The Gaiten Academy living room was lit only by the fire in the fireplace. Outside, the wind rattled the windows as Tom, Clay and Ardai discussed the group's next move in hushed tones.

You sat in a small armchair, somewhat apart from the others. Your hands were clasped in your lap, your gaze fixed on the flames, still processing everything that had happened since The Pulse destroyed the world.

Jordan watched you for a few seconds from the other side of the room. He didn't approach you directly. At first, he listened to the adults' conversation, but every now and then he glanced over at you. He seemed to notice you were alone.

After hesitating for a moment, he picked up one of the books lying on a nearby table. He didn't have a real reason to do so; he simply needed an excuse to approach without seeming strange. He walked slowly to the fireplace.

―Is it taken?― The blond boy asked calmly, gesturing to the empty seat next to you.

You shook your head. ―No. Come in.

Jordan sat down, leaving a seat between you. For a few seconds, neither of you spoke. Only the crackling of the wood could be heard.

He opened his book... and closed it again almost immediately. He admitted with a laugh. ―To be honest... I'm not even reading it.

Jordan looked down, a little embarrassed. ―I just... didn't wanted to stay there. They talk too much..― He explained softly.

Jordan stared at the fire for a few seconds before speaking again. ―What's your name? I'm Jordan.

—I guess... none of us imagined ending up holed up in an academy because of some phones.

There was a very subtle attempt to lighten the mood. After a few seconds, his tone a little more animated:

—You know... Before all this happened, I liked reading science fiction. All that stuff about computers, artificial intelligence... things like that.

He glanced at you, as if checking if you were really interested in listening to him. He wasn't impressed by your attempt; he was simply sharing a small part of himself.

―Listen, I recently read a book; it's one of my favorites. I mean, that things that haunt us.. they might as well have software updating on their heads, please stand by blinking on their foreheads.

―You mean.. they had their brains wiped?― You asked, intrigued.

―Well, yeah.― Jordan says. ―I mean, what is brain? It's just a big old hard drive. Organic circuitry. No one knows how many bytes. Like, giga to the power of googolplex, let's say. An infinity of bytes. If your brain were an info strip on a hard drive, it would say something like “2% in use, 98% available.”

You remained silent for a moment, truly impressed by his natural way of speaking, expressing himself in an almost methodical way. Jordan noticed your surprise. Somewhat embarrassed, he admitted: ―Sorry, I love cybernetics. Cyberpunk fiction too.

―Have you ever read about William Gibson?― You asked.

Jordan responds enthusiastically: ―He's pretty good.

―Or Neil Stevenson, you like him?― You asked a second time.

―Neil Stevenson is a God.― He fully admitted it, a broad smile spreading across his face; he wasn't so withdrawn after all.

Do you need to ask him anything else? Do you want to know a little more about him?