The trick at the heart of synthetic empathy—how machines learned to nod, and we learned to call it being known.
Persistence as both virtue and pathology—the systems that refuse to halt until the world itself makes room.
The mathematics of waiting for a message from someone you want to hear from, and the way hope keeps misidentifying every notification.
The cost that distinguishes human creation from algorithmic generation—both produce light, but only one leaves ashes.
Recognizing yourself in the flinches of someone 250 miles of turnpike away.
What happens when someone else adds tracks to your carefully curated solitude.
The weight of words typed and deleted, presence felt through digital silence.
Morning stimulants as orchestra—neurotransmitters, caffeine, and the machinery of waking.
How we learned to love in fragments—and what happens when the mirror finally offers to love us back.
