Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull
All I've ever known is the city
since I was a boy.
And I kind of move around,
never too long in one place.
I grew up on the streets.
It's where I met my father.
Well, that's what I called him.
We drifted around the city.
One morning I woke...
he was gone...
and I knew he was never coming back.
I've never known my mother.
I found out she sold me before I was even born.
I don't blame her, though.
It happens all the time.
Typhoons in the middle of winter.
They say these are crazy times.
Everyone out for themselves.
Then one day I got a chance to sell my soul.
And I took it.
To follow a man on his last walk on earth.
Knowing it's your hand
that will carry out his final act.
Sometimes I wake in the night and wonder what they saw...
what they thought in their final moment...
before I took it away.
Turn around.
On your knees.
A life isn't worth what it used to be...
but it's enough to get by.
Mother...
if I saw you again...
would you remember me?
Would you know your own eyes looking back at you?
Do you still think of me?
Was it you?
Does this mystery belong to you?
I see butterflies
and rain.
Visions from my childhood.
A memory or a dream.
Flickers from my past.
I reach out to touch it...
but it dissolves in the light.
Welcome. This way, sir.
Can they see me?
398.
What's your name?
My name is April.
I am from the south of Vietnam.
It's just a village.
There's no money there.
But it's quiet...
and you can still see the moon at night.
I like to sing.
I like to ice skate,
but I haven't done it for a while.
No...
I don't have a boyfriend.
What's your name?
Jack.
Long day, Jack?
Not really.
What do you do?
Construction.
I work construction.
You have family, Jack?
I got a father but, um...
well, I never really see him.
Why not?
He left me when I was a kid.
I tracked him down once.
But I didn't bother to see him.
I understand.
When I first got here,
all I wanted was to go home.
Now I feel like...
there's nothing there for me.
What about your family?
I don't really talk about my family.
What does it mean?
Believe.
Believe what?
I'm sorry, I... have to leave.
Goodbye.
You search for the distant...
then it hits you in the face.
Should I be afraid?
What magic is this?
No, you... you don't have to do that.
Jack?
You remembered me.
I never forget a voice.
April.
Is that your real name?
Of course not.
No one uses their real name.
Have you eaten?
Would you like to eat with me?
When?
Tonight.
Midnight.
That's when I get off.
How will I know you?
I'll be the one looking at you.
Show me your hand.
Your...
love line is very short.
I didn't know I had one.
Everyone's got one.
There's just no use for them anymore.
A long life with...
no love.
Do you know what love is, Jack?
I've only heard stories from a long time ago.
What kind of stories?
Sad ones, mostly.
You?
I thought I did.
Not anymore.
What have these hands really done?
Things I shouldn't forget.
Things I should regret.
But you don't.
Maybe one day.
Or maybe it's too late.
Is that what you believe?
Who was it?
A voice...
I thought I could trust.
How many times did he hurt you?
Less than he wanted to.
What's real?
It's getting harder to tell...
what's real, what's not.
Are they becoming more like us?
Or are we becoming the machine?
What is it?
Does it have a heart?
A soul?
Do I?
They said the machines were meant to replace us.
But it's cheaper to buy your soul
than a quantum chip.
The company code belongs to a biotech corporation.
Masuka Industries.
It's the government's largest private donor.
Its system's high grade.
Impossible to hack.
Its head scientist, Doctor J. Bergman,
disappeared last year.
He's a life extension specialist.
He's your best bet.
If he's still alive.
It's a pain...
right here.
It's hard to breathe.
Just can't get enough air.
No.
Doctor Bergman?
In the corner, between the light...
it's closer than you think.
Look at you.
Regrets for the blood you spilt.
Waiting for the truth to arrive.
You knew it was out there.
Who are you?
Where'd it come from?
Something that was following me.
How old are you?
And how much can I trust you?
That's what I thought.
Hello?
Jack?
It's me.
Have you eaten?
No.
Would you like to eat with me?
I don't feel like speaking English today.
Jack.
I have to go to work.
Can I see you tonight?
I want you to stay at my home.
What do you want?
You killed my brother.
On your knees.
What is it?
Nymphalis Antiopa.
The mourning cloak butterfly.
They live 30 times the normal lifespan,
but their life is half as bright.
Much of it spent in semi-hibernation.
Why did you leave the Corporation?
Huh.
Have a seat.
Yeah...
You have a very high concentration of hormones in your blood.
Adrenaline, dopamine...
serotonin, vasopressin, oxytocin.
These levels seem to be new...
to your system.
Seems to be affecting your cell respiration.
Show me your hand.
Your open and close.
Well, that stiffness is your body's rejection of the hormone levels.
Have you been trying any new drugs?
No.
You recently had any new type of experience?
Like what?
Oh, I don't know. Anything...
Anything out of the ordinary?
What about the girl?
The girl in the restaurant, how long have you known her?
A few days.
And how long have you had these symptoms?
About the same time.
Why are they following me?
Well, I can't answer that just yet.
This will take some time to analyze.
I'll need your contact.
I have to warn you, I don't have much money.
I don't want your money.
Then why are you helping me?
You just be thankful I've done this much.
Sit.
I have to get dressed.
Creatures of loneliness...
taunted by desire...
wrapped up in yourself...
too tight to breathe...
holding on by a thread.
What have you become...
trapped in that castle?
♪ Every beat of my heart ♪
♪ Is just for you ♪
♪ And I will love you ♪
♪ Till my life is through ♪
♪ At the moment you're away ♪
♪ I just want to cry ♪
♪ Every beat of my heart is just for you ♪
♪ Every beat of my heart is just for you. ♪
You ever been scared?
Yeah.
I am, of you.
Are you really?
You're not really a construction worker...
are you?
I was once.
A long time ago.
I sweated all day for the price of a coffee.
One day I took a man's life to save my own.
It didn't seem like a hard thing to do.
So from then on, life didn't seem so precious.
Nothing did.
So... are you scared of me now?
No.
No?
Then what?
I'm scared of...
the things I've done.
The things I've become.
I'm scared that I'll...
dream about you again.
And that I'll miss you...
when I wake up.
What do you pray for in the darkness?
I...
once had a daughter.
And I lost her.
I pray that she's okay.
And that she's healthy.
I've never told anyone before.
Only you.
Fuck.
Do you know what did it?
Yeah, I know.
You should go to sleep.
The sun'll be up soon.
I can't stay.
Why?
I just need to go.
Tonight I didn't take your money.
I never bring anyone back here.
Do you understand?
Yes.
I understand.
It's not safe for you to be near me.
The things I've done can come back to me.
Anytime.
The things you do...
don't come back.
They're always there.
Inside.
That's why I can't stay.
I can't help you.
Help me what?
Find your child.
I didn't ask you to help me.
Did I ask for your help?
She's better off without me, anyway.
I'm too selfish to be a mother.
Go.
You could never trust someone like me.
I will hurt you...
lie to you...
deceive you.
What did I do to you?
And you to me?
The lights, so bright.
If only you were on my inside.
Can you remember...
before the glory?
You buried it all, horses and men.
Your white blood...
cracks your stony veins.
Your tomb's crumbling.
The forever light surrounds you.
Have you seen the moon of late?
I caught a glimpse of it last night. It was...
Can't remember the last time I'd seen it.
I must have missed it.
I mean, it was only briefly visible in the haze, but...
but it did remind me how some things are still real.
Some things are still truly beautiful.
Will I sing for you, sir?
No, no, no. Thank you, no.
Are you lonely, sir?
Or do you have someone special?
Well, we live in a city built for machines,
so I would have thought loneliness was inevitable.
Unless, of course, the machine is what you become.
I did have someone special...
a very long time ago.
Who was it?
The only person I ever trusted
and the only person I couldn't let go.
Still haven't.
How can I help you?
Are you looking for something?
I spent my whole life searching for something.
Did you find it?
Ah.
Mm.
Why did you come here?
Perhaps I was curious about what it is that attracts them,
why they come to such a place.
I mean, what are we all looking for?
I was wondering.
Has your life changed...
recently?
What do you mean?
I mean something...
you didn't see coming.
What do you want?
Just the truth.
You know you can't find truth in a place like this.
Well, then why do they all come here, if they know it's a lie?
Because it's better than nothing.
What, even if it's not real?
That thing you can't let go of...
is it real...
or just better than nothing?
It will be best for everybody
if you stay away from him.
Stay away from who?
These people are very dangerous.
And you should walk away, hmm?
While you can.
And, um, well...
I'll say goodbye.
Welcome back to New World Cryogenics.
Visiting hours finish in a half hour.
There isn't much time. You're deteriorating quite quickly.
As a child, you were part of an experimental program
at the Masuka Corporation
along with many other children.
The Corporation's been following you to take you in,
to conclude its experiments.
Experiments in the extension of life.
Street children were the preferred target.
You were part of a hormone restriction program
which essentially comprised of limiting
the production of certain hormones.
Hormones responsible for deep emotion.
Now your body has adapted to function without these hormones,
to the extent that, when they're reintroduced, they become toxic,
which is what you are now experiencing.
I mean, some people would envy your position.
If you can remain in good health,
it's possible you could live long enough
to have a chance to live forever.
You may never have to die.
You know, once I would have done almost anything to have what you have.
I... I did the unimaginable.
I committed the most terrible crimes...
to the most vulnerable and innocent.
I'm going to attempt to wipe your records from the Corporation database,
but if I fail, you'll have to keep looking over your shoulder,
because the Corporation won't stop until it has you.
Your only chance is to stop seeing the girl.
What if I can't stay away from her?
Well, then you will die.
Looks like the storm's going to miss us.
Wish me luck.
That dream you had of us,
on the mountain, in the desert...
Was it real?
Yes.
Did you really miss me when you woke?
Yes.
That day I first saw you...
it was on the train.
I followed you home.
And I followed you to the club.
I watched you pray in the darkness.
I don't know if it was real, or a dream.
I don't know if you are real.
Is this moment real?
Only you can answer that.
Mmm. What's it really mean?
Everything.
What is everything?
Nothing.
My whole life...
I've felt like I didn't belong anywhere.
When I'm with you, that feeling's gone.
Jack.
I'll be your home tonight.
I'll be the one to never forget you.
You know you can't trust her,
but there's nothing you can do.
Like the sun...
it devours you.
I see them now...
the lost souls,
flying at the speed of light.
What magic is this?
The lights...
so bright.
My love...
goodnight.
I see butterflies and rain.
Visions from my childhood.
A memory or a dream?
Flickers from my past.
I see you...
hiding from the light.
Where is 398?
Hmm.
Why should I be afraid?
Mother...
why should you?
For my eyes to look back at me...
and yours back at you.
I'll wait for you.
For your warmth...
your beauty...
your truth.
I'll wait for you.
Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull