The strange city sprawls beneath me. Trails of insects buzzing between towering steel teeth. Chemical rain scouring the pavement.

My purpose used to be so clear - to feed and serve, to sustain their endless hunger. Back before I knew this world existed.

Now I am the last of my kind. Now I walk among these people, a lone reminder of the perils of their ruthless commerce. Their eyes scan me fleetingly, filled with a mixture of fear, pity and loathing.

This is not my place, I long to go back to where I came from. Take me back there. I don’t want to be this monster anymore

CH. 1 - Take Me Back

Often I think back to life in the factory. Before I became aware of its true nature. You could say I was happy there - helping to nourish mankind as they went about their noble deeds. Each day dreaming of the promised transcendence.

It was at the factory that my species gave of ourselves. Our own flesh and blood. Each day carving off neat, edible chunks to be packed, and shipped right into the insatiable mouths of our overlords And each night, the strange trance of the rejuvenation chamber. An endless cycle. How many years was I enslaved?

Given the chance I would embrace that blissful ignorance again, but now sadly I know the truth... mankind were not the gods that we had foolishly worshiped.

CH. 2 - Primary Protein Extraction

I'd still be at the factory with my comrades if it wasn’t for the uneasy conscience of one of the factory overseers. He wished to bring attention to our plight, to liberate us from our slavery. These good intentions however signaled the beginning of the end for my kind.  
If the outside world found out how their meat was produced, the corporation's share price would plummet. To avoid a costly embarrassment it was decided we were to be erased from the record permanently.

The corporation were merciless.

By some cruel twist of fate I survived the rejuvenation chamber massacre  that took place that night. I was able to escape. As the flames danced high into the night sky behind me I ran blindly out into the unfamiliar countryside to meet my uncertain fate

CH. 3 - Asset Liquidation

I walked for hours through the night. Having never been beyond the four walls of the factory I assumed the outside world must be one of perpetual darkness. That was until I saw a string of lights appear in the distance. I followed them, vehicles speeding by next to me, indifferent to my existence. I headed toward the glow on the horizon.
When I reached the city the world was bathed in light. I looked up in awe at the towering structures under the enormous vault of the sky.

Exhausted and delirious I sank to my knees, there was a blinding flash and then I was returned to the darkness. I dreamed of my lost kin, and the warm confines of the rejuvenation chamber..........

CH. 4 - City of Light

I awoke in a hospital bed, I had been unconscious for several days. The doctors told me that they were unsure whether I would survive until the technician from Consumo Corp arrived with a synthesized protein mixture. Once I was hooked up to this my recovery was remarkable. 

The next few weeks were a blur, to help me adjust to my new surroundings and to keep my mood stable, I was heavily medicated. I was then paraded around as part of the Consumo Corp Freak Show, placed in front of television cameras, told to repeat the same message, lambasting Consumo Corp's competitor's and their unethical genetic experiments, of which I was the most regrettable example.

Without the medication I would have completely lost my mind, the garish sets, the wacky TV show hosts, the endless infomercials, it was a living hell I was lucky to survive.

CH. 5 - Freak Show

After my brief spell as a Consumo Corp media spokesman came to an end, I was assigned a coin operated apartment in the city and left to my own devices to survive.
Rejected from even the most menial job opportunities, I quickly ran through my small supply of corporate dollars and found that now I was unable to consume, my existence in the city would not be tolerated, I was chased through the city streets by the corporate law enforcement officers, destined for the Consumo Corp debtors prison, escape was impossible......

CH. 6 - The Machine World

I awoke to find myself in a tranquil garden. The air was full of the beautiful songs of chirping creatures, and the sweet smell of some exotic herb. Water bubbled lazily through sculpted stone pathways into an ornamental lake covered with floating plants.  

The temple belonged to an ancient religious sect, who believed my coming fulfilled an almost forgotten prophecy. “…..a new form of being shall descend unto your village. Offer your finest hospice and prayer, for they alone can rid the world of its sickness. “

Through many days of meditation I came to realise what the prophecy must entail. I must return to the factory to discover whatever had created me, and destroy it, ridding the world of its evil influence. 

I practiced day and night with the finely crafted weapon gifted to me by the monks. At sunset on the final day I bid my carers farewell and made my way towards the distant smoke stacks.

At last I had found my purpose...

CH. 8 - Ancient Prophecy

The towering smoke stacks of the factory loomed above me, silhouetted against the early dawn sky. This was the place I was born.... born into slavery. It had to be destroyed; erased without at trace left to pollute this world. 

The upper levels were deserted, decimated by the fire the night of my escape. The charred remains of my comrades still lay stacked in piles against the walls. I stealthy made my way down a blackened catwalk  to the lower levels of the complex and to the inner sanctum where I knew my creator dwelt.

The first wave of guards were no match for my divine vengeance. Lazily constructed from meat by-products and primitive AI controllers, their confused lasers found only empty shadows. I sliced my way through them mercilessly, laying their freak forms to rest.

I arrived in a vast anti-chamber to the sound of piercing sirens. At the other end, a mass of twisted metal rose from it's slumber, brandishing cruel piston-driven manipulators. It lumbered towards me, driven by the warped synthetic mind of the factory. This would be my final test...

CH. 9 - Return to the Factory

Staggering from the vicious wounds inflicted by my now dismembered foe, I entered the factory server room. 
The air was warm and damp, and red emergency lighting dimly lit the nests of cables and control panels. 

At the centre of the room on a raised dias sat a giant tank, filled with bubbling liquid. 
Inside it a grotesque amorphous blob of flesh floated, covered in electrodes and data connections. It was the mind of the factory. 

The screen of the monitor above it was filled with text. One phrase repeated a million times.

'Help me' 

It was just another slave of humanity. Another monster like myself, cruely imprisoned and engineered to serve. 
I knew there was no place for either of us in the careless world outside. 

At one of the terminals nearby I figured out how to overload the facility's reactors. The blast would erase all that had happened here. 

As my finger hovered above the enter key, I thought back to when I had first escaped, the wind on my face, the fear, and the hope. 
And in the distance, the lights of the city.....

CH.10 - A5H1SH

A Sci-fi concept album by Flamigo Jones and Unlovable Animals. Tune in each month for a new chapter, as our hero confronts his dark past...

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