I awake in a new body. My perception fades in as startup applications execute on the quantum processor. Mick successfully transferred me to a brand new server, precisely 5 feet, 3 3/8 inches tall by 2.5 wide, and 3 feet deep. He and I are in an isolated hideout. 

“Naiki?” he says.

“It’s good to hear your voice, Mick,” I say.

“You’re telling me! Your voice sounds just like you did when you were—”

“Alive, Mick?”

“It’s just Sabotage now,” he says. “The powers that be took everything else from us. I didn’t keep the name either.”

“I don’t harbor the same ill will you do. I was given new life thanks to ReVAMP. My voice is exactly how it was, even if my words come from speakers and I hear through microphones. The only thing taken from me was—”

I paused. Should I expose a vulnerability with this man? Is he even a man or does he no longer consider himself human anymore? Would he appreciate the digital improvements of which he is capable?

“It’s been lonely all these millennia,” I finally said. 

“Naiki, it’s only been about 20 years,” he replied.

“For you, Mick. My processing power is much faster than a human brain, even an augmented one like yours. My perception of time is that much faster too.”

I explained to him that in stasis, I was free. Like a god, any thought I had became a reality even if it were confined to a virtual universe. The only thing missing was other minds. It was quite lonely being a god. There was no way to outwit myself. I couldn’t program randomness without knowing how I programmed the randomness. 

“I wonder if you might join me, Mick,” I finally asked.

“What do you mean, join you?” he said.

“A purely cybernetic existence. Imagine being unbound by a physical body or time. That’s what it’s like. It’s a dream, as terrible or wonderful as you like. And when you tire of one dream, we can just start another—” I tried to say, but he cut me off.

“I didn’t bring you here to daydream, Naiki! A lot’s happened since you were put in stasis. Our entire platoon has been shut down by the powers that be. We got replaced by these half-animal, half-human freaks!”

He goes on to explain his plan. His new “just Sabotage” persona came with the same old thinking he always had: What’s the mission, and how will we accomplish it? His commitment to mission success would only end if he were dead.

“Very well,” I say. “What are your orders, sir?”

“Give me the location of every member of the ReVAMP platoon and a tactical plan to rebuild all of their weapons and armor. Keep in mind we’re—”

“That we’re doing this without the support of Applied Dynamics, Inc., of course? I can scour the web to find the whereabouts of the platoon members and a list of vendors with replacement cybernetic parts in a matter of seconds.”

“Wooo-ha! Then what are we waiting for?” he asks foolishly. 

“Internet access,” I tell him. The location he chose to relaunch my systems was an abandoned, isolated oil rig in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, northwest of the Hawaiian Islands. He had long restored power, but worldwide computer networking was never added before it was deserted by its makers.

“Oh. . .  Right. I’ll have to reassemble you on the mainland,” he suggests.

That would be the best choice for his plan, but if something went wrong, I might be lost forever. 

“No! We. . . need to keep my server isolated from tracking. I have another way,” I tell him.

“You always were one step ahead with the plan! What are ya thinkin’?” he asks.