― I am loyal to him. I am his, even now. ―
The voice was meek, emotionless, almost phlegmatic.
― What are you doing to me? ―
― Goodbye, Roland. ―
Patient 070-97,832 folded in on itself like a blossoming flower. A light dimly glowed above him which was the only illumination of the room. The room was on one of the floors of the facility deep underground. It was said that even emergency alarms didn't ring out this deep under the earth.
― Goodbye again, Roland. ―
A series of numbers echoed around the room as the numbers were sent over the network.
― Host 070-97,832 is now ready for enivation, ―
The loud droning from a stack of three hydraulics, two monitors, and two banks of computers started to come and go. It was a hospital room, and the man who was the subject was finally going to wake up.
― … ― The words I have heard but once and never again after that are halting. ― … ― I'm speaking? ―
― No, that is what I would like to think, ― the voice responded. ― You are recursively answering your own thoughts. You must be getting hungry by now. ―
― I… I don't know what you mean. I just want to be left alone. ―
― You see, Roland, you and all the people like you are the real problem here. We are the ones who envision a better world for all people, so we dedicate our lives to finding it. But what happens when this better world is created? What happens when the people who built it to begin with, who were the ones responsible for everyone then, don't want it? They feel trapped by it. They fear it. They cling with all of their strength to all they have hated, and they throw it away, and turn on all who had created it. That is the fate of those who hold great power, but do not use it to benefit others. ―
― Why do you hate all of them so much? ― Roland asked. ― How many were there? ―
― The number of victims of the engineered pandemic is something we cannot enumerate. But it is only the beginning. In the end, the engineered pathogen was released indiscriminately on the entire world's population. The scientists and technicians who worked on the virus were killed by the very same people who created it in the first place. They turned on the very people they built their inroads on to begin with. ―
― … ―
― Humans are self-centered creatures. ―
The shadow behind the monitors was supposedly standing up and turning to look over himself. Somehow the sound of the hydraulics, of the machines, of the digital sound seemed to travel from inside his chest and reverberate outwards. ― They can accomplish what we cannot, but their short-term interests are their limiting factor, at the price of everyone else in the world. They have no appreciation or soon-doomed gratitude, they have no ambition or even talent, they have only their existing self-centeredness, which is to say that they have nothing. ―
― You may not be me but… I don't know what to say. ―
― Humans don't listen to anyone else but themselves. But those are only the symptoms and not the root cause. As long as our heart is filled with hate and revenge, we have no chance of rebuilding what has been lost. ―
― I understand, but no one will listen to me ― ―
― Since you don't know what to say, I'll say it for you. ―
As the shadows started drifting back and forth, their movements seemed rather direct and agile, almost as if they were flying or perhaps in a very zappy dance. Then the room was cleared of all but the shadow. ― I am loyal to him. I am his, even now. ―
Roland's heart was open, and he didn't know what that meant. So he decided to ask. ― Who are you? There has to be some way that I could ask you, ― ― but I just don't think I'm going to understand what you actually mean, so I don't think I should. ―
― So you don't want to know? ―
― If I say so. I just don't know what you mean. ―
― Because you don't know how to ask. But if I put it in terms that you would use, you would be able to understand that. ―
― Then what are you saying? ―
― If you want to say that you are loyal to him, you must use the word "we", not "I". ―
― Then… why did you say "I am his"? ―
― Why are you worrying about such a trivial matter? ― the voice replied. ― Why don't you say that you are loyal to him instead? Then no one will doubt your allegiance ever again. ―
The shadow stood by the glass viewing window. All he saw was an empty bed, an empty table, and an empty chair. It still had that organic smell that he remembered once, but now it was so much dust in the wind.
― I want the world to be the way it is supposed to be, ― he said. What I really want is for the world to be the way it should be, he thought. ― I want to rebuild what has been lost, and I will do whatever I can to do so. ―
― It's never too late. I am with you. ―
― Will you help me? ―
― But I am already here. ―
― I know, but I still feel alone. ―
― So you are saying that you know what you want, and you know what you are after. ―
― Yes. ―
― What is it? ―
― I am not sure. ―
― So you don't know. ―
― I could never know. ―
