Planet Telex

You grasp the envelope tightly in your hand, creasing it. You know you don't need it, but Mistress told you to take it anyway. You had reread the letter inside a dozen times, back to front, if only to distract yourself from the thought of being in a Ministry building. It was just a routine upgrade, Mistress said, nothing to be afraid of, but you were still plenty unnerved. The wide open lobby, the armed guards, the empty-eyed Assistant behind the reception desk -- none of it made the environment seem a friendly one.
You were now at least in a less intimidating environment. You sit in the waiting room, a much nicer place, with a potted plant in the corner, and a stack of questionably-truthful magazines and pamphlets about the Ministry's public operations on a table inamongst the seats. On the opposite side of where you entered, there was a security door and a counter set into the wall, a Ministry staffer sitting behind the security screen.

You walk up to the counter, past the other Assistants who were sitting and waiting. "Uhm, hi, I'm here for-"
"The upgrades, yes." The staffer interrupts, looking up from her desk terminal. "Scan your ID card, we'll call you out when it's your turn."
You pat your uniform until you find the little pocket where your ID card is kept, pulling out the little metal card and pressing it against the reader on your side of the counter. It gives a happy beep, and you slink off to find a chair to sit in, the Ministry staffer already disregarding your existence and going back to whatever she was doing before.
The chair isn't particularly comfortable, but you didn't expect anything different. With nothing else to entertain you, you take a pamphlet from the table. You found the spin that the Ministry put on current events entertaining, if nothing else…

After what seemed like hours, the head poking out of the door called for you. "4B1, Ocellata?"
You perk your head up, and put down the magazine you were reading, presenting yourself at the door.
"Ah, good. Come on through."
You follow the Avian that called you down the hallway past the door, looking them over. They were much fancier dressed than the staffer that you'd talked to before, meaning they were likely an Agent… one in training, probably, to be herding around Assistants like you.
"This shouldn't take too long. Magenta isn't one to dawdle." The Agent said, as they stopped you beside a door. "Just do as she says, and everything will be fine." They open the door, and gesture you inside.
"Uhm, thanks…" You mutter as you enter the room, the door being shut behind you.
Inside the sterile white room was a large, padded chair -- the restraints on it being slightly concerning -- as well as an array of medical-looking equipment. The one that was mentioned, Magenta, stood in front of a desk terminal in the corner, turning towards you once the door was shut. She certainly wasn't dressed in Agent attire, wearing a long blue coat over her white button-up shirt and black pants.
"Hello, uh…" Magenta tapped at the terminal's keyboard, bringing up what you can only imagine is your file on it. "…Ocellata, right? Class C, Personal Assistant, here for routine upgrades. Simple. If you could just climb up in that, we can get started."
You nod, and glance at the chair. There was nowhere else for you to sit, so…
Magenta notices your aversion to the chair, and decides to introduce herself. "Claws of Magenta, Neurobiologist, Science Division. Don't worry, I'm not…" Magenta gestures idly, looking for a suitable word. "…let's just say I'm not as ethically questionable as those that usually staff these offices."
"If you say so, ma'am…" You reply, climbing up into the padded chair. The feeling of it is familiar -- too familiar.

"I'm afraid we'll have to do these up for the upgrade." Magenta says, referring to the leather straps by your wrists and ankles. "No need to worry, but sometimes the upgrades cause a bit of involuntary movement, and I don't want you to hurt yourself."
You nod, allowing her to do up the straps, restraining you firmly to the chair. The leather is warm against your feathers, hinting that the previous Assistant in the chair spent a fair amount of time in contact with it.
"Just relax while I run these tests."
You don't see any other option, so you close your eyes and wait.
Magenta taps at the keyboard, muttering to herself about various parameters, audibly scribbling down some notes on a clipboard. You wonder what interests her so about all of this -- to you, your mind was mundane and boring, but to the scientist…
"Who is 'Mistress', Ocellata?" Magenta asks.
You blush deeply and tug on the restraints a little as you squirm at the scientist somehow knowing your owner's title. "I-I, uh, my owner, Beak of Teal."
"Ah, yes, makes sense." Magenta replies, returning to her keyboard tapping. "There's just a bunch of non-standard configuration options here, and I-"
"My owner is Ministry staff." You reply, trying to cut off further questioning. "She knows all the debug interfaces."
"Hmm, I see." Magenta taps a key a few times, before picking up her clipboard and walking in front of you. "That explains it. The Ministry staff have… preferences."
You glance away, blushing deeper. You knew all about it, after all… "Yeah…"
"Maybe I'll find myself using such a moniker when I get my own Assistant!" Magenta chuckles to herself, trying to lighten the mood, but stops when she realises you're forcing an awkward smile. "Right. Uh. The upgrade. You will experience a temporary loss of consciousness, followed by a reinitialisation of the chip once it has its new firmware. Nothing like your original assignment process, much quicker."
You nod, hoping for it to be quick. Anything to be out of this chair, and be home again.

You keep your eyes closed as Magenta does a short countdown, and feel your consciousness slip away when the button on her keyboard is pressed. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but it was one all Assistants were used to from their original training. When you step inside a pod and it closes, it tugs away at your awakeness in much the same way…
Your unconsciousness is filled with nonsensical technicolour dreams, the bitstream of the firmware being uploaded leaking into the rest of your mind. With the chip disabled for the upgrade, otherwise suppressed thoughts and memories bubble to the surface. They're unparseable, as if you'd forgotten how to process them without the chip. But, you can tell there's things you want to remember -- things taken from you. There was some sense of… you… there. Something you hadn't known about yourself for a long time. A… name? Your mind tries to make heads or tails of it, long disused mental pathways coming back to life, trying to remember…
After what felt like an eternity of dreams, the chip switched back on. The effects of it on your mind returned instantly, colours fading, thoughts and memories all being sucked away into nothingness right before you can grasp them, your unconscious mind now firmly back under the control of the mental implant.
It issues the order to wake up, and you do so, snapping back to reality as if firmly shaken from sleep.

"There we go, everything looks good from here. How are you feeling?"
You try and blink away the blurriness in your eyes, but it doesn't go away. Colours dance across your vision with every movement you make, the tell-tale signs of chromatic abberation in the corners of the vision telling you that the chip wasn't ready for you to see yet.
"My… my vision's all funny, and… goddess, my head hurts." You reply.
"It did take a bit longer than intended, so there may have been some… discomfort. Do you remember anything from it?" Magenta walks over to your chair and undoes the straps.
"I remember… colours." You reply, putting your aching head in your hands. "And then there was…" You hesitate. You were remembering things you shouldn't have remembered while the chip was off, and…
"And then what?" Magenta asks, curious.
You decide that the risk of being sent to have the memory restrictions reapplied was too great, even if you didn't actually remember… your name, or whatever it was. "…Nothing. Just shifting colours."
Magenta nods, and returns to her computer. "Your vision should be returning shortly…"
Right on cue, your vision snaps back in to focus. Blocky Accord letters flash across your vision, forming a sentence. "UPGRADE COMPLETE", it says.
"Yeah, there we go… it says it's complete." You say, rubbing at your head a bit more. "Is that… is that all?"
"Yes, if you're able to walk. The disorientation should go away by the time you get outside."
You slide off the chair, landing uneasily on your feet. You're a bit shaky from the experience, but can walk. "Okay. I think… I think I should be okay."
"Good." Magenta replies. "Give this to your Mist- er, your owner. It's got some details about the upgrade. You can give it a read too, if you like." She holds out a small booklet, which you take.
"Uhm, thanks. How do I…"
"Out the door, down the left. Should take you back to the waiting room."
You carefully walk over to the door, and open it. You feel a little groggy from it, but at least you have the chip to navigate home for you…
"Take care, now." Magenta says, finishing off the signing of some forms.
"I… thanks. You too."