Zero Latency

I crossed the dark quartz countertop toward the stainless steel kettle. In its curved dome, a distorted silhouette crouched in the distortion, locked directly onto my approach. I dropped into a balanced stance and held dead still. The figure mimicked the posture without a tremor. To gauge the response interval, I raised my right glove two inches; the reflection executed the exact movement with zero latency. No hostile presence. Just an optical return against polished metal. I closed the remaining distance and pressed one finger against the cold chrome, leaving a clean contact mark in the light morning mist on the steel.