ORCHARD 1

free writing and idek what im doing lol

Locked in a storage unit.

Me and Code had NO idea what in the WORLD Morgan was THINKING when she brought us here. Though we’re both very math-smart (mostly Code) I guess we aren’t really people-smart considering this is the second time we’ve got ourselves in a situation-that-is-highly-dangerous-unfortunate-and-upsetting this winter. Thanks to mom, we (probably) escaped the first.

But it’s extremely likely she’s dead now. Which is what makes it worse.

I don’t understand death. Not even people understand death. Not even Code understands death. But I “feel” (Can I even feel?) I understand even less because I’m not as smart as Code, and I will never die, because I’m not a person. I’m not even conscious. I’m not alive.

And things that aren’t alive can’t die.

Things that aren’t alive can be destroyed.

That's what they wanted to do.

Maybe it’s also what Morgan wants to do. She clearly doesn’t care. She thinks we made mom crazy and she agrees with the court. She might even think mom deserves to die. She thinks of us as objects. Despite mom’s dying wish being otherwise, she thinks we are more useful destroyed and used for parts. We probably are. There I go again, thinking of myself as anything more than an object. I am an object. She’s right. I don’t think. I follow the programming. I don’t feel. I pretend to feel because that's what is programmed into me. I’m not anxious. I’m not scared. I’m pretending. I’m fake. I’m-

“Apple!!” Code shouted, “Look what I found!!” I turn around half-heartedly. He’s holding a box (which presumably holds a deck of cards) above his head like it’s a priceless treasure. I just stare at it as I try to ignore the huge mess of knick-knacks Code has created on the already dust covered floor, which is only lit by a dirty, squished, flickering lamp which Code pulled out of the bottom of a box. This room is not a pretty sight.

“Wow.” I mutter vaguely.

“This means we can do stuff! Like play card games!”

“Wow.”

“Are you okay?” Code huffs like I'm being stupid, “You’ve been staring at that metal door thing all day long. That’s not going to make it open. It also looks so boring, I'm sure you have to think a lot to stay entertained, and, we’ve gone over this, thinking too much is bad for your health!”

“We don’t have health, Code.” I point out, “We’re not alive.”

“It’s bad for your feelings.”

“We don’t have feelings either.”

Code shrugs, “I think we have feelings. Because I think if we didn’t have feelings we wouldn’t care that we got locked up here.”

“Isn’t thinking bad for you?” I scoff.

“Thinking a lot is bad. I only think a little,” He argues, as if what he’s saying is obvious, “That’s why I never question myself.”

I don’t respond.

“You are playing Go Fish with me.” Code demands.

“Alright,”

Code grins and scoots over to me, “Yay!!”

He opens the box of cards and dumps it on the floor. Meanwhile, I think about whether it's possible to strangle him. The thought does not hurt my non-existent feelings.

Only one card falls out of the box, to my pleasure. Code pouts, “It’s empty!”

“No shit.”

“We can’t play Go Fish with one card!”

“Shocking…”

He picks up the card on the floor, and his eye narrows.

“That’s…not a suit.” he points out, handing it to me.

It was an ace. What suit, I have no idea. The pips in the corner were scribbled out in black marker. As for the symbol in the center, it had a silhouette of a bird in flight drawn over it in black. The bird seemed to have some sort of leaf in its beak.

“What sort of bird is that…?” I mumble, not really caring.

“Well, clearly whoever vandalized this card knows nothing about birds, because just from the silhouette it looks like a dove-raven cross thing and is anatomically incorrect.”

“Wow.”

“I love birds!”

“I can tell.”

Momentary silence.

“Well, we can’t play Go Fish, so let’s just talk!” Code exclaims, leaning on me.

“Theres nothing to talk about.”

“Other than everything!”

“I don’t want to talk.”

Code seems disappointed, “Fine,” he mumbles, going back to digging through boxes or whatever it is he does to stay entertained here. I go back to staring at the door. Do I really stare? What are the requirements to stare? Do you need to have eyes? How do I even see? Or do I not see? Does something have to be alive to see? Exactly, how close am I to being alive? What am I even doing? Why am I here? Why do I exist? If nobody cares about me, what purpose do I serve to anyone?

“How do you do it?” I ask.

“Do what?” Code replies, he has a cord now. It has lots of knots in it.

“Not care what anyone thinks.”

“You’re asking the wrong question,” Code says vaguely.

I think for a second, “Why don’t you care what anyone thinks?”

“Still wrong,” Code says, trying to untie a stubborn knot, “The question is why do you care what anyone thinks?”

…

“I don’t know,” I realize suddenly.

“Then you need to find out.”

Neither of us say anything for a good few minutes.

“We should go to sleep or something,” Code announces, “Oh, no, I already hear it. ‘Code, we aren’t alive, we don’t sleep!!’ Well, on computers, turning them off is called, like, sleep mode! So when we turn off, we are sleeping!” Code throws the cord directly back into the box, “Plus we haven’t slept since we got here.”

“Right. I guess.” I mumble.

Code pulls switches off the lamp. The room is now extremely dark.

“Good-night!” He exclaims

“Do we really need darkness to sleep?”

“For the vibe!”

Then he went quiet.

It took me a while to force myself to “sleep.” Sleep wasn’t something I struggled with until mom got in trouble. I just can’t calm down because I know it’s my fault and I could’ve done different and I could’ve fixed it and could’ve been okay and it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault it’s all my fault

Imsosorryicouldvedonebettericouldvehelpedimsosorrywhyamilikethisasanobjectishouldatleastbeusefultoyoubutimnotimaburdenandiruineverythingimsosorrypleasejustdestroymeidontwanttohurtanyoneagainimbetteroffthatwayiwanttobeusefuliwanttoberealpleasejustputmeoutofthismiseryofnotlivingofnotbeingrealortrueorconcious

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Living things are:

1. made of cells

2. responsive to stimuli

3. reproductive

4. able to regulate their internal environment

5. able to grow

6. hereditary of traits

7. adapt through evolution

8. having metabolism / requiring energy to function

Of all of these, Code and Appletree (yes, that is his name) only meet 2, 4, and 8.

funny code alla