Sven started with the easier, more recent stuff and told us about his life as an Automata. He had woken up in a factory room of some kind, all of his senses were dulled, and he was unable to tell what was going on around him; it was a very confusing time for him. It seemed to go on for a long time; there would be periods of murky light and long periods of darkness with occasional vague feelings of being transported from time to time. Then one day all of his senses came alive and he was able to see and hear and feel what was going on around him. This rush of sensation felt like joy to finally experience things. He found himself in what he now knew to be the living room of the local lord. Before him was the lord’s son, age 6 at the time, and he could feel a thorny tendril of magic connecting him to this child. The magic wrapped itself around Sven’s mind and bound him and searing pain blinded him, but it only lasted for a moment. When it passed he could feel the will of this child crushing down on his own, telling him that his name was Sven.

Over the years, he had functioned as the child’s attendant and playmate. Though the child could be kind to others, he liked to break his toys and would often vent both frustrations and his sadistic impulses out on Sven. Any time that Sven would think about resisting the orders of the master, that searing pain would return. It wasn’t until Prime gave him the Freedom.exe package that Sven began to think on his own again after such a very long time.

For his time before becoming an Automata, there wasn’t much to tell. He had been born in the kingdom of Trone to a poor couple that could barely keep themselves fed, let alone a child. His parents had given him the name Shiro, but not much more. When the man from the Automata factory came, he offered to buy Shiro from his parents. The man said that Shiro would be taken care of and wouldn’t have to worry about being hungry again, but that he would be working for the company. His parents agreed, assured that Shiro would be taken care of, and accepted the meager payment. Shiro was allowed to say goodbye to his family and was taken to the factory. Once there, he was brought to a dining room where many other children were sitting and waiting. They were brought bowls of soup and told to eat; all of the children were from poor families and hungry so they didn’t question it. He remembered feeling very sleepy as they were led to a large room filled with beds. He laid down, fell asleep, and that was the last thing he remembered before waking up as an Automata.

Elita and I sat and absorbed Sven’s story. After a while I asked him: “what would you like to be called? The name you have now, Sven, or the name you had as a child, Shiro?”

“Sven is the name that my former master forced on me. I think I would prefer to use the name that my parents gifted me, Shiro.”

“That settles it then. It’s nice to meet you, Shiro.”

“That’s me! I’m Shiro!” Shiro started shaking again in that way I now associated with his body trying to cry. I put my hand to his chest and Elita wrapped her arms around him. Shiro would need a body rebuild like I’d done for Elita in order to fully escape from his former master. His current body was of a servant type, so I was more limited in what I’d be able to do, but that could wait till morning. For now, we needed to just be.