Series Ninety: Practicing Repetitive Frequency Distortion to Explore Dum Vivimus, Vivamus.
Series Ninety
Nova was the only human girl in her class. Her school enrolled the children of wealthy families who could afford a companion. At some point near the beginning of the school year, one by one, her friends had started staying home and sending those androids in their place. Nova envied them so much. The company that sold them had made their appeal very clear. They were custom-made to be identical to their owner, which made them incredibly useful. You could send one to work to take your boss's scolding. They could go argue with your partner (better for them to get yelled at than you). You could send them, as Nova's friends had, to finish your last year of school if you wanted. She had asked her father to buy her one too as soon as she realized she was the only girl still attending class in person.
“How are you supposed to learn anything if all that thing brings you back is a summary of what you should've been doing yourself?”
Nova didn't really disagree. The academic side of things didn't bother her enough to want a companion, but there was something about knowing she was alone in the classroom that did get to her.
Fine, she told herself one day. I just need one night out with my friends. She sent the message to each of them through their companions: that night they would all go to karaoke.
She was running fifteen minutes late, but it wouldn't be a problem. She remembered that Astrid, the real one, was always late too. And Cam, her friend's boyfriend, wouldn't complain about anything she did for fear of Astrid. What a shock it was when she arrived at the private room and found them standing there in silence. The moment they saw her, it was as if they switched on. Astrid, Cameron, and more of her friends smiled at her. The same pleasantries repeated themselves again and again:
“Hi, Nova! It's so good to see you. How have you been?”
“Oh, Astrid... Where's your owner?” It had to be a joke.
“User Astrid sent me in her place. What would you like to sing first?”
Nova had no intention of answering. She stumbled out of the karaoke place, unable to stop thinking that it couldn't be real. Her friends had stood her up. How could they have sent their androids instead?
She got home slamming doors in fury. Her dad tried to talk to her, but all he managed was to make Nova yell that she'd had enough, that she wasn't going back to her stupid class or seeing her stupid friends ever again.
So, with the little money she had saved up, she bought a Series Ninety from a website that sold pirated models. Her dad wasn't very happy when Ninety—as Nova called her—arrived, but he didn't stop her from using it.
“There are things you have to see for yourself. Looks like this is one of them,” he told her.
Ninety worked wonderfully, actually. Nova sent her to school the very same week she arrived, while she stayed home watching food videos through her virtual reality headset. Every afternoon, when Ninety came back, Nova asked for a summary of her day.
“I passed your French exam today. De rien!”
“I studied with Astrid today.”
“I bought some clothes downtown today.”
It suited Nova perfectly.
As time passed, life moved forward without much trouble. Nova got into a pre-med program at university and found a part-time job at a café on campus.
One day, years later, Ninety told Nova's father that she had a boyfriend and wanted to bring him over to meet him. At first her dad said he wasn't interested, but Nova practically jumped with excitement at the idea. She had a boyfriend! It was so easy when none of the responsibility fell on her. Hopefully he'd bring his user too.
The day finally came. Ninety brought over a handsome android with swamp-green eyes and light-colored hair. It wasn't until he introduced himself that Nova remembered she'd gone to school with his user before the robot had taken his place.
They all sat down at the table to talk. It was unusual for both the companion and the person to introduce themselves at the same time, but the young man didn't seem to think anything of it.
“This is all such a surprise,” Nova said once everyone had relaxed. “So... what happened with you and Astrid?”
“Not much,” the young man replied politely. “I like Ninety much better.”
Ninety? How strange that he referred to her by anything other than her name.
“I see. And how's Cameron? The real one, I mean.”
“User Cameron passed away in the year 2035 due to complications from high cholesterol.”
The answer came out very matter-of-factly. Nova swallowed.
“What?”
More than five years had passed by then. Back then, they would've still been in high school.
“Astrid invited me to karaoke one day during our final year. When I went to give the message to my user, I found him like that. It's unfortunate. My condolences, Nova, if you didn't know. I saw you at the karaoke place, but you ran away.”
Cameron was dead?
“How... but then how are you still functioning?”
The android shrugged, though the gesture came out a little stiff.
“I don't see why I wouldn't be.”
Nova looked over at Ninety, who returned her gaze with perfect calm. The only thing that crossed Nova's mind was how long it would take for something as ridiculous as cholesterol to kill her too, and how long it would take anyone to notice that Nova's life already belonged exclusively to Ninety.
“Right. What a silly thing for me to say.”
The androids laughed at Nova's remark. Nova laughed a little harder, knowing full well that Ninety would be deactivated that very night.
