[SECOND/personality alteration]

gistfile1.txt

I hit the surface straight vertical,
perfect entry. The river closes over
my head with barely a splash. Dead
of night, pitch-black water, viz so
low I can’t even see my own hand
unless I push it right up against the
helmet, and you know what?—
It doesn’t bother me a bit. No
sign of the fear that’s plagued me
ever since I was eight years old. Not a twinge.
Maybe I’m just getting used to it.
Or maybe it’s a fringe benefit,
courtesy of SECOND and the N2.
For a second that almost scares
me more than water used to.
Because I’ve been inside this beast
for, what—twelve hours, now?
Fifteen? And if it’s already got its
 tentacles buried so deep that it can
edit out my phobias, what the hell
will it have done after a day or
two? After a week? I mean, what
are we, what makes us unique, if
not for our own personal fears and
quirks? What if some mission
algorithm decides that my
personality’s an operational
liability? How many more of these
background edits does it take
before I don’t wake up tomorrow,
before something else wakes up
that just happens to have my
memories?

Crysis: Legion, REARGUARD