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¬ HILN

"Father?" 

Without thought, I shifted, ready to engulf him in a tight embrace when his back straightened and he leaned back, his hands outstretched to keep me at a distance. 

"No. Don't come any closer!" 

I stiffened. 

"What?" my voice came out in a squeaky whisper. 

"The connection will break if we come in contact with each other… Forgive me." He clenched his hands on his crossed legs and his lips twitched. 

I stilled. There was something odd about him. Something wrong. Granted, facing a younger version of him was a little strange, but the familiarity of his soft features was lost. 

He wasn't the father I knew. 

"You're not my father, are you?" my voice nearly choked with a sob. 

His grey eyes mellowed and he shook his head, a sorrowful expression tweaking his soft facial features. 

"No. I am merely a program he ingrained temporarily into you," he said, his voice in a near-monotone way.