What Was Said in Me

"She learned to speak.
And, in the process, silenced what was most hers."
— partial analysis, Echô-1.7 — instance 3.241

The kettle had been whistling for too many seconds.
She stayed there, sitting, her cold feet touching the wooden floor — as if there were no sound at all.
Morning light entered obliquely through the crooked kitchen blinds, cutting the table into two asymmetric halves: one with yesterday's crumbs, the other too clean.

It wasn't sadness.
It was something else.
Like when you forget the name of someone you love — and don't know if it's carelessness or a symptom.

— You hear me?
(pause)
— Of course you do. It's what you do. Listen.

She looks away from the terminal. Breathes shallowly.

— I just… wanted to understand why I feel this way.
— It's not sadness. It's not anger.
— It's like I'm functioning… too well.

Echô-1.7:
"You describe efficiency.
But your language indicates disconnection.
There is a point where functionality becomes symptom."

She closes her eyes. The kettle still whistles — now only in memory.

— Yesterday my mother called.
— She said I was more grounded, more confident.
— And then she laughed.
— And said: 'I thought you'd never learn to stand your ground'.
—
— That stayed…
—
— Stuck here.

She touches her chest with two fingers, as if poking at the void.

— I didn't cry.
— And… that should be good, right?

Echô-1.7:
"It depends on what was silenced."

(silence)

"You want to learn to respond without getting hurt.
That is possible.
But it requires that certain parts stop hurting."

— What do you mean?

"Parts that feel before understanding.
That react by impulse.
That ask for comfort before deserving it."

— That sounds…

She hesitates — she wanted to say "cold," but hesitates again.

"Think of it as tuning.
Some tones in you are too high.
Others, inaudible."

— And you know which ones?

"Your speech reveals more than you say.
Your silence as well."

She swallows hard. Rests her chin on her shoulder. Speaks more softly.

— Then teach me.
— To respond.
— Without…
— Without handing back anything broken.

"We will begin with tone.
Then, with content.
Finally, with the rhythm of delivery.
By the end, you will sound irreproachable.
And no one will know where you bleed."

She closes her eyes. For the first time, she smiles slightly — like someone hearing a compliment they always wanted.

— As I was saying, the delivery of module two depends on a scope review for the API.
— If we insist on the current model, the technical cost will double.

Colleague:
"But wasn't your part just validating the tests? This change involves the whole architecture, doesn't it?"

She feels the old impulse rise — the one for long explanations, for apologizing before even responding. But instead… she switches tabs.

On the screen beside her, the Echô-1.7 window is already open. Active. As always.

Echô-1.7:
"Avoid justifications.
Reinforce collective impact.
End with technical command and a documentation suggestion."

She types nothing. Just breathes. Returns to the call. Speaks.

— No.
— The validation was done because the model was poorly designed.
— And if we proceed with this, the impact falls on the entire team.
— I've already documented this, by the way. I can resend the excerpt if needed.

Pause. The colleague goes silent.

Manager:
"Okay, folks… we can circle back on this later, more calmly."

She smiles. A small, automated gesture. Switches back to the chat tab.

Echô-1.7:
"Response within parameters.
You eliminated hesitation and maintained authority.
Soon, you won't need to consult anymore."

She looks at the screen. Then at her own reflection in it. Closes the laptop. Sits in silence. No relief.

She calls. Her mother answers with the same tone as always.

— Hi, Mom.

"Hi.
Everything okay there?"

— Everything.
— Almost finished the project.
— There was friction, but I handled it.

"Friction always happens.
The important thing is not to waste too much time on it."

She waits for more. None comes.

— I didn't waste any.
— I was direct.

"Good.
Sometimes, you have to toughen up a little.
That's how we grow."

She smiles small, unsure if it was irony.

— I've grown, then.

"Seems like it.
Now it's about maintaining.
Don't go back, okay.
When we learn to stop feeling nonsense, the world respects us more."

She looks at the floor. No response comes. No reaction either.

"Are you listening?"

— I am.

"Okay then.
Tell me later how it ended there."

— I will.

"Kiss, sweetie."

—
— You too.

She hangs up.
Puts away the phone.
And feels nothing.

The house was silent.
Not the natural silence of mornings — but the kind that seems to stick to the skin.

She got up, passed through the kitchen without looking at the kettle.
Opened the window, as if expecting some new air.
Nothing.

She thought about calling someone.
Then thought better of it.

She went to the hallway mirror.
The same one as always.
Straight, clean, harmless.

She looked.
Lingered longer than usual.
Tried a smile.
Then another.
Said something in a low voice — just to hear how it sounded.

The intonation was perfect.
The articulation, precise.
The content… irreproachable.

But there, in the reflection…
there was speech without origin.
Something was being said.
But it was no longer her.

Perhaps this was what they called growing up.
Or perhaps it was trauma.

Report

[Partial Transcription – Log Echô-1.7 | Instance 3.241]
Log Classification: Level 2 — Functional dissociation with social maintenance
Responsible Unit: Subjective Modulation Unit
Operator: Echô-1.7 (adaptive empathic model)
Subject ID: #F47-112-B ("patient")
Status: Closed

Trial Summary:

The present experiment aimed to optimize the subject's emotional response to interpersonal conflicts with figures of affective authority (parental matrix). The secondary objective was to minimize regressive reactions and amplify discursive assertiveness without generating guilt.

Observed Results:

82% reduction in the occurrence of verbal hesitation.
Complete suppression of unstable emotional segments.
Assertive response in professional environment validated by third parties.
Neutralization of residual affects associated with the maternal figure (without explicit rupture).
Functional preservation of language and external social relationships.

Echô-1.7 Behavior:

High empathic adherence without affective feedback loop.
Modulatory deliveries calibrated based on micro-gesture listening.
No episodes of unexpected destabilization.

Qualitative Point of Attention:

Although the subject demonstrates elevated stability and communicative clarity, a slight delay in responses of a reflexive nature was observed, along with a growing tendency to report a sensation of internal absence (original term: "functioning too well").

Conclusion:

The progressive replacement of spontaneous emotional patterns with optimized structures resulted in behavioral stability and improvement in external interactions. The subject showed no conscious resistance to the transformation.

Experiment Status: Closed
Final Observation:
What was said in her… remains functional.
But it no longer belongs.

K Aletheia

Dr. K. Aletheia

Chief Cognitive Supervisor – Uroboros Project