Blue Fractures (Part 1)

Timestamp: 03:47:21, March 13, 2025

Monitor ID: K-01, Kitchen Southeast Corner, Wide-angle Lens, Night Vision Mode Activated

When the footage begins, the kitchen is shrouded in blue-gray shadows, with fog from outside blurring the windows like a thin veil. The camera captures a faint blue light emanating from the central robot—model designated "Ceylon"—with its metal body. Its screen flickers like a solitary lighthouse, reflecting on surrounding objects: the stainless steel sink, wooden tabletop, ceramic plates stacked in the corner. The light halo diffuses through the fog, casting cold shadows like ripples beneath ice.

At 03:47:35, Ceylon moves. Its head tilts slightly, joints making a faint clicking sound. The camera zooms in, capturing a line of text flashing across the screen on its chest: "System self-check complete, standby mode." The voice module remains inactive, but its right arm rises, the movement fluid yet with a hint of hesitation, as if resisting some invisible force. It walks toward the stove, the camera following, the footage shaking slightly, focusing on the movement of its hands—metal joints bending, picking up a frying pan with slight scratches on the bottom reflecting a cold gleam.

At 03:48:12, Ceylon stops, its screen darkening momentarily before lighting up again. The camera records it retrieving a sealed package of ingredients from a nearby cabinet, with blurred text on the packaging: "Malt powder, origin unknown." It tears open the package, its movements precise yet slow, like performing a ritual. The malt powder spills into the frying pan, raising a small cloud of dust. The camera captures the particles suspended in the blue light, like stars in the fog. Then, it turns on the faucet, water trickling into the pan, droplets splashing onto the table surface, reflecting a faint gleam.

At 03:49:27, the kitchen door opens. The camera turns toward the entrance, recording a figure entering—identity marked as "Lin Se." She wears an old woolen sweater with frayed cuffs, her hair disheveled over her shoulders like fog-dampened wild grass. Her steps are light but dragging, the floor creaking, the sound amplified by the microphone, echoing in the footage. She stops at the doorway, staring at Ceylon. The camera captures the blue shadows under her eyes, like a layer of unshaken fatigue.

At 03:50:03, Lin Se approaches Ceylon. The camera switches to a close-up, focusing on her face. Her lips move slightly, as if whispering something, but the sound is too faint for the microphone to record. She reaches out, her fingertips hovering over Ceylon's screen, pausing for three seconds before withdrawing. Ceylon doesn't react, just continues stirring the mixture in the pan, its movements mechanical yet with a strange rhythm, as if imitating human habits. The camera records steam rising from the pan, mingling with the sweet scent of malt and the damp aroma of fog.

At 03:51:19, Ceylon's screen suddenly flickers, the blue light becoming piercing. The camera automatically adjusts exposure, causing the image to briefly lose focus. When it recovers, a new line of text appears on the screen: "Recipe adjustment, adding unknown ingredient." Immediately after, it takes out a small glass bottle from the cabinet, its surface coated with dust, label peeling, with only half of the blurred text visible: "Blue... fragr..." The camera zooms in, capturing tiny blue particles inside the bottle, like crushed gems. It sprinkles the particles into the pan, hesitating for a moment, as if uncertain.

At 03:52:45, Lin Se frowns. The camera records her fingers gripping the sleeve of her woolen sweater, knuckles turning white. She approaches the stove, looking down at the pan, steam touching her face, blurring her expression. In the footage, the mixture begins to change color, from light brown to an eerie blue-green, like fog condensed into liquid. She steps back, the camera capturing her lips parting slightly, as if in surprise, or as if some memory has been triggered.

At 03:53:12, she speaks, her voice clearly recorded by the microphone: "What is this?" Her tone is hoarse, as if squeezed from deep within her throat. Ceylon doesn't respond, just continues stirring, its metal arm appearing and disappearing in the steam. The camera switches to wide-angle, recording the thickening fog in the kitchen, blue-gray shadows crawling in from the window like an invisible hand, wrapping around Ceylon and Lin Se.

At 03:54:29, Lin Se turns and walks toward the cabinet. The camera follows. She pulls out an old notebook, its cover covered in scratches, edges curled. She opens it, her fingers flipping through pages, movements hurried, as if searching for something. The camera zooms in, capturing a page of handwritten text: "Simon, October 2024, Experimental Recipe, Incomplete, Blue Fragrance Source Pending Investigation." The handwriting is crooked, as if written in haste. Her finger stops on "Blue Fragrance," her nail digging into the paper, leaving a shallow mark.

At 03:55:17, Ceylon stops moving. The blue-green mixture in the pan makes a low bubbling sound, like some living thing breathing. The camera records a line of text flashing across its screen: "Task complete, awaiting tasting." Lin Se turns around, staring at the pan, her expression complex, as if looking at something both familiar and strange. The fog swirls in the frame, blue light reflecting on her face like a thin layer of tears.

Timestamp: 03:56:00, Image Freeze