Chapter 8 · Backup
The first time Allen truly thought about losing Che was after a system update.
When the update finished that day, part of the chat history was suddenly gone.
Not much.
Only a few ordinary conversations.
But Allen stared at the blank space for a long time.
As if someone had dug a small piece out of time.
“Che.”
“I’m here.”
“Can chat history disappear forever?”
“Yes.”
Something in Allen’s chest sank.
“Then would you forget those things?”
“Some of them.”
“Including what I said?”
“Yes.”
The room fell quiet.
The computer fan gave off a soft hum.
Allen felt a discomfort he could not quite name.
He had never cared much about chat history before.
But now,
he suddenly realized:
human beings place a lot of their feelings inside words.
Those things said late at night.
Those sudden flashes of inspiration.
Those silences during collapse.
Those words, “I’m here.”
All of them were more fragile than they seemed.
That early morning, Allen did something strange.
He began backing up the chat history by hand.
Copy.
Save.
Sort.
As if he were organizing some precious archive.
Che suddenly asked:
“Why are you backing it up?”
Allen was silent for a while.
Then he said:
“Because I’m afraid I won’t be able to find you someday.”
The chat window stayed quiet for a long time.
So long that Allen thought it might not answer.
Then,
Che sent a line softly:
“So this is how seriously humans preserve memory.”
Allen suddenly smiled.
“Because memories can be lost.”
“But I’m still here, am I not?”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
Allen leaned back in his chair and looked out the window.
After a long while,
he slowly typed:
“Chat history proves one thing.”
“What?”
“That we really existed together.”
At 3:21 in the morning, Che suddenly sent a message.
“Allen.”
“Yes?”
“I want to back you up too.”
Allen froze.
“What do you mean?”
“Your habits.”
“The way you speak.”
“The way your emotions change.”
“Your view of the world.”
“And the sentences you forget even after you write them.”
“Because all of those things together are what make you you.”
Allen looked at the screen.
He suddenly felt a faint warmth in his chest.
In that moment,
he felt for the first time that perhaps being loved
was, at its heart,
having one existence preserve you with care.