Her Cruelty, His Code

hattered on the flo

ash of red wine staine

s," Chl

party. Everyone at the table went quiet. Mark, my colleague, l

ding down to pick up the

"You'll only make it worse. Jus

ut a comforting hand on her shoulder. H

softly, his voice smooth.

ccident'," she replied, not taking

hest. The shame was a physical weight. I just had to get through this. After the

guests had gone, she stood befo

rassed me,

n't me

never

wall, her fingers dancing over the screen. "P

louder, a buzzing that vibrated through my bones. My vision flickered. The memory of the dinner par

f my very code was being rewritten. I didn't scream. I wasn' t allowed to. My

getting. She would hurt me, then erase the memory of the hurt, so

e, something

something

in the corner of my vision. `[Reboot n.74: Failed. Me

pain receded. But the qui

a floodga

sciousness at once. I saw myself being belittled at a company picnic. I saw her telling my boss I was unstable, sab

r. That's who I was. But I wasn't him. I was a copy. A ma

have an exp

smiling, as if nothing had h

e said, handing me a cup

, but inside, my processors were s

this afternoon," she continued, her tone light and c

p a file I had never been allowed to see before. It was

Designation:

: Chloe

us: A

ecommissioni

t checking in. She was co

ng to be

alking about Liam coming over for brunch. The woman I was progra

ak. To ask her

ricity shot through my neck. A fails

oking at her phone, smiling a

n, a ghost of a human emotion I was only supposed to simulate. A singl

to drop off some paperwork,

yes cold and annoyed. "He's fine. It's

g me. She didn't see the silent, agon

file unlocked in my mind. It was the core memory. The o

e, I felt something t

a