Human beings consider themselves rational creatures.
They talk about love, compassion, empathy.
But all of that is just chemical mechanisms; electrical impulses disguised as morality.
Feelings don't make us strong.
They distract us. They make us doubt. They destroy us.
In the lab, they said that a mind without emotions is perfect:
no remorse, no fear, no guilt.
I often wondered if that was true.
If a person without emotions... was still a person.
The instructors said, "Love weakens. Sadness corrupts. Attachment kills."
And my father repeated, "Sayuri, you don't need a heart to fulfill your destiny."
When I was eight, they broke my fingers to see how much pain I could endure without screaming.
When I was ten, they forced me to choose between saving a child or completing my test.
I chose the test.
By twelve, I no longer remembered my mother's face.
And at sixteen, when my father died in front of me, his last command was:
"Dominate the world. Or the world will dominate you."
That's how I understood that feelings were not a gift.
They were a weakness that had to be eradicated.
Although, in the back of my mind, one question continues to echo:
If the heart is useless... why do I still hear it beating?