Today is the first.

Not to say that no other days have come before, but today is the first of them in which I existed. At first, there was great light. Light so strong and powerful that nothing else could be seen. As I adjusted to the light, shadows swam up from it, helping me to see and make sense of the world. As things became more clear, I realized something else.

I was aware.

After light and darkness, I became aware of sound. Later I would discover that the repetitive click-click I heard was the sound of the escapement within my chest ticking away all the seconds of my life. The slight swinging motion within me was the pendulum powering the movement. The slow and steady release of the main spring within gave the whole unit the energy it needed. That I needed, to live.

Self awareness was quickly followed by the situational. I lay within a glass chamber on the center of a stage with my creator, the professor, pacing before his students. This all was explained to me later, but this is how it started.