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Cogito, ergo sum
"Five Ante Meridiem, status normal. Core positive. All good in diagnostics."
"No issues for now."
"Speed of processing 0.00077 percent ping."
"No issues for now."
"Mechanical all clear."
"No issues for now."
"All clear.
"Excellent!"
Taehyung opens his eyes, and then it's brightness. So much brightness but his vision adjusts immediately. He sits up, finds himself in a metal bed and something that feels like it's tugging his head. He reaches back, touches a cord, and then pulls. The cord detaches and Taehyung jerks for a fraction of a second.
"Core positive, 1.003 percent ping."
"No issues for now."
"Good."
Taehyung looks up, sees that he's in a circular glass chamber, and immediately locks eyes with a man when he turns the other way.
"You," Taehyung says and the man dressed in a white lab coat jumps with a gasp.
"Do you know me?" The man asks, he's outside of the glass chamber, standing there observing Taehyung.
"You."
"Yes. Me," the man says softly, stepping closer to the chamber and pressing his palm against the glass.
Taehyung pushes off the metal bed, standing on his feet and slowly approaching the man.
"Speed of processing 0.0000006 percent ping."
"No issues for now."
"Mechanical deviation error negative."
"No issues for now."
Taehyung reaches the glass, only leaving the man's gaze to look down at his ID and clearly seeing the Dr. Jung Hoseok printed on it as a QR code.
"Hoseok," Taehyung whispers, bringing his hand to mirror Hoseok's palm on the glass. He notices then that Hoseok's hands are smaller than his, wrist a fragile dainty thing that Taehyung thinks would easily be crushed by the strength in his hand. Birdbones Hoya.
"Yes, that's right," Hoseok says, a hopeful grin on his face. "You remember?"
Taehyung shakes his head no, and then points at the ID, he sees Hoseok's face fall. There's a frown on the doctor's face, little dimples popping on his face as he looks down at his own ID.
"How did you know my name then? My ID only has a QR code on it and nothing else," Hoseok asks, confused.
"He can do that," another voice, from somewhere outside of the chamber.
Taehyung looks behind Hoseok and sees a white space, screens and computers of the most advanced kind filling up the space in rows. A man appears, standing beside Hoseok and towering over him by a few inches. Taehyung reads the code on his ID too but all it says is LEVEL SSS.
"We've given him the language," the newcomer tells Hoseok. "The intern had the idea."
"Jungkook did?"
"Yes, and Engineer Min made the interface."
"He can read barcodes and QR codes?" the Doctor asks.
"Professor Park said it's a free pass at the grocery," the other man shrugs.
"That's not normal, Joon."
"He's not supposed to be."
At that, Taehyung sees Hoseok's eyes water, but he doesn't let them fall, instead Hoseok breathes a calming breath and he's back to studying Taehyung again.
"So, you don't know me," Hoseok whispers and Taehyung feels like he should respond to that, but the way Hoseok said it seemed like it was more for himself.
"He shouldn't," this Joon man says. "But he does."
Joon tilts his head at Taehyung, watching him with fierce dragon eyes and Taehyung feels the need to be mean to this man. Joon bites the inside of his cheek and then he's turning back, pointing at one of the computers, shouting:
"Malignant code diagnostics?"
"None detected."
"No issues for now."
"Storage drives running?"
"Smoothly, 0.000091 ping."
"No issues for now."
"Memory drives diagnostics?"
"Green, yellow, green, green, and... huh, red. Albeit no error."
"Oh?" Joon gives a little exasperated laugh. "Interesting."
Hoseok looks back at him with a worried frown. "What's wrong? What does it mean?"
"Hoseok, could you step out of the lab for a moment," Joon says, beckoning the doctor.
Taehyung feels something hot in his chest, something that wants to burst.
"Why?" Hoseok asks.
"A test."
"What test?"
Joon gives Hoseok a little encouraging nod. "Diagnostics."
Hoseok hesitates, looking back at Taehyung with a worried frown. Taehyung hears a pleading from inside his head, but he doesn't pay it any mind.
"Red, red, red. Albeit no error."
"No issues for now."
"What's going to happen?" Hoseok asks but his gaze is still locked with Taehyung.
The feeling in Taehyung's chest feels even tighter, clawing its way out.
"Nothing bad, I promise, Hobi."
There is a long pause, silence from Hoseok, and Taehyung hears the pleading in his mind grow louder.
It's okay, Hobi-hyung. Stay with me please. You'll be alright. Please hyung, stay with me.
"Memory drives purple, purple, purple, all purple. Albeit no error at all."
"No issues for now."
"Okay, I'll go." Taehyung hears Hoseok say.
"Don't go," Taehyung calls the doctor calmly but loud enough for everyone beyond the rows of the computers to hear.
"Hobi, go," Joon says a beat after Taehyung.
And with that, Hoseok turns and leaves. The doctor spares Taehyung a longing glance and then he disappears out of the lab through the automatic glass doors.
Joon watches him again and this time Taehyung feels free to glare at the man.
"Green, green, green, all green. Albeit one code error detected."
"What error?"
"Line 683917. Error with arrays. Array hobi, hyung, and stay, has been added."
"No issues for now."
Joon exhales at that.
"You're amazing, you know that?" Joon whistles, impressed. "Now, what do you call yourself?"
Taehyung rolls his eyes. "Kim Taehyung."
Joon laughs at him.
"Kim Taehyung died in 2163. It's already 2348. You should be calling yourself Vante. You shouldn't even know Hoseok," Joon tells him and then turns back to the computers. "Dr. Kim, run diagnostics again!"
"Five Ante Meridiem, status normal. Core positive. All good in diagnostics."
"No issues for now."
"Speed of processing 0.000083 percent ping."
"No issues for now."
"Mechanical all clear."
"No issues for now."
"Excellent. Now," Joon faces Taehyung again. "How the fuck did your soul download itself into my robot?"