Failure?
Mission 2: 32 September. Year 021
No one told me to come.
No message. No ping. No curious glances through the glass. They've all moved on. I should’ve too, probably.
But here I am.
One month later. Same boots. Same corridor. Same silent walls that don’t care if I show up or disappear between the tiles.
They stopped logging my attempts. The system doesn’t record “non-events.”
I enter the bay.
Dust sleeps on the console. Wires hang like veins from a body no longer alive. The seat greets me like a grave.
I sit.
It’s colder now. Or maybe I am.
I run the protocol. My voice is thin, barely human.
> “Pilot 4017: Eva. Clearance: Self-authorized.”
A familiar hum answers. Same as before. Indifferent.
I grip the handles. Breathe. Wait for the failure. Wait for the stillness.
And then—
a jolt.
The floor drops.
Not much. But enough.
The ship rises.
Not high. But enough.
The lights adjust. The pressure shifts. The simulation confirms: Lift achieved.
I stay still.
I don’t smile. I don’t scream. I don’t even blink.
I don’t know what it means to succeed when no one is watching.
When the silence weighs more than the ship.
I float for seven seconds.
Then lower it back down.
It touches ground softer than I remember.
I unbuckle. Step out. Walk to the door.
No one’s there.
I don’t write a report.
I just whisper to myself,
> “So what.”

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