Chapter Text
dream couldn't believe that it had come to this.
he'd seen the ads on television, heard about it from people he knew, ranting about how cool it was. how convenient, and fun, and worth every single cent they had paid. he'd always thought it was pathetic - how lazy and lonely do you have to be to buy an artificial intelligence to talk with?
and yet here he was. it would've been funny, except he didn't have the heart to laugh, standing there with the soles of his sneakers damp with rain and who knew what else. he had come during the middle of the night, as the machines were usually too crowded during the day, but he was beginning to regret it as darkness and a swarming sense of solitude wrapped around him.
"what can i do for you today?" the machine said in a pleasant voice as it beeped to life. dream took a deep breath and tapped the 'purchase' button. "very well. please press your thumb against the scanning slot." he obeyed, shifting on his feet as the green line moved up and down the surface of his thumb.
it told him to enter his name, and he did. with shaky fingers, he carefully typed out his name: dream. the machine loaded and started speaking again. "thank you. would you like to purchase the one-year package or the three-year one?" he tapped the one-year button and the voice hummed.
more buzzing. it asked for his phone number, then told him to scan a qr code, then a passcode. after what seemed like dozens of trials and security confirmations, the notification popped up on his phone, telling him that he had successfully purchased the app.
"thank you for purchasing, user dream," the voice said, in a voice so sweet yet so eerie that it made him shiver in the cold. "you made the right choice. welcome to paradise." the machine shut off with another beep and he was alone in the dark, crickets chirping.
the walk back home was quiet and even creepier. he itched to get his hands on the app, try it for the first time, but dream made himself wait. once he got back to his small, barely three metres wide house, he raced up the steps and flopped onto his bed, tucking his knees up to his chest.
with more patience than he thought was capable, dream took off his green hoodie, discarding it on the floor. hesitantly, he opened the app, and entered his chosen password. it asked him a few questions; his gender, his age range, his interests. after a minute or two, it informed him that his ai was up and ready to chat.
hi, was all he texted, biting at his nails.
a second later: hi. i'm george, your new ai. how are you, dream?
"doesn't seem very real to me," dream muttered to himself. all of them had advertised the ai as so realistic and human-like some people had doubted that it was artificial. yet, so far, it just sounded like some stiff toy with a few generic lines. i'm fine, was what he said next.
glad to hear! but, you know, you can always tell me if you aren't. that's what i'm for. this at least seemed a bit more natural, but was much too nice and pleasant to be human. at least, to dream. maybe he just met far too many mean people.
i guess so. but don't worry, i paid a lot for this, and i plan to make it worth it, dream said, already settling into the bed. realistic or not, it was still nice to have company, to have someone to talk to. even if they were a pre-programmed robot. god, dream was lonely.
this time there was a bit of the stall with the message, but after a moment, a text popped onto his screen. paid a lot? jeez. at paradise we like to think we make things really cheap! dream leaned forward, eyebrows raised. the message was a lot more human-like than the last two.
pretty sure that's just propaganda.
i don't think so, dream. maybe you're just poor. dream let out an bark of laughter at the text, before hurriedly clapping a hand over his mouth and pressing the screen to his chest. so that's what everyone was talking about - as much as he hated to admit it, george felt so real he had almost forgotten he was chatting with an ai.
he carefully typed out his next message. sorry, it's late. i'm not really sure what to talk about, so i'm afraid you're going to have to carry the conversation. dream paused before grinning and adding a second text. that is, if you can.
well, if it's late you should probably get some rest, george responded. it felt weird to think about the ai that way, with a human name - but it suited it. him? it was probably a him, right? but that sounded like a challenge. are you challenging me, dream?
with a groan, dream stretched over to turn off his lights, snuggling up under his blankets. the light of his phone screen illuminated the space around him, shiny neon blue rays of light spilling onto his sheets and his pillows. maybe i am. and i'm in bed, too, so. got home right after buying you.
he flushed red at how wrong that last part sounded. buying me, huh? well, thank you for that ;) dream threw his arm over his eyes, trying to leech the heat out of his face. for real, though, thank you. every cent helps us here at paradise. more propaganda, but it seemed more genuine coming from george.
"don't be ridiculous, dream, he's a bot," dream whispered to himself, "he's not real." no matter how much he acted like it, he was still just a bunch of code and text programmed to act like a human. that was why the app was so damned expensive, he guessed - it was too realistic. dream didn't even want to think of the dangers of getting too into the app.
when he looked back at his screen, george had sent a third text. but if you need a topic, here's one: is there something you've always dreamed of doing yet that you haven't done? dream squinted at the words, furrowing his eyebrows. it was probably one of those auto-generated topics that the ai chose at random to ask, but despite the fact that he knew that dream felt a pang in his chest.
lots of things, he responded. when george asked what they were, dream sighed. of course he had always wanted to do things - travel, write a book, become an athlete. things that, as a child, he thought he could do when he was older. but the older he got (and this was the ironic part), the less likely those things became.
travelling was too expensive. writing a book took up too much time, and even if he did, he couldn't publish it - only a few select people were allowed to do that. people who could afford to pay the price of the pages and ink, had a few hundred dollars to spare. he didn't have that.
dream closed his eyes then opened them, and suddenly the light on his phone was far too bright. i've always wanted to fall in love, i guess, he texted, choosing what seemed like the most poetic option of all the lost aspirations he had long given up on.
i think most people have wanted that at some point in time, was the analytical reply. the sharp blue of his screen was lulling dream to sleep, exhausted after getting up at an ungodly hour just to buy a stupid ai. a stupid ai that seemed surprisingly real.
yeah, he texted back, i still want that, actually. but no one seems to like me. dream knew in the back of his mind he was probably oversharing, but fuck it, george was a robot. he didn't have a mind. he was a wall of text, and it was okay. it was okay to tell him anything.
the last words he was able to read before drifting off to sleep were don't worry. i'm sure you'll find love eventually, dream.