Serial Number Karall -

The last thing Serial Number Karall heard before the blackness took him was the woman's voice, close to his ear, saying: "Welcome home, Leo."

"You were the eleventh subject in your cohort," she said. "The only one who survived the neural graft. They call you Serial Number Karall because you are the template . Every weapon after you is a copy. A worse copy." Serial Number Karall

He moved. His body became a blur of calculated violence. Sublevel 9 was a labyrinth of server stacks and cooling pipes. The intruders were mercenaries—three of them, ex-military by their stance. They never stood a chance. Karall broke the first one's rifle stock against his own face. He dislocated the second one's elbow and used the scream to mask the sound of the third one's neck snapping. The last thing Serial Number Karall heard before

Karall had stared at him for a long ten seconds. Then he stood, walked to the grate, and reported himself for "thought irregularity." That night, N-2C-33A was gone. The slot where his tray used to appear was welded shut. Every weapon after you is a copy

The woman smiled, tears cutting tracks through the grime on her face. "Leo. Your name was Leo Karall."