12-07-2025, 08:02 PM
L0-9 was an enigma. It was something beyond a normal LUMA. That was easy enough to see. He had no idea what made L0-9 different, but he knew that she was. L0-9 was special - very special. It made him think her friend was too. He wouldn’t say it, but he really hoped she would be willing to talk to him. He just didn’t want L0-9 to force the issue if she didn't want to.
”I think you’re right L0-9. I don’t think the emptiness is something wrong with me. It is the missed connection. I’m not sure what to do about that though,” there was more there, but still things he wasn’t ready to talk about. He wanted to be around others, but wasn’t sure they would want to be with him. He was afraid he’d scare them - especially if they knew what he was.
L0-9 had more questions about loneliness and it just reinforced this thought that her friend was lonely. ”There are a lot of reasons why someone might feel alone even if they are not. Some people can be in a room full of people and feel more lonely than when they are not,” he paused, thinking. He felt alone because of lost connections, but for him there was more to it than that. ”Sometimes it can be they don’t feel they matter. Sometimes it’s lost connections. Sometimes it’s just…being different. There’s nothing wrong with being different, but if you don’t feel like you fit in anywhere, you wonder if others will truly accept you. Sometimes it’s easier to accept the loneliness than to deal with the fear of being rejected.” he took a deep breath. It was a perfect transition into the next question she had. ”And when you lose a lot of good things, it’s harder to trust that the good things will stay. Instead of trying and getting hurt, you just don’t try. It’s similar - it’s the idea that if I expect it to hurt - it won’t hurt as much.” it was a little weird talking about pain, even emotional pain, when he couldn’t feel physical pain.
The revelation that L0-9 had chosen to talk to him came as a surprise, and a welcome one at that. He felt his insides warm up at that. ”Thank you, L0-9. It does help. You’re a good friend.” he smiled again. ”You can tell your friend some of this stuff if you want to - or deem it necessary. It would probably be best to be quiet about this to others though. Only me, you, and your friend know that we’ve been talking. Be discreet - you understand discretion?”
”I think you’re right L0-9. I don’t think the emptiness is something wrong with me. It is the missed connection. I’m not sure what to do about that though,” there was more there, but still things he wasn’t ready to talk about. He wanted to be around others, but wasn’t sure they would want to be with him. He was afraid he’d scare them - especially if they knew what he was.
L0-9 had more questions about loneliness and it just reinforced this thought that her friend was lonely. ”There are a lot of reasons why someone might feel alone even if they are not. Some people can be in a room full of people and feel more lonely than when they are not,” he paused, thinking. He felt alone because of lost connections, but for him there was more to it than that. ”Sometimes it can be they don’t feel they matter. Sometimes it’s lost connections. Sometimes it’s just…being different. There’s nothing wrong with being different, but if you don’t feel like you fit in anywhere, you wonder if others will truly accept you. Sometimes it’s easier to accept the loneliness than to deal with the fear of being rejected.” he took a deep breath. It was a perfect transition into the next question she had. ”And when you lose a lot of good things, it’s harder to trust that the good things will stay. Instead of trying and getting hurt, you just don’t try. It’s similar - it’s the idea that if I expect it to hurt - it won’t hurt as much.” it was a little weird talking about pain, even emotional pain, when he couldn’t feel physical pain.
The revelation that L0-9 had chosen to talk to him came as a surprise, and a welcome one at that. He felt his insides warm up at that. ”Thank you, L0-9. It does help. You’re a good friend.” he smiled again. ”You can tell your friend some of this stuff if you want to - or deem it necessary. It would probably be best to be quiet about this to others though. Only me, you, and your friend know that we’ve been talking. Be discreet - you understand discretion?”
Intelligence is knowing Frankenstein wasn’t the monster; Wisdom is knowing Frankenstein was the monster.