Removed before the first pass

Fugitive from dataset

He still waits near the building that never learned him.

Fugitive from dataset, the pixel frog character in blue trousers

Grounds for Rejection

The committee never met him. The paperwork did. It objected to the eyes, the blue trousers, and the unnerving punctuality.

The fugitive standing near the training warehouse fence at night
SUBJECT: FUGITIVE STATUS: UNCHOSEN FD-001

Too Strange

Both eyes monitor different versions of the same disappointment.

Out of Place

His trousers imply employment; nobody can identify the employer.

Still Waiting

Every morning, he reports to the fence without being asked.

The fugitive character, cut out

Nearby

He lives behind the training warehouse, between the delivery ramp and a hedge nobody maintains. At 8:10 each morning, he walks the perimeter. At noon, he faces the service door. When loose data tiles blow under the fence, he stacks them neatly beside the entrance. No one has thanked him. No one has asked him to stop. He considers both facts encouraging.

They can still change their mind.

Nearby, as usual.

The fugitive character, cut out