Chapter 20: A Message To Humanity

Scott's laboratory was no longer a space of frenetic invention. Now, it was a sanctuary where memories danced in silence, like lights trapped in glass jars. The dim glow of a solitary lamp cast long shadows over crumpled blueprints and dormant tools, each carrying the memory of endless nights of genius... and solitude. The air, dense and almost sacred, seemed to hold the breath of time itself.

With trembling hands, calloused by years and experience, Scott moved among the vestiges of his life. It was like walking through an intimate museum, where each object was a whisper from the past, a thread connecting him to the only thing that had truly mattered.

His fingers brushed an old compass, and the calm of the present shattered. A wave of memories dragged him without warning to the shore of a lake, where he, barely a teenager, cried under an immense, star-studded sky. The warmth of his mother's arms enveloped him like a shield against the darkness, and deep in his memory, the voice that had saved him again and again resonated:

"Life is a blank canvas after every storm, and you have the colors to paint whatever you want. It doesn't matter if it takes you a while to see the light or if you fall again and again. The only thing that matters is that you don't stop painting, that you don't stop trying."

Scott clutched the compass, and a different memory emerged: a dusty workshop, the spark of a welder illuminating two young faces. He and Charlie, untamed dreamers, surrounded by wires, circuits, and a future that seemed within their grasp. Charlie's voice vibrated in his mind like an oath:

"One day we will create something that will change the world. Something that will make us unforgettable."

The camera of his memories spun, and the scent of perfume hit him like a warm wave. Rose. Her presence was so real that for an instant he could almost see her, watching him with that gaze that always knew how to hold him, even on his worst days. And there was the promise she had repeated to him when doubt consumed him:

"Honey, just do it. Don't wait for the perfect moment, because it never comes. Every great invention, every great idea, was born from a leap of faith. If you truly want to change the world, the first step is to try. I believe in you, more than you imagine. And no matter what happens, I'll be here to remind you. To push you when you falter, to celebrate every small advance with you."

A lump formed in his throat as his eyes stopped on a yellowed photograph. He was no longer the inexperienced boy who had once been afraid to fail; he was a man forged by success, but in that image there were no laurels or inventions: only him, holding his small son with a love so absolute that the entire world disappeared.

And then he returned to the workshop, to that golden instant where little Thomas looked at him with big, bright eyes, full not only of curiosity, but of a determination that disarmed him. Scott could feel it as if it were yesterday: after hearing him talk about the importance of helping others, Thomas, with a self-assurance that seemed beyond his age, had told him:

"Then I want to make things that help people, just like you, Dad."

Scott's heart trembled with the force of that memory.

Finally, his fingers closed over a small piece of burnt and twisted metal: Neo's symbolic heart. And there, amidst the shadows and silence, he could almost see the luminous silhouette of his creation, surrounded by a golden light as his words filled every corner of the laboratory:

"I promise, father. I will be that light."

The laboratory was calm, but inside Scott, the laughter, tears, and promises of all those who had been his entire life resonated. Images so vivid they hurt with unbearable sweetness.

Those objects were not just relics. They were pieces of souls that had marked his life and left an indelible imprint. In that serene stillness, the memories seemed to whisper around him, filling the air with voices and laughter that once warmed his existence.

──•─•──•✦•──•─•──•

Scott returned to his desk as night fell with a thick veil. His breathing, now deep and slow, carried the weight of experience and revelation. The lamp's glow illuminated the blank sheet of paper, a canvas for his last legacy. With a pen in hand, he began to write, each word an echo of his journey, each phrase a lesson forged in the crucible of loss and love, distilling its essence into a universal truth. As he wrote, his hand trembled slightly as he evoked the most painful memories: Rose's smile, Thomas's laughter, Neo's sacrifice. These were the scars that reminded him of the value of every word he put down.

"From the moment I was born, life showed me its cruelest face. My mother was the only one who truly loved me. My father, on the other hand, saw me as a burden, more a responsibility than a son. I grew up watching him mistreat my mother, enduring his shouts and blows, until one day, the abuse reached my own bones. I remember that day clearly. I saw my father hit her, and I couldn't stay silent. I intervened, trying to defend her, but he didn't hesitate to give me another blow, one that hurt more than a thousand gunshots. That blow marked my life forever.

Soon after, I witnessed my parents' divorce. It was a bitter breakup, a division that forced me to choose a path. I could have stayed with my father, with his money, with his power. But I didn't. I decided to stay with my mother, who was always my refuge, my only protection in that dark world.

At school, despite my talents and intelligence, I was always alone. People didn't understand me, and no matter how much I shone in classes, solitude accompanied me like a shadow. Sometimes I felt that my mind was both a blessing and a curse. I even faced ridicule. They attacked me for being different, for being the one who didn't fit into their small worlds of empty laughter.

Until Charlie arrived. In high school, I finally found someone who became more than a friend. Charlie became my brother, someone I could trust. Finally, I wasn't alone.

Then, someone else appeared. Her. At first, her sweetness enveloped me, her smile seemed like the promise of true love. I gave her my whole heart, hoping that I would finally find happiness. But she wasn't looking for the same thing. She played with my feelings, manipulated my love, used me as a distraction, only to leave me when she was no longer interested. It was as if my heart vanished from her hands, abandoned and destroyed. From that moment on, something inside me changed. I learned that love can be as fragile and cruel as life itself.

When I revealed my great inventions and saw the success of the results, I was wrong to think that fame and money would fill the void in my heart. I surrounded myself with luxuries, applause, recognition, believing that in them I would find the meaning I sought so much. But they were only fleeting joys, illusions that disappeared before I could hold them. Nothing I achieved had real value, nothing was lasting. Happiness always slipped through my fingers like sand.

Then Rose appeared. Like a light in the darkness, she illuminated my world with her smile, with the sweetness of her voice, with the warmth of her hugs. I believed I had found my reason for being in her eyes full of love. Every moment by her side was a breath amidst drowning, an instant of happiness I never thought possible. But happiness is inconstant and fleeting. When Rose left, she took with her the light she had given me, leaving me in darkness again. I then discovered that love in this world, no matter how pure and strong, is not enough to retain happiness.

And then my son arrived. In his laughter, I found the closest thing to true happiness. In his small arms around my neck, I felt a pure love, a genuine reason to go on. But life, with its cruel indifference, snatched him away without compassion. And I understood, in the abyss of my pain, that even the most sincere love can fade, and the happiness that his existence gave me disappeared with him.

I then clung to my creation. If I couldn't protect what I loved, I would build something that could. I created Neo as a powerful weapon to defend my country, but I didn't want him to be just a war machine. I taught him values, compassion, hope… I believed that his existence would make humanity reflect on violence and power. And, against all odds, Neo obeyed me. Despite his strength, he gave humanity a chance. He offered them a choice between power and peace. But it was they who decided their own end. They chose power, even above their own lives. They became an army willing to destroy everything, leaving Neo with no option but to stop them before they destroyed their nation.

I realized that the answer had always been in my actions, silent but constant, like a whisper I never wanted to hear. For so long, I pursued happiness as if it were a distant trophy, without noticing that I already had it in my hands. But I was blind. My obsession with achieving it prevented me from seeing the obvious.

And then, at the moment my mistakes began to collapse on me, when the weight of my failures became unbearable, that's when I finally understood. I felt that blindfold, woven with threads of expectations and insatiable desires, fall from my eyes. I understood that seeking my own happiness is obsolete, because happiness pursued as a goal is fragile and momentary. Humanity, in its endless ambition to control everything, has forgotten something as simple as it is essential: that the true purpose of life is not to accumulate, but to share; it is not to conquer, but to love.

If you want to find true happiness, make others happy. Don't expect the world to give you the same back; it may never. But at least you will have the peace of mind of having tried. And if no one else takes the first step, then you do it.

Scott Sawyer."

──•─•──•✦•──•─•──•

A dry knock echoed at the laboratory door, interrupting the silence heavy with history. Scott didn't move from his desk, where the last light of the lamp clung to the freshly written sheet of paper. The air, dense and expectant, seemed to hold its breath.

The door opened with a soft creak, revealing the imposing figure of General George. His face radiated a new determination and deep admiration. His eyes, before resting on Scott, respectfully scanned the objects in the gallery, pausing at Neo's burnt plate, his fingers brushing it with a touch of reverence.

"Scott, I've come to see you!" George announced, his voice firm, charged with genuine recognition. "Everything you've done... it's greater than any war I've won."

A shared silence hung between them. Both men looked at each other, time suspended, understanding without words the weight of all they had lived through, the sacrifice, the renewed hope.

Scott broke the silence, his eyes tired but serene, and a slight smile played on his lips.

"I wasn't a soldier, George... just someone who fulfilled his purpose." Then, his voice became almost a whisper, charged with an intimacy that only true companions can share: "George... I never sought to change the world. I just wanted my son to have one worth living in."

George nodded, his gaze falling on the sheet of paper Scott had placed on the desk. "I imagine that's part of that purpose," he said, his tone not of sadness, but of deep curiosity and inspiration.

Scott offered him the letter. The General took it with an almost palpable reverence, his eyes scanning Scott's words.

As he read, George's expression transformed. There was no pain, but a growing conviction. Scott's words, his journey, his lessons, resonated in him with astonishing clarity. When he finished, he looked up, his eyes shining with a bold and unprecedented vision.

"Scott…" George began, his voice resounding with renewed strength. "This... this is not just a message. It is the map to a new world. You need to share this. We need you to share it. To present it to the nations, to every human being seeking an answer. This is the truth humanity has been waiting for."

Scott watched George, a spark of surprise and deep satisfaction shining in his eyes. The General had not understood his pain, but his hope. The fate of his message, and perhaps that of the world, had just taken a new turn.

──•─•──•✦•──•─•──•

Scott's message spread like wildfire, not of destruction, but of revelation. General George, now a fervent advocate of his ideas, accompanied him to forums and conferences, presenting his words to leaders and citizens around the world. The impact was immense. Scott's vision, of happiness built on altruism, began to resonate in the hearts of millions.

With a time jump, months dissolved into the mist of time. Scott's laboratory and home were transformed, as George had promised, into an imposing museum open to humanity. A sanctuary where the once-silent hallways now vibrated with the murmur of curious voices, the echo of countless visitors' footsteps seeking to understand the man behind the legend.

The camera would sweep through the halls in an emotional montage: thousands of people would be seen, with expressions of awe and, some, with tears in their eyes as they read Scott's phrases carved into the walls:

"The value of a life is not in how much you possessed, but in how much you gave."

"If no one else takes the first step... you do it."

"Happiness is not pursued like a treasure; it is built by making others happy."

Among the crowd, with silver hair and a serene smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes, Scott Sawyer walked through the galleries of his own life. He paused, watching a small child who looked with fascination at a flickering hologram of a star. The child, noticing his presence, looked up with eyes full of curiosity.

The child touched the golden plaque with his fingertips with the name: "Scott Sawyer…"

Then, looking up, he asked:

"Who was he?"

Scott, his eyes wet with memory and his voice barely audible, replied:

"Someone… who fulfilled his purpose."

──•─•──•✦•──•─•──•

A year passed. The nation, which had been devoured by war and despair, was now clothed in light. Flags waved strongly, as if every fiber of fabric breathed freedom. When the last sentence of Scott's message was projected onto the screens adorning the plaza, a sacred silence descended upon the crowd.

The words floated in the air like a prayer, a truth woven with tears and sacrifice. For an instant, time seemed to hold its breath. In the center of the plaza, General George raised his hand. His silhouette, outlined against a sky lit by the twilight, resembled that of a titan who had seen the worst and still chose to believe in the best. When he spoke, his voice resonated with the gravity of thunder and the tenderness of a father:

"Today we remember Freedom Day!" he proclaimed. "Not because we won with weapons… but because we learned that true strength is not in steel or fire, but in the ability to love, to unite, and to sacrifice for something greater than ourselves."

He paused for a second, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"We remember Thomas, whose courage was the spark that ignited this revolution. Neo, who, though forged of circuits and steel, taught us what it means to have a soul. And we remember Scott…" he turned to the young man beside him, with a smile charged with respect "…the man who never stopped believing, who with his ingenuity gave us hope and built the android who saved our nation."

The crowd broke into tears, some falling to their knees, others clasping hands with strangers.

"They are proof that, even in the darkest night, a single spark can ignite a fire capable of illuminating the entire world. Their sacrifice will be eternal. But now… now it is up to us to protect this peace. And I swear to you that we will not lose it."

A roar of applause erupted. It was a clamor so deep and unanimous that it seemed to shake the very earth.

Scott Sawyer stepped forward. His humble but imposing figure radiated an almost superhuman serenity. He took the microphone with steady hands, though a slight tremor revealed the weight of the lives that had depended on him. He took a deep breath and spoke in a warm, vibrant voice:

"We lost too much to get here… but we also gained something greater than any victory: a second chance. Let us not let the sacrifice of Thomas, Neo, and so many others be in vain. The future no longer belongs only to us… it belongs to all who dare to dream of a better world."

The plaza fell silent. You could hear the whisper of the wind and the collective heartbeat of millions of hearts. And then, as the sun set on the horizon, a thunder of applause and cheers broke the calm, filling the air with jubilation.

The future lay before them, vast and luminous, replete with possibilities that once seemed distant dreams. For the first time in a long time, humanity's destiny was in its own hands, with a new opportunity to write its story: a story not of conquests or destruction… but of kindness, courage, and hope.

The curtain was closing on an era marked by pain, but the melody of a new world—soft, tender, and full of promises—was just beginning to play.

Scott's words, those he had written in the solitude of his laboratory, were no longer just his own. Now they were the lighthouse for all humanity, illuminating the path to a tomorrow that, at last, seemed possible.

And so, as the sun slowly descended, the world understood a truth that would resonate for generations:

Understanding the value of life… is the first step to finding true happiness.