The atmosphere around the Google’s office is strangely silent once Anti leaves. Blue and Red are both on edge, ready to snap at any moment, and Green works even harder to avoid analyzing what might be happening to Anti, all the different, terrible possibilities.
Oliver, on the other hand, becomes unnaturally quiet, and it isn’t until the others notice that he hasn’t broken down yet that they realize something is really and truly wrong with him. “Ollie?” Google presses one day when Oliver returns from working at the front desk. “Is something… wrong?”
Oliver turns his gaze toward his brother, but his eyes are empty and placid. “Nothing is wrong. I’m fully operational. Would you like to file a complaint?” he asks, voice level and… emotionless.
Google squints at him. “Oliver, what have you done?”
“I have been working. Is my work unsatisfactory?” Oliver tilts his head to the side, and Google sets his jaw. Oliver is avoiding the question.
“No, nothing like that,” Google says, concern making his eyes flash blue. “Oliver, how are you feeling?”
Oliver blinks and shrugs his shoulders a little. “I feel fine.”
Somehow that’s much more troubling than if Oliver were crying all over the place. “What about Anti? Aren’t you… sad or angry or worried?”
Oliver blinks again. “No… I have deactivated my emoting systems for the time being in order to serve most effectively.”
Google’s systems glitch in surprise, and Red looks up from his desk suddenly. Google grabs Oliver’s shoulders and looks into his eyes, searching for any sign of that spark of humanity that his youngest brother has always possessed. “O-Ollie, te-tell m-me you-you’re joki-i-ing.”
Oliver frowns. “No, Google. I would never lie to you.”
Red jumps up. “Oh no…”
Google sighs, forcing his systems to go back to normal before he speaks again. “Get Green in here. We’ve got to fix this now.”
How are the googles after this? How’s Ollie?
Published
A Glitch Named Anti 