Protocol Zero: Measured Ownership - by Cole Harlan

After the death of his mother, Alex moves into the ordered, silent house of his stepfather Marcus. What begins as quiet observation quickly becomes something far more exacting. Marcus, a former military physician, does not raise his voice. He simply measures. Posture. Response time. The way Alex occupies space. Every deviation is noted, corrected, and entered into a private system he calls Protocol Zero. Under the roof that now belongs to both of them, Alex is reshaped with clinical precision. Soft garments chosen to increase awareness of the body. Timed stillness. Progressive inspections that move from surface to the most intimate places. Rope that restricts and displays at once. Each stage is framed as necessary maintenance of a household standard. Each stage leaves less of the private self intact.