He wasn't always 10K. He'd had a perfectly normal name, once, had been a perfectly normal boy. But that was when he'd had a normal world, and a normal dad, and a mostly normal life. Nowadays, that isn't a thing you take for granted. He tries not to think too much about it, it's easier to stay in the present, but maybe it's just always normal, when you live one way long enough. Maybe this'll be normal someday.

But for now, it's actually--if not normal, then not surprising, exactly, to hear Alec's answer. 10K takes a minute to choose his words, lifting a hand to his head and looking a bit like he's reaching for something that isn't there anymore, like a pair of glasses or a hat. "I guess that's--not all that weird for a scientist. I mean, most of the ones I've met are kinda...similar. At least you aren't blaming anyone else for what happened to you. For your mistakes, I mean. You could hate other people." He wouldn't exactly blame him, really. Especially if they treat Alec the way he thinks they do.