I stood there, staring at my—her—reflection, willing the body I inhabited to look around. To take in the room. To search for clues, for answers, for something that might make sense of this nightmare.
But she never did.
Because it was useless. Meaningless. Subject 3840 had learned long ago that looking for escape, for hope, for anything beyond these four white walls was a waste of energy. Energy she couldn't afford to waste.
So she—I—just stood there, staring at the hollow eyes in the mirror.
But I felt something.
A presence. Faint but undeniable. The System.
It was already there. Already active. Not like the hunter's primitive interface or the thousands of awakening moments I'd witnessed. This was established. Permanent.
I tried to sense it, to pull it forward into view, but it resisted. Like trying to grab smoke. It was there, but barely. A whisper of existence.
The job title flickered at the edge of my awareness.
Jobmaster.
