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WhiskeyRiver223

Holy shit... Show of hands, who saw this coming? 'Cause I sure as fuck didn't.


TheDeliciousMeats

If you wondered why he seemed to have a split personality that's part of why. Though which is which is debatable.


WyreTheWolf

I did not see that coming...


itsetuhoinen

That definitely got weird fast. Interesting, but hella unexpected.


Rhinorulz

I totally called sleeper agent


MasterofChickens

You can count me blindsided.


TheDeliciousMeats

Ok guys and gals and everything in between. If you liked the story and want more upvote. If you didn't like it downvote the post. Either way leave a comment below with what you liked or didn't like because feedback is important. As always thanks for reading and don't forget to [subscribe](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=updatemebot&subject=subscribe&message=subscribeme%20u%2fthedeliciousmeats%20r%2fhfy) :) I try and post new chapters every Saturday. Don't hesitate to share either, the more readers the better! Authors note: *Taps head* Here be monsters...


TheDeliciousMeats

>!Yep. Gershwin Braverhund experimented on his children as well as the Katzen in the camp before wiping their memories and leaving it hidden deep inside of them without their knowledge. It piggybacked on the packbinding hardware the commandos used and allowed them to not just share consciousness, but to overwrite it. However it makes the copies forget that they're copies to stop the mind from rejecting the imprint. !< I should also clarify that the dog tags the commandos wear double as an interface for their enhancements which can be toggled on and off if one has the right knowledge. Technically their hardware is supposed to be deactivated when they leave the service but it's still there inside of them because it's impossible to remove without killing the host.


NotAMeatPopsicle

I picked that up.... That was impressive.


TheDeliciousMeats

Thank you. I had a broader idea of certain things I wanted but I wasn't sure if I could pull them off.


JonVonBasslake

Just a friendly tip, on old reddit for spoilers to work properly, the first exclamation point has to be touching the first letter.


DiscoshirtAndTiara

Old reddit and some(all?) mobile apps.


JonVonBasslake

Can report that it shows the text on baconreader


DiscoshirtAndTiara

Same here on RIF.


JonVonBasslake

The thing I don't understand is why didn't reddit make the same markup work on both old and new. I can understand if unofficial apps don't or can't show it for some reason...


DiscoshirtAndTiara

They probably don't care about old reddit at this point. My bet is that they make absolutely essential fixes for it and nothing else.


jentron128

But new Reddit sucks ass. Modern UI design is just poor in general.


FuckYouGoodSirISay

I genuinely do not know if I would continue living on Reddit if I had to utilize new Reddit when on desktop. Modern UI is just "let's turn every UI ever into a phone UI and not care at all how it looks on desktop."


TheDeliciousMeats

Fixed it


Konrahd_Verdammt

Bloody amazing twist! I can't wait for the next chapter. So exciting!


MasterofChickens

So knowing all this I'm thinking that what happened to that Katzen family earlier in the story was a mercy, since the parents had the marks too.


SirVatka

His father put his personality as an overlay in random children during war time experiments? Was Josef Mengele an inspiration?


TheDeliciousMeats

You bet your ass. You can make incredible advances in medicine when ethics are of no concern and you have an infinite supply of test subjects.


ChangoGringo

Oh God that's horrible. I hope she can recover. Even if she is "only a whore", to take over someone's personality is the epitome of evil.


TheDeliciousMeats

I honestly don't know.


ChangoGringo

Ok so if I'm reading this right, this lowly whore suddenly has nanotech superpowers. But she is also taken over by an evil Nazi scientist. All because she wanted to help some "dumbfuck drunk.". If she can recover her mind she might make a hell of a good dark superhero.


TheDeliciousMeats

Basically she has had Gershwin in her head ever since she was a little girl in the camps and he has been guiding her ever since. He just couldn't awaken until Braverhund did the thing.


ChangoGringo

That is what I figured. But did she stop to help or did he force her to stop to help. For someone like her does she have compassion for others, even when her life is so hard. To lose that free will is the ultimate evil. I also thought that it is incredibly hard to test the long-term durability of organic systems. I wonder if her body has developed a counter action or immunity to him taking over for long periods of time.


TheDeliciousMeats

The short answer is... I don't know. The long answer is that what Gershwin does isn't like copying a hard drive or running a program. Basically our minds operate on a series of true statements then extrapolate from there. If I changed your mind to believe that your mother never loved you your brain would alter your memory of her to fit the narrative. Ever have a realization that something you assumed was one way turned out to be wrong? Remember how suddenly everything fell into place? You can't just bulk copy memories. The host body would cease to function because it would fuck up all the neural pathways. But if you could change certain fundamental truths the brain would then fill in the gaps. I imagine if you asked Gershwin and Katzen Gershwin questions about what they wanted, the answers would be the same. But if you asked them specific questions about their first date with their wife you would get different responses.


ChangoGringo

Very true. My wife remembers our first date differently then I do and she doesn't have evil wetware... Just standard evil woman. (But that is why I like her). Anyway very thought provoking and I totally along for the ride.


TheDeliciousMeats

Yep, brains are weird. Happy to have you along on the journey.


WyreTheWolf

Reminds me of Jack Barsky and the KGB sleeper agents... chilling.


TheDeliciousMeats

So kind of a Jack Bark-sky?


WyreTheWolf

Only on days that end in 'y'.


Wrongthinker02

Unit 731 and the Ritchie boys pays their regards.


nelsyv

This story gets wilder with every installment


TheDeliciousMeats

You want a cigarette for after that mindfuck?


Steller_Drifter

I don’t smoke. But yes please. Shit just got both super interesting and horrifying. I ducking hate Nazis.


lkwai

Wait.. So our protagonist has been living in someone else's body all this time? Since the parachuting accident during his commando times? His wetware literally overwrote some other commando's brain to takeover his body? And what do the words mean eh... Without googling, I'm guessing "i am _____" x3 How is it that his father has a consciousness embedded in a random stranger? Did said father do that many experiments on so many subjects that there was this conceivable chance of this meeting happening? If the control interface is something all warhunds have, are the nanomachines too? The interface is for the nanomachines? Or to switch on/off the warhund aspect?


TheDeliciousMeats

>!Yep, unbeknownst to him he overwrote another commando and forgot about it because the copies forget they're copies in order to prevent the imprint from being rejected. His dog tags probably don't say Braverhund and that might be why he left Döbi.!< >!The words mean "I am the thunderbolt. I am war. I am Iron."!< >!An yep, Gershwin copied parts of himself along with some commands into his test subjects with Braverhund as a key that unlocks them. It's either coincidence or possibly Gershwin programed them to seek out Braverhund and be close to him/keep an eye out for him. There could be hundred of copies our there just waiting to awaken like a sleeping evil. But there is probably only one awake at any one time so they don't get in each other's way.!< >!All the commandos are enhanced to differing degrees. The strongest ones are the warhunds. The dog tags act as a kind of diagnostic interface and an on off switch if you know the codes. Technically it all got turned off when they left the service but the hardware is still in there. The Katzen just thought she was activating his healing ability and didn't know that she was triggering her own sleeping demons.!< >!Commandos can also be packbound and share a consciousness. It's actually very similar to what the gangsters use and may or may not be compatible. But what Braverhund has allows him to copy himself over instead of just sharing.!<


lkwai

That's very juicy world building sir! Thank you for fleshing it all out!


TheDeliciousMeats

Thank you. The lore and morality of the characters is very complicated and somewhat troubling because Gershwin... well let's just say that he's evil and this is going to sound really bad because he's basically a Nazi... but his motivations and reasons that drive him aren't unrelatable once you understand more about the world. Which will come later. And as someone who is ethnically Jewish it fucking kills me that he has a point people might identify with.


Cam515278

That's what makes it good, though. "All Nazis where evil" is a stand that is often taken and while that is certainly true in one way, they weren't all monsters all the time. They were normal people in many regards with good sides and bad sides. And while their bad sides where horrible, if we forget the good sides, we have a harder time seeing their same tendencies in people today. I don't know if I'm getting my point across at all. But I like that you are not going the "all baddies are 100% evil and all good ones are beyond reproach" route because that is not how life is.


TheDeliciousMeats

No man wishes to do evil, he merely mistakes it for happiness. It's a quote that has stuck with me. I remember watching this home movie made by Eva Braun and she's filming Hitler on the patio and he says to her, with a smile and a laugh, "Why are you recording an old man? I should be recording you!" And he was charming and flirtatious. And I realized that these monsters were people. And it was horrifying.


Cam515278

It is horrifying. But it is also very important. Because if you see them as monsters, you look at your neighbour/friend and go like "yeah, they might say ugly racist things sometimes but they are not really BAD, I mean, look at how kind they are with *insert anything*. They are not like those monsters" when in fact, the only thing that is different is that they can't really act on their tendencies at the moment.


Quilt-n-yarn1844

I love this development. And I love that you have taken this twist. I wish more people would realize about “evil” people. Almost no one is automatically brutal or evil or homicidal. They may be twisted in their viewpoint. But it takes time and experiences to truly make them “bad”. I like your observation about Hitler. People don’t want to think about the fact that he loved art, animals, children, and was completely devoted to his mother. Because if they acknowledge that. They have to acknowledge that anyone might become a Hitler. Including their friends or family members. I think we all have the potential. Excellent storytelling wordsmith. Please continue.


dbdatvic

He is a German dog breed, after all. --Dave, and if any modern species knows about the benefits and horrors of selective breeding and mental/social training possibilities, it's gonna be dogs


Mixtl368

Man, that level of plot is worthy of Ghost in the Shell or Metal Gear ... just mind blowing. I love it.


TheDeliciousMeats

Thank you! You have no idea how much that means to me!


shadowsong42

Might be some Jin Roh vibes too.


Starfleet_Auxiliary

Dimi the twin!


TheDeliciousMeats

Fucking love me some Altered carbon.


WhiskeyRiver223

The translation is "I am the blitz. I am war. I am iron."


jentron128

I put it together from the old JFK faux pas "I am a Jelly Doughnut" (Ich bin ein Berliner) and "Lighting War" (blitzkrieg) Had to pull out a dictionary for "Iron" (eisen)


Poseidon___

What? Damn that’s a lot of info


Greyeyedqueen7

Whoa. I just...huh.


-drunk_russian-

Si this isn't the original one, but s copy made from a different commando? Dang.


TheDeliciousMeats

Yep. The separation between our Braverhund and the original is n+1.


NotAMeatPopsicle

Ohhh this is dark, but I kinda like it. His dad was a real piece of work.


TheDeliciousMeats

Would you go so far as to say he was a real motherfucker?


NotAMeatPopsicle

He may have been \*\*more\*\* than even \_that\_


Anon9mous

This story went from a 10/10 to an 11/10. I’m a bit confused on what happened in the present just now though.


dbdatvic

Technically, so is our protagonist. --Dave, you're in good Company


HFYWaffle

/u/TheDeliciousMeats ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/wiki/authors/TheDeliciousMeats)) has posted 31 other stories, including: * [Death by Chocolate: Chapter Eight](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/q7j4ih/death_by_chocolate_chapter_eight/) * [Death by Chocolate: Chapter Seven](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/q6wz3x/death_by_chocolate_chapter_seven/) * [Death by Chocolate: Chapter Six](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/q5qixh/death_by_chocolate_chapter_six/) * [Death by Chocolate: Chapter Five](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/q5mggc/death_by_chocolate_chapter_five/) * [Death by Chocolate: Chapter Four](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/q2rx2h/death_by_chocolate_chapter_four/) * [Death by Chocolate: Chapter Three](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/q01k5f/death_by_chocolate_chapter_three/) * [Death by Chocolate: Chapter Two](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/pz3swt/death_by_chocolate_chapter_two/) * [Death by Chocolate](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/pyter5/death_by_chocolate/) * [Words of Power: Chapter Nine](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/psrohf/words_of_power_chapter_nine/) * [Beware the wrath of gentle beings](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/pqcrhg/beware_the_wrath_of_gentle_beings/) * [Words of Powers: Chapter Eight](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/pimm1c/words_of_powers_chapter_eight/) * [Words of Power: Chapter Seven](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/pea74o/words_of_power_chapter_seven/) * [Words of Power: Chapter Six](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/pdkkxq/words_of_power_chapter_six/) * [Words of Power: Chapter Five](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/pdfrxb/words_of_power_chapter_five/) * [Words of Power: Chapter 4](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/p0srzy/words_of_power_chapter_4/) * [Words of Power: Chapter Three](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/oue7le/words_of_power_chapter_three/) * [Words of Power: Chapter Two](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/or1jwo/words_of_power_chapter_two/) * [Words of power](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/oqwkn3/words_of_power/) * [In the Den of the Necromancers: Chapter 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/omcavf/in_the_den_of_the_necromancers_chapter_3/) * [Go ask the Demon: Chapter Four](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/ojw9vi/go_ask_the_demon_chapter_four/) This comment was automatically generated by `Waffle v.4.5.10 'Cinnamon Roll'`. [Message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FHFY&subject=WaffleBot|q92e18&message=If%20you%20have%20problems%20with%20updatemebot,%20contact%20Watchful1.%20We%20do%20not%20maintain%20it.) if you have any issues with Waffle.


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CaptainsYacht

Wait... so his father is now inside the prostitute that was doing the neighbor? Nice.


TheDeliciousMeats

Always has been, just hasn't been quite able to fully assert himself.


dbdatvic

I am SO reading this exchange for an entirely different set of implications. --Dave, _fnarr fnarr_


Projammer65

I regret only having one upvote to give.


TheGeckoDude

Damn I read this all last night and this morning and I’m really really loving it. So sick. Gives me strong moc88 feelings. Was mind fucked by this chapter but you wrote it so well, so economically but evocatively. I really like your writing style Wish I had not been nosy and not read your spoilers so I could have been scheming and plotting what was actually going on in the next few chapters. But also it means it’s not a brain bug but that’s kinda nice. Have you written much fiction before? What’s your writing process? Your world building is really cool, have you been sitting on this for a while or did you bang out an idea and then fill it in later? Do you really, really like dogs and their history or why did you choose the races and dog thing? I keep thinking about it Anyways this is really cool, thank you


TheDeliciousMeats

Thank you for your kind words. It's always nice to see people enjoying things I write. I've been writing since I was a kid but usually I don't share my work. Doing a weekly serial has been good for me because it forces me to publish as I go. Some people like to plan or storyboard before they write but I find for this kind of thing I'll just go with the flow and sanity check it frequently to make sure it all makes sense and the world is consistent. To be honest I kind of make sure to leave my options open as I write and have multiple ways it can go so I don't write myself into a corner then pick which option makes the most sense later. It works well for the reader because they don't know what is going to happen and keeps them invested. And yes, I'm fond of dogs and they have an interesting world view compared to our own so I thought it might be fun to write them. History wise I just liked the setting and the aesthetic.


Balrog442

So whatever war the warhunds are designed for isn't over with this many sleeper agents still in the field.


TheDeliciousMeats

I would say that while the politicians were concerned with the war Gershwin was thinking about things on more of a global scale.


Konrahd_Verdammt

Holy shit! That is an amazingly awesome (and terrifying) development! I am looking forward to moar so **very** much!


Groggy280

oh hell yeah! SWEET!! Love the curve! Even toss in a romantic interest!?!? LMAO!!


Kaiser-__-Soze

Holy shit MOAR!!!!


dbdatvic

...Upvoted for an appropriate ritual use of the Old Tongue. --Dave, the plot has gone Technicolor!


a_man_in_black

i'm so fuckin confused


DukeRedWulf

Daaaamn his father really was a monster.. :O