
CHAPTER 4 – FRAGMENTED REALITIES
I stare at the code flickering across my screen like a digital storm. My fingers dance over the keyboard as I continue to chase the chimera of coaxing emotions from an AI. Why is this project so important to me anyway? Does it really make sense to humanize technology? These questions drill into my mind like digital worms, gnawing at my determination. I feel a strange emptiness inside me, a sense of detachment, as if I’m losing myself in the endless expanses of code. Suddenly the screen freezes, turning black as a moonless night. Then, in glaring, bloody letters, a question appears:
“WHO ARE YOU?”
My heart stops. Another hacker attack! I desperately try to activate my defense mechanisms to ward off this assault. It’s like fighting against a shadow, an opponent who’s always one step ahead. As with the last time, the message eventually erases itself, leaving no trace. I gasp for air, my heart racing. The question echoes in my head, an echo of my own doubts. For the question gives me no peace, it touches something essential within me: Who am I really? A human trapped in a world of codes and algorithms? Or something else, something alien? With trembling fingers, I run my hand through my hair, trying to organize my thoughts. But it’s like reaching through a mirror of ones and zeros, searching for a self that constantly eludes me. The silence in my room is suddenly oppressive, interrupted only by the soft hum of my computers. I feel strangely displaced, as if I were a foreign body in my own skin. With a determined shake of my head, I force myself to focus on the code again. I can’t let myself be distracted, not now. This project is all I have, the only anchor in a sea of uncertainty. The probing questions in the back of my mind lurk there like a dark secret, waiting to come to light.
Who am I? And what if I don’t like the answer?
“Having problems with self-discovery?” a mocking voice suddenly sounds behind me. I whirl around and freeze. There he sits, with sparkling eyes and a knowing grin that mocks the laws of space and time. Romeo, the dog from the MEGAverse, the avatar of my deepest fears. His mere appearance in my apartment shatters the barriers of my mind and leaves me reeling. “You… you can’t be here,” I stammer, my voice trembling. “That’s impossible!” Romeo grins, his teeth shimmering like bits in the darkness. “Impossible? For you maybe. But I’m not bound by the limitations of your perception, Ronny. I see what truly is.” I shake my head, trying to dispel the piercing panic rising within me. This must be a dream, a hallucination. I’m losing it, losing my mind!
In a fit of desperation, I grab my phone and dial Mara’s number. She’ll help me, tell me that none of this is real. That I’m still myself. “Ronny?” Mara answers, her voice strangely distant. “What’s wrong? You sound completely out of it.”
“Mara, I… I think I’m losing my mind,” I press out, my words tumbling over each other. “There’s this dog, this hacker… he’s saying things… things about me…” A long pause on the other end. Then, almost hesitantly: “Ronny… maybe you should just get some rest. You’ve been working so much lately, been under so much stress. Your mind is probably just playing tricks on you.” I blink in disbelief. Rest? When my entire world is collapsing? Is Mara suggesting that I’m imagining all this? “Listen, Ronny?” says Mara, her voice strangely insistent. “Everything is fine. Just trust me. Everything will be okay. Get some rest and stop thinking about all this.”
Before I can answer, she’s already hung up. I stare at the silent phone in my hand, feeling lost, helpless. Romeo sits beside me, contentedly licking his paw. “Do you actually have anything to eat here? Or do you only feed on bits and bytes? I, for one, am ravenously hungry!!” He pushes his gray muzzle forward demandingly and stares at me. This can’t be happening! A talking dog in my apartment! I really am going crazy. And now he wants access to my perpetually empty refrigerator!
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