Chapter Text
“Feeling lonely? Out of touch? As if romance isn’t for you-”
“Fuck that.” You immediately press the skip ad button without a second thought. You’ve been seeing these ads everywhere in the past few months. A new technology developed recently, one to combat the fact that the population was overwhelmingly lonely. You would disagree with that statistic. You weren’t lonely. You had friends…well, a friend. Sure you didn’t hang out all the time but they were still your friends. Except they didn’t invite you to brunch or outings or parties or clubbing. They weren’t your thing anyways. Who needed people?
“Excuse me. Your coffee.” The waitress said with the subtle hint of ‘get the fuck out of here because we’re going to close soon’ in her tone.
You removed your headphones from your ears. “Sorry. I just finished my work.”
“Yeah okay. We’re closing.” That was the cue.
“I’ll leave.” You pack your things and take your coffee with you as you walk out of the cafe. You sighed deeply, looking up at the sky. It was summer time so the sun was still up. People were walking all over and you noticed how a lot of people looked dressed up, ready to go out. They had friends, a life outside of their job or school. This was probably a daily occurrence for them. You could only scoff at the idea of going to the club.
While walking home, you noticed your friend Gil was calling you (video calling you, to be specific) so you picked up. “Gil!”
“Hey (Y/N)!” They smile, blowing a strand of their brown hair from their eyes. “What’s up?”
“Oh nothing. I’m just coming out of the cafe and going home. I finished work today.”
“Do you ever go out?”
“Okay Gil. You don’t need to be that way with me.” Your voice held no malice.
“I’m concerned. All you do is work and talk to me and Yuuken. You don’t really go out.”
“Well I am satisfied with my life Gil, thank you very much. So why did you want to call me anyways?” You stop at a crosswalk.
“Guess what I got!” They pan the camera.
“No way. Are you serious?” You sigh.
“What? It’s the newest Dream Boy from Huadian Industries!” Gil smiled. The android was sitting down, reading a book. They wore circular gold framed glasses and had dark brown eyes. Their hair was dyed green but you could see the roots which were dark brown. In the middle of the forehead, you could see the signature huadian of the company.
“Are you that lonely?” You raised your eyebrow before crossing the street with a small crowd of people.
“I’m not. But it doesn’t hurt to have help, you know.”
“That’s not wrong. But I don’t like being replaced as your chauffeur for getting you to your doctor appointments.”
“You will never be replaced (Y/N). I promise!” They reassure you with your charming smile.
“Well that’s good. Besides, you have your appointment next week for your post-op of your surgery.”
“I know, I know.” Gil puts a hand on their chest. “It feels so good! Like I’m a new person.” They frown. “You know you didn’t have to chip in.”
You scoff as you turn a corner. You were almost to your apartment. “I had to. You’re my best friend. We’ve been friends since kindergarten! It’s the least I can do for being with me.” Your shoulders relax upon thinking about your past with Gil. “Do I need to send you the studies showing why this care is necessary?”
“I get it, I get it.” Gil suddenly remembers that they forgot to introduce you to their android. “Oh (Y/N). Meet Boris! He uses he, him pronouns.”
Boris looks up to the camera and smiles. “Hi!” His voice sounds very similar to Gil’s.
“Well he seems lovely. I gotta go now.”
“Okay! Love you!” Gil hung up first and your high spirits fell to the ground very suddenly.
— — —
Dinner tonight was some fancy instant ramen recipe you found online. It was pretty good and also low effort which was what you always preferred. After your shower, you were sitting on your bed, watching some videos online. Until an ad came up. “Oh come on.” Your cursor lingers on the skip button but part of you is curious since Gil got Boris.
“Feeling lonely? Out of touch? As if romance isn’t for you?” The woman with long blonde hair and horns says. “Well, then our new androids are perfect for you. Introducing the Aphrodite Program, pioneered by Dr. Eros Diamandis.”
“The Aphrodite Program is a unique A.I. that mimics qualities of a desired partner. From choosing pronouns, sexuality, and gender presentation to their interests, how clean they are, and their favorite foods, the Aphrodite Program is entirely customizable.” The man with pink hair turns around to face the camera in his swivel chair.
“Every android is also customizable! We have a variety of body shapes, skin tones, hair types, you name it! Whoever you desire is at your fingertips!”
“Don’t want romance? Well the Aphrodite Program can still be used for platonic friendship, to learn social skills, and to help around the house. All androids can drive as well!”
“Don’t believe it? Does any of this sound too good to be true? Let’s hear some reviews from customers!”
All the video clips were positive of course, saying that the android helped with their social life or makes the perfect partner. Predictable. “As you can see.” Madame Flora continues to speak. “Our androids are the best.”
“And for a rare opportunity, to celebrate our one year anniversary, if you order an android during this summer, you will get 40% off.” Eros pushes up his glasses.
“So what are you waiting for? Go to our website and order your very own Dream Boy Android today!”
“Ugh.” You sigh before thinking about it. 40% off was a really good deal. And…you were lonely. You would never admit that of course. But what harm could come from buying an android? Well actually a lot. There’s a lot of ethics regarding A.I. It was too late at night though and you didn’t want to think too hard about it. “I guess why not?”