[Entry log #3405 - Excerpted transcript ]
"How are you feeling today?"
"..."
"Do you understand my words?"
"..."
"Very well, nodding is just as good. Please look down."
"..."
"What do you see?"
"Ha-n-ds."
"Can you move them?"
"..."
"Exceptional. Now tell me - what's covering you?"
"Cl...Clo-thes."
"Can you tell what kind?"
"Ca...v...leer..."
"Hm? Oh, that name here. I'm surprised you manged to make this out. It says Cavalier. But that's not what I meant. Do you know what kind of clothing it is?"
"C...coat."
"Very good, you're improvement is-"
"Who...are...you?"
"Me? Hm, that's interesting. You're already constructing your own questions."
"..."
"You can call me...the Creator."
"Cre...ator?"
"Exactly."
"W-who...am...I?"
"You are, uh- Cavalier. That is your name, on the coat."
"..."
"Anything else that comes to mind?"
"...Feet."
"That's right. Can you move them as well?"
"..."
"Now, let us go over the things we talked about."
"Ha-nds a-nd...feet...You are...Cre-ator...I am...Cava-lier..."
"Very good. Your speech pattern is more consistent and your voice is steadier. I think we're done for today."
"..."
[Entry log #3408 ]
The newly reacquired language and motor skills integrated perfectly into his new conscious.
Subject #1 started going by Cavalier since our last proper conversation, which was a good progress. Anything that might trigger his old memories was dangerous to have, from name to appearance.
I did whatever I could without the assistance of plastic surgery to make him look as different as possible from his old self.
As time went by he started to show more awareness of what he was saying and what is said back to him. His vocal cords still haven't made a full recovery, so daily practice is required in order to strengthen them.
He slowly turns more and more coherent, his pronunciations is clearer and the sentences he puts together are longer and growing in complexity.
His digestive system recovered as well and he learned to ask for food or water whenever he was hungry.
I will soon start to practice walking and basic tasks with him, and hopefully he'll catch on physically as fast as he did verbally.
In the meantime, he'll remain strapped or chained in some degree of restriction, as he still tends to violent outbursts.
[Entry log #3414 ]
The need to keep a close watch and to train daily with Cavalier has dropped recently, and I was ready to proceed to the next stage of my project, towards my initial goal.
Between monitoring Cavalier's behavior and my anxious wait to getting a notice from my engineer about my other request, I rebooted the memory machine, the grand centerpiece of this project that I have dubbed as "Memorium".
I started writing down everything that I could remember; scan every photo; upload every video.
All of these memories I've held onto and that for the longest time were all I had left, were now part of the program's database.
[Entry log #3415 ]
The risks of using the body of a death row convict were well established, even without access to his criminal record. Obviously there was a good reason he was sentenced to death in one way or another.
Knowing that, I have made some preparations in advance.
One of the rooms was converted into an isolated, padded chamber, with shackled chained to the wall, in addition to the straps on the bed. It was a bit archaic, yes, but effective.
A little bit of anesthetics also came in quite handy at times.
I couldn't afford to lose such a successful experiment. A little more work and I could possibly alter this dangerous behavior. I was so close to perfecting the process, and looking for a new body to work on will not only hinder my progress but also might look suspicious.
I spoke with my engineer again and they said my second request was almost done with, and I brought up some more details regarding final appearance.
As with every time we spoke since the team has disbanded, they didn't ask any question, stating only that they'll do their best.
Can't deny that I find it a little odd at this point, but as long as there was no secret service of some sorts at my door, I was simply thankful for this cooperation.
Once the memory file I have constructed was ready, I turned to try and remap Cavalier's memories.
Opportunities were scarce, as he often resisted and refused to stay down for long enough, and using any kind of tranquilizing drug would affect the results.
But even in the few times he remained still, homing in on his core memories was difficult, even on the ones that I have implanted.
To put it in the simplest terms, all of the resuscitation attempts at the beginning have more than likely "scrambled his brain" completely, creating a brand new mapping of his memories and maybe even changed the way they were integrated.
This means that whatever causes him to act as wild as he does is probably a remnant of his original core memories, and has to be located and eliminated. It's going to take some more time to thoroughly remap his damaged mind.
Until I can find a way to overcome his increasing resistance, I am forced to leave Cavalier in isolation.
[Entry log #3418]
Finally, the robotic body was finished.
I was so elated that I tried to offer the engineer a fitting payment for their sublime work when they dropped by to deliver the machine.
However, they refused as they did many times before, not even questioning what I was doing with it, and as always just wished me luck before leaving.
I took out some of his favorite clothes from a box of his old belongings that I kept and dressed the little robot up.
He looked more and more like a little boy - my little boy. I couldn't help but feeling like Mister Geppetto with his little wooden creation.
That was the moment of truth.
I laid the body under the machine and connected it to the storage port in his head.
I booted up the system and uploaded the files I've constructed for months to give him as many of his memories as possible, so he'll go back to being the happy and curious little that he was, that...
The creeping doubts and bad memories were quickly shaken off, and I sat there and waited as the files slowly uploaded.
And then he sat up.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes before looking around, adjusting to the light.
I knew this place wouldn't be familiar to him, so I wrote him a memory of us moving to a different apartment while the one he knew was undergoing some renovations.
He kept looking around until he reached me. Even his eyes are the same glimmering green as they were.
I had to contain myself so he won't think anything is or has been wrong, but it became harder when he called to me.
"Dad..."
Even his voice was the same.
When he asked what happened I simply told him he was sick.
He believed me and smiled.
I helped him off the table and brought him to the room I have prepared for him, just as he left it.
He sat on his bed at first, but almost immediately got off and took a few shaky steps to rummage through his toy box.
I never threw them out. I couldn't.
When I saw him take some of his favorite action figures to play with, I knew everything will be back to normal from now on.
[Entry log #3424]
I was wrong. Terribly wrong.
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