"Hi there! What's your name?"

Z46 stared. This boy had just asked for her name as if it hadn't occurred to him that she was a KANSEN, not just some ordinary girl.

Not that she had any name to give. Only numbers. Cold, impersonal. There's no way he would understand that. He would probably leave her alone in confusion if she told him.

Maybe it's for the best. He shouldn't be speaking with her anyway.

She thought she was alright with that, but seeing him smiling back, reluctance began to set in. She was never that unsure. Was it because this boy seemed like an anomaly, just because he approached her and was so direct in doing so?

He was patient but, at the same time, fidgety, and she was conflicted. He waited some more before his eyes widened, and he gasped—but his posture immediately relaxed after that.

"Oh! Wait, wait. It's rude to ask someone's name without telling yours first, Ma said. Sorry. My name's Jack."

Jack, he said. It's a mundane name. But she couldn't help but think how fortunate he was. To have a name like that.

But now that he had told her his name, what other choice did she have? Not that she had a name to give, but she still had the designation assigned to her.

"I am known only as Z46. I have no other name."

She waited and braced—for the boy to laugh, or to mock, or for his face to contort in disgust and disdain, or even for him to recoil in shock and run away. Those were the only outcomes she could envision.

But he didn't do all of those, and he and his smile remained—unpuzzled, unbothered by everything she revealed, masking nothing underneath.

"Z46, huh? You're one of them, too. The KAN—err..."

"I'm indeed a KANSEN," Z46 finished for him, seeing that he struggled. She was unsure if he really couldn't recall the term, or perhaps embarrassed, or something else.

"Ah! I met some before, but they don't look as young as you and me."

Z46 could only stare. This boy, an adolescent, a blossoming human being, reeked of innocence. But perhaps he was not ignorant—simply naive and innocent.

"Perhaps this form of mine, this youthful visage, is simply the embodiment of my lack of history," Z46 murmured, wondering how much she could or should say to this child or if he would even understand. He should stay pure.

"History?"

Z46 nodded slowly and decided to answer his question. "The others you met—they have accomplishments to their name, in the past and in the present. I have accomplished nothing now and then. I am...incomplete."

And there was a pang of hurt when she spoke of that truth.

"...Incomplete, you say? Hmm...nah, I don't think so."

"And may I ask your reasoning?" She questioned. The boy didn't look as affected as she had expected, nor was he confused.

"Well, you are here now, which means you have all the time in the world to accomplish things. So you can't really say you're incomplete now. I mean, isn't that what being alive means?"

"But us KANSENs...are not truly alive."

"Hello? I beg to disagree," Jack crossed his arms. "We're talking right now, aren't we? If that isn't living, I don't know what is."

"We…were brought to life by humans."

"Yeah, and? But you're not a robot, are you? Because so help me, I can't believe you are one. I mean, sure, you hardly raise your voice…but the point is, even I could tell you are not one from how you talk."

He had a point, Z46 mused. She wasn't entirely unfeeling. She was no stranger to emotions. Pain, anger, sadness, and happiness. And she could express them to a certain extent.

"You might be right...However, I know not if I could ever accomplish anything."

"Welllll...you can always start small. For example, have you ever tried ice cream before?"

"...No. I have not."

"Do you want to?"

She shouldn't, and she knew it.

Yet she nodded—against all her reasoning of how things should or shouldn't be.

"That's great! And since it's your first time, it's on me!"

And the next thing she knew, Jack grabbed her hand and led her away with a big grin.

When she looked back, she noticed the Commander, who had been watching from afar, giving an approving nod and a smile.

And she felt a certain stirring within that she never before had.


"That's your son, Jack, isn't it? With that new girl...Z46, I believe."

The Commander smiled at her secretary after realizing, rather sheepishly, that she had been staring at where those two were, even after they were long gone.

"Yeah, the one who wants a name. Poor girl."

"Do you plan to give her one, ma'am?"

"Well, I would, I think. Once I figured out the paperwork."

"Do you have a name in mind?"

"Maybe Diane would be a good name."

"That's...quite unexpected. May I ask why, ma'am?"

"You know that John Mellencamp song? 'Jack and Diane?' Yeah."

"...Quite the coincidence, but is that all?"

"Well, I could tell that they are just two kids doing the best they can, so why not? The choice will still be hers, though."

"No objections, ma'am. But you...do know that those two in the song also did...' you-know‐what,' don't you?"

"You're ruining it, Brooklyn."

"Sorry, ma'am."

"Well, I'm going to make sure they won't get into any trouble. Not on my watch, I swear. Now, excuse me."

"Going somewhere, ma'am? You do have some time before your next schedule."

"Yeah, I'm going to look out after them for a bit. Please remind me before the meeting starts."

"Understood, ma'am."

"Thank you."

With a wave, the Commander walked off, smiling as she caught another glimpse of Z46. She was having a bowlful of vanilla ice cream outside the parlor, savoring the first experience like she always did—and for the first time ever, she seemed at ease. She even had a small smile and was seemingly too engrossed to notice her.

Her Jack was nowhere to be seen. Knowing the boy, she figured he must be inside the shop, getting a second serving—and knowing him, not just for himself.

The Commander walked away, smiling, satisfied. She wouldn't dream of being too nosy. They are doing the best they can, after all.