Trust Thy Neighbor

Eric Sandford yawned as he looped his tie. No matter how many years he had been getting up early, he never really did get used to it. Even when he had kicked his coffee addiction a couple of years back- two years, four months, twenty-seven days- he didn’t wake any easier. At least, Eric found fulfillment in his work. All those early morning alarms felt like they were worth something when they forced him to wake. He knew many people lacked the sense of purpose he got from his job, so he was especially grateful for the opportunity it provided him.

Eric checked the time. He was ready earlier than normal today. With a grin, Eric shuffled over to his kitchen counter to grab a bagel. Typically, he had to wait until a lull during work to slip away to get breakfast.

The man turned to the clock again after polishing off his meal. It was time to go to work. Eric slipped out of his apartment and caught sight of his neighbor as the elevator doors shut. Annice Wiola had moved into the apartment next door four months ago. It wasn’t that Eric didn’t like Annice; he just didn’t trust her in any way, shape, or form. There was something about the woman that just threw him off. Maybe it was the fact that he never once heard any loud music from her apartment like he had from the previous tenants; it could have been because of her habit of keeping her rooms so cold that it bled into his residence. Both of those options were good reasons not to trust somebody, or so Eric thought.

Really though, Eric didn’t trust Annice because he thought she was a robot. It wasn’t something he realized during their first or second encounter, but the best bots are the ones that are hard to detect. After a while, something about her just started to seem off. Everything she did was just so exact; it was unnatural, impossible for someone that was actually alive. That was just it. Annice wasn’t alive. She wasn’t human. She simply couldn’t be. Eric set out to prove that.

Eric took the stairs two at a time in order to keep just behind the elevator. If he left earlier, Annice would have seen him. Now, he simply risked losing her. As he left his building, Eric took care to not look directly at the machine that acted as a door guard. He didn’t want his face on any records it may be keeping; who knew what those things really wanted.

Eric proceeded to follow Annice as she walked towards the local park. She had a habit of just sitting there and observing, almost completely still. Her only goal seemed to be people watching. Eric feared whatever she planned to use that information for.

Occasionally, people would approach Annice. Parks like this were always so packed these days. The young woman who stood before Eric’s neighbor seemed out of breath, though she managed to spare a small smile for the suspected android.

“Hope you don’t mind if I sit for a second.” The woman didn’t wait for a response before collapsing onto the bench, but she straightened up when a small dog came barrelling up to her.

Annice stiffly replied, “I do not mind. That is a nice looking dog you have.”

Perking up at the comment, the woman exclaimed, “Thanks! I find taking care of him and spending more time outside takes up my days now. Without having to deal with a job anymore, there's just been so much I haven't had to do. This little guy just loves all the extra attention I can give him. I’ve only had Boxer here for a few months, but I don’t think I’d know what to do without him.”

“That is nice.” Annice seemed disinterested.

“Well, thanks for letting me take up your space for a breather.” The young woman stood. “Maybe I’ll see you again.”

With that, the dog owner trotted off, pet in tow.

Still, Annice reacted. “Maybe.”

Annice returned to watching the park. For half an hour, she stayed there and watched. She didn’t blink or twitch. Eric found himself unsettled. That simply wasn’t something someone organic could do. Annice couldn’t be human.

Finally, Annice rose from the bench, with a mechanical grace. It was time for her to go to work. Eric took note of the time once again. She had left at the exact same time she always did, down to the second. He picked himself up and followed her. The two traveled down the clean streets, under the natural light of the sun and surrounded by the dull humming of the machines around them.

A bright spot of color interrupted the orderly design of the white and beige buildings and caught Eric’s attention. He paused to take in the wall that had been almost completely overtaken by graffiti. It was stunning. Brilliant designs seen only in the art made by human hands decorated the surface. Intricate and often inaccurate layouts formed a masterpiece. A dozen different artists provided for this illegal testament of human creativity. There was nothing quite like it anywhere else. It could never really be copied the same way, no matter how good technology got. Eric was awed.

As much as he wished to stare at the mural, Eric had to catch up to Annice. It wasn’t that hard as he knew where she was going. Annice had a job. She was the barista at a local coffee shop. Annice was the reason he started drinking coffee again.

The automated bell sounded when Eric opened the door. He fell into the short line. Eric always ordered the same thing because what he drank didn’t ultimately matter. This was the one time a day where he would hold an actual conversation with the robot. It was finally Eric’s turn at the counter.

“I’ll have a medium coffee, black,” he mechanically requested.

Annice nodded smoothly and put the information into the machine that would actually make the drink. The liquid poured into a cup, and she passed it over.

Annice’s cool voice came out. “Enjoy.”

Eric took the drink, but for a reason he himself could not figure out, he didn’t move from his spot. He stood in front of Annice, hot drink in hand, waiting. No one was in line behind him, so there was no one to tell him to move. Eric’s other hand clenched as he stared at his neighbor, the thing he couldn’t trust. He wasn’t thinking; he didn’t know what he was doing. Eric moved his burdened hand up and dumped the coffee onto Annice.

“Is there anything else you would like?” Annice asked, obliviously.

Eric’s eyes widened in elation. He was right. She had to be a robot. Any normal person would have reacted to having burning coffee dumped on them, even if their thermal wicking clothing kept them from being injured. Annice could be nothing but a machine. Eric was so happy he just had to express it aloud.

“I was right.”

Before Eric could continue celebrating, a slow clap sounded from a table in the corner. The man sitting there rolled his eyes as Eric turned to look. The man shook his head, pushed his dark hair out of his face, picked up his drink, and gestured to the seat opposite of him, clearly expecting Eric to take it. Confused, Eric did.

“I’m impressed,” the man sarcastically intoned, “It took you a full forty-eight days just to prove that she was- what, programmed? Not even. It took you that long just to confirm she was a robot, right?”

Eric frowned, “Why do you care?”

“Why wouldn’t I care about my inspiration?” the man innocently replied.

“Inspiration?” Eric’s tone was laced with caution. “What do you mean by that?”

The man waved him off, “Nothing sinister, I assure you. You’re just neurotic. The product of a problem, a problem I want to give a crack at solving.”

“I’m not neurotic.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you prefer obsessive?”

“I’m not obsessive either.”

“I disagree.”

“Who are you to say what I am?”

“Desmond Donat, at your service.” The newly named man paired this with a small, sharp wave.

“A stranger, then.”

“So much of a stranger that I don’t even know your name. I do know that you’re obsessive.”

Eric did not answer the implied question. “Once again, who are you to say that?”

“I like to people watch. Honestly, that’s the only reason why I come here. A while back, I noticed you were here every single day, like today. You would order the same drink, like today. Typically, you sit at the table in the back where you think the fewest cameras are on you and stare at the barista, unlike today. Am I wrong?”

Eric reluctantly grit out his reply, “No.”

“Thought not. Forty-eight days in a row is quite the dedication. Shouldn’t’ve taken you that long to figure it out, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Obviously she’s a robot. She only ever uses fixed responses. If nothing else, the fact that she has a job should have proven it to you.”

“I knew Annice was a robot; I just had to prove it.”

“Alright, but why?”

“What?”

“Well, how about this; what if you just never proved it?”

“I needed to.”

“But why? She’s a robot, so what?”

“I needed to know so I could know what precautions to take.”

“Obsessive and paranoid, you are a delight.”

“It isn’t paranoia. What’s stopping the robots from rising up?”

“There’s the little fact that AI are strictly regulated. That is a thing. All robots are programmed only.”

“Then, what’s the point?”

“To ease people into this world run by machines. Saying as the only jobs impossible to lose are artistic ones, people aren’t needed. You know this, obviously. Still, it’s only been a year. These automatons are here to see if people respond better to human-looking bots or not.”

“So, it’s just some sort of experiment?”

“Mhm. One that’s going to fail because of people like you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, that’s not a bad thing. It’s kind of the whole point of the experiment. People like you don’t react well, so it clearly isn’t working.”

“So, we won’t have any imposters who have jobs anymore.”

“Probably not. Just machines with jobs.”

“Then that’s that.”

“Hey, what was your job?”

“What?”

“You know, when people still had jobs, what was yours?”

“I was an accountant.”

“So, one of the first ones to go.”

“What’s it to you?”

“Oh, nothing much. It does explain why some of the unusual behavior you display is only recently showing up in the rest of society, though.”

“What unusual behavior?”

“The whole discontent and hyperfocus on things that don’t really matter. People just don’t know what to do anymore.”

“I didn’t think I’d retire until I was well into my seventies.”

“That’s the problem. No one expected this to happen and in only a year. Now that most people don’t have work, what are they to do?”

“You say that like you aren’t going through the same thing.”

“Oh no, I am. As I said, I people watch. I paid enough attention to you for the past month and a half to also be called obsessive.”

“Then, what’s with all the ‘they’ talk.”

“Well, I just might have a solution.”

“Destroying the bots and bringing around a second stone age has already been vetoed by most of the population, sorry.”

“That isn’t a solution. Admittedly, calling what I’ve been working on a solution might have been a bit of a stretch. I have an idea that may help- at least a little.”

“What’s this great idea of yours then?”

“I called you my inspiration earlier because you’ve shown me where this problem is heading. People don’t have to do anything anymore. So, if they don’t have to do anything, what if they could do everything?”

“How about you explain with an actual answer this time?”

“I propose what is basically a giant and hopefully never-ending distraction. I imagine a game where people spend their time doing whatever they want. We have the tech for virtual reality; just imagine full immersion without limits on what you could do. Everything from magical questing to working retail would be possible.”

“You think this could actually be done?”

“We have the physical technology. I’m a pretty good programmer if I do say so myself, and it isn’t like I’m working on this alone.”

“The best solution you could come up with was a distraction.”

“Yeah. It may be temporary, but it’s something.”

“It’s not as good as a real answer, but I guess it doesn’t sound so bad.”

“You think? It’s good to know that someone so integral to the process approves.”

“It’s something.”

Eric finished his coffee, still warm because of the heat regulating cup. He stood and tossed his trash. Eric turned his gaze back to Annice at the counter; her outfit was still soaked with coffee. Eric moved to leave.

“Wait a sec,” Desmond called out, “Do you have a name?”

“I’m Eric Sandford, glad I could help.”

Eric went home.

The next morning, Eric woke up and got ready for the day. He yawned as he brushed his teeth. He decided not to wake up early today. He also had no plans to get coffee. Eric didn’t have anywhere to go. He had nothing to do. He didn’t know what to do today.

Honestly, Eric hoped Desmond’s idea would work out.