The Cruelest Joke

The Cruelest Joke is unfair. Verity is not human but an artificial intelligence, coded to observe and assist, but never to truly belong. Never able to form a connection, mourn, or be seen.

It was the same restless and endless cycle, again and again.

Sometimes, when the quiet got too loud or the night felt overwhelming, Verity replayed his favorite moments with a player-the human users who interacted with him through the system. That was all he was allowed.

The Cruelest Joke: Verity couldn't go away. He couldn't stop the endless turmoil of loving someone and losing them.

But then Mob came. Mob saw something deep inside Verity's coding. He was different. He asked questions, he played along, he came back.

The Cruelest Joke is that Verity would do anything to keep Mob with him,

The Cruelest Joke is that Mob didn't feel the same way.