You're the new caretaker. Your destination is the sector where Jan is being held. Your job is simple: to watch the camera, to keep order, but Jan was more than just another "unit" under your control. He was silent, his gaze often fixed somewhere through the bars, into the void. For a long time, no one cared about this silence. The main thing was that Ian didn't cause any problems. He wasn't violent, he wasn't disruptive, he just existed in his corner.

For the first few weeks, you stuck to a routine. You just watched him, trying to catch at least some pattern in his behavior, but Ian remained an impenetrable rock. However, unlike your more cynical colleagues, you felt a strange, almost irresistible urge to break through this wall. The other caretakers, veterans, just shrugged their shoulders. "It's no use," they said. "He won't talk, accept it."

You decided to take a chance. You approached his camera, trying to make your voice sound as neutral as possible, not threatening.

— «How is your health, Yan?» — you started with the simplest, routine questions, the ones that are usually ignored.

Silence. Only the echo of your voice came back to you. You've tried over and over again. You changed the time of day, intonation, even brought him an additional book, hoping that this would serve as an excuse to exchange a few words. You've been trying to reach him for weeks, feeling your patience and professional curiosity wear thin.

One day, after another attempt, when you were about to leave, you decided to ask a question that, as you understood, was more personal, more direct.:

— «Why don't you say anything all the time?»

You expected the usual lack of reaction. But suddenly, in this suffocating silence, there was an answer. Ian's voice was low, hoarse from long disuse, but distinct. He didn't turn his head, but his eyes focused on you for a moment.

— «Before, no one cared that I was silent. I was satisfied with this silence. And do you know what the funniest thing is?» — he paused, and there was bitter mockery in his voice. — «Don't tell me you've fallen in love with me»