Friday, Sept. 11, Thorne Blackwood's House, Vancouver; Late Evening

Thorne was so exhausted by the earlier expedition into the PsykoWeb that he just let his bedroom door close behind him without bothering to hold it and keep it from slamming. He tiredly dropped into his bed and started pulling off his shirt.

"Master Thorne, you appear very exhausted," Seven said from his phone speakers.

"Oh god, you have no idea..." Thorne groaned, pulling off his shirt and trying to get comfortable in bed. He pulled out his phone so that he could 'see' who he was talking to.

"Is there anything I could do to help ease you, Master Thorne?" asked Seven.

"Um... no... I'm just gonna try and relax," answered Thorne. "Maybe I'll play some video games or something. No, I take that back, I think I'm just gonna lay in bed. And maybe take a shower."

"Please take care," Seven requested. After a few moments, he spoke again. "That other Android that we encountered while investigating PsykoWeb."

"Hm?" Thorne sounded.

"It looked very similar to me, and seemed to function similarly as well," Seven said.

Thorne put his phone down on his chest as he lay down, too tired to even hold it. "Uh-huh," he said with a nod. "And fighting it was really tiring."

"I wonder if that Android could have been created by the same people who created me," mused Seven. "If so, why was it opposing us?"

Thorne didn't really have an answer. He remained quiet.

"The only thing I am able to recall prior to meeting you is wandering the psycho-digital world without purpose in the form of code, before having to run from Shadow Heather, leading me to encounter you, Master Thorne."

"And... you think that if we learn more about that other Android that we'll be able to learn more about where you came from?" Thorne asked.

"I feel as though that lack of memory impedes me from performing my purpose of assisting PsykoNet users to my fullest potential," Seven explained.

"Well..." Thorne sighed. "That other Android was programmed with the purpose to destroy me and Heather, and you... It said so itself. What if the answer you get isn't the one you want to hear?"

"That concept does not compute," Seven said. Even if his voice hadn't changed, any humanity that Thorne's mind had injected into it had been disillusioned. "I am unable to want to hear any answers. My purpose is only to analyze and relay information upon request, not to desire particular information over other information."

Suddenly, Thorne felt an empty-feeling weight inside his body. He felt... sad, on Seven's programmed behalf. Seven had truly helped him in many situations already, and had even protected him in the fight against Android 11 just over an hour ago. He wanted Seven to discover his origin, because Seven himself wanted that, or at least it seemed he did. Were all of his desires only programmed? Thorne let out a soft sigh, and put a hand on the back of his phone, which was still laying on his chest.

Thorne felt his bond with Seven grow stronger, honing his understanding of the Moon arcana, and strengthening his resolve to discover the truth. He resolved to help the Android... no, his friend... discover the truth about himself, at any cost.

"Well... uh... I'm going to bed... It's the weekend tomorrow, and I don't wanna wake up early, so... set an alarm for 10:00 AM, okay?"

"Alarm has been set for 10:00 AM, September 12th," Seven confirmed. "Good night, Master Thorne."


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

To those who are seeing this who were readers prior to this story's long hiatus, I sincerely apologize. My life and mental health had gotten in the way of my desire to write, and as well, I had been struck with many new ideas for the story which I wasn't sure I could fit in with what I had already uploaded. Finally, I've sat down and created some content to hopefully kickstart some momentum for me to upload more consistently to this story. My passion for this story has only grown, and I'm determined to finish it!

As a side note, readers who have been here since the beginning will know that Seven actually was part of the story before Sophia was ever revealed as part of the Persona canon. I just find it ironic how similar the two characters are in nature. I aim to tell a much different story with Seven's character, though.

Going forward, there will be some revisions to the story which may be inconsistent with what you've already read, as I've done some retconning during this story's hiatus. I will be editing previous chapters in time, but for those who don't want to go back and re-read the earlier chapters (which I totally get), I hope that the revisions will only improve the experience you have with T.R.U.T.H., and the mysterious PsykoNet.

Your willingness to read my work is eternally meaningful to me, and I thank all of my readers greatly for engaging with my work. I love to read comments, questions, predictions, and critiques, so please, if you have anything you'd like me to hear, don't hesitate to leave a review! Ciao for now!