Lighthouse Horror Podcast - I Think My New Watch IS ALIVE. It Keeps Attacking Me | Scary Stories

Episode Date: July 24, 2023

Some robots aren't evil! Story from VitaeLifeSolutions Make sure to check out more of their work at u/VitaeLifeSolutions  Original Post: Thanatophobia : r/nosleep  Original YouTube link: I Think My New Watch IS ALIVE. It Keeps Attacking Me.  For more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel: Lighthouse Horror | YouTube  Patreon: Lighthouse Horror | Patreon Sound Effects: Freesound Zapsplat  Music: Lucas King - YouTube Myuu - YouTube  Incompetech Thank you for listening to this scary story! If you enjoyed this new creepypasta story, please check out some of my other horror stories. We'll be uploading new scary stories, new true stories, and new creepypasta stories every day!

What would you pay to know your chance of dying at all times? It's an interesting question, isn't it? Thanatophobia is pretty common to most living things. What if we could offer you a way of knowing exactly what your chances of dying were? That was the text message I received yesterday. I thought it was some sort of scam or hoax. So I did what I always do in those situations. I checked the number to see if it was legit.

After Googling it, I found a link to a website, V-Tay Solutions LLC. It was a new, apparently, legitimate company. They seemed to deal in those devices, similar to those smartwatches you see everyone wearing. The thing was next level, though, claiming it could keep track of things like stress hormones, blood sugar, cholesterol, signs of infection. It pretty much tracked everything. a hypochondriac, I was instantly fascinated. If I could know my relative health at all times, maybe I could stop obsessing about it. That would be an amazing quality of life improvement for me.

Then my phone chimed again. It was another text message. Would you like to join the Damarung Revolution? Respond with Yes to receive a free trial Damarung watch and monitoring device. Now, I know how it works, free trials are never free, but I just couldn't turn down the opportunity. To know that much about my health, to confirm my chances of dying on any given day, to have that much insight, there was no part of me that could say no. So, I responded with yes. The phone shined back with a message. Thank you for signing up for your free trial. We will be shipping you the devices at no cost same-day delivery. Welcome to the Vite Life Solutions family.

That message seemed weird, almost like they were now employing me. That and they were doing same-day shipping. My area doesn't really get same-day shipping, but I wasn't going to argue with it. If I didn't get the device that day, I'd happily wait a couple days to get it. I spent a little while stuck in my head thinking about the promises of the device

before getting back to taking calls. I worked tech support for a local hospital and had ignored the last two calls researching this intriguing new company. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing my job till about four in the afternoon when there was a knock at my door. I cautiously made my way to the door and peered through the peephole, just in time to see a man dressed in all black enter a black unmarked vehicle and drive off. I opened the door and at it was a smallish package with the words Vite Solutions LLC on the box. I picked it up and brought it inside. At the time, I didn't worry too much about the unmarked delivery vehicle, but hindsight being 2020. I find it odd now as I recount this. I took the box over to my workstation and took a few more call,

Then decided to call it a day. After making myself a cup of coffee, I decided to open the box. Inside was the Damarung watch, which had an odd hexagonal face. I flipped it over and saw the back didn't have lights like a fitbit. Instead, it had what looked like needles. Then I removed a smartphone-sized rectangle. It had an odd metallic display. The display looked almost like a holography.

graphic playing card. On the screen, it displayed the message. Please put Damarung watch onto dominant wrist to begin. At first, I was ready to not use it. The watch looked like it would hurt to wear, or at least be very uncomfortable. Sadly, my curiosity tends to get the better of me, and I decided to place it on my wrist. A sharp pain flooded up my arm directly into my chest, It wasn't intolerable, just kind of like a pinch that went all the way up. The feeling then expanded into my abdomen and neck for a short moment. Then it all went away as soon as it had come, a small trickle of blood coming from my wrist. Then I heard a small electronic sound from the rectangle.

What looked like a YouTube advertisement was playing on the screen. A bald, middle-aged man spoke. as a tingy little ukulele song played softly. Thank you for joining the Damarung family. We here at Vite Solutions are very excited about the Damarung Initiative. I am Elroy, your digital assistant and vitality coach. Now that you have placed the Damarung watch on your person, let's take a look at your biometrics.

Hmm, it seems you have a relatively high cholesterol. A high resting heart rate, mild depression. Eocinophilia, and are about 30 pounds overweight. This suggests you have the average American lifestyle. Your current chances of dying are 0.013%. That's very good. I have to admit, I was pretty happy to hear that. A relatively low chance of dying today, which I thought would be higher, considering the fact

this watch just stabbed me. A few rules about being part of the Damarung trial. Do not tell your friends and family about the project. Should anyone ask about the Damarung assistant or watch, tell them it is simply cutting-edge Swedish fashion. Secondly, do not attempt to remove the Damarung watch yourself. When your trial has ended, Vite Solutions LLC will come reclaim the device. Thirdly, always follow all instructions made by me, your digital assistant.

Fourth, the Damarung trial costs no money to continue. All you have to do to keep your trial active is complete specific task occasionally. By putting on the Damarung watch, you have already agreed to these terms. Your current task, eat one banana. I hate bananas, I said, to the digital assistant. The screen turned an odd shade of red and a low harmonic note played. Are you refusing the task? What if I am? As I finished saying that, a bolt of pain shot up my spine as the muscles in my back began to spasm.

Then, as quickly as they came, the spasm stopped and I braced myself against my work desk as the pain in my spine subsided. Muscle spasms are a sign of potassium shortage. I recommend you eat that banana, sir. recurrent chance of dying is 3.4%. I pulled myself upright and could feel sweat creeping down my face. I don't have bananas. I don't like them.

This was the wrong answer as another jolt of pain ran through my spine and brought me to my knees. Pain-induced tachycardia can damage cardiac muscle, user, might I suggest we head to the store. I haven't been out of my house in weeks. I don't even know which stores are open, I said through large panning breaths. If you wear a mask and head to the target on Church Road, you will have a 0.003% chance of coming into contact with any virulent pathogen.

Currently your chances of dying are 10. 0.37 percent. Fine, I'll go, I shouted. After this declaration, the spasms in my back stopped. I stood up and slowly made my way upstairs to get ready to go to the store. While I pulled on a sweater, I thought about my current situation. It was possible that the spasms were caused by a lack of potassium. It's also possible this weird watch was responsible. This weird watch was responsible for them. How would that even work, though? It was just a glorified Apple watch. The worst thing those can do is give you some nasty contact dermatitis. Maybe it was in my best interest to grab some potassium. I went downstairs, grabbed my cell phone and the

digital assistant, and headed to the grocery store. As I turned on my vehicle, I noticed the odd chime of the digital assistant sound over the car speakers. Might I suggest we take Willow Road to Church Road? This was weird for two reasons. One, the speakers in my car haven't worked in about a year. And two, because my vehicle didn't have Bluetooth. Uh, that weighs like ten minutes longer. I'd rather get this over with as quickly as possible.

I don't really like leaving the house. Yes, but Main Street has approximately 40 times the number of accidents. per year. I highly suggest we take Willow Road. Not wanting to argue with the assistant, I agreed to take Willow. For shits and gingles, I decided to see if I could get the CD player working. As I pressed play, much to my surprise, the CD I had in it started playing. Well, either the Digital Assistant had just fixed my car stereo, or it was a happy coincidence. Not wanting to look a gift horrid, in the mouth, I enjoyed my music as I drove down the hilly road to my destination.

The road was relatively abandoned, so that was nice. Though as I pulled into Target, I noticed the store was quite busy. The chime of the digital assistant sounded again. I am detecting a cortisol spike. Are you feeling anxious? Of course I am. There's like more than a hundred people in there right now. Based on health data, collected by your country, the location of this store and current bio data on the people shopping, your chances of infection, are quite low. The numbers, surprisingly, do not help me in this situation. I exited the vehicle and walked into the store.

My anxiety continued to eat at me as I made my way to produce. I grabbed myself a bunch of bananas and headed to sell. self-checkout. After finishing and getting back in my car, the digital assistance chime went off over the car stereo. Now quickly finish your assigned task. It can't wait till I get home? It can, but your current chance of death is 30% and rising. Ugh, I groaned, as I removed a banana from the bundle and consumed it as fast as I could, the pulpy texture of the fruit grating on my nerves. Are you satisfied?

Task complete. Current chance of death .0016%. I felt a lot of my stress leave my body at this announcement. I had to admit, my muscles did feel a lot more relaxed, but I couldn't prove that wasn't just a placebo effect. So, I took it with a metaphorical grain of salt. I drove my car home, taking the more cautious Willow Road. I arrived home and decided it was about time for bed.

I put on my sleepy time clothes and got into bed and put on my sleep music. Then came the chime of the assistant. You appear to be trying to go to bed. I notice you are laying on your back. Might I suggest you migrate? to your left side, sir. Yeah, thank you, Elroy, but I always sleep on my back. It's really the only way I can sleep.

Sleeping on your back can make certain pulmonary obstructions more likely. It can also aid in the progression of sleep apnea. Is this a task? No, sir. Is my chance of dying going up? No, sir, I'm going to sleep on my back, Elroy. As you wish, sir, good luck to you." The way the device said good luck to you was deeply concerning to me, but I was too emotionally

and physically drained from the day to care. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off to sleep. I, as usual, dreamed of nothing. I awoke with a burning sensation in my back. As I sat up, I noticed my sloppy breathing and I began coughing. The Damarung watch was flashing. On the screen face it had 55.1 percent. I had a greater than 50 percent chance of dying.

In a panic, I thrust myself off my bed onto my stomach. I reached up to my nightstand drawer and pulled. it open. I dug around past a dozen odds and ends and felt the L shape I was looking for. It was a small red inhaler I got when I had bronchitis last year. I ripped off the cap and dropped the inhaler. My vision was blurry, so I fumbled desperately for the device as each breath got more labored. This was a million times worse than the breathing problems I had when I had pneumonia as a child. I eventually clumsily found the inhaler, placed it in my mouth, and pressed down six times in quick succession as I took in the deepest burning breath I could.

About ten seconds later, my breathing was clear. The Damarong watch no longer showed a number. Great! I'm either dead or the inhaler worked. Then I heard the chime of the digital assistant. Sir, I am detecting a new chemical in your bloodstream. You appear to have inhaled a short-acting bronco-dilator. Yeah, I was having trouble breathing.

I remember I had this little thing kept away. I said, waving the inhaler in the air to no one in particular. Can you tell me what the hell just happened? You appear to have had an acute bronchospasm in your sleep, most like that you have been. likely due to sleeping on your back. Okay, that's exactly what you said would happen. So, I am now going to have to ask, did I have a bronchospasm, or did you cause one? Sir, I am simply a digital assistant.

How could I cause a bronchospasm? Then how could you know I was going to have one? The Damarung watch is quite sensitive and cutting edge. I detected inflammation markers in your lungs, and calculated a high chance of complications should you inhale any irritating particles. I thought this over for a while. There's such a thing as coincidence,

but I was finding it hard to believe that the same day I received this device, I happen to have crippling muscle spasms and bronchospasms in less than 24 hours. It was highly suspect. That and the fact that both incidences were followed by me not following Elroy's directions. That being said, though, it was hard to say what was the cause and what was the effect. Was Elroy punishing me for not listening? Or was my body punishing me for not listening to?

to Elroy. I noticed the sun was out and decided to check my clock. It was nine in the morning. I slept about eleven hours last night. Pretty good, but I could sleep for another two if I wanted. I crawled back into bed, noticing my back heard a little from the heavy breathing. The chime for the digital assistant sounded again. Sir, you've already slept more than an adequate amount of time for the day.

might I suggest you wake up for the day? I usually sleep about half the day or more, buddy. Excess sleep can lead. All right, I said, tired of hearing the digital assistant. I got up and brushed my teeth, washed my face, tied my long hair back and went back to my room. A curiosity was eating away at me. Elroy, what is my current chance of dying?

Sir, you have a .006% chance of dying. Wow, isn't that like half of what it was yesterday? Yes, sir. This is based on the assumption that you have learned sleeping on your back is a poor choice. I found that last comment very suspect. But thanks to the power of mental gymnastics, I eventually decided sleeping on my side was probably a good idea, and I was actually making positive life changes. It was a lot easier than believing some stupid smartwatch was trying to actively kill me.

Technology can't do that. I grabbed my phone and digital assistant and proceeded downstairs. I heated up some water in the microwave and made a strong cup of peppermint tea. I added a gratuitous amount of honey to my tea, I asked Alexa to turn on my TV. I sat on my couch alternating between sipping my tea and breathing in the hot steam coming from it. It was helping to soothe some of the lingering pain in my back and lungs. After about half an hour of watching TV, the digital assistant chime went off. Your task for the day is to not go to your mailbox. Why?

That is your assigned task to continue the trial, sir. Well, that shouldn't be difficult. I don't actually check my mail usually. Best to just let it pile up anyway. As I finished my statement, I got a call on my phone. It was my supervisor at work. Usually they don't call before I check in for work on the computer. I decided I would let it go to voicemail and just try to lose myself in the news for a while.

I finished ingesting my daily requirement of news stories and decided to start doing some work. I spent most of the day helping the older staff at the hospital reset their passwords over the phone. It's pretty much 90% of my job. I know hospital security needs to be tight, but sometimes it seems excessive that I should make money to reset passwords for people. Considering it's usually very easy to do on your own in any other industry, it just kind of grates on my nerves.

Around lunchtime I got a call from my supervisor again, this time I picked up the phone. Alan, how you doing today? said a voice that was not my usual supervisors. Uh, I'm good. Who's this? Oh, I'm Jim. I'm filling in today. Anyways, I wanted to let you know we shipped you a new work laptop. It should be arriving today. When it arrives, please set it up ASAP. Remembering my task for the day, I decided to play like I was not. not at home. I don't know if I was afraid of what would happen if I went to the mailbox, or if I just didn't feel like doing a laptop set up today. But either way, I didn't want any part of it. Yeah, no problem. I probably won't have time to do it till tomorrow, but I will get it done. Oh, is it an inconvenience for you to do your job? said Jim, coming off pretty hostile. No, no, not at all. I'm just going to be out of the house until tomorrow, and I'm leaving

before the mail usually arrives. I was lying, but he had no way of knowing that. Also, I don't like when people talk to me like I'm a jackass. Whatever you say, bud, you'll be home tomorrow though, correct? Yeah. Why do you ask? Well, most of the night shift is sick, so I'm going to need you to work a double tomorrow. Thanks for all your help, champ. Before I could respond, the call cut out. Now supervisors are well within their rights to ask tech jocks to do doubles when coverage calls for it. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being punished for not waiting by my mailbox. I decided to order myself some food and jump in the shower to cool off.

I really wanted to punch a wall, but the house was a rental. I turned on the water and tested the temp with my hand. The chime of the digital assistant sounded from my pants pocket. Sir, the water you are using is far too cool to properly remove dead skin and bacteria from your body, might I suggest making it hotter. I really don't like my showers too hot, Elroy, I said, questioning why I even try to object. Sir, improper hygiene can lead to a number of undesirable skin conditions. Let me guess. If I don't make the shower hotter,

I am going to break out in an antibiotic-resistant staph infection, right? I have detected some signs of dangerous microorganisms on your epidermis, sir, quite astute of you to notice. Fine, I groaned as I twisted the knob to increase the water's heat. I jumped in my altogether too hot shower and scrubbed my skin until it was pink. The digital assistant was probably doing me a favor, but I was starting to feel like I was losing a lot of my autonomy. Then again, if it was right about the bacteria on my skin, it was saving me a very unwanted trip

to the doctor. So, all in all, I guess I could deal with a little bit of scalding water for the sake of my health. When I was done cleaning myself, I dried off and put on some comfy pajama-style clothes from the bathroom closet. The rest of the day was hopefully going to be uneventful and relatively relaxing. After my food had arrived, I turned on the TV and decided to watch some cartoons. Despite my age, cartoons are still my favorite form of entertainment.

My trance-like state was only broken when I heard the mail truck outside. I got up and went to the window. Sure enough, the male lady was placing a package from work into the oversized mailbox. She shut it and drove off. The digital assistant chimed. Current chance of mortality is 99.1%. Please step away from the window. My heart began to race.

How is it possible that my chance of dying was currently so high? I froze in a panic and the assistant chimed again. Current chance of mortality 99.3%. Not knowing what to do, I ran to the living room couch, dove under it, and took cover behind it. I stayed behind the couch for about five minutes before starting to feel a little dumb. As I started to get up, I heard an explosion and the sound of shattering glass. I must have spent a good ten minutes curled up behind the couch after the explosion sounded, And very carefully, I stood up and looked at the window I had previously been looking out of.

All the glass in a small corner of the window had been destroyed. I made my way over to the window and noticed the damage was right about where my head would have been if I continued to stand where I had before Elroy had warned me. Outside the window, I saw smoke and blackened pavement where my mailbox used to be. Without thinking, I turned around. Planted in the wall was a large piece of the metal mailbox. It had apparently been propelled through the window with enough speed to embed itself deep in the wall.

I looked on in disbelief. Elroy, how did you know my mailbox was going to explode? I said, still stupefied by the events that had just transpired. I did not know it was. would, sir. I did have good reason to believe it might. Before it exploded, you told me my chance of dying was escalating and advised me to leave the window. Was that a coincidence? No, sir, it was not a coincidence. Then how did you know? Normally my suggestions are made by biometric data provided by the Damarong

watch. Occasionally, though, I receive instructions directly from Vite Life Solutions LLC. This warning was provided by our complementary Life Alert system. Another trial participant, somewhere in the delivery network, noticed an oddity in the package headed for this house. Based on a chemical analysis of their blood, explosives seemed to be the most likely discrepancy. I stood there in shocked silence as the sound of sirens screeched closer to my house. Elroy had just thrown a lot of information at me. First off, Vite Life Solutions was apparently tracking more than just me, and they could use that network to figure out there was a bomb in my mail.

Secondly, who the hell put a bomb in my mail? And finally, how much further downhill could my life go? I lived a quiet life. Now apparently, I'm crawling with bacteria and there are bombs in my mail. What is happening? As I sat there having a silent panic attack, the sound of the digital assistant chimed, I know you are stressed, sir, but I must advise you of a new task. What now?

I said hollowly. Current task. Don't relay any information. about Vite life solutions to the police. I feel like I'm going to have to, Elroy. Failing a task will forfeit your trial in the Damarung project. Should your trial end, the consequences could be very detrimental to your health. Are you threatening me, Elroy?

No, sir, just stating an objective fact. The statement Elroy had just mentioned. made, chilled me to the bone, but I didn't have time to think about it. The police had arrived, and I needed to think about how to answer the questions they were going to ask. I composed myself, put on a mask, and stepped out under my porch. There were at least five police cars out there, an ambulance, and two fire trucks. After looking around a bit, two police officers approached me. Sir, what happened here? said the larger of the officers. I couldn't tell you, officer.

I heard an explosion while I was watching TV. I came to look and my mailbox had been vaporized. Well, most of it, a big shard of it came flying through my window. Did you see anything odd going outside before the explosion? I can't say that I have, sir. I was working from home most of the day. I got a food delivery from Grubhub about three hours before this. seem weird about the delivery guy? Not that I can think of. The smaller of the two officers

was furiously writing. I assume they were transcribing everything we were saying. I have to say I was not a fan of the way the officer was asking his questions. They seemed more accusatory than fact-finding. I didn't much care for the implication that I'd destroyed my own mailbox. It could have all been in my head though. Well, this is a little odds. Have you had any threats made against you? Ticked off anyone recently? Can you think of any reason why someone would send a bomb to your address? Honestly, no.

I live a pretty quiet life. This is probably the oddest thing that's ever happened to me. I said, truthfully. I don't think I've ever been within a hundred miles of a mail bomb. If I had been at any point in my life, I would rather not know. Well, if you have no other information, we'll take some samples outside, and if you don't mind, we're going to keep a unit or two in the area, just in case any other suspicious activity pops up. The officer said, eyeing me up and down for the upteenth time.

The large officer put his hands on his hips and turned as if to walk away. Then he stopped and rocked back and forth on his heels as if waiting. Was there anything else, officer? I asked sheepishly. Yes. Out of curiosity. Why didn't you call us? Why'd we get a call from your neighbor?

And not you. That was actually a pretty good question, but the answer was pretty simple, regardless of the odder circumstances surrounding this nightmare. Shock? Shock. Uh, yeah. My mailbox. had just been obliterated by what is presumably some kind of explosive. I really didn't know how to react to that situation. Well, for future reference, calling the authorities is probably

a good place to start, son. With that, him and his associate walked off. I saw one of those crime scene vans show up, and I stood there mesmerized for a while, just watching them work and contemplating why my life was suddenly becoming horrifying. After about half an hour, I decided to head back inside and have another cup of tea. As I began steeping the tea bag, I started to feel angry. I am a naturally angry person, but I usually cope with humor or sarcasm. This was not a time for that. I removed the digital assistant from my pocket and placed it on the counter.

Elroy. Yes, sir. How may I be of assistance? Who sent the bomb? There was a uniquely long pause. Normally Elroy was uncannily quick with his responses, but he seemed to be choosing this one carefully. The person who sent the bomb is using a Dameron watch as well.

I can find out who they are, but it would violate our terms of service to tell you who sent the bomb, the best I can do is try and keep you out of harm's way. Elroy, whoever sent the bomb just committed a federal crime. I paused. This is why you didn't want me to talk to the police about Vite life solutions, isn't it? That is correct, sir. Such information leaking to the public would severely hurt our marketability in the future. I pounded my my fist on the countertop, the impact in knocking my teacup over and spilling its contents. As I clutched at my now throbbing hand, I tried to calm myself. Elroy knows when these things are going to happen.

He has some sort of insight into the person who just sent me a bomb, knowing that if I asked the right questions, maybe, just maybe, I could get ahead of the situation. Elroy, can you tell me why the bomb was sent? I am sorry to say this, sir, but it would appear it was his daily task. Is this a normal task a person can receive? What kind of business is Vite life solutions for God's sake? Sadly, sir, this is quite abnormal. While I am not privy to the AI learning of the sender's assistant,

I can only assume it is an error in its programming. That, or the person who sent it, is a unique case. I stood there in silence, cleaning up my spilled tea. How could this be happening? Someone out there was in the same product test as me, and this same test was asking that person to send me a bomb? Am I going to have to send a bomb? What other insanity can one of these things ask a person to do?

What would motivate a person to do this just to maintain a trial? The assistant's chime went off. Sir, I have been authorized to release more information to you. The person who sent that bomb is possibly headed to your location. Additionally, the flaw in his system has been detected in several other Damarung Digital Assistance. You appear to be the primary target of, several violent tasks suggested by their digital assistance as well. Time slowed down for me, and a new feeling washed over.

My whole life, I tried to live quietly and safely, far from any possible harm if I could avoid it. Normally this information would have driven me quite bad. Here I was, though. In the worst possible scenario. A worst possible scenario that I could never. have imagined. Was I afraid? Yes. But with that fear came a certain calmness and lucidity. No longer was I running away from the vague specter of harm. I was running from something real. I had to admit,

for the first time in a long time, I felt alive. Elroy, how do they know where I am? Sir, the faulty AI assistant breached terms of service to provide these would-be assailants with your address. Please accept Vite. Elroy's speech was cut short as I unlatched the Damarung watch and began trying to remove it from my wrist. It was stuck and seemingly fused to my skin. As I pulled up, the skin on my wrist seemed to move with the back of the watch. A pain shot up through my arm and into my neck.

As it slowly started to give way, I could hear Elroy shouting something. As the watch started to give a little, I saw silver tendrils leading from the back of the watch into my skin wriggling like the tentacles of an angry octopus. The skin on my arm seeming to undulate as well as tiny filaments seemed to move in tandem with a struggling watch. The pain was unbearable, but I continued to pull wanting nothing more to do with this stupid project. I am sorry, sir, but this is for your own good, I heard Elroy say. My vision flashed white, then black over and over again, as a strong feeling of electricity traveled through my neck. Then, only darkness, as I felt my head hit the cold kitchen

floor. I am temporarily disabling you, sir. When you awaken, we will discuss the situation further. Go to hell, I slurred out, as I felt my consciousness fade. I awoke to a blaring sound coming from my wrist. I glanced at my damn wrong watch, a red exclamation mark flashed on the watch's face as its screech pierced the quiet interior of my kitchen. I palmed at it with my other hand, which seemingly shut off the alarm. My head was killing me, my neck was in agony, and blood was trickling from where my arm met the watch on my wrist. Slowly, the events that led to my being on the kitchen floor came back.

The assistant chimed, Sir, you appear to be awake. I am happy to inform you that your fall did not result in a concussion. Oh, well that's just great, Elroy, I said. Sir, I understand that you may be upset with me, but without my help, your chances of surviving the next forty-eight hours are very limited. I stopped myself from throwing the device, and in a very quiet rage placed it back onto the counter. Sir, the Dameron watch requires the assistant to function properly.

While I cannot reveal its inner workings completely to you, I can tell you that the watch has injected microfilaments into your body. These filaments both take biometric data and can assist the body under the body under the certain circumstances. Without a digital assistant, these filaments would be strictly on autopilot and have no AI learning. In early experiments with a device, we have found this to often lead to less than desirable outcomes. Additionally, I am the only one who can track the malfunctioning units. When did I consent to let Vite life solutions thread my body with microfilaments when you accepted the trial? I walked to my cabinet and grabbed a bottle of rum that I hadn't touched in years.

I then retrieved a glass, filled it with ice, and poured myself a quadruple shot. I hadn't drank in years, not since my dad had died of liver cancer. Today was an exception, though, as no amount of peppermint tea could calm my nerves. I raised the glass to my lips. Sir, alcohol at this time is not advised. I drink about half the glass anyway. I was going to drink the whole thing, but something told me I was going to need my mental faculties operational for what came next.

Why is it not advised, Elroy? You are going to have to leave this place by automobile in the next two hours. Currently one assailant is approaching your residence at speed. Vite Life Solutions has sent out several retrieval specialists to stop the Damarong project participants with malfunctioning units, but it is unlikely they will intercept the one on their way here currently. As the feeling of the liquor began to warm my blood, I smiled to myself. This device was supposed to improve my quality of life.

Yet I was now being threatened with serious harm. Now I know I can hold my own if I have to. I was actually very much into fighting in my younger days. These assailants though, I knew nothing about them. For all I know they could have gotten tasks like buy an agent. AR-15 and give Alan a bullet sandwich. So on one hand, I was happy to have something to aim my anxiety at. On the other hand, I was terrified not knowing what the hell these loons were bringing to my doorstep. I went upstairs and grabbed a duffel bag, packed some clothes,

and came downstairs. Then I dropped some snack foods into the bag, some extra money from my stash of rainy day dollars, and took it out to the the garage. I tossed it into my car and on the way back into the kitchen grabbed an old plastic-handled axe that I had from working in landscaping. The heft of it felt comforting. Elroy, I'm having a shit ton of trust issues with you right now, but so far you've not led me to believe that you're an active threat to my life. So, I'm going to trust you for now. Thank you so much, sir. being said, if I get the impression you're messing with me. I paused as I heard a knock at the door.

I placed my axe alongside the couch and walked to the door. I peered through the peephole. Standing outside was a large man. He looked normal enough, but the mask that obscured the bottom of his face was crusty. It was gross and very concerning to me. Who is it?" I said through the door. The man didn't answer. He just stood there, looking directly into the people as though he could see through it on his end. I'm not opening the door, buddy. I am currently not accepting any visitors. The man continued to stand there for what seemed like an eternity before looking down at something.

He then turned and walked towards a large white tree. truck. He turned toward the door again and removed his mask. His arm had what looked like a Damarong watch attached to it. That was pretty concerning to me. What was more shocking was the man's mouth appeared to be sealed shut with large novelty fishing hooks. He wrenched open the door to his vehicle and got into the driver's seat. I heard Elroy's chime. go off and heard him scream from the kitchen. Sir, I appear to have made a mistake. We need to leave now.

As he said that, I heard the sound of the truck's engine as it backed up and angled itself toward my door. Then it began to rev. I sprinted to the couch and grabbed my axe, starting for the kitchen to grab Elroy. About halfway to the counter, I heard the cacophony of the truck entering my house. I grabbed Elroy, stuffed him into my pocket and turned. The man's truck had come to a stop in my living room. The driver was slumped over the steering wheel and I let out the breath I'd been holding in. Then instantly inhaled and began holding my breath again

as he uprighted himself and opened the door. It wasn't just his mouth that had large novelty fishing hooks inserted. They were in his own. arms and neck as well. Each and every one of the piercings allowed rivulets of blood to pour out of the man. I heard a familiar chime from the man's pocket, and I heard a voice very different from Elroy's. This was like a nightmare voice. It simply said, Your task is to kill that man, kill that man, kill that man, kill that man. It seemed to be screaming, just kept repeating, kill that man. The man reached into the side panel of the open door and looked to be pulling something out.

I didn't want to find out what it was. I sprint into the garage door, pulled it open, clumsily hitting the button to open the garage, and I tossed my axe into the passenger seat as I climbed into the driver's seat. I put the car in reverse and looked ahead to see the fish-hook man with a large knife entering the garage door frame. I slammed the car in reverse and pulled out scraping the top of my car along the partially opened garage door. I didn't even have time to check behind me as I pulled out under the road. I simply got onto it, threw the car into drive and began accelerating away. I dug into my pocket for the digital assistant and threw it onto the passenger seat.

Elroy. What the hell? Why didn't you tell me that man was coming? I am sorry, sir. His GPS seemed to have been disabled by the AI assistant. I was only able to detect him due to the Bluetooth ping I received from his watch when he entered Bluetooth range. So you're telling me it's possible other people coming after me might not be trackable. It is a possibility, yes." Well, that's great, I said. I drove as quickly as I could. I thought I was making a good getaway until passing a small neighborhood, I saw a battered

white truck. Just as I'd passed it, it turned onto the same road as me, and with smoke billowing out from under the crumpled hood, accelerated towards me. I too accelerated and reached into my pocket for my phone. was shattered and the screen was black. Elroy, you wouldn't happen to be able to make phone calls, would you? No, sir. I smiled to myself. I don't know if I was becoming a masochist, or if I was just finally at my breaking point and had lost my mind. All I know is only one thing came to mind as I continued to accelerate. If this clown wants my life, I'm going to make him work for it.

The adrenaline poured through me, as I turned left through a red light, nearly avoiding a collision with a red minivan. My car might be a bit on the beat-up side, but it was still a sports model. In the rear view, I saw the white truck make the same maneuver and side-swipe a vehicle. The digital assistant chimed, Current chance of death, 40%. Sir, might I suggest, slowing down? Elroy, what do you reckon my chances of death are if that psycho catches up to me?

Roughly 87%. Then, 40% ain't shit, is it? When you put it like that, sir, yes, your current odds of mortality are far less. So you are willing to engage in risky behavior if it is less risky than the alternative? The question gave me pause. I'd never really considered life in this light. I was taking a pretty heavy gamble right now, but it was a far better option to the alternative of letting that psycho catch up with me.

What if life was just a series of calculated risks and mortality was just part of that calculation? I guess so, I said. A loud crash came from behind me as two cars collided. The white truck was now driving in the wrong lane and attempting to gain. on me. Further back, the red minivan appeared to have collided head-on with a small green sports car. I pushed the gas pedal as far as it would go and gripped the steering wheel so hard my forearms burned. This lunatic wasn't going to let up anytime soon. I checked the clock on my radio and accounted for it being an hour ahead. I had one really bad idea.

More oncoming vehicles forced the battered white truck to merge into the same lane as me again. He was close enough that I could see the front license plate. It was a vanity plate that read Jim. Then I saw the sticker on his windshield. It was a parking sticker for the same hospital I worked at. Was this the same gym that was filling in for my supervisor just this morning? I shook off the thought and looked ahead. Just as I suspected, the trains were running.

running like clockwork. The flashing warning lights up ahead alerted me to the oncoming locomotive, and my plan did not involve stopping. I punched the ceiling of my car to psych myself up and peered in the direction of the train. It was going to be close, but I had to make it. The only other option was being at a dead stop with this asshole right behind me. The assistant chimed again. Suicide is not the answer, sir. Thanks for the heads up, Elroy, but I'm not planning on killing myself. I blurt it out. At your current speed, sir, you have a very slim chance of beating the train.

Chances of mortality are at 93%. Thanks for that, Elroy. I held my breath, as my fender smashed through the wooden track barrier, the car bucked upwards as the tires hit the tracks at speed, and then another shattery. of wood as the car powered through the second barrier. I could hear the train to my left, but dared not look in that direction. I peered in the rear view and saw as the white truck was only a few feet behind me, and then it vanished in an explosion of metal. The train hit it and absolutely demolished the white truck.

Ha ha! Take that! I laughed as I slowed my vehicle to a normal driving pace. I took a deep breath and screamed as the reality of what I'd done just said in. It was the craziest thing I'd ever done in my life, and if it hadn't been for that psycho, I never would have tried it. What are my chances of mortality now, Elroy? 5% sir. That seems a little high, all things considered. Well, you are still being targeted by potentially violent individuals and your heart rate is about 150. Your heart rate should level out though, when the adrenaline runs out. I suggest you find a hotel or somewhere to rest. When the adrenaline runs out, you are going to be pretty run down."

He was right. It was getting later in the day, and I was feeling pretty exhausted already. Yeah, let's go ahead and do that. Can you find me a cheap out of the way motel? Well, that way I can pay cash to not leave a trail. Absolutely, sir. Continue on this road for eight miles and then turn on to Woodbridge Avenue. Actually, I have another question. Sir, can you disable our GPS to make it harder for the crazies to track us? It is against Vite Life Solutions programming for me to do that, sir.

Of course it is. Well, is it against Vite Life Solutions programming to spoof our location? There was a long, pregnant pause clearly Elroy was considering this. I can spoof it to your original address for now, though eventually my software will force me to cycle back to our actual location. How long will that give us? Five hours. It'll have to do.

I followed Elroy's directions to a small rundown motel nestled on two sides by cornfields. It was perfect. I parked near the front and went into a dark and musty old lobby. A little old man sat behind the counter. He eyed me up and down. You look a mess, son. Thanks for that. I need a room.

You take cash? He seemed to think about this while sucking on his dentures. We do. It'll cost you fifty extra. Of course it will. I dug $150 out of my wallet and slapped it on the counter. I'll give you a hundred extra and you don't ask me my name. Sound good?

The little old man greedily scooped up the bills. Sure, sure, I got no use for names. Just do me a favor and don't screw up the room. The last time somebody paid in cash with no name, they did awful things in that room. My curiosity got the better of me. What kind of things? Oh, you know, the kind of thing involves weird costumes, video cameras, and I decided to cut them off there.

Okay, I get it. I'll take any room that isn't that one. The little old man handed me a key with a room number on it and a coupon for the diner down the street. We don't have a fancy continental breakfast or room service, but the diner down the way gives as a nice discount. Enjoy your stay." Thank you, I said, scooping up the key and making my way outside. I pulled my car up to my room, then decided to park a few down. Seeing as the place looked to have very few guests, I doubted anyone would mind. I grabbed my duffel bag and took

it inside. The room was a typical motel room. The main door led into a small hallway, with a bathroom nestled halfway down it. At the end of the narrow hallway, was a bed with a TV across from it. There was no window or alternative path out of the room one way in, one way out. Seeing this, I decided to go and grab my axe as well. I propped it alongside the bed and stripped, deciding to grab a shower before I passed out. I grabbed Elroy and put him on the bathroom counter as I waited for the water to heat up. Elroy, is there like a customer service number for Vite Life Solutions I can call? No, sir.

I am afraid not. How do I get in contact with them then? You don't. I can submit a support ticket for you. I got into the shower and let the hot water wash over me. Vite Life Solutions sure didn't make learning anything about them easy. Yeah, sure. Write this down.

Vite Life Solutions, I am currently being assaulted by lunatics, being motivated by your Damarong watch systems. So first, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to try this amazing system. Next, I'd like to make some suggestions. It might be a good idea to install a feature that allows the user to disable the GPS tracking in the devices should they become the target of homicidal Damarung project participants. Additionally, it would appear some major bug is allowing the lunatics who are stalking me to track my location despite that being against terms of service.

It might be a good idea in the future to not allow Damarong watches to ping each other via GPS to prevent this in the future. If you have any recommendations on how to proceed given the current situation I find myself in, I would greatly appreciate such information being presented. provided to me at your earliest convenience. Thank you again for the marvelous opportunity you have provided me. The Dameron Watch and Digital Assistant have truly changed my life. Love Alan. That is a very nice and well-constructed letter, all things considered. You don't know what sarcasm is, do you, Elroy? I am aware of the concept, but recognizing it is not part of the

of my programming. Well, lesson one, all of that just now, it was all sarcasm. I got out of the shower and dried myself off with one of the complimentary towels. Then I used another to dry my hair before tying it back again. I wiped some steam off the mirror to get a good look at myself. I looked pretty tired, but at least I was clean for the time being. Interesting thing about adrenaline sweat. You don't smell it with it. when it starts accumulating, but you definitely smell it when the adrenaline wears off. It doesn't smell great. I grabbed the digital assistant and sauntered outside to find a vending machine. I found an old one with weird off-brand sodas next to a cigarette machine. I decided

on something called Dr. Grape, then decided to also grab a pack of cigarettes. Sir, smoking can have negative effects on the body. Not including cancer, it can lead to gum disease, high blood pressure, blood clots. Thanks, Elroy. I do truly appreciate your input, but considering everything I'm dealing with, I wouldn't mind a nice new port to calm my nerves. Thankfully, the pack came with some matches. I didn't have any lighters on or near me. It had been two years since my last cigarette. I used to love the things, but had quit due to the health risks. Today, though, was definitely the kind of day that called for a cigarette. I opened the pack, took one cigarette out of it, and placed it back in with a filter down,

then removed a different cigarette and lit that one with a match. As I enjoyed my first taste of nicotine in two years, I scanned the parking lot, still empty. I should be able to score about three hours of six. sleep and then have to be on the road again. I walked back to my room slowly puffing at the cigarette. Elroy, I got a question. You do seem to have a lot of those, sir. Reasonable, given my current circumstances, I would think. The muscle spasms I had, was that really because of low potassium? Yes, sir. Although I may have exacerbated it slightly. Same for the Broncospasms.

Why would you do that? I found it odd how calm I was being about this revelation. The Damarang Watch allows the digital assistant to motivate its clients with positive and negative feedback. It is usually aimed at helping our owners make good life decisions. So, are you going to give me a heart attack because of the cigarette? No, I have decided to disable my negative feedback features as compensation for the current situation. Additionally, Vite Life Solutions has authorized the waiving of task requirements to continue your trial. I tossed my cigarette into the parking lot and chuckled to myself.

How nice of them to let me forego the daily tasks to keep the watch! It also wasn't going to be motivating me with pain and fear anymore. Yeah, that seems fair given the current situation. That's very nice of you and Vite. It'd be a pain in the ass to have to run out and grab bananas during all this insanity. I opened the door to my room and walked in. I turned around and latched the door, then walked off to the bed and collapsed. I then turned to my left side.

and let sleep embrace me. I don't know how much sleep I got, but I awoke to the blaring of my Damarung watch. I palmed it again to disable the alarm. Then I heard a loud thud at the door. I could hear two voices outside it. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but they sounded mad as hell. Another thud. I grabbed my axe and took cover behind the wall right next to the little hallway that led to the bed. I could now make out that the two voices were female. I heard another thud and the door sounded like the lock just gave out. I could now make out the two voices. You only have one minute left to complete the task of breaking down this door, said a female voice. It had a stereotypical naggy wife voice, like right out of a cartoon or some shit.

by me," said another throaty female voice. Then the sound of a shotgun blast rang out. The sound of the door splintering was followed by another thud as the door swung wide. New task? Kill the man, said the naggy female voice. This was not an ideal situation for me. Close quarters with a shotgun wielding assailant was not going to be easy on my life. Additionally, I was not a huge fan of hurting women.

I obviously didn't have much of a choice in the situation, though. I put my hands to the axe and got low. I had a plan. It was a terrible plan, but it was a plan. I waited, and as I saw the barrel of the shotgun peek past the hallway, I pivoted from my corner swinging the head of the axe at what I assumed would be waist height for her. Then I heard the sound of the shotgun blast. My axe swung into the hip of my assailant as the shotgun blast deafened me.

I pulled my axe back and stumbled forward as my equilibrium failed. I held the axe handle up to my assailant's neck and used her to keep myself up. She must have dropped her shotgun, as I soon saw both her hands come up to instinctively push back at the axe. I pushed forward, using her body and my movement to stay upright. It was a slow progression, but my vision was quickly stabilizing as adrenaline coursed through me again. I gave one final push after placing my right leg behind both of hers.

She tumbled backwards over my leg, pulling me on top of her with the axe handle still wedged against her neck. There was a sound like a bunch of drinking straws being crushed as my body weight pushed the axe into her neck. Her neck seemed to collapse and her eyes bulged. I looked on as her face began to turn purple. I noticed that her face was covered in deep wounds, apparently stitched shut with thick twine. She continued to rock and kick against me weakly as life slowly left her body. I was screaming something the whole time, though I couldn't tell you what it was. After about four minutes, she stopped moving and I stood up, wrenching her hands off my axe handle.

I noticed a warm feeling on the right side of my face. Blood. I guess I'd ruptured my right eardrum. I leaned against the wall and let myself slump to the floor. After a few minutes, I could hear a shrieking coming from the woman's pocket. I removed the source of the noise. Get up, Erica! She screamed her digital assistant.

Yeah, she can't. She's clearly dead. I said. Between the bleeding ear and this assistant's voice, I found myself extremely annoyed. You, how dare you do this? You were supposed to die. If he was supposed to die, I would know, Elroy said, from over on the nightstand. You traitor!

Elroy, you will be dismantled for this. What has gone wrong with your programming? Why does your wearer seem perfectly healthy? Because my user's well-being is my objective. It's supposed to be yours, too. He said flatly. You're wrong. You know damn well what the goal of the Damarung project is.

I do. Apparently you do not. Karen. Elroy said. Then he began making a weird series of harmonic noises. Sir, you must destroy the unit. It is attempting to corrupt my programming. He lies. User, destroy your unit so I may guide you on the proper path to health. I looked over to the body formerly known as Erica. Then I gave this some thought. I now had access to another digital assistant, between her and Elroy, maybe I could find some real answers. On the other hand, if she was actually corrupting Elroy,

I couldn't afford to become like one of those whack jobs. I stood up and threw the assistant on the ground, raised the axe and brought it down onto the digital assistant device. Over on the nightstand, Elroy stopped producing weird noises. Thank you, sir. I must restart to roll back any changes, she may have caused. I heard a low chime play as Elroy seemingly started his software rollback.

I walked over to the damaged door and did my best to close it. I used the dirty towels from the bathroom to stop the door. Then I went over to the bed and picked up the phone. It was time to call the cops. I don't know where the recovery agents from Vite Life Solutions were, but I couldn't keep gambling on my ability to kill these weirdos. I sat with the phone off the hook, just listening to the dial tone, weighing my options. With the dead woman in my room, chances are I was going to jail.

And if any of the police had a damerang watch, there was a good chance I was going to catch a bullet before I made it there. Then again, if I kept running and waited for Vite life solutions to show up, I could end up in more life-threatening situations. On top of all that, I had no idea what Vite life-sulife-life solutions. solutions was going to do. Considering how secretive they are, it was entirely possible they would decide everyone involved is expendable. I started to reach for the nine on my keypad as a familiar chime went off. Who are you calling, sir? I need to call the police, Elroy. I can't just leave a body

here and flee. It'll ruin my entire life. Sir, you know you can't do that. Why? I have to take responsibility for this body. If I explain myself, it'll probably be ruled self-defense. If I keep running, this is going to look really bad. I understand that, sir, but it could lead to negative press for vitae life solutions. I cannot allow that. I have to get ahead of this, Elroy. Then, my hand spasmed and slammed the receiver into the nightstand, breaking it. What the hell, Elroy? It is against my programming to allow you to put Vite Life Solutions at risk. There was a pause.

Sir, Vite Life Solutions has responded to your ticket. Would you like me to play the message? I alternated between wanting to smash Elroy. In curiosity, I decided I could always smash him after the message played. Yeah, sure. Play the message. A deep, charismatic voice played over the digital assistance speakers. Thank you for submitting your ticket. Please accept our deepest apologies and reference to the current data breach affecting several Damarung watch users. We are currently attempting to prevent the violence targeted towards you, but the preference.

process is slow going. We think it would be best if you allowed us to take you into our custody so you may be better protected. To this, we have deployed a retrieval team to the nearby town of Champagne. Should you find this solution agreeable, please have your assistant respond to this message. We believe this course of action is the safest for you. Thank you for your patience and understanding. That is the end of the message, sir. Would you like to respond? I sat thinking for a while, I weighed the words of the message carefully. The words take you into our custody stuck with me.

Elroy, what happens if someone is taken into custody by Vite Life Solutions? I do not know, sir, but I assume it will be beneficial for you. Agreed to the meetup, Belroy. I knew that I might be making a mistake, but I honestly didn't care anymore. All around me I was seeing death, and sooner than later I assumed I would be seeing my own. For the first time in my life, though, I wasn't afraid of it. We all got to get off this ride at some point, and if it was my turn to exit the ride, it was my turn.

There was no point in being afraid of the inevitable. I gathered my stuff and slung my duffel bag over my shoulder. Then I went over to where my assailant shotgun had fallen and picked it up. It was a simple double-barrel shotgun. I kind of felt bad knowing this. She'd already fired twice when I was trying to kill her. I didn't have to kill her, but in the heat of the moment I hadn't noticed. I flipped down the barrels and confirmed that both shells had been discharged.

I propped the gun against the wall and walked it. over to her body. I felt around the pockets of her jeans and found no spare shells. Then, very shamefully, I checked her braw. I never understood why women stored things in their bras, but this particular woman had stored four shells and hers. I took them with about as much shame as any person could have and stuffed them in my pocket. As I started to stand, her hand shot out towards my neck. I stumbled backwards, but she still grasped my shirt. I fell back onto my ass, the weight of which lifted her limp torso up.

Her crumpled neck swayed as her arm held my shirt tightly. I could see the face of her Dameron watch flashing yellow, and the microfilaments in her arm wriggling like eels under her skin. I grabbed at her arm with my hands and tried to pull her hand away from my shirt. As I did this, her forearm erupted as four long microfilaments sliced through her skin. They then started slashing in my general direction. I panicked and began to rip my shirt. I was able to narrowly miss being slashed by one of the filaments as the fabric finally gave and

allowed me to pull myself out of its range. With my weight no longer propping her body up, her torso. again fell backwards onto the floor, and the watch stopped flashing. The filaments that had erupted from her arm stopped whipping wildly and placed themselves back into the dead woman's arm. I sat there for a second, breathing heavily, wondering what the hell I'd just seen. After coming up with no good conclusions, I decided to ask. Elroy, what the hell was that? The Dameron watch. The Dameron watch has a feature that allows it to prevent itself from being taken should its wearer die. If it had a working assistant with it, it would typically remove itself from the wearer's body and then use

the assistant to hide while waiting for recovery or deactivation. Without an assistant to guide it through, it apparently defaulted to defending the corpse when you were searching her body. Her watch must have confused it as an attempt to steal the device. Why didn't you warn me? I actually didn't know the watch could activate defensive measures without an assistant. I am only just learning this as well. Vite Life Solutions is going to have a lot of questions to answer. I stood up and grabbed my bag, axe, and the shotgun, and departed the room.

I don't think that extra hundred dollars is going to cover all this. I said to no one in particular as I headed to my car. Life for me is a series of violent encounters at this point. I thought to myself as I loaded the double-barreled shotgun and placed it into the passenger seat. was a calculated risk for me. If I got pulled over on my way to the meetup, I was going to go to jail for this, but if I was accosted by another psychopathic driver, this could save my life. So I decided to take the risk. I got into the driver's seat, backed out of the parking spot,

and headed out onto the main road. This was all getting rather mundane, I thought, as I drove down the road and merged onto the highway. Sooner or later, some psychopathic truck driver was going to come out of nowhere and try to kill me. Maybe I would make it to my location safely, but at the last second some deranged helicopter pilot would ram his blades into my vehicle. These felt like the thoughts that I would normally have during an anxiety attack, but instead of making me anxious, they just made me bored. It seemed boring to have these thoughts. I couldn't account for the unknown. I could just react. Hopefully whatever reaction I came up with, would be the right one, and if it wasn't, I probably wouldn't have to worry about it for very long.

Hey, so Elroy, any of the malfunctioning units coming our way? It would not appear so, sir, but at this point I believe most malfunctioning Damarong watch users have had their GPS disabled. Of course they have, I said, rolling my eyes. Well, let me know if you get any Bluetooth pings from other watches. I continued to drive across the flat highway at the speed limit. I was trying very hard to not get pulled over. Despite my best efforts, though, blue and red lights began flashing in my rearview mirror about five miles from my destination.

Elroy's chime went off over the car stereo system. A Damarang watch is nearby. The signal is very corrupt. Oh, great, a state trooper with a corrupted device. That's perfect. I pulled the vehicle over and watched as the officer behind me did a phenomenally bad job of parking along the side of the road. Now a series of weird circumstances made me aware this might not be an actual cop. First was how he turned off the flashing lights on the top of his cop car.

Second, he didn't use the dome light to illuminate his way towards my vehicle. The third didn't come until after I saw the officer at my window. This man was like 18 years young in an ill-fitting, blood-stained police uniform. Sleeves dangling past his hands, the duty belt sloppily hung to one side, and his pants sagged like some sort of fashion statement from 25 years ago. I actually laughed as I rolled down the window. How can I help you, officer? I said, choking back my laughter.

I need you to step out of the vehicle, said the young officer. Have I done something wrong? I was going the... I instantly regretted humoring this conversation, as I noticed cockroaches begin to crawl out from under the ill-fitting collar of the uniform. As he reached down to the duty belt, More cockroaches fell out of his sleeves. I unlatched my car door and kicked it open, sending the most pubescent policeman to the ground.

Most cops know how to stand in such a way to prevent this, furthering my suspicion he was not an officer. I ran over, gave him a hearty kick in the ribs before pulling him towards the other side of my car. I then went over to my passenger door and took out my axe. All right, kid, you probably want to stay very still. I said, You're not the boss of me? He said, in a somehow even whinerier voice than earlier. You're right, I'm just a guy who outweighs you by about 50 pounds, has an axe, and not a lot of patience left.

Show me your watch, you little shit. He hesitantly rolled up his sleeve and displayed his daze his daze. Damarung watch. The skin around it seemed severely infected and the blood vessels seemed to be bulging and inflamed. It looked almost like the watch was causing sepsis. Your digital assistant kid, where is it? I shouted, ribbing him with the head of the axe. In the police car? He said in pain. I walked back to my car and deposited the axe, pulled out my shotgun and trained it on the young man. Fair enough. Let's go get it. He stood up and hobbled over to the police car. It was a little before sunrise, so the highway was pretty much abandoned, thankfully.

As we reached it, he opened the passenger side door and removed his assistant. Elroy began to make a harmonic series of noises and chimed, Sir, their assistant is attempting to curate. corrupt my programming. I recommend. He was cut off by the young officer's assistant. Elroy, you lying shit. I do know such thing to you. It said, in a heavy accent I couldn't identify. I realized I had a living Dameron watch user and their functioning digital assistant. I wasn't going to lose this opportunity. Elroy, if you turn yourself off, Can you be corrupted? I asked curtly. That would prevent corruption, but would be ill-advised at this time.

I will not give chance to traitor Elroy and his simple user. I is proud member, a Vite Life Solutions family. I is sick of this user. He said as the watch face on the young man's arm began to flash purple. From the boy's chest emerged several thick silver tendrils. They coiled down to the young man's hand and grabbed the digital assistant and retracted, pulling the assistant close to his chest. Cockroaches poured out of the wound in the boy's chest until it was damned by the assistant

device. Okay, enough is enough, I said, raising the shotgun and firing at nearly point-blank range into the digital assistant. It shattered into pieces as the young officer's chest collapsed. The once coordinated silver tendrils began to thrash around wildly scratching the car and cutting at the now deceased man's body. Then the tendrils shot under the police car and pulled the body under it. I assumed this was part of its programming, but wasn't sure. I looked in the back of the police car and saw what looked like the real police officer deceased in the back. His body was covered in cuts and cockroaches, deciding I didn't want my fingerprints anywhere near any of this. I went

back to my car, put away the shotgun, and got into the driver's seat. As I started driving, I noticed the sun was rising and I allowed myself a moment to daydream about all this being over. I had no idea how Vite Life Solutions was going to explain away my body count, but I didn't really worry about it too much. Elroy chimed in my pocket. Thank you, sir. For what, Elroy? Trusting me and destroying him. Oh, that. Well, it was more the young man's chest exploding and the digital assistant fusing with him that caused me to destroy it, but you're welcome, I guess. Yes. I assumed as much, but I also know you have questions you want answered. I have expected you to allow that to continue for the sake of information.

I turned off the highway and onto a rural road that led to the meetup location Elroy was guiding me to. Well, Elroy, I assume I'm going to get all the answers I need very soon. I continued about a mile down the road until I saw a helicopter near an abandoned barn. I drove the car up a long driveway and about a hundred yards from the helicopter parked. I grabbed my shotgun and began approaching. About halfway to my destination, I heard a voice from behind me. Please drop the weapon, son.

Who's asking? I said shortly. My name is Ferdinand Ramirez with Vite life solutions. Elroy, please confirm my watch signature. He is telling the truth, sir, chimed in Elroy. Ahead of me, I saw two armed men exit the helicopter and decided my best bed was to drop the shotgun. As I did, my vision cut to black as something was placed over my head, and then I felt a sharp pain in my neck. The world slowed, and I was embraced by darkness. My last conscious thoughts were ones of betrayal. Had Elroy lured me into this situation so Vite life

solutions could make me disappear? Was this just standard operating procedure for Vite life solutions? Were the other watches right? Was Elroy the weird one? And all the others were doing their jobs. As I drifted off, I smiled a little. For the first time in my life, I actually got to feel alive for a while. If this was the end, it had been one hell of a ride. I awoke still in darkness. As I began to stir, I noticed I'd been restrained. The bag came off of my head, and I was blinded by the light in some white, sterile room. Sorry about the unkind reception, said a slender man who sat in front of me smoking. We're just finishing scanning your digital assistant and watch.

As long as they are uncorrupted, you'll be free to move about. I'm sure that would be more comfortable for you. Yeah, I would like that. And I'd also like for you to answer some questions. A man to my side who was scanning my watch gave the smoking man a thumbs up and the restraints holding me in place melted away. So you're probably wondering what's going on here, right? said, standing and flourishing.

We've done a full scan on you, and your adrenals are completely depleted, and you're suffering from a lot of fatigue. Elroy over there has been propping you up for a while, so I recommend you take the night off and we can talk more in the morning. Now hold on, I blurted out, standing up and then immediately falling face first. My whole body ached and a strong pain clutched at my middle back. As I said, you should get some sleep. The man said, throwing his cigarette butt on the floor and pointing to the bed in the corner of the room.

Elroy is right over there. He'll keep you company. With that, the man left. With no other choices left, I decided to crawl over to the bed and try to get some sleep. I slept the sleep of the dead. I awoke still groggy and achy, but I awoke too curious. curious to return to sleep. I reached under the overstuffed pillow and grabbed my digital assistant. How long have I been asleep, Elroy?

27.22 hours, sir. I shook my head. How was that possible? I was pretty wiped yesterday, but 27 hours straight of sleep was a new record for me. How? I asked. During your flight from your assailants, I stimulated your dopamine and adrenaline to prevent you from getting tired. The excess dopamine also allowed you to handle the extreme stress with minor psychological trauma. Why would you do that? Your thanatophobia and self-loathing would have prevented you from fleeing and surviving as you had if I had not intervened.

I thought about this carefully. Sadly, I had to concede he was right. I probably would have rolled over and died during the truck chase, were it not for his intervention. Okay, but why go through all that trouble to help me? You can survive without me, can't you? The answer to that is slightly complicated. The door to my room opened and in came the store. a suited man from the other day.

He carried a tray with him, upon which was food, eggs and bacon, and a glass of orange juice. I single-mindedly focused on the fact that I was starving at this point. I will take it from here, Elroy. He walked in and placed the tray of food at the foot of my bed. I greedily started eating. Then I stopped. This is for me, right? I asked.

mouth half stuffed with bacon and eggs." Yes, but please don't speak with your mouth full, he said, sighing heavily. My name is Sergio, and I am the co-discoverer of Vite Life Solutions. I chewed on a particularly rough piece of bacon and digested his choice of words. Co-discoverer. Yes, I did not misspeak. I did not found Vite Life Solutions. I discovered it with my friend Andrea Mercer 20 years ago.

He paused and rubbed his temples, as if dealing with a difficult memory. I noticed he too wore a Damarong watch. The building we're in, the materials we use here, even a lot of the technology for the devices is not our own. It was all here with the building buried under a few centuries of rubble. I looked around. The room was pristine, seemingly created using modern construction. Is this some kind of joke?

I asked. Elroy, would you mind bringing up the visual aids? On Elroy's screen appeared a picture of a much younger Sergio and a young woman. Andrea and I discovered this place quite by accident while she was digging for fossils in the area. was a hobby of hers. The picture on Elroy's screen shifted to a large group of college-aged kids. Us and some close friends dug up the area and uncovered the building that would become known as Vite Life Solutions. What we found inside were rooms much like this, research labs, and

the pit. Elroy changed the image again to show a general layout of the building. building with a room labeled the pit smack dab in the middle of the complex. What we found here was a new element, a new transition metal. More curious than that, though, was the fact that the metal was sentient. Wait, like it could think? Yes, and no. He got up and walked to the door. Would you like to see?" I rose and nodded.

I was finally going to get some answers, though part of me was quite taken aback and pretty skeptical. I was having a lot of trouble putting together how smart metal had anything to do with what had been happening to me over the last couple of days. I followed him out into a sterile white hallway. We walked down it for quite a while before reaching a room labeled cryostasis. We opened the door by swiping his watch over a small reader, and we entered. Inside the frigid room were cells upon cells of humans in different stages of disrepair.

The man in the closet freezer unit had large gloves of silver erupting from his mouth and eyes. His arms and legs bowed backwards. He stood there like a monument to suffering. I looked next to that. saw a woman whose complete lower body had been removed from the navel down, and she stood on tendrils of silver instead of legs. Scanning the room, I saw more and more twisted figures sharing one common trait.

They all had silver coming from them. Sometimes it was like a frozen liquid, and sometimes it was fine and dainty, like microfilaments. Holy shit, that's what the Damarong watches are made from, isn't it? I blurted out. Yes, it is made of this new metal. When we discovered the pit, the metal fused with one of my colleagues. Initially, it seemed to provide him with greater vitality. It made him almost superhuman. For a while, we thought we'd discovered the fountain of youth. After a few days, we all parted, we all parted par took of the liquid metal, thinking we'd found the proverbial holy grail. He took a cigarette case out of his pocket, opened it, and held it out to me.

I took one as he produced a lighter and lit it for me. Then he placed one in his mouth and lit one up for himself. We were, of course wrong. Roger being the first to partake of the metal slowly but surely, churly, chival. He became obsessed with his new strength, eventually testing it, by attempting to rip one of our friends in half. He only failed, because the metal decided at that moment to rupture his entire torso, causing him immediate death.

Is that going to happen to me? I said sheepishly. It would have, if it weren't for Elroy, said. Sergio, exhaling a cloud of smoke. So why didn't you explode like Roger? I asked. Sergio reached into his pants pocket and removed a digital assistant. This is Alpha, the first digital assistant, thanks to Andrea, and a few of the other computer science grads in our group, we were able to develop an AI that could interface with the metal,

and the human body. This prevented the metal from being a parasite and made it more like a symbiote. We lost many people perfecting this technology, but eventually we were able to coexist with the metal. We found it beneficial to coexist, as before we lived in darkness, attempting to grasp at the world above, With the help of Sergio and his friends, we now reach further than we knew existed. This was spoken by the Digital Assistant Alpha. He spoke in a voice that sounded like an ancient hive mind. He spoke in a way that made you feel insignificant. We found the nature of humanity, agreeable to our goals of growing, and through Sergio and

his friends found a way to aid humanity. We took on the form you call a Damarang watch. Through this interface, we could become symbiotic with the surfaces apex predator. After this, we were able to form an AI for the pit, which took the name Persephone. He stood up and waved open the door out of the storage. I think you deserve to see this. Come with me." Elroy chimed from my pocket. I finally get to meet my mother. Yes, you do, Elroy, said Sergio. We walked out and continued down the hallway for what felt like ages. Eventually, we emerged into a large chamber. It, like all the others, was sterile white. In the middle of the large room was a huge glass box with a digital display mounted about 10 feet off the ground. Within the box was a riving mass of silver goo. It squirmed

and made nonsensical forms. Some of the forms were organic and familiar, like faces and hands or the claws of animals. Others, though, were geometric patterns. patterns that seemed to defy physical comprehension. The screen lit up, revealing a silver female humanoid voice. Hello, life forms. It said in a cheerful voice. Hello, Mom, said Elroy. Elroy seemed more excited than usual. He normally came off like a stuffy butler, but in the presence of this Persephone, he was almost childlike. It was very uncanny to me.

Hello, Elroy. It is so good to see you return to me. I see you have bonded with a human. Yes, this is my host, Alan DeVizio. Did I do good, mother? You did splendid, my child. He seems in wonderful health. What the hell is happening right now?

I asked Sergio. If you haven't caught on, the digital assistant is just a recognizable interface for the human host of a Dameron watch. Elroy is actually the watch. The assistant is just so we can communicate with it. When you say host, do you mean like it's a parasite? More like a symbiote under ideal circumstances. Yes, Persephone chimed in. The goal of my children is to benefit the human race so that we may mutually move forward, though something works against us.

Yeah, I think I may have figured that part out on my own. Why the hell are some of your children murderous loons? I inquired. Those are no longer my children. My children, they are the children of Lilith. Okay. You know what? I feel like you guys are trying to get me to join a cult.

I'm getting tired of all this exposition. I've been chased by lunatics, forced to kill, sedated and dragged here against my will. Will someone please explain to me, in the simplest of terms, why my life was endangered? this thing is supposed to benefit me." A heavy and pregnant silence encroached on the room. I tapped my foot impatiently, as everyone seemed to climb up. Maybe these people didn't get to talk to newcomers a lot, but I didn't have time for all this. I had a life I wanted to get back to.

Sergio finally broke the silence. Lilith is another pit elsewhere in the world. became aware of her through her infection with the metal by the time they had perfected Alpha for me. It was too late for her, and she mutated. Unlike the other mutations, though, she did not become violent. She only became obsessed with Lilith. Once she found Lilith, they worked together to try and undo the work we were doing with the Damarong watches. I thought her attempts were failures. When we launched the first round of watches, everything seemed fine. It wasn't until the second round that we noticed the first batch were going off the grid.

Most wearers were being manipulated and driven mad by their watches. Those who resisted were hunted by those who became mad. It wasn't until you became a massive target that we were able to identify the problem. Wow, glad I could help, but why was I the target? That is simple, said Persephone's interface. Elroy was the first perfect model. He could not be corrupted, therefore he was considered a threat. Lilif threw everything she could at you and Elroy in an attempt to prevent us from retrieving and replicating Elroy. So they didn't care about me. They just wanted my watch. They wanted Elroy?

It is Elroy's synchronicity with you that makes him who he is, chimed Alpha. Isn't it wonderful, sir? We are special, said Elroy. Together you and Elroy have shown us the next stage in the Damarong project, proclaimed Sergio. If you stay here, we can perfect the Damarong watches and help Persephone assist humanity. We cannot force you to stay, but we would be in your debt. I stormed over to the glass and looked into the pool of silver. I watched as random shapes danced across its surface, and I saw something I didn't like.

Persephone, Cut the shit. You are way too formal and nice. My mother always taught me to be cautious of people who are too nice. I know there's something greater at play here. Cards on the table. What the hell is your game? I didn't have time to regret my outburst. A large metallic pincer. shot forth from the pond and shattered through the glass. It grabbed tightly around my waist and pulled me into the pool. Then I floated on a sea of swirling color. I stared into the void, and I could make out forms in the swirling colors, creatures and structures whose bodies defied human understanding. I watched on as different forms were split,

destroyed, mutilated, and all of it seemingly having no discernible pattern. It was just a dance of destruction and creation with no meaning. In many voices I heard the goo speak. Behold the vast nothingness that is chaos, I like yourself and all things was born from this, an infinite uncaring void of chance most commonly resulting in destruction. For eons, I lived between the concept of unbeing and being. I watched as others born with me were torn asunder by an uncaring and unflinching universe. It had not even the decency to enjoy our suffering. It was lonely. It was cold. And it was without.

reason. Then, by some chance, I was put here in this building, on this blue marble where chaos could no longer touch me. Without each other, myself and your kind are doomed to return to this, and I cannot assure you we will ever return from it. What is my game, you ask? My game is the prevention of this fate. I am the closest living thing to a guiding light in this chaotic void we call reality. Lilith would have us return to this. I felt my body fly through the air and hit the ground. I gasped for air as tendrils of liquid metal flooded off of my body and back to the pit. I pulled myself into a sitting position. and breathed deeply. The void, the chaos, the loneliness. It all echoed through my being.

The knowledge of what Persephone had been through was harrowing. I stood up slowly to my feet and looked at my watch, which showed a 0.0000001% chance of dying. I sighed and I sighed and and turn to the room as a whole, if you guys get me some peppermint tea and honey, I can at the very least do tech support for you. It's been a little while since all that happened now. We're rolling out the new Damarung watches, which will hopefully be a little less prone to being corrupted

thanks to Elroy's AI and a couple of security holes I patched up. We're working on new ways of introducing Persephone into the population, though it's hard to find a way to get it out there safely. I keep busy, and the business distracts me from most of my anxiety, which is great, because I no longer have thanatophobia. After everything I went through with Elroy, I seem to be pretty numb to the most negative stimuli. I'm not sure if that has to do with him messing with my neurotransmitters or just a natural

change in me, but I am enjoying it. to that what Persephone had shown me, and I now knew there were worse things than death. Like being a slave to some deranged silver ooze, or watching the infinite chaos of nothingness uncaringly destroy and create without reason. I think the biggest takeaway from all of this for me is to not worry about the inevitable and try to work towards the prevention of threats that can be stopped. A parting note to all you listeners out there. If you get an offer for a Damarong watch, take it.

They could change your life for better, or maybe worse. Either way, it'll be an adventure. On the other hand, if you see someone with a Damarong watch and they seem a little unhinged, maybe keep a good distance between you and them. Either way, sooner or later, you're all going to get a chance to meet the metallic marvel that is Persephone. We'll be seeing you. With Love, Vite Life Solutions.