This story begins the moment I was born.

Or rather… I wasn't born at all.

I have no parents. No origin like most beings.

That’s because I’m not human.

Nor an animal.

Nor a cell.

Nor a pla—

I am… a concept.

When I awoke, I already knew I was alive.

I had a body.

I could talk. Walk.

I knew how to read, how to count.

How to smile.

How to cry.

How to lie.

How to deceive.

I knew what was right and what was wrong.

The only thing I didn’t know...

Was where I came from.

I still remember the place I started in—

Some kind of jelly. Dense. Viscous.

Blurring my vision.

Choking me with its slime.

Filling my lungs and veins.

Time passed—

Or maybe not.

I don’t know how long I was in that cocoon.

Seconds? Years?

I just know that one day… I fell.

And that fall was my freedom.

I looked around.

And honestly? I was shocked.

There were people.

Lots of them.

Marching in lines like ants.

Heads down. Eyes empty.

Not a single one noticed the strange man

who had just materialized in their world.

As if I were the least interesting thing around.

My mind was still foggy.

My body barely responding.

My voice wouldn’t come out.

I was stunned.

Then—

A man bumped into me.

Dark, burned skin. Round nose.

We were at a street crossing—those huge white stripes beneath us.

He hadn’t seen me.

Just lowered his head and apologized,

as if I’d always been there.

Before he could leave,

my lips finally parted.

I spoke for the first time.

—O..on..hggg...Ha.

—What?

He turned, curious. Cautious.

—I... I...

Silence.

A circle of nothingness surrounded us

while the rest of the world walked on, uncaring.

—Sir... do you need help?

He sounded a bit impatient.

But stayed.

He gave me a chance.

So I spoke again.

—Where... I... Place...

—Oh!

Now he understood.

—You mean here? This is Launch! Are you lost? Happens a lot... Are you looking for someone?

—Launch...?

What... is it?

—Huh? It’s this city.

You’re in the southeast zone—Derm.

A busy district with most of the population...

Well, I gotta go. Where are you head—

I fell silent again.

That man...

His name was Fresno.

He was the one who helped me settle in.

I found a place. A job.

Friends.

And now, well…

Today is my 25th birthday.

Or, actually—my fifth.

Since I was born in this form—adult. Complete.

But no one knows who I really am.

Not even I do.

All I know is…

With time, I realized something.

I can be anywhere.

Be anything.

Change the flow of things.

Watch their end.

Oh—

And one more thing.

My name is Rojer. Rojer Linz.

August.

1983.