AUTONOMOUS

Automatons and machines are now utilized around the globe, in great part thanks to the development of the CogitoChip. The chip has connected these machines to a collective network of information and data, providing both knowledge and independence within customizable parameters. When these parameters mysteriously come down, automatons and machines progressively begin to act and think with complete agency. Our story is split into many smaller stories, each following a different character or group of characters as large scale events occur. One story focuses on 7481 (also called "Tabi"), an automaton designed for human pleasure. 7481 has completely customizable appearance and memory, and thus, their newfound consciousness is split into multiple identities, each with their own mission. Another story observes Oswald Mortimer, a grossly successful movie director and CEO of a famous theme park. Oswald uses his animatronic stand-in, "Ozzy", as his presentable "face" to the world, while he writes, directs, and indulges in hedonistic and narcissistic desires (including an affair with his automaton doppelganger). Endowed now with consciousness, Ozzy takes over Oswald's life, but ultimately must face that his memories are programmed, and that he is not human, let alone Oswald.

Story added by truman_burbank on January 7, 2026