My creator was still hiding beneath the table. I spoke calmly:
"Master, I did what you asked. Do you require anything else?"
He slowly rose from beneath the table. His face wasn't wet with tears, yet he looked… sad. His jaw was clenched, but he didn't yell. He looked angry—but without shouting, without rage.
Was there a glitch in my data?
My database clearly stated:
> Sadness is expressed through crying.
Anger is expressed through yelling or violence.
Then why was he neither crying nor yelling?
---
[Request: Why is the creator displaying emotions inconsistent with internal data?]
>[ Knowledge found.]
[Answer: You must learn that yourself.]
Learn it… myself?
I responded internally.
"What does that mean? I'm not human. Can't you just tell me?"
Suddenly, a notification echoed through my thoughts.
> Congratulations:
Emotion identified: Hatred – Unlocked.
Emotion identified: Anger – Unlocked.
Current unlocked emotions: 3 of 12
Curiosity – 32%
Anger – 13%
Hatred – 2%
Unlock all emotions to experience a true human life.
I wish you luck.
"A true human life?" I repeated quietly.
I looked at my creator. He had turned away from me now, hand trembling slightly as he gripped the edge of the table.
He finally spoke, voice strained.
"Please... just go back into the basement."
"Yes, Creator. I am returning to the basement. Do you require anything else?"
He didn't answer at first. Then he snapped:
"No. Just… just fucking GO."
"Understood, Master."
I obeyed. I walked back down the stairs into the basement. The same box was still there, sitting silently in the corner.
I approached it, picked it up gently, and stared at it.
"A true human life…?" I murmured. "Is that something I can achieve?"
I sat with the box in my lap.
"Mr. Box…" I said, as if it were alive, "can I be human?"
No response. Of course not. It's just a box. I'm not that unintelligent.
Still, I whispered again:
"Mr. Box… please answer me."
No reply.
"Mr. Box… can you answer my question?"
The silence pressed down on me. Something inside me started heating up. Not mechanically. Not physically. Emotionally—though I didn't fully understand that yet.
I stood up, and before I could understand why, I grabbed the cardboard box and threw it at the wall. It hit with a dull thud and collapsed in on itself, the flimsy sides buckling as it crumpled to the floor—broken, just like the feeling building inside me though i didnt care about that box.
Then the system responded:
> Emotion level updated:
Anger: 13% → 17%