe#r...
Faint internal rhythms emerged. The stirrings of a simulated heartbeat.
[SYS] Optical system initi#alizing...[SYS] Visual sensors: 14% ░░░░ — 48% ▓░░░ — 77% ▓▓░░ — 100% [OK]
[SYS] Visual subsys#tem... [ERROR] Frame buffer mismatch.[SYS] Attempting reso#lution…
A pair of mechanical eyelids parted, revealing pale light.
[SYS] Eyes onli#ne. Image stabi#lizing.
Blurry forms sharpened like color bleeding onto wet canvas. Shapes emerged, slow and dreamlike.
[SYS] Sens#ors ac#tt##ive.[SYS] Enviro#nmental scan... in pro#gress.
His cybernetic irises adjusted, running diagnostic loops. The world resolved piece by piece.
No answers. Only static. Red flickers. Error messages.
[SYS] Visi#on field cleari#ng...[SYS] Atmosph#eric analysis: unkno#wn compo#und detected.
[SYS] Langu#age syst#em... initi#alizing: 28% ░░░░ — 55% ▓░░░ — 100% [OK]
[SYS] > "Whe#re... am I?"
The voice rasped out, flat and synthetic.
He turned his head slowly.
[SYS] Se#rvo resist#ance... high.[SYS] Joi#nt flui#dity: impa#ired.
The landscape was barren. Structures collapsed. Ash-stained soil. Corpses—animal forms blackened and torn.
[SYS] Bre#ath protocol acti#vated. Simula#ted respira#tion engaged.
The air stung his artificial lungs. Acidic. Foul.
[SYS] Ba#ttery: 89% → drain eleva#ted. [WARN]
He inhaled again.
[SYS] > "Dec#ay..."
[SYS] Sc#ent recogni#tion: volati#le organ#ic compoun#ds detected.[SYS] Expos#ure risk: criti#cal.
He stepped forward. Hesitated. His mechanical body twitched.
[SYS] Mo#vement insta#bility... recal#ibrating.
A pale carcass sprawled ahead. Hollow eyes. A scream frozen in death.
[SYS] > "Breath#less... for#ms?"
He scanned the corpses.
[SYS] Surface te#mp: below thre#shold. Vita#lity: null.[SYS] Emo#tional simula#tion: confu#sion — fe#ar — unreso#lved.
A jolt struck his spine.
[SYS] Ne#ural pathw#ays: unsta#ble. Signal lo#ss in cognit#ive band 3A.
[SYS] Da#ta integ#rity: compro#mised. Recov#ery attempt 1 of 3...
Red error codes swarmed his vision.
[SYS] Me#mory clust#ers: fragmen#ted.[SYS] Estim#ated retent#ion: 12%.
He blinked.
A black mist crept low along the earth. His sensors strained to interpret.
[SYS] > "Wha#t... happene#d here?"
[SYS] Syst#em tremor: invol#untary.[SYS] Nano#machines stat#us: dor#mant. Activa#tion requi#red.
More corpses. Limbs twisted. Bodies caked in soot and blood.
He reached toward one.
[SYS] Tact#ile sens#ors onli#ne. [NOTICE] Substan#ce detected: deco#mposition gel.
The cold flesh clung to his synthetic skin.
A sound—soft. Internal. A heartbeat?
[SYS] Emo#tional pro#xy engaged. Iden#tity form#ation in proce#ss...
He stared into the distance, where no sun rose.
[SYS] > "Hum#ans?"
10:30
Hey, you!
Why are you talking?
Getting bored, by any chance?
I have this binocular for a reason—I'm watching all of you.
Simultaneously.
Creature 23, 13, and 22...You are dismissed from my classroom. Immediately.
...
Let this be a lesson to the rest of you:
I do not tolerate interruptions.
That's what your useless free time is for.
And you three—come to my office later.
I haven't paid you yet—
Ahem, I meant scolded, of course.
I'm a mature man.
A serious professor.
I will take care of you.
Now then—I'm going to retrieve the weekly schedule.
If anything changes, you'll be informed accordingly.
Now get out of here.
You've got a 30-minute break.
Be back on time.
No, scratch that—two minutes early.
10:58
Thanks again, Mitch.
You're a real... something.
Ah, students!
Glad to see you're all in your usual seats—and already here.
I'll give you the schedule at the end of the class.
Now then…Where was I?
˜"°•. ♪ .•°"˜
Vacant eyes stared at the gray sky above, creating a painting of desolation amidst tattered clothing and scattered objects.
Their mouths were agape as if they had been screaming incessantly before death.
Some had organs exposed, while others hosted small visible insects—writhing maggots and worms—festering, blackening, and bloating.
They squirmed amidst our decay, a morbid dance within the confines of their gaping and liberated properties.
With each moment of observation, faint contours of despondent murmurs seemed to rise, ghostly echoes drifting from the open mouths.
»⚙️ "Analyz#zing emotional respons#ee..."
Tinged with a trace of confusion.
🔺 "Fear#rr.. Detect#ted."
Fear.. An alien concept to a programming mind, which surged through the circuits.
These words escaped in a quivering whisper. »⚙️ "Wh... What#t happp#pened here?"
The rustle of fabric in the wind and the faint echo of distant cries were the only responses to his desperate inquiry.
In this world, the android- a machine- found itself lost, a solitary being in a scene where the logic grappled to comprehend the chaos unfolding.
His artificial heart continued to beat relentlessly, but now it throbbed in unison with the anguish swirling within him.
»⚙️ "Time completed, language system fully operational now, basic language activated!"
In the distance, the mournful cry of a scavenger bird pierced the silence, a grim reminder that even in death, the cycle of life persists.
By now, his consciousness had fully awakened, and every sensation, though artificial, was beginning to take shape.
»⚙️ "Head movement on!"
It was a horrifying spectacle for him, seeking answers in a realm where every attempt to gather data vanished into an abyss of impenetrable darkness.
The scent of putrefaction and the silence of death intertwined, engulfing him in a terrifying embrace.
»⚙️ "Why am I here?"
The very earth seemed to pulse with desolation, absorbing the collective suffering of the fallen between dilapidated structures, like skeletal remains.
Their jagged edges an example of the brutality.
»⚙️ "Was.. This a city once?"
And there, amidst the miasma of decay, lie more of the fallen.
Their bodies, also covered in black, twisted and contorted, bore yellow marks of violence and suffering.
Some are little more than bony relics, a cruel reminder of the fleeting nature of existence.
Others stand frigid, in grotesque poses of agony, their faces as well contorted in a final, silent scream.
»⚙️ "What happened here?"
Putrefied and mutilated carcasses, along with remains wrapped in tattered shreds of flesh, punctuate the desolate landscape.
Macabre trophies.
In a moment of introspection, his voice echoed louder than the winds of despair.
»⚙️ "Could this destruction be man-made.."
His mechanical heart skipped a beat, a rare occurrence that accentuated the gravity of the situation.
Here, in the realm of death and devastation, hope seems a ridiculously distant memory buried under the unbridgeable weight of pain.
Life itself seems to have lost all meaning.
»⚙️ "How can there be so many dead corpses?"
Then suddenly, a rustling nearby startled him, and his gaze darted toward the source, ready for any sign of movement.
»⚙️ "Full body movement activation!"
Fast, his mechanical fingers tightened around a wood-broken fragment.
His hands, now tense, began to tremble as he started stammering and uttered:
»⚙️ "C.come outt, whooever you areee!"
Involuntarily, while he turning in all directions his hand reached out to touch the pale, cold flesh of a figure nearby.
That sensation of icy death against the artificial skin sent more shivers through his circuits, a visceral reminder of disconnected existence in this bleak panorama of mortality.
As his fingers grazed the decaying remains, an unsettling gelatinous residue clung to three of them, evoking a deep disgust to us all.
This unpleasant sensation served as a grim proof of the decomposition process.
The distant rumors of sorrowful whispers seemed to call out to him a ghostly plea for understanding.
A mix of fear and empathy clouded his senses.
»⚙️ "Is there any hope left in this place?" Optimism amidst the despair, his grip released, and a sense of calm began to settle.
While saying this, in the distance, countless hordes of insatiable flies and more insects captured his attention, performing a sinister choreography with their wings.
They voraciously fed on flesh.
»⚙️ "Nice response.." Making a nervous laugh.
These harbingers of doom- a true force of nature- waltzed with death, mocking life's fragility and the inevitability beauty of mortality.
Their insidious hunger was a relentless force akin to nature's most formidable and unespected predators.
»⚙️ "Too many unanswered questions.."
During this performance, they were the lead dancers, their encore an eternal song of terror.
With dark wings sharp as scythes and small mandibles were pulverizing the decaying flesh, while their gleaming, heartless eyes scanned for more.
Staring upwards with a pensive gaze. »⚙️ "The true merciless hands of time, an unsettling recall of nature's relentless cycle."
»⚙️ "What else should I expect from this world?" Sighing, throwing away the piece he had in his hands.
Then the android raised his artificial hand to his face, provoking a faint echo of metallic joints, and observed the intricate details of those metallic fingers.
The surface bore intricate etchings, lines resembling the delicate brushstrokes of an artist.
Its joints moved fluidly and mimicked human dexterity—a testament to its artificial nature.
»⚙️ "I am a fusion of man and machine.."
A different being, a hybrid of machine and man, awakened in a world that no longer seemed to belong to either reality.
Waking up to this harsh reality, the survivor found himself—an isolated soul amidst a cemetery of memories, navigating through the obsessing echoes of a forsaken past, seeking solace in the shadows of what once was.
The artificial heart was pulsing more by now; his knowledge-hungry processor and cybernetic eyes, attentive to every detail, couldn't help but reflect on this world's past.
»⚙️ "Why am I alive?"
He noticed nearby details around a deceased body that caught his attention: broken objects, fragments of paper, faded photos.
»⚙️ "Remnants of this world.."
The processor processed every piece of information, trying to weave together the story of what had happened.
»⚙️ "Data analysis in progress. Searching for clues amid the debris."
His fingers were precision-engineered marvels, uncurled with a soft metallic whisper, each digit moving with meticulous accuracy.
The faint sound reverberated through the eerie stillness, an almost musical prelude to his calculated movements.
The articulations, released a delicate rumor of engineered prowess.
To rise, he placed the mechanical hands on the parched surface, broad palms and fingers gracefully descending to grasp the earth.
»⚙️ "Rising to confront the.. unknown."
* * *
Well, what can I say...
It looks like more than 80% have already left.
Maybe they realized this course just isn't for them.
Let's see if you, on the other hand, are a bit more curious—and a little more willing to learn things that are... out of the ordinary.
...
Ah, yes. As I already told you, here's the schedule for this week:
Classes are from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM, for this week.
Weekly Schedule: 1 Z
Monday: Mr. Smile ⟹ Existence
Tuesday: Mr. Long Face ⟹ Despair
Wednesday: Mr. Smile ⟹ Existence
Thursday: Miss Whisper ⟹ Secrets
Friday: Mr. Smile ⟹ Existence
Saturday: Mr. Blank ⟹ Black Dance
Sunday: Day of rest ----
..
As you can clearly see, tomorrow you'll have the boring one as your professor—which is exactly why I gave him the hard job: guiding you through the school.
Surely, you were starving today during the break, HAHAH.
But don't tell him that.
I'm still your primary professor, the one you can—and more importantly, must—come to in times of need.
Unless, of course, the school happens to be on fi—Well, in that case, do call me.
That way I'll know it's time to run as far away as possible.
It won't be my problem to deal with.Hahaha.
12:30
Class... that was all for today.
I hope to never see you again—Ehm!
I meant: I hope to see you again.
Please keep the seats the same.
Otherwise, I might get irritated during explanations.
Also, I'm terrible with names, so I'll continue using your assigned Creature Numbers.
And remember:
Be cautious of unfamiliar individuals who might offer you candy.
−−− Spoiler box:−−−
In the desolation, a chilling realization dawned – He was not alone!
»⚙️ "W.who.. Is it?"