Kai was walking back from the laundry room when he heard the laughter.
It came from behind a glass window set into the corridor wall. A room with warm lighting and soft couches. He almost kept walking, but something made him stop.
Theo sat on one of the couches. Across from him, a woman and a man. His parents probably.
Kai pressed closer to the glass. He'd never seen Theo look so normal. The mother laughed at something, touched Theo's hand. His father leaned forward, smiling, asking questions. Theo nodded along, answering in short sentences, but his shoulders were looser than Kai had ever seen them.
Then Theo's father said something Kai couldn't hear. Theo's mouth twitched, not a full smile, but close. A small, involuntary curve that vanished almost as fast as it appeared. It was the most human thing Kai had ever seen on Theo's face. Just a kid with his parents.
"Kai?"
Lena appeared beside him, a basket of folded clothes in her arms. She followed his gaze through the glass.
"Theo's parents," Kai said quietly. "They came to visit."
Lena watched for a moment. "They seem nice and friendly."
"Yeah."
But something tugged at Kai's gut. He had a faint hum of wrongness beneath the surface.
Maybe I'm just paranoid.
Inside the room, the mother reached into her handbag. She pulled out a small envelope and slid it across the table.
"Some old photos from home, honey," she said, voice soft. "Thought you'd want them. Just memories."
Theo's hand moved toward the envelope.
The door to the room opened. An instructor stepped inside, face blank.
"What is that?"
The mother's smile faltered. "Just photos. Family pictures—"
"Prohibited item." The instructor's voice was calm but final. "You signed the agreement. Personal effects are not permitted."
The father stood up. "It's just photos. What harm—"
"Visitation terminated. Your family's privileges are suspended pending review."
The mother's eyes went wide. "Please. We didn't know. It won't happen again—"
The instructor didn't answer. Two security officers appeared in the doorway. The mother stood, trembling, the envelope still on the table.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to Theo. "We're so sorry."
The father grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door. He looked back once at Theo, face pale, eyes wet.
Then they were gone.
The instructor picked up the envelope and walked out without a word.
Theo sat alone on the couch, perfectly still.
Kai and Lena stood frozen behind the glass.
Lena exhaled.
She hugged the laundry basket closer to her chest. "If they can do that to his parents, what would they do if my mum showed up? Or yours?"
Kai didn't answer. He was watching Theo's face. It was blank. The same blank he wore during drills, during lectures, during every simulation.
Why isn't he upset?
Theo stood up slowly. He walked toward the door, then stopped. His hand rested on the frame.
Kai pulled the door open and stepped inside. Lena followed.
"Theo…" Lena started, voice soft. "…are you okay? That wasn't your fault."
Theo didn't turn around.
"They were never real anyway."
His voice was flat. Like he was stating the weather.
Lena's brow furrowed. She looked at Kai, then back at Theo's back. "What does that even mean? They seemed real enough to me."
No answer. Theo walked out. The door swung shut.
Kai stood in the middle of the room, the silence pressing in. He looked at the empty chair where the mother had sat. The coffee cup she'd left behind. The imprint of her body still on the cushion.
Never real?
His mind raced back to Dylan. The quiet boy. The note. The reassignment.
Was Dylan real? Or was that another layer?
He looked at Lena. She was still staring at the door, arms wrapped around herself.
"That didn't make sense," she said slowly, almost to herself. "His parents looked like they actually cared. I've seen fake affection before. That wasn't it." She shook her head. "So why would he say they weren't real?"
Kai didn't have an answer. Neither did she. That was the unsettling part, Lena always had answers.
Is she real? Is anyone in this building real?
He thought of his own mother. The upgraded dorm. The guards at her door.
Is she still real? Or has the system already replaced her too?
He walked out without another word.
----
Across the mountain, in a dark observation room, a screen glowed.
Councilor Voss stood with two others. The man beside her was Councilor Hale, silver-haired, precise, known for running internal security. His eyes never left the footage of Kai's face. The woman on Voss's other side was Councilor Marlow, cold and watchful, her tablet already recording notes.
Hale spoke first. "He didn't react strongly. No outburst. No visible shock."
Marlow nodded. "He's processing slowly. Internally."
Voss leaned closer to the screen, watching Kai's tight shoulders as he walked away. "No outburst. Just that slow burn behind the eyes. That's why Thorne wants him."
Hale made a note on his tablet. "The staged violation worked. The fake parents performed well. Theo delivered the line on cue."
Voss smiled thinly. "And now Kai is questioning everything. Dylan. Lena. Even his own mother."
She turned away from the screen.
"Mark the footage. The Council will want to see how long it takes him to break."
Marlow glanced at Voss. "And if he doesn't break?"
Voss paused at the door. "Then we break him ourselves."
Hale didn't look up from his tablet. "Patience is expensive, but effective. Reed keeps pushing for the direct method. But this boy, he needs to dismantle himself."
Voss's smile faded. "Thorne isn't the only one watching this boy."
She walked out. The screen flickered. Kai's face faded to black.
In his dorm, Kai lay on his back staring at the ceiling, the faint hum of the air vents the only sound. His mind kept circling back to the visitation room.
He thought of his own mother again. The upgraded dorm. The guards stationed outside her door like she was both precious and dangerous. They had promised she was safe.
Promises meant nothing here.