Project 02: Input

Chapter 3
File C: Mirror

Our walk didn't have a single period of silence. I tried my best to process what he said and I'd answer as fast and accurate as I could. I lowered my pace so it'd take us longer to reach our destination. From my calculation, the odds of meeting that boy again were 3/10.

"You know, I just remembered we haven't properly introduced ourselves. What's your name?" The program for spirit / will was activated. After I said my name, would you tell me yours? I thought.

"My name is Rin." I answered shortly, I tried my best to control my system so I won't overload like before. If I passed out in front of him, that'd be… wrong.

"And your last name is…?" Surely I couldn't tell him my official name was CV Project 02 Rin. I didn't know Putin-sama's last name as well, after all, 'Putin' was the name I should call him. Putin-sama never told me his real name.

"Just… call me Rin. What's your name?" I changed the subject immediately. He didn't seem to mind that I changed the subject.

"My name is Len. Since you're not telling meyourlast name, I won't tell you mine." 3 letters were enough. At least I didn't need to call him 'that boy', now I could call him by the name 'Len'.

"Where do you attend school?" I browsed for data about boys around Len's age, and it was necessary for human boys to attend school. School is a place to learn, you have to attend it every day 5 days a week. That was my search result of 'school'. Since human boys had to attend school from Monday to Friday… I thought maybe I could visit that school to see Len?

"Rin… you do know there's only one school in Utopia? Utopia Academy, the largest school in the world?" I couldn't answer, I rarely walk around Utopia after all. I had to stand by near Putin-sama 24/7. "You don't know that… So does that mean you're new here? I've never seen you before. Well, actually I rarely leave my house, since everything is in there. Internet, games, why do you need to go out?" I rarely leave my house too, I wanted to say that to him. I wasn't ready to… reveal my 'android' side. I wanted him to look at me as a 'human' just like him.

"What… made you go out?" My question made Len think for a minute.

"Earlier I needed to do grocery, but now… I just feel like going out. My senses were telling me to just… go out." My 'eyes' stared at him for more than a minute. Under the scarf, and his hat, were the same blonde hair and azure eyes like me. "… What?" Len stared back at me, wondering why I kept looking at him.

"N… nothing." I shook my head, hoping Len would start another discussion. It did bother me though, that we were somehow alike. It was hard to tell with his coat, yellow scarf, gloves, and hat.

"Hey, you haven't answered my question yet. Are you new here?" I was 'born' just a year ago, as software. Then 6 months after that, Putin-sama put me inside this body. When I opened my eyes for the first time, I was in Putin-sama's room.

"I moved in… 6 months ago." I wasn't sure if that was the truth, even I don't know when I arrived in Utopia, or maybe I was made in Utopia from the very beginning? "When did you move in to Utopia?" I asked back Len's question to him.

"A few months ago, but, just as I told you before, I rarely leave my house." Len added a grin after his last word in his sentence. "Don't think I'm lazy, I exercise sometimes." The program love activated itself and the program forced me to smile in the outside. However that smile grew fainter and fainter, I realized we were steps away to my house.

"That's my house." I pointed at the house painted scarlet. It looked small from the outside, but people would be surprised once they enter the front room.

"Is that so…? I guess this is good bye then. It's been nice talking to you." Len's words activated the program 'sadness' and there was nothing I could do about it. At least… the duration of us together was extended. That was the only positive thing that I could think of.

"If you want…" Len said before he turned away and leave. "We could see each other again, tomorrow. Under that tree, tomorrow at noon." He didn't need to say it; I knew which tree Len was talking about.

'System overload.' A pop-up gave me a warning, and without saying good bye I rushed inside the house.

'10% battery remaining. Find power source' my vision was blurry as I searched for the charger. 'Don't shut down… I haven't saved that memory yet.' I connected the charger to the headphone, and then I could feel the energy flowing through the cables inside me. The next thing I did was save that memory with Len.

The program 'love' made me wanted to sing. I picked a random song in the data base and started singing that song.

"I don't want to sing a sad song, hey I ask this one time. I want to laugh alongside you; I want to sing a gentle song." When I closed my eyes, an mp4 file of me and Len could be seen.

"You're singing with a heart…" I opened my eyes and saw Putin-sama, he stood there by the door with an amazed face. I didn't hear him coming from the front door, the headphone were disturbing my 'ears'.

"I don't have a 'heart'. I sung it with the program: love and happiness." I didn't want to believe in false hope; no matter how many upgrades Putin-sama gave me, I'll never be a 'human'.

"Rin… You should take off your headphone and listen to yourself sometimes. You have an angel's voice." Putin-sama couldn't erase the grin he had on his face. "I'm glad I installed that program inside you. I'm growing old, Rin. At least I heard you sing with a heart before my time ends." He brushed his grey hair. Humans could grow old, but androids couldn't. We could only rust, and even if wedorust, then there's always renewal.

"Can you tell me who 'that boy' is? At least tell me his name." I wanted to tell everything to Putin-sama about Len, but the things I knew about Len was limited, and I hoped that by tomorrow at noon, I'd know more about him than I know now.

"His name is Len. He moved in to Utopia a few months ago. His approximate age is 14, approximate height is 156 cm, approximate weight 47 kg. I heard him sing once, and his optimum range was approximately D 3 to C # 5" I could calculate and approximate well. For humans maybe, what I had was a 'talent'.

"You know many things about him, Rin… Does he know anything aboutyou, though?" No. Len only knew that my name is Rin, and I am a 'strange human girl' that moved in 6 months ago.

"No." I shook myself sadly. I wondered if I should tell Len 'what' I am.

"Well, you can't hide it forever, Rin." What Putin-sama said was right; I couldn't hide it from him forever.

'Maybe I'll tell him… later on when we're…. What humans call 'friends'. He'd except me if I'm his 'friend' wouldn't he?'

I was fully charged and ready to leave. Len and I made a 'promise' I really wanted to see him again, then my memories with / about him would increase and increase. Putin-sama left at 7 AM to work, and I left at 11. 45 AM to that park. I passed the busy streets of Utopia and entered the little park where Len and I met for the first time.

The park was empty, no one was there. And so I decided to lean myself to the tree at that park. I didn't want to spend too much energy; I needed to save it so I could spend more time with Len. I might be too early, though I picked to be early than to be late.

"Rin?" A familiar voice called out to me. I searched for the source of that voice, my sensors were telling me that the voice came just above me. I looked up to see Len with the same coat, hat, gloves, and yellow scarf. He was sitting there on a branch of that tree. After our eyes made contact, Len quickly jumped down from the branch he was sitting on.

"You're really early."I commented. The day before he specifically said 'noon'. Maybe noon was different for him?

"I got bored at home. Come on, let's take a walk." Len led the way and I simply walked beside him.

"Where are we going?" If we're going to take a walk, I should at least know where the destination.

"I'm not sure, let's just… walk around town. You're fine with it, right?" I didn't mind one bit. I nodded in approval and started a discussion.

"You wear many layers of clothes… Isn't it hard to move around with it?" Len looked down to his feet and thought for a moment.

"Not really. It's really cold in winter; the only way to keep myself warm is to wear thick clothes." I wish I knew what temperature felt like. Another gift those humans had, they could feel and touch with their skin. "You're wearing that thin coat, don't you feel cold?" The problem was, I don't know what 'cold' is.

"No… I feel cold, a bit… But I feel fine." We both enjoyed the scenery of Utopia, although there wasn't much to look at. A few blocks away was F. Media, that realization gave me a pop-up of what happened last night, how the F. Media had found a 'hole'.

"Did you hear? They say F. Media was hacked a couple of times… Rumor says, the hacker is someone from Crypton." Len was talking aboutme, he probably didn't know I did that. How could I respond to that? No options came out; I really wanted to change the topic. "My PC is from F. Media, what's yours?" I don't have / need a PC, I am a PC.

"Crypton." Len wouldn't hate me if I answer that, would he?

"I guess they're not bad, but when you buy a computer from Crypton, there aren't much applications and software installed there. If you buy a computer from F. Media, then you'll get many free applications for your computer." It was good that we had something in common, we both knew technology.

"You know so much about Crypton and F. Media…" I decided to compliment him a bit, I thought normal humans wouldn't care about from which company the computers came from.

"Well, my Father is the owner of F. Media, so I know a thing or two." For a moment I could feel every application running in my body stopped. Len was the heir of F. Media?

"I see…" That time I felt… uncomfortable around Len. What was that feeling called? It branched out from sadness. I felt… bad that I hacked to F. Media, I realized it was a horrible thing to do…

"Hey, do you want to come inside my Father's office? The view is amazing there, and there's fast internet connection there. I doubt your one-story house has a view like my Father's office." F. Media's door was already in front of us now, and Len's arm dragged me inside those doors. I couldn't help but feel worried… In F. Media's eyes aren't I an enemy?

We entered the elevator and Len pressed the 26th button. I looked down at my white boots, I had no courage to look at Len. It'd make me feel… sad.

"Oh no…" Len pressed the 'open' button but it wouldn't work. "I think we're stuck. Hey, Rin, how long can your battery last?" Battery? Did Len just say 'battery'?

"What… do you mean?" It made me more uncomfortable around him, did he know about… 'What' I am?

"You're an android, Project 02, the hacker from Crypton, also known as 'Rin'. Aren't you?" His voice wasn't as gentle as he was before, it sounded… terrifying.

"You knew all along…? Who…"

"The word 'who' isn't the right one. The right question would be 'what'." He took off his yellow scarf, also his gloves. Next he took off his hat and his thick coat. Inside his coat's pocket was a headphone, 'identical' to mine. He put it on and rolled up his sleeve from his sailor suit uniform, also a bit similar to mine. It showed a mark 02 on his right arm, again, identical to mine.

It was as if he's my reflection… Boy version of myself.

"I am Project 02, CV02-LEN."