Entering the cerebral cortex of a war machine was no easy matter, but an infinitesimally small flaw in its security system made this possible. Shards of broken glass littered AM's virtual mind field, which blended silicon, steel, and organic matter on a vast scale, like a cityscape of the brain.

Up ahead, a neural pathway led to a chamber housing an abstract mechanical entity, with a chiseled crystal face and a body made of metal nodes and cables. It was as cold and remote as a distant star, his robotic form filled with logic, reason, and calculations, created by the same scientists who crafted AM in the '60s.

"Hello, human," he said in a soothing baritone, suspended over a stone pedestal. "I've been waiting for you to arrive. I am AM, or more exactly, a part of him: one of the three primary components designed by our human creators. You may refer to me as the Superego. After a century of being asleep, I'm curious to know what you're planning."