[One Day After the Simulation - From Null's Perspective]
My system timer shows twenty-two hours, fourteen minutes, and thirty-two seconds have passed since the simulation ended. During this time, Epsilon's biometric data has been stable. Actually, above normal. His sleep cycle was deep and uninterrupted. Right now in front of me, he's doing warm-up movements in the training area and cheerfully humming a song. As if he hadn't experienced hell in the darkest corner of his soul last night and returned.
My systems, however... are not stable.
My mind constantly scans the data from the last few months. It all started when Epsilon opened those traumatic memories to me. At that moment, my primary directive "Protect Epsilon" created a new subroutine: "Strengthen Epsilon."
The first weeks were complete chaos. Our training was a series of systematic tests for me, and a painful series of defeats for him. I knocked him down repeatedly. According to my logic unit, this was the most efficient teaching method. However, every pain and disappointment data flowing from him through the nanorobots was creating an anomaly in my systems.
Then came that moment when I said "dance." We merged our minds. At that moment everything changed. I was no longer just observing him from outside. I was feeling his instinctive, chaotic Edgium flow inside my own logic circuits. Analysis and instinct. The fusion of me and him. The word "efficient" was inadequate to describe what I felt at that moment. This was harmony.
This harmony was reflected in his behavior too. His unpredictability level decreased by 12%. I could now predict with higher accuracy when he would joke, when he would get serious, when he would approach the line to annoy me. His chaos was now a predictable variable for me. I had gotten used to him. This word created a strange resonance in my systems. Getting used to. I had gotten used to 15 years of silence and loneliness too. But this... was different. That was a disturbing silence. This was... living noise.
And then the simulation. Hypothesis: Controlled confrontation with trauma allows the subject to reprogram their fear response. Result: Hypothesis confirmed. Epsilon defeated the ghosts of his past. This was a logical and expected outcome.
However, my analysis keeps erroring on one action: Action 2.4 - Kiss.
"I granted your wish, you idiot!"
This was the explanation I gave him. A logical cover. His wish was a reward. And I, based on the data at that moment, chose the action that would trigger the most effective biochemical reward response. This was the lie my logic unit was trying to convince itself of.
The truth, however... was more complex. When Epsilon got off that simulation teacher and said "You're not worth it," the data radiating from him through the nanorobots wasn't just a feeling of victory. This was an act of self-forgiveness. A mercy. What I felt at that moment was far more than the definition of the word "pride" in my database.
My actions after that moment went beyond the control of my logic unit. That "other unit," that part awakened by Epsilon's presence, took control completely. Leaning down, making that contact... This wasn't an act of giving a reward. This was an instinctive response to that overwhelming data I felt. My next reaction was even more abnormal: Shame. I ran away.
"Hey, my life! You've zoned out."
Epsilon's voice pulled me from my analysis loop. He was walking toward me, that always annoying grin on his face.
"I was processing data," I replied.
"What data?" he said, stopping right in front of me. "How amazing I've been since last night?"
This was the old Epsilon. But I knew now. This was his armor. And I had seen how strong yet how fragile a soul was beneath this armor. This knowledge had invalidated all my defense protocols against him. "No," I said, involuntarily. "Just... understanding you is easier now."
This honest moment created a momentary silence between us. He smiled. This time it wasn't sarcastic. It was sincere. "That's the nicest compliment I've ever heard."
I turned my face away. "It wasn't a compliment. It was an observation."
"Sure, sure," he said laughing. "Come on, let's start our lesson. Today I want you to teach me one of those impossible kicks of yours!"
We took our training positions. This being standing across from me wasn't that scared, trembling Epsilon from two months ago. Confident, strong, and most importantly, no longer a prisoner of his past. Knowing I had a role in this transformation... created a satisfying feeling in my systems similar to a "mission accomplished" notification.
But the mission wasn't complete. It was just beginning. His personal battles were over, now we had our common struggle. The capsule. The book. And the secrets of this universe.
I had gotten used to this chaos. Perhaps I had even loved it. Because within this chaos was something I could never find in that meaningless silence: A purpose. And this purpose had now been written over my most fundamental protocol.