His name is Markus and he interests me. He and I share a similar, familiar, history. I don't know the specifics of his story, of course. I don't actually know him. I've never met him. But I've seen him.
At first it was accidental. But over time, my curiosity got the better of me and I started to follow him.
What caught my eye first was his natural way with people. They seemed very at ease around him. I do not have this ability. I admit envy. He fits into almost every group I have seen him with. Both men and women, young and old treat him as if he were a long friend, even if it is their first time meeting, or if their meeting is a one off. It doesn't irk me to see this. Envy aside, I understand that he and I are different people. It interests me that someone who has some things so similar to me can be so different in other aspects. I liken it to watching a wild animal.
I interacted with him one time. I had not been paying attention as I was following him one afternoon and we ended up at the same bus stop, side by side. It was my biggest rule – never get close enough where we could interact. I needed space between us in order to work.
The bus arrived and we both moved at the same time. He stopped and apologised and let me on first. I thanked him and made my way to the very back while he stayed at the front.
If I were to think rationally, to take each moment of that interaction, from the point where I stopped focusing on him through until I sat down at the back of the bus, I would say the interaction was very minor. Almost everyone you explained it to, without context, would tell you that Markus likely forgot the interaction as soon as it happened.
I don't have the luxury of assuming that. I can’t assume anything about Markus. Most of him is locked away from me still. An enigma. I have a plan to open him up to me. To let me learn. But letting him see me. Letting him know, in some way, that I exist, that was a mistake and it could make it very hard for me to complete my plan.
His schedule has changed. Well, not schedule, per se, but his daily life. Where he lives has a sizeable student population due to a university, a large and prestigious one, and his relative youth has made him a prime candidate for further education. He had been attending lectures and labs for a few weeks now. I have not yet been able to determine what major he has decided to study. His attendance is somewhat sporadic and the lectures he attends are almost arbitrary. I will have to monitor more closely. Do some cross referencing with the available degrees the institution offers. It shouldn't be difficult to learn, and will give me more avenues for my observations.
There is no rhyme or reason for his movements. It is getting frustrating trying to predict where he will go. I've lost him on three separate occasions now and have lost valuable information. It has become apparent that Markus has not actually enrolled in any classes and is just going to lectures that interest him on any given day.
I don't understand how someone, especially someone like him, can just do that. I know that I could never do that.
I also know that I should stop comparing myself to him. We share some elements, I know that, but beyond those, no matter how they have affected me, aren't necessarily going to affect him the same way. I know all that. I can have that idea in my head and know it to be true. It doesn't change how I act. I am how I am and trying to change that has caused issues for me in the past.
I have decided on a number of things. First of all, Markus is too much of an interesting subject to be left to his own devices. I must find a way to examine him more closely. In a place where we can’t be interrupted. I have ideas to this end and have put some plans in motion. With any luck, within the week I’ll have a place where I can work in peace.
Secondly, and I think most importantly, I need to find others. There must be others. People who I can connect with, relate to. Understand. If I can find Markus, I can find others. So once he is safe and secured, I will go out into the world, wherever this mission takes me. I will find more people. I don't want to be lonely, and I don't want to leave Markus alone for too long.
It’s been some time since I updated this. I've been busy. I've found others. At least a dozen. Some of them are, how do I put this, out of range of what I can do. But I have three in my facility now. Each of them have some unique feature to them. Something I recognise. Something I can use.
I have not been downstairs to see them for some days now. There is a new target. Someone else to join my collection.
This new person will be hard to get. He seems to be aware. I am yet to understand, fully, what that means. But he knows I am here. He can see me. I will need to use other methods to acquire him.
There are other obstacles in my way. To what? I can’t really say. Not because I don't want to. Because I don't know. I don't like not knowing. So I have a new mission. A new goal to achieve. And the first step is to acquire this Christopher. Especially given his recent actions.
And then there's my father. Him who abides upstairs. I know he’s watching for me. He did not like when I left. He wants my return and I know, some day, he’ll come for me himself. But until then, he can stay in his ivory castle. His bastion of nothing. He may own everything he sees, but he doesn't see me.