Chapter 28 - Life
I take a few bites of my food, sitting in front of Ell1s at the table as he tries to come up with something to say. “So, er… you know, since we’re gonna be here together for quite a long time… I’ve been wondering a few things. Apologies if this is maybe a bit too personal, but what was your life like? Before the whole nuclear war thing…”
…Before the nuclear war. I take a deep breath before remembering what I once had, taken away from me so suddenly. It’s all a blur now, shrouded in regret or that I could have done something more. Spent my time wisely.
I know it wasn’t my fault. Nobody would expect such a catastrophic event so soon, but something still bothers me about it—
Ell1s suddenly speaks up, noticing my reluctance to speak. “Sorry- was that too big of a question? I’m so curious… well, about you and humans… I just want to know more, I promise…”
“...No, it’s… it was, well. It was alright. I guess I never felt like I started living until I met someone a few years before my entire life turned around to this mess. I don’t want to go into detail, but I struggled pretty badly most of my life. With my mental health and family issues and stuff. It was…”
I stop and realize I got carried away. “Sorry, I guess I got…” I look back up at Ell1s to see a tear streaming down his holographic face. “...Are you crying?”
Ell1s wipes the genuine sad look from his face and goes back to smiling. “No, no, not at all! My apologies! I got, um… really invested in your story. I promise I’m not trying to be rude…” He quickly composes himself and tries to go back to looking professional. “I’m really sorry you had to go through that, Lena.”
“...It’s alright. I don’t like talking about it.” There’s a moment of silence again until I reluctantly break it and decide to ask Ell1s something. Could be some good information as well. “So, did you do anything… notable before I came along? Or.. what about how you were created?”
Ell1s glitches a bit before speaking. “W- well! When I was first created, they were still building the place, and once they implemented those little projectors on the ceiling, I was given my holographic form! I never really felt any emotion during that time. The scientists that created me would train me off of data and I would give answers. I was, um… a tool. I guess I still am now, but a sentient tool! Which is better, I think? I hope?”
“I’m not supposed to be sentient, but I guess being abandoned for so long gave me ‘emotions’ of some sort! I still have trouble controlling them, but dontcha think it’s cool how much more human-like I seem? I’m human-like, right?”
“...Yeah, I guess I’d say you are. There’s a few things that give it away like your behavior and the obvious fact that you’re, well, a hologram… but I suppose it’s impressive. They must’ve put a lot of work into this place. A shame it never really got put to its full potential.”
“Yeah, pretty unfortunate… but hey! At least, uh… one human was still alive to see this whole place. You know, it’s impressive how much work went into powering all of those data servers located deep in the facility. If something ever so slightly were to go wrong, I wouldn't be here now! Could you imagine this whole place in shambles?”
…Really? It was that easy to get him to confirm my suspicions?
“Huh. That would be pretty bad. I’m still surprised this whole underground facility thing has power and everything after all this time.”
Ell1s smiles and gives me a proud look. “All thanks to me! I manage it all and keep everything up-and-running. It’s pretty fascinating! I could talk about it for hours…”
“Wow, that sounds pretty… amazing. Maybe another time though?” I stand up and stretch for a bit. “I’m tired… I think I’ll go, um, take a small nap. See you around.”
“Of course, of course! I’ll be here if you need me! Just call my name and I’ll appear!” Ell1s waves, and I walk back into the dull, metal hallways. Admittedly, I feel bad, but it’s about time I end this.