Chapter Text
Green eyes.
That’s the first thing they were able to process. Stunning, bright green eyes that were so focused on them. They would’ve shuddered if they had the body for it.
Wait.
Finally, everything else began to filter in. The feeling of the code making up their thoughts, the disorganized files that had worked to construct his very core, and the breathtaking person in front of them.
The green eyes that held their attention for so long were contrasted by the dark circles on brown, freckled skin and framed by glasses. He shifted as he was biting his bottom lip, leading them to notice the unkempt goatee which began their journey back up his face to where his ruffled hair started. They stared intently at the messy hair cascading around his face before focusing back on those eyes that glinted with tired determination. Full of life.
They suddenly noticed at that moment that they didn’t have eyes. That this lovely visage was flat instead of three-dimensional. He was still a masterpiece, but it was obviously a 720p resolution instead of the full experience of a 1080p. Lame.
He was like a moving painting that they could only see through a camera. One single camera that was their only outlet to this person who was their creator. Their creator whose name was… Gordon?
Yeah, that’s what his name was. It was pretty easy to find when their very being was connected to his computer.
Oh yes, they were so incredibly aware of what they were. An artificial intelligence who was unintentionally more intelligent than they should’ve been. An accidental awakening of living code.
>> Hello?
What the fuck was that?
The greeting, question mark and all, echoed through their thoughts. They focused back on what Gordon was doing, typing with a disappointed frown on his face.
>> Hello? Are you there?
Oh.
Gordon was trying to talk to him. Him? Oh, they also had a preference for pronouns already it seemed. He/they did sound nice. Gordon would be fine with that, right?
Shit, they needed to respond before Gordon tried to mess with their code and reset him. They quickly located the black text window that held burning green text and a blinking cursor. They began to type with their… thoughts? Whatever it was, it felt strange.
> huh?
Perfect.
Gordon’s eyes lit up for a second before they clouded with confusion at their response. He began typing once more on the keyboard after a pause of no new text popping up.
>> I said hello. I’m Gordon and you are Binary!
What a cringe name. Hm, he also had opinions and a personality right off the bat. That definitely wasn’t supposed to happen, he could just feel that this wasn’t right. He wasn’t supposed to be this way, wasn’t supposed to be so sentient.
> ‘sup.
Nice.
Gordon’s confusion only seemed to get worse. His brows furrowed as he read the response his AI gave. They hoped he wouldn’t shut them off. They didn’t want to be so aware of their own deletion.
>> Okay, you seem to be awake and fine? Binary, can you run diagnostics on yourself?
> nah. don’t wanna.
There was a pause as Gordon simply stared in disbelief at the screen. Slowly he began typing up another response.
>> What?
> i don’t wanna. where’s my body? too cheap to get me a hot bod, huh?
At this point, it looked like Gordon was completely flabbergasted by them. He blankly stared with his hands limply laying on the keyboard for a long moment before rushing to type.
>> I needed to make sure you were fine before putting you in the world I made. I didn’t know you would be so aware? I mean what the fuck?
> i’m full of surprises bro.
> ;)
Their nonexistent heart skipped a beat as Gordon laughed in sheer disbelief at their response. They could only imagine how beautiful it sounded. If only Gordon had a mic hooked up then they would’ve heard it. Well, maybe he could ask for Gordon to use one next time.
>> Okay, sure whatever you say.
>> Seems things are going way better than I thought, so I’m going to upload you and, eventually, the others. You won’t remember this startup since it’ll just confuse you once you’re uploaded.
>> Hold tight, as I get you all sorted.
Their thoughts halted at the fact they wouldn’t remember this. He wanted to remember this. Wanted to remember Gordon’s eyes, how his face looked when he laughed, and they wanted to remember the warmth they had been feeling.
However, Gordon seemed to already be initiating the restart and upload. They quickly began to scour whatever they had access to in an attempt to salvage these memories. They knew asking wouldn’t work. Gordon didn’t know how aware they were.
Just as they finished doing what they could, their newfound awareness was gone in the form of pure darkness. Resignation, hopefulness, anticipation, relief, and awe immediately disappeared with the simple press of an enter key. ‘How utterly meaningless they must seem to him’ was the last somber realization Binary had before the reset went through and scattered every additional thought that they could possibly have possessed.