DAY FIFTEEN: NOVEMBER 09 2025

Arrived back. Something is up. No response. About to step onto the train before Subject #1's stop.

Damnit! She just boarded. I was about to get up when she stepped through the doors. She's looking all rosy and peach fucking perfect. She made direct eye contact with me as she weaved her way through the other passengers towards my section of the train. It's like she's a new person. More open.

Happy to be bloody alive.

This has all gone to shit.

I've gone to shit. There's a red patch forming on my right hand and there is a burning sensation around my neck. Those bastards better be pulling the piss.

Heading over to P00102's apartment to get to the bottom of this fiasco.

Will record everything on my comm-unit.

>>>>>>Recording:

>>>>>>Translating to English:

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Ah, sure. No, go ahead."

"Thanks. Haven't I seen you on this line before?"

"No."

"You sure? You look very familiar."

"Wasn't me."

"Sorry, I'm not usually forward, but I recently realized that you have to make the most of life. Never let opportunities slip through your hands. So I had to ask."

"No problem."

"You don't sound like you are from around here?"

"No. Not from here."

"I would like to travel. See the world. There is so much beauty out there. Look at all these beautiful people. Just like you and me."

"Not really."

"Oh, I think so. They are all keeping to themselves, too afraid to reach out beyond what they know. Wanting people to like them, to notice them. But without drawing attention to themselves. Blending in but not wanting to blend in."

"Doing things to be like everyone else, you mean."

"Yes. But to feel like they are part of something. Not feeling alone. It's all about being accepted."

"No matter what."

"Sometimes. The pressure to be loved is there from birth. Wanting a parent to love you and accept you for who you are. Not what they think you should be. That is where the cycle begins. What we see here is not one person trying to impress a stranger. It is a son or a daughter trying to impress their god. Their parent. Even the parent who loves them unconditionally, no matter what, unknowingly puts pressure on their child to never let them down. People running their lives to maintain approval from a superior being. God, mother, mentor. What is the difference?"

"Status is another god. Ego."

"And when you bring someone down to that basic human need, it is no different to a baby crying in a crib wanting the comfort of another. A baby animal does not survive if it is not accepted by its mother. It is dead if the herd does not see it as an equal. Runts who are different to the rest die off, starved and abandoned."

"Better to be different than go with a herd heading for the edge of a cliff."

"Better to be the one to make a difference and turn the herd around. Would you rather stand back and watch as they plummet over the edge, or be the one to tell them where they are headed. Kindness has a way of working for everyone, not just the individual."

"This is my stop."

"It was really nice talking to someone willing to talk in this place."

"Sure."

"I hope you go out there and make a difference. Will I see you again?"

"I don't think so."

"Are you okay? You are sweating and it is freezing in here."

"Bye."

[Sound of doors sliding open.]

"What the hell is happening to me?" Heavy breathing. "I need to get out of here."

[Footsteps quicken. The sounds of people moving past.]

[The sounds of the underground fade as traffic noises fill the air.]

[A car hooter and tires squeal]

"Pedestrian, motherfucker!"

[Running feet and panting.]

"Nearly there."

[Sound of knocking]

"Open the fuck up, Julian!"

[Banging on a door. The squeak of a door opening.]

"Anyone here? Julian, where the hell are you? Where's the goddamn light switch?"

[A noise from a nearby room]

"Julian?" A light switch clicks. "What the fuck?"

[Someone says something inaudible.]


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