IV || [MxM, Sci Fi]

The Machine | 2

"That long-ass password to the tablet - he knew it by heart. He memorized the puzzle pieces too, just like everything else," Ray was so deep in thought that he missed the hallway turn, and ended up at the depot instead of the lab.

Was this your magnum opus, Damian? Your perfect encryption no one would be able to crack?

He stopped mid-hallway and slapped himself on the forehead. A couple of crew mates gave him weird looks from the distance.

"He decides whether to share it or not based on his judgment, just like you, dumbass!" He almost screamed it, earning even more worried looks, and raced down Deck 2 towards his lab.

"...Perhaps he cannot replicate or restore his da... memories..." The blinking white dots were staring back at Ray from the viewport. The holo disc was murmuring its calm track in the background, accompanied by tapping from Iv drawing next to him on the sofa. The orange still looked square-ish, but less square than the previous dozen sketches.

No wonder he was so scared back then.

"I'm so sorry for all those reboot talks," Ray exhaled, remorse weighing him down even more. "And for torturing you with the scanners."

The stylus tapping halted.

"I'll give it a thought. Maybe I will forgive you after a while."

"Aren't you quite a piece of work," Ray turned to him abruptly. "A real sphinx."

"I don't understand what you mean," there was a bit of annoyance tucked under Iv's quiet voice. "To be fair, I don't understand you most of the time. You're a very confusing person."

"I'll take it as a compliment."

"No, it's not. I can't grasp your personality no matter how hard I try. Dealing with you is exhausting. You seem to be a rather caring and thoughtful person, but you say and do the meanest things on a whim. And it's impossible to separate your pretend self from your real self."

"The - pretend - what?" Ray's jaw dropped a bit as he stared at Iv wide-eyed.

"Most of the people here have some fake identity going, except maybe for Trent, and Damian. It's weird, annoying even. I don't understand what for."

"Well, not everyone has the luxury of speaking their mind like you, and...it's human nature, I guess? We pretend to be better than we are to appear more likable to others. Or to hide our vulnerabilities."

"It makes things unnecessarily complicated."

"That's true. On the other hand, it's exciting to trust someone so much you can be your true self around them. It's like sharing a secret."

"But how can you know they are their true self with you?"

"... you can never know," Ray exhaled, his eyes locking back on the dark glass stippled with the stars. "Or worse, you think you know someone well...but you were just blind the entire time."

The kitchen at their family house always was the center of all events, - including that conversation.

It was a rare sight, seeing Damian so upset. That concern on his brother's face usually caught Ray off guard, but now was getting on him. He hated being babied like this.

"No one deserves the 'ok I found someone else, bye' treatment, Ray. You ghost everyone for two weeks, just to announce your engagement post-fact? How long do you even know each other? That's so unlike anything I know about you."

"Come on, haven't you ever fallen in love?" Ray folded arms, hiding the tremble in his hands. 

"Does it excuse being a dick to everyone? Fine, forget Jake, but what the fuck was that talk? Mom didn't deserve to hear that from a total stranger, and... I just have too many questions about everything else, too. Are you sure he's the right kind of person for you?"