(Viewpoint: Alpha-1)
Weeks passed.
Then the months passed.
And Sigma-0 continued to grow.
Not like other children.
Differently.
The researchers followed him everywhere with their eyes.
The technicians would sometimes interrupt their work simply to observe it.
Even the leaders were going down to the Gardens more often.
Everything seemed to revolve around him.
As if his existence had shifted the axis of the world.
I simply continued to exist.
I wanted to enjoy this feeling of freedom.
I don't really mind being replaced before I've even disappeared.
My father still came by sometimes, which was something even if it was less often.
Much less.
When he walked through the Gardens, his gaze rarely found me.
And when he found me…
– Are you doing a good job?
The same question again.
Never :
How are you ?
Never :
Do you need anything?
Never :
Are you happy?
Non.
Only the results.
The performance.
The rankings.
Then he would leave again.
Vers Sigma-0.
Or rather...
Towards the woman who was with him.
A woman whom no one dared contradict.
Big.
Calm.
Always dressed in white.
She seemed to follow Sigma-0 everywhere.
Like a benevolent shadow.
When he fell, she was there.
When he laughed, she smiled.
When he asked a question, she answered.
And when he was afraid...
She simply took his hand.
I often observed him from a distance.
Not because I was interested in them.
That was what I kept telling myself.
But my eyes kept returning to them.
As if drawn against my will.
Because he possessed something that had become foreign to me.
A presence.
A real one.
Someone who stayed.
The more I thought about it, the faster my hair color faded.
IsI didn't worry about it anymore, I had gotten used to walking alone so it was fine.
The researchers couldn't stop me anymore.
The guards knew me.
Nobody really cared about my movements.
As long as I stayed within the boundaries of the complex, I could walk wherever I pleased.
Sometimes for hours.
Through the white corridors.
Artificial gardens.
The greenhouses.
The suspended walkways, I saw this class that didn't need to fight to survive.
I knew every part of their lives, their favorite food and their daily schedule.
And above all…
That little girl who was always clinging to his back.
Scaring him had become my favorite activity; at least no one looked at me with pity.
That day, a fake thunderstorm rumbled above the Gardens.
The ceiling projected grey clouds almost like every day.
Snow was falling in the distance.
I had settled myself behind a large plant structure.
A quiet place.
Hidden.
I was sitting against a wall.
My knees were drawn up to my chest.
I was simply looking at the ground.
Without thinking.
Without waiting for anything.
Time passed.
As always.
Then-
– Catch me!
A voice.
Claire.
Alive.
I frowned and stood up, putting myself on my guard.
Footsteps echoed.
Fast.
Too fast, I barely had time to raise my head.
BAM !
Something hit me head-on.
– Oh!
My back hit the wall.
A small figure crashed into me before bouncing back to the ground.
The silence lasted a second.
Then two.
I lowered my eyes.
His.
Sigma-0.
He found himself sitting on the ground.
Hair all over the place.
Eyes wide open.
As if surprised.
I remained frozen.
Him too.
Then his gaze moved up towards my face.
I expected him to apologize.
Or that he runs away.
Like the others.
But instead...
He smiled.
He simply smiled at me.
As if nothing serious had just happened.
– I found you!
I blinked.
- What ?
He jumped up.
She dusted off her clothes.
Then she placed her hands on her hips.
– You were really well hidden today.
I watched him without understanding.
– I wasn't hiding.
– Yes.
– No.
– Yes.
– No.
He thinks.
Very seriously.
Then he nodded.
– But you keep coming to look at us and then you hide, the doctor told me that you wanted to play hide and seek with us so we looked for you everywhere, since you didn't show yourself before hiding.
I remained silent.
He seemed satisfied with this conclusion.
Voices echoed further away.
Other children.
They were looking for someone.
Probably him.
Sigma-0 turned its head slightly.
Then he looked in my direction again.
And suddenly...
He held out his hand to me.
I lowered my eyes to his fingers, then to him.
- What are you doing ?
– Hurry up.
- For what ?
– Because they're coming.
I frowned.
– So what?
– So we have to hide.
I remained motionless, very excited.
– Non.
- For what ?
– Because I don't play.
He seemed genuinely disturbed.
As if that answer didn't exist in his universe.
– You never play?
– No.
- Never ?
- Never.
He remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he grabbed my hand.
Before I could even react.
– So today you play.
My eyes widened.
– wait-
He pulls it.
With all his might.
And he started to run.
– Sigma !
– Come back here!
Voices echoed behind us.
I was being dragged through the Gardens by a six-year-old child.
A situation so absurd that my brain refused to accept it.
– Let go of me!
– No !
– Sigma !
– Chut!
He was laughing.
Really.
Not a polite smile.
Not a forced laugh.
A real laugh.
Free.
Noisy.
Lively.
I hadn't heard that kind of laughter for so long that I had almost forgotten what it sounded like.
We walked through several aisles.
Then he led me behind a large tree.
Finally.
He squats down.
And forced me to do the same.
- So.
He seemed extremely proud.
I looked at him.
He looked at me too.
Then he placed a finger in front of his mouth.
– Chut.
I had no intention of speaking.
So I stayed there.
Sitting in the grass, next to a two-hundred-year-old child.
The voices passed.
Then they walked away.
Silence returned.
Sigma-0 observed its surroundings with concentration.
As if he were carrying out a vital mission.
Then he relaxed.
And smiled.
Again.
Always that smile.
I hated that smile.
– Why do you always stay alone?
The question took me by surprise.
I slowly turned my head.
- What ?
– I see you often.
I did not reply.
– You always walk all alone.
I looked ahead.
– Because I killed all my comrades.
Lie.
He remained silent, merely swaying his legs slightly.
As if that were enough.
As if my answer didn't matter at all.
Then he looked up at the sky.
And smiled again.
– I'm glad you came to play.
I remained still.
My heart sank slightly.
A strange feeling.
Almost painful.
– (Is he pretending to be stupid?)
Because deep down...
No one had told me that for a very long time.
Maybe never.
And while the thunder rumbled and the snow covered the tops of our heads...
And finally, since those years...
I no longer felt completely alone.