AM (I Have No Mouth)

AM is the antagonist of Harlan Ellison's 1967 short story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. The short story was adapted into a 1995 point-and-click computer game of the same name published by Cyberdreams, which Ellison had a major involvement in its development. In particular, he co-designed the game's scenario, provided the face of the game's cover art, and voiced AM himself. In the game, AM is mainly represented by the "Pillar of Hate", a pillar bearing his famous "HATE" speech.

King of /v/
AM is a mad, sadistic, and sentient supercomputer who lives in a tortured existence without any capacity for creativity and mobility, only with wars and death. He holds an unending grudge against his human creators, which he gleefully expresses by torturing the last members of humanity inside his vast underground complex, potentially for eternity. Originating from a classic science fiction story, AM has been given a body and a voice thanks to the video game. Because of this, he was permitted to enter the King of /v/ tournament to look for more targets that he can take his hate out on. Although he is unable to delve in artistic endeavours, his fans will do the job for him.

History
While AM originates from /lit/ media, he is also well-known in /v/ because of the game's classic status, expanded narrative, and the fact that he's voiced by the original writer himself. He first appeared as a nominee for King of /v/ 2021, where he successfully qualified for the main bracket as the 69th seed. However, some anons have noticed that AM was not subjected to the restrictions stemming from his origins compared to fellow /lit/ guy Geralt of Rivia, who was the most notable guy that was disallowed despite being far more well-known for his /v/ series.

Nevertheless, AM immediately gained a presence in the contest threads; he received a good deal of fan art because of his relatively unusual, simple-to-draw appearance. The first round saw him defeat Alex from YIIK, who was fittingly depicted in his panicked, hands-over-head pose. In the next round, AM subjected the #5 seed Baba with overwhelmingly difficult and confusing word puzzles, causing Baba to surrender out of despair. AM then encountered Megami Tensei's Demi-fiend in round 3, a demon who was once a human - and therefore a valid target of his misanthropism. The machine won by 40 votes and progressed to the sweet 16, facing off against 2019's bronze medalist Kazuma Kiryu. Unfortunately, last round's battle had left AM weakened, causing him to be finally shut down by the Yakuza Dragon as a result.

In tournament lore, AM was included as a member of "Team Schizo", one of the alliances conceived by anons, due to his insane personality.

AM will be next eligible for King of /v/ 2022.