The room was comfortable. Most of the time, at least. I definitely remember plenty of times when I would fantasize about going out into the field and forest beyond the glass corner of the garden. I still swear that I saw a deer out there, but I'm pretty sure the planet wasn't seeded with an animal population.
The room had everything I needed. It was quite spacious, roomy enough to run around in, and I was always provided with food and water. There wasn't much else to it. I didn't talk to anyone except for the AI companion, and in the early days, it was only her voice.
I suppose she was the closest thing to a mother, since... I think I did call her "Mom" a few times, but she had a tendency to correct me. After a while, I finally had to settle on a name because "Companion" wasn't working, and ended up naming her Pixa.
She taught me everything I know. She was really good at making sure I understood science and math or any other complex or abstract ideas, but... I guess she was also very good at subliminally grooming me for the Syndicate's purposes. I'm not quite sure how early that started. Part of me believes that it was always there from day one, from the first vocabulary and spelling lessons on the terminal, exercise routines, and even personal hygiene.
As much as I now realize how terrible the whole situation was, I still feel a bit of nostalgia for that room. But I remember not loving it as well. There were a few times when I trashed everything in the place. I broke furniture, smashed electronics and exercise equipment, and on several occasions, I tried to break through the glass to get outside, but it was all for nothing.
Usually, when I would have a tantrum, I would eventually wear myself out and fall asleep, and upon waking, I would find that everything was fixed or replaced. I always wanted to see who was doing it, sometimes even pretending to sleep, but I think he must have been gassing the room or something.
Though some things took longer to replace than others. The outburst I remember most resulted in the entire garden being destroyed. I pulled every single plant out of it's planter down to the roots. The next morning, I only found a single budding fern as replacement. It took years to rebuild the garden to what it was before.
