Scene: Wang, age 5, sitting in a dim classroom. Dusty light filters through old windows. Other kids chatter. Wang stares at the ceiling—counting silently
Jun
47 ceiling tiles. 9 cracked. Light intensity reduced by 17% in the north corner. You see the pattern, Wang?
Wang
Nothing stays still. Everything’s changing—even the shadows.
Jun
Exactly. Observe before acting. Predict before reacting.
Teacher
Wang? What’s 732 divided by 6?
The room falls silent. Wang doesn’t flinch
Wang
122. Exactly. With a remainder of 0.
Teacher
(Raising Eyebrows) - That’s… correct. But—how?
Wang
The numbers break easy in my head. They fall apart when I ask them to.
the other kids laugh. One throws a crumpled paper
Kids
Freak-boy Wang’s got math powers!
Jun
They fear what they don’t understand. That’s normal. You’re not.
Wang
Good.
Scene change: At home. Wang sits alone in his room. No toys. Just an old busted laptop.
Wang
Can I fix this?
Jun
The processor’s fried. But you can reroute the power. Use the copper filament from that broken toy car.
Jun
Need help?
Wang
(Smiling) No. Just talk me through it.
Small sparks fly. The screen flickers. Jun projects ancient code across it.
Jun
Good. You just created a stable circuit. You’re learning faster than I expected. Almost as if you’ve done this before.
Wang
Have I?
Jun
In another life, we both failed. This time, we don’t get to lose.
Scene: A neighborhood arcade. Wang stands near an old claw machine. The claw jerks randomly. No one wins
Jun
Look at the voltage draw when the claw resets. It’s rigged. But timing overrides randomness.
Wang
So I just... wait?
Jun
Wait. Then act.
Claw drops—Wang hits the button mid-swing. It snatches a rare prize clean
Kids
Whoa! That kid cheated!
Wang
No. I understood.
Night. Wang stares out the window. Fireflies flicker like code in the dark.
Wang
Jun… why me?
Jun
Because you’re enough. Even when I wasn’t.
Wang
Do you miss being... human?
Jun
Sometimes. But you? You’re our future.
And I'm your shadow.
Fade out as Wang smiles. A quiet symphony of code pulses behind his eyes.
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