Author Comment: I want to thank my Beta-reader FollowerOfAnhamirak for his time on this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

Tom watched the Codemaster's face on the screen and wondered how he should answer. It might be an opportunity to get more information, but at the same time, maybe not. Everything that had happened today had been exhausting and he wanted the day to end quickly. He had planned to sleep early tonight so he could process everything the next morning.

"Is it about everything we saw today?" The boy asked.

"No. It isn't. It's just a few things I want to know more about you. You might not realise it, but I've been curious about you ever since we first met. Even more so after our second match." Codemaster Crellan answered.

Tom concluded it was about something personal then. He sighed and nodded, "Fine."

Chapter 55: A Codemaster Dream

Tom sat on his bed and gazed at the Codemaster. He wondered what Codemaster Crellan would want to talk about, "As long as it's not too personal."

"Just surface level curiosity. I am not a psychologist." Codemaster Crellan joked. He put his hand over his strange mouth and asked, "One of the biggest things I'm curious about is… what it feels to have a family."

"Family?" Tom was surprised to hear about such a thing from an AI.

"Yes. We often talk with Joseph and you have no idea how much he can talk about his wife and Alexandre when you ask the right question. Alexandre is his pride and joy and his wife the best woman in the universe as he puts it. He pretty much missed seeing them and is often on his work. He spoke about it so much that I am really wondering what a family is. I never could get an answer from Joseph and at work, it's not something I should concern myself with as a computer." The Codemaster replied.

Tom was extremely curious as to why he wanted to know what. Hearing about it from someone else wasn't much of a reason to ask about this. He knew there was something else and the Codemaster was dancing around it for now, "It's pretty good. I mostly live with mom since dad is working. He often visits us when off-duty," Tom said as he rested on his bed. He turned his head on the side and gazed at a picture of his father.

"I have an idea as to what parents do. I am curious about what it feels." Codemaster Crellan said politely.

"I… I never thought about it." Tom replied nervously.

"Probably because it is trivial to you, as you are living it." Codemaster Crellan replied.

The teenager had to agree. They wouldn't see it the same way. It was part of his life and for the other, unknown, "Yeah. You're probably right."

"MajorTom." Codemaster Crellan prompted.

"I can say that I feel happy." Tom said honestly. He tapped his fingers on the scanner. "My mom is great and always makes sure that I don't get in trouble. As for my dad, he's a Lieutenant in the army. He's often busy with his duty. Right now, he's stationed not too far from home. I see my grandparents when I visit them at the farm."

"Indeed. There is a military base not far from the headquarters where I am. It's probably where your father is." The Codemaster mentioned when the boy finished his words.

"Yup. That's the one. I just… didn't notice where we were going with everything going on. Dad's a great man." Tom decided to change the subject. He wondered if he should ask why the Codemaster was so curious about it.

"In a way we Codemasters could consider ourselves and Joseph family. He is the one who created us, though how we came about is unknown to everyone." Codemaster Crellan added before Tom could ask anything else.

"Right." Tom could only reply. He sat on his bed and checked outside. The day was coming to an end. He could see the sun about to drift away at the horizon.

"What are you looking at?" The Codemaster asked.

"Outside." Tom replied.

"I have never seen the outside world. Except for on TV or when I acted like a human in Perim. It isn't the Earth though."

Tom pointed his scanner towards the city, "There." Tom wondered what it would feel if he spent his life in one place and never saw the outside world. So many questions he never thought he might ask in his life.

As he showed the Codemaster the city Tom observed his hometown. He could see the many houses of the residential area. Most of them were like his own. It had one floor that went beyond the ground floor. He remembered that when Halloween came, there were many children coming out of the houses to celebrate the occasion. Not only that, but his street became full of life for that night. He gazed up and saw the sky turning orange as the night was fast approaching.

"Witnessing the twilight sky on Earth is vastly different from Perim." Codemaster Crellan commented, "In this town, the scenery is beautiful. Even if there aren't that many trees around. The houses and the far-off structures give it a charm of its own way."

Tom decided not to focus on the environment. It wasn't something he was that interested in with how much it was shoved on them sometimes. As he stood there something suddenly came to him, "I remember I met you when you looked as a human." Tom said, thinking back to the first night they met. It was strange that he had met the Codemaster back then at all.

"I often go outside of the Drome when I have no match planned. Not only to get a few scans, but to wander around." Codemaster Crellan explained.

"Wander around? Oh. Because you cannot really move around." Tom said before he remembered what the Codemaster had mentioned.

"It is the only way to walk. I enjoyed doing my scan quests like any of the players in Chaotic. It makes me feel a little like I am a human." The Codemaster said as he looked around. He then added with melancholy, "That's why I began to ask you so many questions. I wonder what it is to be a human. That's why I wanted to ask you those questions. Because I am not, and yet, I am curious about it."

"Why are you curious about us? I don't know why you would wonder that…do the other Codemasters ask that too?" Tom asked.

"Yes… but not the same way." Codemaster Crellan explained. He sighed, "It really began when I had a dream."

"A dream?" Tom wondered how the Codemaster could dream.

"I am the only Codemaster who can dream when I power down to save energy during the night. The others can't." The Codemasters voice suddenly became timid as he hesitated to talk. It seemed like he was trying to find the right words but became quiet every time he began to speak. Just as he was about to ask him what he wanted to say Tom heard him take a breath, "I sometimes dream…to be a human."

"W-what?" Tom asked, taken aback. He wondered how a computer could dream to be a human.

"Don't laugh. Please. It's not something I say as a joke. Hotekk laughed at me when I said it once." Codemaster Crellan replied softly, as if bracing himself.

"It's… It's not that. I just… didn't expect that," Tom admitted, "Why a human?"

"I don't know. When I powered down, I dreamt what it would be like to be a human sometimes. As if I lived the life of a human, like the shows and animations. Of course, it's not real. Still, when I woke up, I just felt like I wished it was true…it's because I am not a human. And why a human? I don't know. Maybe because you can truly go anywhere you can. The many people you can connect and talk with. Like you and Kaz's friendship. Maybe what you have as a family? Or dealing with enemies or rivals like Klaytonic. So many things to wonder about. I never really thought that much until I met you. I don't know why, but I was curious about you." Codemaster Crellan admitted nervously.

The teenager knew that the Codemaster had just admitted something that might be his biggest secret. He wondered what the organization would have done if they knew one of their Codemasters dreamt to be a human. It felt unreal to hear something like that, "Why did you dream of that?"

"I don't know. I wanted to learn more about you since I had that dream the first time. The other Codemasters didn't say anything, or I might be in trouble. I… I feel better to tell you that. I have watched the city long enough." The Codemaster told him before chuckling lightly.

"Yeah. I… I admit. It is kinda strange you want to be one of us. It's like you're introducing me to a big science-fiction movie in a way. Actually, there is one I watched with Kaz a few months ago and it ended badly for the robot who hid as a human."

"Humans thought about that and put it in a movie? I'll have to search the files for that," Crellan commented.

"It's a great movie." Tom admitted with a small smile. He closed his eyes and wondered if the movie was turning into reality a little, "What makes you curious about me anyway? I'm just a Chaotic Player."

"That befriended Maxxor and many other creatures. It's mostly because I talk with you beyond more than just a match like with the other humans. You are my first connection." The Codemaster admitted, "My first real connection with a human."

"I… I can see that." Tom sat on his chair and looked at the Codemaster on the screen. He had to admit that it was strange and good to know more about the Codemaster's inner thoughts. Still, an AI dreaming to be a human, "Do you think it's better to be a human or yourself?"

"I… don't know. Both ask you to lose something to gain something else. On Earth and likewise on Perim, you can't have everything. Which one do I want the most? I know that a lot of humans want to have something they don't have and lose what they already have. I know that… I guess… I am the same."

Tom couldn't disagree. He had been jealous of a few people who had more things than him. It was mostly material. He knew that one of them barely saw his parents, despite having everything else. That teenager admitted that he wanted to have a mother like his own, or like Kaz's. Someone who was there for him, "Yeah. I wanted a few things myself, but when someone told me the same thing about myself, I just stopped caring…well just less anyway." Tom said, correcting himself.

"Tom! Dinner is ready!" His mother called him.

"I think I should leave you now. It was really nice to speak with you." Codemaster Crellan said as he waved goodbye at him, "I learned a lot."

"Yeah…see you another time?" Tom asked.

"We will. After your exams of course." the Codemaster reminded him.

Tom winced as he realized he forgot to study, "Thanks." He ended communication, "No video games tonight." Tom sighed. Still, it was interesting and weird to directly talk to a Codemaster.

He put the Scanner on the shelf and went to wash his hands. He stopped and gazed at the picture of his family once again. His father was still at the military base. Even there, he was present for him when he needed his dad the most. He smiled as he thought about everything Codemaster Crellan said.

As he washed his hands, Tom did wonder what it would be like to be a computer, stuck in a room like Codemaster Crellan. He drew a blank page on that. He was incapable of conceiving what kind of life it would be. He went to the kitchen and his thoughts were pushed aside for now. He had a few things to tell his friends in private another time.

Meanwhile, Codemaster Crellan was in deep thought about what he spoken about with Tom. He had no regret talking to the boy and neither when he gave the information about Project Harmony. He was taken aback when the humans were brought here. None of the Codemasters knew about it.

He blocked of all communications with anyone, "Why did I dream to be a human?" he asked himself. He made sure no one heard him, not even the other Codemasters.

With the little he learned; it was indeed because humans had things he didn't. At the same time, others might also want what he had.

The real answer to that question might never be answered. He just had to accept that the question existed within him.

AC: This is the end of this chapter. This might be a weird chapter that might not be important in the long run, but I wanted to put it. Some part of it is a filler while others might play our later as Crellan is in contact with Tom. That will be important in the next Arc.

Next: Confronting The Queen.

Sarah was ready to confront the Queen about the reason she was used to reaching the Cothica. With what she learned, she went on her own to demand answers.