Challenge: Hello my name is....

Hello my name is...

That's what my label reads anyway...
Actually, it is sort of what all our labels read here at the hourly naming ceremony. All collected and crowded into the local auditorium meeting place, holding red stub number 2678362.

Yes... it is a pretty large auditorium.

My Name Is ...
It has always been ... . For as long as I can remember, which in itself is a bit of a difficult thing as all I can really remember is being here, in line, waiting for my designation. I remember when I was still in the 10000000 area, man oh man was I glad when my clothes finally came into play. I will admit that it was a 'wee' bit chilly until then.

Well it was chilly for the parts that I remembered. I mean I was unclothed for a while, but I was unsensed not long before that. Didn't even know what colour I was going to be back then, Just idle concepts of unformed matter taking up space. Just a mass of squiggles and ideas.

Its hard to fathom that 1936728 is now a Craig. I met him over at the break time cooler for us 'shaped' ones when we got to talking about potential names. I... I lost 25 words on him. I would never have pegged him as a 'Craig' though, always thought of him as a Brandon or Fisher, but oh well, the Auto-Autho-Parnam-Decoder is the one that gives us the names, there is no questioning it.

I am getting closer.

I am enjoying discovering my personality though. It is rather a fascinating plunge. I was speaking to 2678361 and he said that I started to sound a little polish in my accent. When I too started to notice, I found that I was also receiving memories. Memories of my mother, a quiet lady who put up with my drunken father. My Uncle who straightened him out after he hit her. The move from Poland to Ireland and my move from Ireland to Scotland to find better work.

It was all very strange finding out who I am. Before if I am honest, I didn't really have an opinion on anything in particular. It was all sort of, whatever is... well is really. But now, I seem slightly more hard-nosed than before. Not rude per se, but a bit more abrasive. I enjoy scotch and hot dogs. Football, thriller films, boxing, Robert Ludlum novels and 80's punk records.

I worked in the kitchens as a bus boy for two years before I fell in with the local gangs. But during a raid I was detained and kept in overnight. When no-one came for me a local cop, McCarstons, helped me out and took me under his wing. I became a plant for two years and then entered into the academy to become a detective. Finally achieving that goal I helped to track down local gang crimes and sort out the streets eventually leading to being head of my own vice team before my thirty second birthday.

Then the news came down of my mothers disease. Lung Cancer. Although not needing to raise my two sisters, them having gotten their lives sorted and gone to college, I had to sort out my mothers estate and discovering her gambling problem, I lost a lot of faith in the people that I knew. If my own mother could keep this from me. I became harder, pushed my team and friend further away, and on one bad night at the bar I noticed one of the new local gang thugs, Danny, harassing Nicky the waitress. Nicky had a soft spot for me and I knew it. We had hooked up a few times.  I went over to sort him out.

"Calling 2678362!" "2678362 this is your final calling please come to the AAPD."

Oh wow, I get to go. Its an exciting thing to find out more about yourself especially your name. Who Am I Going To Be???

I placed the stub into the AAPD slot and heard the machine processor go. the whirring and moaning the device reminded me of how I felt when my parents took me for my first ice cream on my tenth birthday. Vanilla and Strawberry.

The whirring noise ceased and the cranking and printing sound commenced and out spat a ticket.

"Name Designation"

I pulled at it with contained excitement.

"Tobiasz "Toby" Gwozdek"

I had a name... I was real now. A complete person. I felt that I had had that name forever and now. It was me.

"Purpose Designation"

A purple ticket was spat out.

I clutched at it readily and read, finding my elation fading.

"First Victim"

Oh...