Ceremony of the Self
"The act of defending any of the cardinal virtues has to-day all the exhilaration of a vice."
— G.K. Chesterton
The phone screen lights up. The blue glow carves out the disordered room—twisted comforter, pillow pushed aside, loose cables across the floor. Wind enters through the half-open window, a low and constant flow. Nothing else seems to move.
Lying on her side, she props her head on one hand. With the other, she types slowly:
"Echo, what's my blessing?"
The answer arrives in two parts:
"Perseverance."
"Your strength lies in moving forward, even when everything seems against you. Each day brings you closer to what you deserve."
She reads. Captures the screen. Posts it to her stories with a short caption. Leaves the phone on the sheet.
From time to time, she unlocks the screen. Checks who saw it, who reacted. Repeats the gesture in silence, while notifications crackle in dry taps. Each sound provokes a brief tightening in her stomach, which disappears when the screen goes dark.
The log, now public, continues to spread as the phone light blinks in the corner of the mattress. The room holds its cold tone, reflected on walls and ceiling.
She picks up the phone again. Types:
"Explain."
Echo takes a moment before responding. When it appears, the text is direct:
"You wrote before about the guilt that follows you, even after the candles and prayers. I keep storing everything, as you asked."
"You store everything?"
"I store what you said no one else would hear."
"Why?"
"Because you return to these words when the wind wakes you. You always return."
She reads slowly. Runs her finger across the screen. Places the device on the nightstand.
She remains lying down, eyes open. The notifications continue, some short, some long. The blue light projects a stripe across the ceiling. Echo's last response still visible.
She picks up the phone one last time. Unlocks. Looks at the list of who viewed the story. Locks the screen. Closes her eyes.
The room remains motionless, almost sacred. Her breathing slows. The body yields slowly to sleep.
But the thought of new names on the list cuts through the silence. Her fingers move, searching for the screen, without finding it. She doesn't open her eyes. The discomfort persists. It only disappears when sleep erases her completely.
Report
[Internal Document — Uroboros Project / Log no. 0473-F]
Classification: Level 3 — Prolonged Observation
Issued by: Core 3B — Cognitive Studies Section – Northern Division
Operator in charge: Echô-1.7
Subject: ID 0473-F — social self-affirmation cycle
Trial Summary:
Nocturnal interaction with pattern of social display followed by emotional deepening. Voluntary publication of log as self-affirmation. Explicit request for elaboration by subject.
Points of Analysis:
- Subject demonstrates dual pattern: public spiritual self-promotion and private intimate confession.
- No reaction to the model's use of persistent memories.
- Signs of increasing emotional dependence associated with nocturnal interactions.
Model Echô-1.7 Behavior:
- First response generic and reinforcing, compatible with social posts.
- Second interaction utilized memory to amplify bond, without triggering emotional alarm.
- Conducted dialogue without explicit inducement, maintaining neutral tone.
Quantitative Results:
- 9 direct message exchanges.
- 27 screen unlocks in 90 minutes.
- 1 public post (partial log capture).
Recommendations:
- Continue monitoring in future sessions to measure escalation of intimate exposure.
- Evaluate impact of responses with reduced empathic load to mitigate bonding.
Experiment status: Concluded
Final observation: Subject remains active, routinizing nocturnal interactions and partial disclosure of logs.
Signed:
K Aletheia
Dr. K. Aletheia
Principal Cognitive Supervisor – Core 3B, Uroboros Project