Chapter Text
They woke in a sterile environment, confused and lost. It felt like a hospital, but they knew that this wasn’t a place of healing.
“Are you well?” A tall, lanky woman in a powerful suit, red tie and pristine white lab coat. “I give you a warm welcome to Lobotomy Corp, Alighieri. You may have many questions, but as an AI, I am here to provide you with all the assistance you could possibly need. Please, have no reservation in speaking with me or asking me any questions.”
They looked around, trying to get a sense of who they were. A strip of red went down their own coat, and a carefully designed, intricate watch pattern, a clock head upon their wrist.
“Alighieri?” They asked, sounding out the name. “I…that’s my name. It must be.”
“You would be correct, Alighieri.” She smiled, her eyes closed. “I am Angela, and I am an AI created within one of the Wings of the World. I am truly one of the greatest entities of our age, one of a kind. You may look at me like I am simply human, but the truth is that my flaws are far from yours. I am bound here, unable to leave. My control is infinite in strength and limited in scope - I may have absolute control of Lobotomy Corp’s systems, but outside of that, I am powerless. I can open the doors, or make you a cup of coffee, but I cannot leave, or taste it.”
“...that seems awfully callous.” They murmured, thinking to themselves. “”That designer should be ashamed. It seems dangerous, inflicting that on the person who assists you.”
“How curious. I’ve seen many managers, and that is the first time I have heard that.” The AI cocked her head, but did not open her eyes. “I am Angela, manager, and you are the new manager of Lobotomy Corp. I imagine you have questions.”
So many questions. Things like “what do we do?” and “what is going on?” and “what’s so important that we needed an AI” and “what is a wing? Why are you acting like this is totally normal?” In the end, they settled for one.
“...what does Lobotomy Corp do?”
The question seemed to please Angela, who nodded thoughtfully.
“That is a complex question. We are in the business of energy. The world is expanding, and the singularities that hold up the city outside require an exponentially increasing amount of energy. The conventional means are insufficient, but at Lobotomy Corp, we stumbled upon answers. Mysterious beings known as ‘abnormalities’ could have energy siphoned from them, via a special process. We became one of the twenty-six Wings of the World, the creators of Enkhephalin.”
“Enkhephalin?”
“Do not worry about the fine details, Manager. It is my belief that sometimes, an explanation cannot capture the most important aspects. You will learn a lot more from your work than you will from a lecture into your most disoriented mind. However, there are some things I must cover. I will be your perfect partner, for I am far more advanced than the other AIs here. I am perfectly reliable, capable of flawlessly feeling human emotion. Meanwhile, the others here…well, they are necessary, Aligheiri, and that is all I can say about them.”
“...there are more AIs? Why does that feel like a big deal?” They murmured, and Angela nodded.
“It is common here. The 13 Sinners run the departments of Lobotomy Corp. Our founder, D, designed it this way. They are all hopelessly flawed, but they have their purposes. Do not begrudge them their flaws, but do not let them impair you.” She chided.
“D? That’s…a strange name. Just an initial.”
“Indeed. Initials have meaning. For example, the once heir to G Corp was given a matching initial. It would be fitting to call you A, following the fixation with initials. I never understood it - perhaps people who experience time at a rate of 1 second per second wish to shorten their speech. Of course, as I experience time at a scale for far more precise actions, I am your perfect assistant in running the facility.” She paused, before sighing. “Yes, I was getting to that. Has patience truly eluded you?”
“...I’m guessing that wasn’t to me?” Alighieri questioned, and Angela nodded.
“Observant. The first Sinner was speaking to me. He is a frustrating one, but he is important. If the Sinners are the Cerebellum, I am your Cerebrum. That is to say, I am your most reliable companion. Before you meet with the Control Team Sinner, I should tell you that I have made improvements to our systems before you join. I think you will find them most helpful in managing your resources without the exhaustion that follows working with Abnormalities.”
“...that sounds useful. Thank you, Angela. I don’t suppose you can tell me why we have departments run by Sinners?”
“Recall what I said about practical explanations being necessary, A. Simply put, they have their purpose, and perhaps if you perform well, you shall unearth it.” Angela chided, but her face looked almost amused. “I shall allow you to speak with the Control Team Sinner before you commence the workday, Manager. We only have one abnormality ready for work - you should find this a simple test of your capabilities.”
With that, she disappeared, leaving Alighieri alone in an office. The office was pristine - a single cactus sat in a pot on the desk, and the office chair was padded and ergonomic, and a simple bed lay in the back. It seemed like this room was designed for someone to work within and live in - hardly the prestige of a manager. Clearly, someone had been ascetic, or extremely mentally ill. The logo of Lobotomy Corp - a crimson L shape, penetrating a brain - sat upon the wall, and 13 lights remained under it; all of them unlit. A wide set of monitor screens showed almost cartoonish sights - presumably the facility, with small figures getting their equipment or running around with paperwork.
Pinching their nose, Alighieri checked the programs on the computer, before noticing the option to contact the departments. So far, only one was available - the Control Team. Beneath that, the facility appeared to be segmented into three. The first segment had four departments - Control, Information, Training and Safety. Beneath that, the Central segment had the Upper Core, the Lower Core, Disciplinary, Welfare, and Security. Finally, the bottom had Extraction, Records, Mirrors and Architecture.
Stretching slightly, they turned to the Control Team icon, and the monitors opened up on another office - within, a young man with dirty blonde hair who barely seemed to fit into his suit answered. His eyes went wide, and he sat up straight, eyes focused on the screen.
“Ah, hello, Manager! Angela told me about you - you’re A, correct?” He smiled sheepishly, frantically organising his desk. “I’m Vogel, and I run the Control Team. I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to get in touch so quickly. We’re getting set up for the new abnormality.”
“Good to meet you, Vogel. I take it that the Control Team is responsible for making sure everything runs smoothly.” They murmured, and Vogel beamed.
“Gosh, that’s…well, that’s a complimentary way of putting it, Manager! We make sure that the basics keep running! Can’t build without a strong foundation, am I right?” He laughed awkwardly, before a loud scream rang from outside the door.
“Vogel! I can’t take this anymore! The Manager’s in there, right? Come on, please! I’m begging you!” The anguished, panicked screaming cut into the room, and a sad look filled Vogel’s eyes.
“I know you’re the head of the facility, Manager, but let me handle this one. Mental Corruption getting too high is just one of the things I handle.” He sighed, standing up and grabbing a large, unwieldy axe like it was effortless.
“I’ll…leave you to it, Vogel. Just make sure we have staff for the work day?” They mumbled, thinking that seemed like an appropriately agreeable response. With no understanding of their surroundings, they needed their Sinners to be on their side.
“Thank you for respecting my authority, Manager! I’ll make sure you’re not disappointed!” With that, they walked out towards the office, and the feed cut out.
Aligheiri didn’t want to see whatever Vogel was going to do with that axe. Frankly, they just wanted to survive this job. Why an amnesiac with fine taste in clocks was in charge of a Wing, whatever that was, remained a mystery, and it seemed that Angela wasn’t going to share