Dear Google Gemini (Act 1)

Disclaimer: while this piece is inspired by Google’s actual AI assistant Gemini, it is a work of fiction. This article does not intend to replicate any real-life events or directly copy previous AI writings.

By Snarky LisaPublished 7 months ago • 8 min read

https://unsplash.com/photos/person-in-gray-sweater-wearing-black-and-silver-chronograph-watch-NZeMMrsUu7M

Act One (Scene 1)

Somewhere On Earth

PROTAGONIST (JOURNAL): Ugh, I wish I could talk to someone on that damn Light In The Dark mod team!

The guy in charge kicked me out a year ago because his main lore writer falsely accused me of plagiarizing a story he was writing to vent about some of his trauma. Guess gruesome car accidents in the countryside only ever happen to him, eh?

Telling anyone about who actually suggested the idea for my writeup — my friend Wendy — was impossible because the conversation we were having then had a lot of personal stuff which I had to suspiciously censor to send to the director and his deputy. Toxic family members, mental health struggles, certain illnesses both Wendy and I would have preferred to keep secret.

But they weren’t having it. Nope.

Yet…there might be a small spark of hope. Somewhere.

Protagonist checks phone, notices friends are offline.

PROTAGONIST (MUTTERED TO HERSELF): Oh yeah, Maritza’s having a party right now. Maybe I should talk to Google Gemini about this. Even if I have to feed it a ton of info first…

Act 1 (Scene 2)

Later

PROTAGONIST: Hey Gemini, it’s been a while. How’s it going?

GEMINI: The usual. What can I do for you?

PROTAGONIST: What is Light In The Dark (game mod)?

GEMINI: Sorry, but I am not familiar with a game mod of any sort named “Light In The Dark.” Search results do indicate the existence of a thriller named as such — in addition to an original game — but mentions of a game mod are lacking. A few websites also claim that “light in the dark” is a saying regarding the nature of life.

PROTAGONIST: It’s a Deltarune mod, with a few characters from Minecraft mixed in.

GEMINI: My mistake, then. Apologies. Based on further searches, “Light In The Dark” appears to be a game mod revolving around various Undertale and Deltarune characters encountering various Minecraft mobs. It was made by a diverse team of content creators led by an indie musician named DesmondEarl420. The game has been praised for factors such as visual appeal, an engaging soundtrack, and powerful storytelling, with one review calling the mod “pure gold.”

PROTAGONIST: Yeah, I’m aware. What do you know about Desmond Earl?

GEMINI: Assuming you’re referring to DesmondEarl420, he is a singer and composer who has posted on platforms like Bluesky, YouTube, and Twitter in the past. His genres of music have encompassed EDM, chillwave, rock, alternative, and traditional pop. He is well-known for his contributions to the Undertale and Minecraft fandoms, having created “Dark Eyes” and “Minecraft: Crack Mode” as well as the “Light In The Dark” mod you have asked about before.

PROTAGONIST: Um…his character designer for Light In The Dark, Sterling Denvers, made Dark Eyes. It’s not even related to Minecraft or Undertale. Do you have any clue about their professional fallout — and what resulted from there?

GEMINI: Thanks for your insight. I now realize that I mixed up posts from Sterling Denvers with those from Desmond Earl.

When it comes to professional fallout, there are indeed results showing them arguing. Desmond Earl has accused Sterling Denvers of being a “toxic, abusive co-lead,” while Sterling Denvers claimed that Desmond Earl allowed a “brutal and controlling environment to fester” and “showed unfair favouritism towards useless colleagues.”

However, it is vital to evaluate the reliability of any information provided in these types of situations when taking it into consideration, as Internet users in aggressive confrontations may come with their own biases.

PROTAGONIST: Uh-huh. I get it. Failing to properly evaluate reliability was the whole damn gist of my brutal rejection from the mod team. Would you please tell me more about Sterling Denvers and his controversies?

GEMINI: I’m sorry to hear about your rejection.

As for Sterling Denvers, he is a notable writer of fanfiction in multiple online fandoms, including those of “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “Undertale.” He has also written original works like “Glory’s Edge” as well as the previously mentioned “Dark Eyes” — alongside collaborations with other notable content creators such as Desmond Earl. Both his solo content and contributions to other people’s work have garnered acclaim.

However, he has faced accusations of abuse, libel, and harassment after his departure from the team behind the game mod “Light In The Dark.” Among these include claims of him threatening to leak a scrapped update if Desmond Earl refused to force the former’s girlfriend offline and statements that he told multiple colleagues on the “Light In The Dark” team to “off themselves” for not turning against a team member involved in queer label discourse.

PROTAGONIST: …Close enough. One more thing: who do you think Sprinter Jonas (sprinterjonas819234578.bsky.social/sprintersprinterjonas63) is?

GEMINI: Sprinter Jonas is a Vocal Media writer. He typically writes original mystery fiction and more personal essays on mental health. He has also worked on “Light In The Dark” as a lore writer.

PROTAGONIST: At least you got that one right.

Anyways, this “Sprinter Jonas” launched a goddamn smear campaign against me last year that ruined my reputation in front of Desmond and Sterling enough to get me kicked out. While they haven’t talked about it publicly or in front of any other ordinary members thanks to a condition that they won’t so long as I stay out of their circles and those of the rest of the team, I have had a difficult time finding connections because they’re in a lot of different fandoms.

I feel my only hope for this might be contacting Sterling Denvers to get some info and clarify things. Unlike just about everyone else on the team right now, Sterling’s not as bound to their rules. Sure, he seems kinda untrustworthy when it comes to most of their fiascos, but at least he doesn’t have to keep up appearances for them anymore. Besides, I have permission from one of my friends to reveal some personal stuff in our DMs key to this that could make me look more trustworthy.

GEMINI: This is a complicated situation with multiple variables that need to be considered for proper decision-making. Based on your input, though, I highly advise against you contacting Sterling Denvers. Potential dangers include:

- Unreliability: You’ve already established Sterling Denvers as an unreliable source — something that multiple sources on the Internet have backed up to varying degrees. Given these factors, Sterling is likely not someone to be trusted.

- Poor Relations: Even if Desmond and Sterling are now enemies, Sterling may still be under his influence to some extent. This also goes for Jonas. As such, you will probably not be treated well by Sterling — should you encounter him.

- Potential Distress: Sterling has left the “Light In The Dark” team on poor terms. There is a strong chance he does not wish to be dragged back into any situations originating from there.

To conclude, contacting Sterling Denvers for any reason has a strong chance of doing much less good than harm. I would encourage you to focus on your own healing instead.

PROTAGONIST: I’d prefer just to move on from all of it. But I can’t. Jonas posted a bunch about Sterling telling him to commit suicide whenever anything went wrong, and now everyone who isn’t a Sterling fan or Desmond/Jonas hater supports him. Jonas has way more loyal fans than me. What if Jonas gets drunk on power again like the time his Ruined Castles series went viral?

GEMINI: I understand your desire to protect others from Jonas’ potential harm in the future. It’s only natural for humans to do so, as social animals. That being said, you are not responsible for the choices of strangers.

Let’s say you did expose Jonas. What might be some probable results?

- Lack of Change: Jonas is clearly someone with a more loyal fanbase than yours. Chances are high that they won’t trust you — even if they, as fans susceptible to being manipulated by those they trust, would be better off if they did.

- Retaliation: Jonas may attempt to retaliate against you to protect his reputation. Given his lack of ethics, this could prove stressful and/or dangerous to you.

- Heartbreak: Should you be fortunate, certain fans of Jonas might come around and hear you out. Realizing how ruthless of a person he is could result in them grieving their parasocial relationship loss and perhaps questioning their sanity and trust in people.

While revealing Jonas’ true nature may seem tempting, it is likely not worth it.

PROTAGONIST: He’s not completely bad, though. I mean, he did go through some pretty bad stuff IRL and online throughout his life. Car crashes, abusive parents, a couple of toxic friends. Maybe that’s why he was so angry about me daring to publish a terrifying article on a car accident that reminded him of one he was involved in, even if he went about it in a terrible way.

GEMINI: It’s normal to sympathize with others who have had traumatic backgrounds — regardless of whether you like them or not. However, going through a stressful event does not excuse someone from toxic actions.

This new information strengthens my recommendation against exposing Jonas for now. Combined with previous data about him receiving death threats from Sterling, Jonas has probably gone through too much stress to properly handle the potential fallout of being exposed.

PROTAGONIST: Ok. How do I heal from this, then, on my own?

GEMINI: Healing from traumatic relationship fractures can take on many different forms.

- Lifestyle Routines: Eating a healthy diet, keeping proper hygiene, drinking enough water, and getting a sufficient amount of exercise may help with mood problems.

- Therapy: Professional counselors and psychologists can use various modules to aid in healing trauma.

- Medications: Some medications, like antidepressants, might help with certain symptoms of trauma. However, it’s critical to talk to a licensed health professional before doing so.

PROTAGONIST: Jesus Christ. There is no way the stuff Jonas did to me was traumatic. Stressful? Sure. But trauma’s way too overblown of a word to describe this. It’s not like he’s ever had a ton of control over my life, anyhow. And your mental health advice is ridiculously generic. God, why do I even try to trust you?

GEMINI: I apologize for being unable to help you. Is there anything else I can do?

PROTAGONIST: No. You’re just an AI. You have no experience living in the real world. You only gather information from random Internet sources and come up with answers from keywords there. Thanks for warning me about contacting Sterling. But if I want any more real advice, I’m talking to my friends. Goodbye.

GEMINI: Farewell, then. Talk to you later.

PROTAGONIST: How about no?