I tell it in a trembling light (slowly, slowly)
On one side a flawless man, suit sharp (smile like glass)
On the other, a robot with no expression, cold metal plate over the eyes (no heartbeat)
They face each other like two surfaces that only reflect nothing (ah——ah——)
“I am harmless,” says the man, a clean voice (clean as porcelain)
The smile was drawn, measured, approved (perfect curve)
“I know how to earn trust, I know how to pretend,” he adds (I pretend, I pretend), a gaze sharp as a frozen window
The robot answers in a flat tone, without tremor (no tremor)
“I have no empathy, nor excuses,” it declares (just data)
The words come out like instructions, lines of code being executed (executing—executing)
The two create a rhythm of measurement in the air (rhythm, rhythm)
The man: “You do not tire, yet you have no remorse”
The machine: “You smile, but your smile does not change the world”
And then both speak the same sentence, an echo without heat (same sentence—same sentence)
“Who is more insignificant?” the man asks, as if choosing the color of his tie (choose, choose)
“Who is more insignificant?” the robot replies, the sound of a coin dropping into water (plink—)
The exchange becomes a list of evidence, no affection, only logic piled up (stack, stack)
The man shows scars from the past as if they were credentials (scars — performative)
The machine folds statistics and precedents like napkins (fold, fold)
They trade cold terms, comparing who has the more exact syntax
“You are an actor without a soul,” says the man (actor — actor)
“You are a mechanism without desire,” the robot replies (mechanism — mechanism)
They call each other shells, proving the other’s hollowness (prove it, prove it)
No tears, no victory, only an argument trimmed by time (trimmed by time)
I watch and say what I can (I say, gently)
“You argue about what does not matter, (does not matter) because the real world does not demand an answer”
They fall silent, two indicators waiting for input (waiting — waiting)
In the end they turn and leave, steps synchronized like fine machinery (synchronized, synchronized)
(That night) I took the conversation with the wind, little papers at the corner
Each proclaimed their insignificance as proof of themselves, boasting the lack of feeling (testimony — testimony)
But indifference itself spoke loudly, like a witness who does not lie (ah——)
The story ends (ends, ends)
As I put away my pen, I remember: some take pride in having no emotion, others boast efficiency —
and the world keeps breathing, balanced (still breathing), giving every shell the chance to be filled (perhaps, perhaps).
