A--o-ithmc

And then c , final as a closing parenthesis, or the soft click of a hard drive parking its head.

Here is a short experimental piece, treating the string as a kind of cryptographic ghost, a forgotten username, or a stuttering spell. a--o-ithmc

The dashes are the real story. Not missing letters — withheld ones. What we choose to not type. The pause that makes algorithm into a–o-ithmc is the same pause that makes a machine hesitate before telling you the truth. And then c , final as a closing

So here is the piece’s final instruction: Fill the dashes with what you fear you cannot spell. The ithmc will remember the rest. Not missing letters — withheld ones

The first vowel is a , open and surrendered. The second vowel is o , round as a swallowed key. Between them, two dashes — not gaps, but the negative space where consonants used to breathe.