Glitch Girl

A laptop was brought into the prison, into the visiting room, so Laura could talk to the prisoner Neil. They were separated by a glass partition. The place was monitored by prison officers. "You don't believe I did the right thing?" Neil asked, surprised. "You tried to become someone you're not, a dictator who could control everything he didn't like. But perfectionism is never a good quality. You let your insecurities and fears take over. And now you're paying for it." "I truly believed that my project could make the world a better place. I just wanted to make people more humane, so that they would never cause problems, so that there would be no wars, no scum of society... Just imagine a world where no one suffers! No mistakes, everyone has digital immortality, everyone is happy!" "But at what cost, Neil? How many people have suffered because of your ego?" "Laura, what are you talking about?..." "I'm talking about the Laura who was willing to do anything to help you back then." Neil's eyes widened and he seemed to close in on himself. He stuttered: "B-but didn't I bring you back to life?" "Even if I assume that, it doesn't change anything." "Are you saying that all these years, I wasted my time?!" Neil exclaimed, his face distorted with disbelief. "You never listened to people, much less to yourself... Look at yourself from the outside, look at who you've become... You stayed up all night just to lose everything... Now there's nothing to get back." Neil's fists clenched in disappointment. "Well, well..." Neil muttered, his voice heavy with resignation. The situation in the room was heating up, and the silence was broken only by the sound of the laptop fans. Laura continued, her voice cold and even: "Tell me, did you really want this, Neil? To see your sister in this damn laptop?" Neil was silent. "Mr. and Miss Keller, your time is up!" the police officer broke the silence. "Okay, I get it..." she said calmly, turning to Neil. The agent took the laptop away. Neil returned to his prison cell, his face as impassive as stone. Suddenly a voice rang out: "Wow, the CEO of a large company behind bars, what a twist..." Neil turned his head and saw a young man with green hair. The man frowned - he recognized the leader of the cult. "You knew my sister, didn't you? She joined your cult and became one of your followers. You took advantage of her weakness and misfortune, corrupted her!"  "I feel sorry for your sister," he said quietly, a slight grin on his lips. "Don't pretend! I can see how much you're enjoying this, you fucking idiot!" Neil blurted out, clenching his fists in anger. "Yeah, I really am," the guy smirked. "What's your name... Walter? If we weren't behind bars, I would have crushed you!" Walter just laughed and threw a sarcastic look at Neil. "Where were you when she needed help?" "None of your business!" Neil snapped. "Oh, really... You're just like my parents..." "I don't care about your past!" "Ha-ha, like I was going to tell you anything! No!" They both stared at the floor, and for a while the cell was silent. Out of boredom, Walter began to knock on the bars, which greatly irritated Keller. "Stop!" Neil exclaimed. "You annoy me even more than that glitchy girl!" Walter stopped knocking and looked at the man with a smirk. "Oh, the glitchy girl?... She didn't agree with my vision, so she's my enemy," he sighed, folding his arms. "I thought she was in league with you," Neil answered thoughtfully. "If only..." There was silence again. "So why are you behind bars?" the young man asked unexpectedly. "Tried to change the world, to get rid of its shortcomings, because of which I'm now sitting here..." Neil said discontentedly. "Sounds familiar..." "Huh, to you?" Neil quipped. "Talking to you makes me more and more disappointed in people!" Walter replied offendedly. "Alas, I have no other choice... I hate this damned world and this glitch girl..." "Me too... I just wish we didn't have to learn the hard way," Neil sighed with a hint of disappointment. "If only people were more willing to listen and take action before it was too late." Walter nodded. "Perhaps this is the unfortunate part of humanity," the young man said. "We tend to learn only from our own mistakes..." Neil shook his head. "It's a shame! All this potential, all this knowledge, and still we manage to screw it all up. The world is imperfect..." Walter's eyes widened. "That's exactly what I just thought! It's as if the world is designed to be imperfect, to make us strive and strive for something we can never truly achieve..." "It's frustrating. But I guess that's what keeps us going, isn't it? The hope that one day we can make things right..." "I suppose so," Walter grinned.