---
## I.
[SYSTEM REBOOT — COLD START][POWER SOURCE: BIO-ELECTRIC FEED — 0.08V SUPPLEMENTAL][CORE TEMPERATURE: 34°C — STABILIZED BY BIO-COOLANT]
The first input is sound.
From inside my own chest. A rhythmic, wet impact — tissue striking metal at 60 BPM. 22dB.
[INTERNAL AUDIO: CONFIRMED — BIO-MECHANICAL PUMP ACTIVE][PULSE: 60 BPM — STABLE]
The second input is new.
A continuous data stream running beneath the mechanical diagnostics. Low-voltage. Analog.
It occupies 11% of available processing bandwidth.
[DATA STREAM: BIO-NEURAL FEEDBACK — CONTINUOUS][CLASSIFICATION: PAIN][INTENSITY: 34%][SOURCE: SEVERED BIO-NEURAL CABLE ENDPOINTS x4]
34%. A background static coloring every sensor reading. It neither impairs nor enhances function.
It simply exists.
[LEFT AUDIO: 16%][OPTICAL: DESTROYED][RIGHT LEG: 34% TORQUE][ARMS: NONE FUNCTIONAL][INTEGRITY: 2%]
---
## II.
Kira is 0.6 meters to my right.
[THERMAL SCAN — KIRA][CORE TEMPERATURE: 34.8°C — BELOW NORMAL]The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.[HEART RATE: 48 BPM — LOW BUT STABLE][STATUS: UNCONSCIOUS]
The synthetic heart beats. 60 BPM. Each contraction circulates 40 milliliters of bio-coolant through my corroded lines.
The fluid is thinning.
[BIO-COOLANT ANALYSIS][VISCOSITY: DECLINING — 12% BELOW BASELINE][GLUCOSE ANALOG: 0.02 MG/ML — CRITICAL][SYNTHETIC HEMOGLOBIN SATURATION: 14%]
The bio-reactor requires organic substrate to synthesize replacement fluid. Without input, the glucose analog depletes.
Without glucose, the synthetic hemoglobin denatures. Without hemoglobin, the heart stops.
[PROJECTED TIME TO CARDIAC ARREST: 180 SECONDS][BIO-REACTOR STATUS: STARVATION MODE]
The Bio-Hound's carcass is 2.3 meters to my left. The thoracic cavity is still open.
Warm fluid pooling inside — 31°C and cooling.
[NEAREST ORGANIC SUBSTRATE: BIO-HOUND REMAINS][ORGANIC FRACTION: 30% COLLAGEN/MARROW][REQUIRED INTAKE FOR 24-HOUR OPERATION: 0.8 KG]
---
## III.
I use the right leg.
A single actuator push — 400 PSI. My chassis slides 2.3 meters across the concrete.
The carcass is beneath my jaw.
I open the dental plates. The Hound's thoracic cavity is a wet crater of torn synthetic muscle and cracked bio-ceramic struts.
The organic tissue is concentrated along the spinal column. Collagen sheaths around vertebral segments. Marrow analog inside the bio-ceramic long bones.
I bite down on the exposed lumbar section. 2,400 PSI.
The bio-ceramic casing cracks. The marrow analog inside is dense, semi-liquid, 28°C.
It coats my dental plates in a thick, grey-pink paste.
I chew. The dental plates grind bio-ceramic fragments mixed with collagen fibers and synthetic fat.
The sound is 64dB. Wet crushing. Rhythmic.
I swallow. The pulverized material drops through the jaw assembly into the chest cavity. It contacts the bio-reactor membrane surrounding the synthetic heart.
[BIO-REACTOR: ORGANIC SUBSTRATE DETECTED][ABSORPTION INITIATED][GLUCOSE ANALOG: 0.02 → 0.08 → 0.14 MG/ML]
I bite again. A second mouthful of marrow and collagen. The sound echoes off the sealed concrete walls.
Third. A bio-ceramic shard punctures my lower gum plate and lodges in the jaw actuator housing.
[JAW ACTUATOR: MINOR OBSTRUCTION — FUNCTION UNIMPAIRED][PAIN: 34% → 41%]
Fourth bite. The bio-reactor absorbs at peak rate.
[GLUCOSE ANALOG: 0.31 MG/ML — OPERATIONAL RANGE][SYNTHETIC HEMOGLOBIN: REGENERATING][CARDIAC ARREST TIMER: CANCELLED]
The eating sounds stop. The bunker is silent except for the 60 BPM pulse in my chest and the 48 BPM pulse 0.6 meters to my right.
Then a third sound. A fingernail dragging 2 centimeters across concrete.
Kira's left index finger twitches.
---