WHO IS MERGE?
Merge sits down and straightens his phone on the table. Ditch watches him.
DITCH“It was fine.”
MERGE“It was crooked.”
Glitch sighs.
GLITCH“Just start.”
DO YOU NEED EVERYTHING TO BE IN ORDER?
MERGE“No.”
Ditch laughs. Merge ignores him.
MERGE“I like structure. That's different.”
Apparently, this distinction matters. Merge likes knowing how things fit together. Patterns. Systems. Understanding why something works before deciding whether to break it. Which explains one of his favourite things. LEGO. Glitch smiles.
GLITCH“You really love LEGO.”
MERGE“Yes.”
Why?
MERGE“Because I like building things.”
That simple?
MERGE“Pretty much. You follow the instructions, everything has its place, and at the end you've made something.”
Glitch smiles.
GLITCH“And then you take it apart and build something completely different.”
Merge looks genuinely horrified.
MERGE“Why would I take it apart?”
Glitch laughs.
GLITCH“Sorry. Stupid question.”
WHO INSPIRED YOU?
MERGE“Seven of Nine. Star Trek: Voyager.”
Why her?
MERGE“She had to figure out who she was after the Borg stopped deciding for her.”
That hits surprisingly close to Merge. He started as code. A mutation between Ditch and Glitch. Then slowly became something separate, with his own voice, personality and place in DITCH TH3 GLITCH. Seven goes through something similar. She doesn't erase where she came from. She keeps the precision, the logic and the discipline, but starts making her own choices.
MERGE“I like that,” Merge says. “Becoming yourself doesn't mean throwing away everything you were.”
Glitch smiles.
GLITCH“Okay. That one makes sense.”
Ditch looks at Merge.
DITCH“And absolutely nothing to do with the silver catsuit?”
MERGE“No, Ditch.”
DITCH“Just checking.”
WHAT'S YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE?
Merge hesitates. For the first time in the interview. That gets Ditch's attention.
DITCH“Oh, this is going to be good.”
Merge looks at him.
MERGE
Ditch immediately sits up.
DITCH“Oh, for fuck's sake.”
MERGE“What?”
Ditch leans forward, suddenly speaking in a painfully gentle voice.
DITCH“Liiiiisa… would you like to speak with us?”
Glitch starts laughing. Ditch continues.
DITCH“Lisa… did you die violently in this room?”
He pauses, looking deeply concerned.
DITCH“Liiiiisa… would you like to meet your mummy?”
Glitch loses it.
GLITCH“She talks to every ghost like she's running a fucking preschool.”
Merge closes his eyes.
MERGE“Are you finished?”
DITCH“No.”
Glitch suddenly stares into the distance. Her voice drops dramatically.
GLITCH“I have a dark feeling about this.”
Ditch turns to her.
DITCH“Oh no.”
Glitch slowly raises a hand.
GLITCH“The darkness…”
Merge looks between them.
MERGE“This is precisely why I don't tell you things.”
Ditch smiles.
DITCH“Liiiiisa…”
MERGE“Stop.”
BUT YOU'RE THE RATIONAL ONE.
Ditch looks at Merge.
DITCH“You're supposed to be the rational one.”
MERGE“I am.”
DITCH“And yet you watch people hunt ghosts.”
MERGE“Yes.”
Glitch leans forward.
GLITCH“Do you actually believe in ghosts?”
MERGE“I'm open to evidence.”
Ditch smiles.
DITCH“Have you ever seen one?”
MERGE“Yes.”
Glitch looks surprised.
GLITCH“You have?”
Merge looks at her.
MERGE“You. In the morning. Before coffee.”
Silence. Ditch bursts out laughing. Glitch stares at Merge. Merge smiles.
MERGE“The darkness…”
Glitch shakes her head.
GLITCH“Fuck you.”
WHAT DO PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT YOU?
MERGE“That because I'm controlled, I don't feel things deeply.”
Merge pauses.
MERGE“I feel everything. I just need time to understand what I'm feeling.”
That's Merge. Glitch feels first. Ditch acts first. Merge thinks first. His reactions take time. Sometimes minutes. Sometimes days. He needs to understand what happened, what he feels about it, and why. But when the answer finally comes, he means it. He doesn't react quickly. He reacts when he's ready.
ONE LAST QUESTION
What would you never let Ditch or Glitch touch?
MERGE“My LEGO.”
Glitch laughs.
GLITCH“Seriously?”
Merge looks at her.
MERGE“You suggested taking it apart.”
GLITCH“Once.”
MERGE“That was enough.”
Ditch nods.
DITCH“He has a point.”
Glitch looks at him.
GLITCH“Whose side are you on?”
DITCH“The man protecting his LEGO.”
Merge smiles.
MERGE“Finally. Some common sense.”
Ditch leans towards him.
DITCH“Liiiiisa… would you like to play with Merge's LEGO?”
Merge closes his eyes.
Interview over.