The Orphan's Reckoning

here, in this simulation. All it cost was a "perfect emotional bond" with my chosen partner, Chloe. I was an orphan in the real world, bounced around foster care. I wanted st

e said. A brain injury. She needed me. I stayed, I cared, I endured the migraines and the

asphalt, smashed into me. Not an accident. Chloe stood ove

" Chloe said, her

Prime Beneficiary

h was nothing compared to this.

in her voice. "To keep you here, c

d save him here, give them their perfect life. My life, my status, was just a tool for her. The Program' s Core Protocol, the System, it monito

k Dissonance was already flaring, a white-hot poker in my skull because her "

were flat, unfeeling. "Of course,

voice dripping with some

It always knew. Chloe had never loved me, not trul