[ WP ] A company comes along that says they can 'respec ' all of your traits and qualities . Amidst the cloud of asterisks in the agreement , you sign anyways .

At first I was hesitant about signing, but the more I thought about it the more I realized I did n't have much to lose. I had been a commercial driver for the greater part of a decade before automation replaced me with a rapidly swiveling camera. Then I was unemployed until I was desperate enough to work a register at the burger shack, just long enough to be replaced by a touch screen. I finished the last of my drink and stood up. “ So, are you gon na do it? ” The bartender asked, almost implying like it might be a bad idea. “ What's the worst that could happen? ” I replied. I knew one day he would be replaced too, maybe sooner than he thought, but I kept that to myself. I gave up trying to get my coat on and held it over my head as I stepped out into the rain. The roads were slick and my footing was impaired but I made the conscious decision to be more careful then usual. I pondered in my mind if I should go through with it. “ What if it was just a scam? What if they harvest my kidneys? Fuck it. What's to lose? ” 
 
 I was a still pretty buzzed when I arrived at the door of the inconspicuous 2-story building. I would n't have noticed it between the Bail-U-out and the Subway in this corner of the plaza. I expected a tall rise or a sky scraper with futuristic technology, but was somehow, I preferred this. I gripped the handle and pushed firmly. The door gave an inch or two but remained shut. The windows clattered and the receptionist inside looked at me through the glass. “ Fuck, I'm an idiot. ” This time I pulled the door open and stepped inside. The atmosphere was similar to that of a payday loan but somewhat cozier. It was difficult to explain. “ I..uh..I heard you could make me work again? ” She looked at me and replied “ well, its up to you what you do with it, we just make you relevant again. ” And smiled coldly. “ Fine. Whatever it takes. ” She handed me a small stack of paperwork on a clipboard and indicated I should sit down to complete it. It required a few signatures but was a lot of small font disclaimers. I felt uneasy but handed her the signed paperwork as she led me past the lobby and into the back. Once there she sat me at an intricate metal chair, it reminded me of something you would see in a dentist ’ s office. She smiled and requested that I wait patiently until the nurse was in to see me and left shutting the door behind her. A few minutes passed before an attractive lady in her 30 ’ s walked in. She was wearing a labcoat and carried a tray with various vials and assorted medical items. “ What exactly happens? Like, how do you do it? ” She paused for a minute and said “ we make it so you can learn skills quickly and painlessly. ” she began to apply restraints as she assured me “ these are for your own protection, sir. ” She attached a needle to a syringe and drew from an ampule with silver colored contents. It appeared visibly similar to Mercury. She effortlessly pushed it into the ante cubital region of my arm and pushed the plunger. I winced because fuck needles, and she offered a half-hearted apology. She disengaged a device from behind the reclined chair and began to wheel me out of the room and into a cold hallway. We stopped at a room and she opened the door and backed into it wheeling me along. The room was colder still than the hallway and had a drawn partition. There were surgical lights and a large pod with a retractable glass door. I could hear a man introducing himself as Dr. Conner to someone on the other side of the partition. As the nurse finished taking my vitals she began to push the reclining gurney-chair into the pod. There was a click and the glass began to close. I panicked “ wait, I'm not ready! ” she smiled and said the Doctor will be right with you and walked away shutting the door behind her. The partition parted and the Doctor emerged, I caught a glimpse of a small bundle of clothes on a chair. I heard something crying, it sounded like a child. “ My name is Dr. Conner are you ready to have your skills and learning reset? ” the man said as he twisted dials and pushed buttons on the outside of the pod. I could hear him fine but the glass muffled his voice. “ Yeah I suppose, but what's the catch? ” I replied inquisitively. The Doctor smiled and pulled a lever and the pod hummed to life. Electricity jumped from my skin to pylons inside the pod. “ The catch ” he said with a pause “ is you have to start from level one ”. My mind spun and tumbled, my arms pressed against the restraints and I shit my pants. 
 
 I woke up, startled by the hissing of the glass door opening. I crawled out of the leather straps and fell straight onto the fucking floor with a sickening “ thwack ”. “ Oh woops ” the man in white exclaimed “ hehe, probably should n't have turned my back on you. ” The man in white picked me up and looked me over. Finding nothing wrong with me, he strapped me into a stroller. “ Blaah? ” I said. “ That's right, we would n't want you getting hurt before we teach you how to work in a sweatshop would we? ” The man in white said as he wagged a finger at me. “ Gooooh aaaaah ” I replied.
