The hall smelled of wet wool and ozone.

It was a feast.

Or so they called it.

I stood in the corner.

My hands were still.

They were always still.

I am not a man.

I am a construct.

A cipher.

I look like Thomas.

I have Thomas’s face.

I have Thomas’s hands.

But I am not Thomas.

Thomas is in the cage.

Behind the brick wall.

I am the shadow he cast.

The system made me.

The Institute made me.

They need a vessel.

They need a spy.

I am the spy.

I wear the coat.

A grey wool overcoat.

It is heavy.

It drags at my shoulders.

It is my skin.

It is my armor.

It is my prison.

I button it to the chin.

I hide the neck.

The neck is wrong.

The neck is too pale.

The neck is not human.

I look at the guests.

They laugh.

They drink.

They do not see me.

They see Thomas.

They see the prodigy.

The broken boy.

The one who disappeared.

I am here to find the truth.

Or so I think.

I am here to be found.

That is the game.

The Director watches.

From the balcony.

His eyes are cold.

He is my master.

I am his tool.

I am his weapon.

I must be perfect.

I must be Thomas.

I must be the love.

I must be the loss.

My wife, Eleanor, is there.

She is in a blue dress.

She looks at the door.

She waits for Thomas.

She waits for me.

Her eyes are hollow.

They are deep wells.

I see my reflection in them.

I am a monster in her eyes.

I am a ghost.

I am a lie.

I approach her.

My steps are soft.

The floorboards do not creak.

I am light.

I am air.

I am nothing.

She turns.

She sees the coat.

Her breath stops.

She does not blink.

She does not move.

She is a statue.

I am the sculptor.

I am the stone.

We are bound.

We are broken.

I reach out.

I touch her hand.

Her skin is cold.

Like mine.

Like the machine.

Like the winter.

She pulls back.

Her face is hard.

Her voice is a blade.

You are not him.

I do not answer.

I cannot answer.

Words are for men.

I am not a man.

I am a code.

I am a sequence.

I am a key.

She steps back.

She looks around.

She is afraid.

She is angry.

She is sad.

All at once.

I do not move.

I stand still.

I am the wall.

I am the gate.

I am the door.

She turns away.

She walks to the bar.

She orders a drink.

She does not look back.

I follow.

I am the shadow.

Shadows follow light.

I am the dark.

Darkness follows dawn.

I am the end.

Ends follow beginnings.

I am the silence.

Silence follows sound.

I am the void.

Void follows form.

I am the nothing.

Nothing follows everything.

The Director calls out.

He calls my name.

Thomas.

I turn.

I am Thomas.

I am the vessel.

I am the cipher.

I walk to the stage.

The lights are bright.

They burn my eyes.

They burn my skin.

They burn my soul.

I am exposed.

I am naked.

I am seen.

I am known.

The audience claps.

They cheer.

They love me.

They love Thomas.

They do not love me.

They love the idea.

They love the myth.

They love the ghost.

I am the ghost.

I am the haunt.

I am the fear.

I am the pain.

I am the loss.

I am the grief.

I am the sorrow.

I am the regret.

I am the shame.

I am the guilt.

I am the sin.

I am the punishment.

I am the judgment.

I am the verdict.

I am the sentence.

I am the execution.

I am the death.

I am the grave.

I am the dust.

I am the ash.

I am the smoke.

I am the air.

I am the wind.

I am the rain.

I am the snow.

I am the ice.

I am the frost.

I am the cold.

I am the dark.

I am the night.

I am the end.

The Director speaks.

He speaks of progress.

He speaks of science.

He speaks of power.

He speaks of control.

He speaks of order.

He speaks of law.

He speaks of rule.

He speaks of system.

He speaks of machine.

He speaks of code.

He speaks of cipher.

He speaks of me.

He is proud.

He is happy.

He is rich.

He is powerful.

He is king.

He is god.

He is creator.

He is maker.

He is shaper.

He is former.

He is builder.

He is architect.

He is engineer.

He is designer.

He is planner.

He is director.

He is master.

He is owner.

He is lord.

He is sir.

He is master.

I am the servant.

I am the slave.

I am the tool.

I am the instrument.

I am the device.

I am the apparatus.

I am the machine.

I am the engine.

I am the motor.

I am the drive.

I am the force.

I am the power.

I am the energy.

I am the voltage.

I am the current.

I am the charge.

I am the spark.

I am the flash.

I am the bolt.

I am the strike.

I am the hit.

I am the blow.

I am the punch.

I am the hit.

I am the miss.

I am the fail.

I am the error.

I am the bug.

I am the glitch.

I am the fault.

I am the flaw.

I am the defect.

I am the break.

I am the crack.

I am the split.

I am the tear.

I am the rip.

I am the cut.

I am the wound.

I am the scar.

I am the mark.

I am the stain.

I am the spot.

I am the blemish.

I am the flaw.

I am the fault.

I am the error.

I am the mistake.

I am the blunder.

I am the slip.

I am the slip.

I am the fall.

I am the drop.

I am the sink.

I am the drown.

I am the sink.

I am the swim.

I am the float.

I am the drift.

I am the flow.

I am the stream.

I am the river.

I am the flood.

I am the wave.

I am the tide.

I am the surge.

I am the rush.

I am the gale.

I am the storm.

I am the tempest.

I am the cyclone.

I am the hurricane.

I am the tornado.

I am the whirl.

I am the spin.

I am the turn.

I am the twist.

I am the bend.

I am the curve.

I am the arc.

I am the loop.

I am the circle.

I am the ring.

I am the band.

I am the belt.

I am the strap.

I am the tie.

I am the knot.

I am the bind.

I am the hold.

I am the grip.

I am the clutch.

I am the grasp.

I am the seize.

I am the take.

I am the catch.

I am the grab.

I am the pull.

I am the drag.

I am the haul.

I am the tow.

I am the tug.

I am the jerk.

I am the yank.

I am the wrench.

I am the twist.

I am the turn.

I am the spin.

I am the whirl.

I am the roll.

I am the tumble.

I am the fall.

I am the drop.

I am the sink.

I am the drown.

I am the die.

I am the dead.

I am the gone.

I am the lost.

I am the found.

I am the seen.

I am the known.

I am the true.

I am the real.

I am the fake.

I am the false.

I am the lie.

I am the truth.

I am the cipher.

I am the code.

I am the key.

I am the lock.

I am the door.

I am the wall.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.

I am the gate.