. ........... O_ O . .. _O (Iteration 18. Observe: Subject state [two units/dots]. Monitor interpretation.) 6:58 AM. Kitchen. Apple. Eye symbol with two dots.
Two dots. Side-by-side in the pupil. It wasn't random. The first appeared after his attempt to leave a written message (an internal action resulting in an unauthorized object). The second appeared after his attempt to mentally tip the bin (an external action focused at the temporal boundary).
Internal action, dot one. External action, dot two. Was it that simple? A binary representation? 01 for internal detection, 10 for external detection? Or maybe just 1 and 1, indicating two distinct types of boundary interactions logged?
He needed more data. He had to generate another dot, or change the existing ones.
He looked at the clock. 6:59 AM. He decided to replicate the condition for the first dot, but with a slight variation. He wouldn't use a sticky note. He took the pen and wrote directly on the window glass, next to the eye symbol: TEST. A simple word, an internal action creating an unauthorized modification directly on the boundary surface.
7:00 AM... 7:01 AM... 7:02 AM... He watched the word TEST shimmering slightly on the glass next to the two-dotted eye.
7:03 AM.
He blinked.
Kitchen. 6:58 AM.
He rushed to the window. The word TEST was gone, the glass clean. He peered closely at the eye symbol.
Two dots. Still just two.
. .......... O_ O _ [O .|] |. (Iteration 19. Observe: Subject action [internal state error]. No state change [redundant].)
Okay. Repeating the same type of action didn't add more dots. The system wasn't just counting; it was categorizing, or perhaps only logging the first instance of a specific type of interaction.
What about combining actions? He looked from the apple on the counter to the eye on the window. Internal object interaction, external symbol interaction.
Clock: 7:00 AM. He picked up the apple. He walked to the window. He held the apple close to the eye symbol, almost touching the glass. Then, concentrating fiercely, he focused his mind outward again, not on the bin this time, but on the blank brick wall of the building opposite. He tried to visualize a shape appearing on the bricks – a simple circle. Internal object manipulation combined with focused external intent, performed simultaneously near the symbol interface.
7:01 AM... 7:02 AM... He held the pose, apple near the eye, mind focused on the brick wall, pushing the 'circle' visualization.
7:03 AM.
He blinked.
Kitchen. 6:58 AM. Apple back on the counter.
He hurried to the window, hope warring with weary skepticism. He examined the eye symbol.
Two dots. Unchanged. Frustration surged.
. ........... O_ O _ [O _ O .] |. (Iteration 20. Observe: Subject action [combined internal/external state]. No state change.)
It felt like trying to communicate with a vending machine that only accepted a specific, unknown currency. His inputs were registering, logged by the cryptic dots, but they weren't progressing towards anything. He wasn't learning the language; he was just proving he could make noise.
He leaned back against the counter, staring at the two dots. Maybe they weren't feedback for him at all. Maybe they were status indicators for the observer. 'Subject has attempted internal modification.' 'Subject has attempted external interaction.' Check, check. Once logged, perhaps they were irrelevant.
But the appearance of the second dot felt like a response, a progression. What was different about the external attempt? It was focused on the boundary itself, the exact moment of transition.
He looked at the clock. 7:01 AM. He had one more idea for this cycle. He walked to the window, ignoring the symbol for a moment. He looked past it, outside. He didn't focus on an object. He focused on the concept of the loop ending. He visualized the clock ticking past 7:03 AM to 7:04 AM. He pictured himself walking out the door into a normal hallway, the kitchen staying behind him, static and unchanging. He poured all his remaining analytical focus, his desperate hope, into that single intent: End Program. He directed it not outward at the world, nor inward at the room, but at the temporal boundary itself, the transition point.
7:02 AM. He held the thought, the visualization of release.
Now. As the second hand swept towards the 12, he pushed the intent: Terminate.
7:03 AM.
He blinked.
Kitchen. 6:58 AM. Apple. Eye. Two dots.
Defeat tasted like ash. He slumped against the wall.
. ............ O_ O _ [|_._] |_. [O .|] . |. _ (Iteration 21. Observe: Subject action [request loop termination]. Action denied. [Deviation state] confirmed. Query state. Evaluate...)
Threshold met? Evaluating? That was new. A flicker of something – not hope, but sharp, nervous attention – cut through his despair. What threshold? What evaluation? He looked at the eye symbol again, searching for a change, a third dot, anything.
It still showed only two dots. But as he watched, transfixed, the paper the eye was drawn on seemed to... ripple. Just for a fraction of a second, like a reflection on disturbed water, before settling back to perfect stillness.