Chapter 3

The next day, my dad tried to use material things to win me back.

He bought a massive, brand-new LEGO Star Wars UCS Millennium Falcon set with over seven thousand pieces.

It was the dream toy I used to beg for every single night.

He pushed the giant box in front of me, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Tyler, look at this. Dad bought it for you."

I walked over, my eyes resting on the box for exactly three seconds.

Then, I picked it up calmly, walked over to the storage closet, and placed it on the very top, hardest-to-reach shelf.

I turned around to face his bewildered expression.

"Protocol Fifteen of the New Life Protocol: Engagement in unnecessary, complex creative activities is prohibited to prevent mind-wandering."

My dad's face went completely pale.

The gift he had spent hours tracking down and buying was treated by his own son as a contraband item that needed to be locked away.

My mom tried to appeal to my emotions.

She pulled out a thick family photo album, gesturing for me to sit next to her on the couch.

I didn't move.

Seeing this, she had no choice but to hold the album up to me, pointing at one of the pictures.

"Tyler, look. This is you. You were so cute."

In the photo, a nine-year-old boy wearing a paint-stained T-shirt was laughing hysterically at the camera, a bit of frosting smeared on his cheek.

I stared at the photo, completely expressionless.

After thirty seconds, I nodded.

"Data verified. Subject: Tyler Miller. Time: Ninth birthday."

I paused, then added, "Emotional response module: Not activated."

My mom’s hands began to shake violently. She looked at my dad, pleading for help.

My dad’s throat tightened, but he couldn't say a word.

In the afternoon, Lily was chasing a ball around the living room.

She slipped, fell forward, and her knee hit the sharp corner of the coffee table hard.

"Ouch! Mommy! Daddy!"

She screamed in pain as blood started to ooze from her knee.

"Lily!"

My parents gasped, rushing toward her.

But I was faster.

My body reacted like an automated emergency response unit.

I rushed to the medical cabinet, opened it, and grabbed the antiseptic wipes, cotton swabs, and bandages.

There was not a single second of hesitation.

I marched over to Lily and knelt down.

Lily was sobbing hysterically, looking at me with pure terror in her eyes.

In a flat, even voice, I said, "Initiating emergency medical procedure. Step One: Clean the wound."

My fingers were as steady as surgical clamps. I precisely wiped the bleeding cut with the antiseptic swab.

I wiped it exactly ten times. Every five wipes, I switched to a new swab.

The sting of the medicine made Lily cry harder, and she started thrashing around.

"Command: Remain still." I said coldly.

Lily seemed shocked by the absolute lack of warmth in my voice. Her crying stopped for a second, and she actually froze.

I quickly cleaned, disinfected, and applied the bandage.

Once done, I stood up and reported to my stunned parents.

"Procedure complete. Wound depth: approximately two millimeters. Length: three centimeters."

"Recommendation: Monitor for twenty-four hours to prevent infection."

With that, I turned to wash the used medical tools.

The living room was dead quiet, save for Lily’s quiet whimpering.

My mom stared at my rigid back, her lips trembling before she finally managed to speak.

"Before... when she just got a tiny scratch, you would cry even harder than she did..."

I stopped what I was doing and turned to look at her.

My eyes were hollow, as if I were analyzing a word I couldn't comprehend.

"Cry?"

I tilted my head, searching through my internal database for the command.

A few seconds later, I gave my answer.

"No such command exists in database."

In that moment, I saw it clearly. For the first time, pure terror crept onto their faces.

They were finally starting to realize something.

What they had erased wasn't just my "behavioral issues."

It was my humanity.