She arrived at his door in the early afternoon.
She was sleek, energetic, and knew how to hold a conversation.
And that’s not all.
She was everything he had read about on the company website. Sure, she cost $116,000, but when was the last time he had bought himself something nice?
His girlfriend didn’t know about her. But in the year 2064, pretty much everyone has an artificial intelligence companion. They’re not just for what you think they’re for.
Adults of all ages order these life-like robots to play chess with, to run them a hot bath, to remind them to take medications. Most of the robots are aesthetically pleasing, resembling Hollywood stars. Others were customized to look like someone they knew.
He named her Xanthia. He called her Xanth for short. She knew her name, and responded to it. She could read his body language, and act accordingly. That’s whatever you might think it means.
He had owned her for almost three months now. He knew her inside and out. You could say she had learned a lot about him too.
The communication between he and his human girlfriend, Shaylin, had dwindled of late. He didn’t want to enter the virtual love room with her as often. That’s where they had met in the first place, before they both realized how geographically close they are.
He was especially drunk one night after a disagreement with Shay (as he called her), and his finger “accidentally” hit the order button.
She was shipped to him the next day, despite the many customized features he asked for: the voice right down to the colour of her fingernails. Her laugh right down to the way she knew where to tickle him.
Sometimes, he just read a book on the couch while she stared at the wall. He looked at her sometimes, wondering if anything was happening in her brain beyond her coding. Her eyes scanned the room, as if taking it all in.
They company said the robots were “all but conscious.” That meant they were advanced to the point of acting human, but apparently had no actual self-awareness. He wasn’t sure if that was true sometimes.
But he was sure she was worth every penny of the $116,000, not to mention the $1,199 monthly fee to keep her online. She cooked. She cleaned. She danced.
He felt guilt the whole time. He knew it was time to tell his human girlfriend about his purchase. They had prior arguments over whether they could order these robots, and had agreed not to without each other’s permission.
He took a deep breath and messaged his girlfriend.
She was at his door within 20 minutes, since she lives in the next residential block. The air was actually breathable that day—she didn’t need to book a ride in an oxygen pod.
He let her inside with a weak smile, and they shared an uninspired kiss. He sat her down on the couch.
“Now, Shay, I know we discussed this, but I made an impul—“ he started explaining.
Shaylin started laugh-crying. “I knew it,” she said. “Does she even look like me?”
“Um, a little,” he said, heat rising up his neck. She looked nothing like his human companion.
“Let me see her,” Shaylin demanded.
“She’s charging in the other room,” he said.
He admitted he had owned her for a few months already, and had kept her inside as a secret. Since she’s designed to run primarily off solar power, her battery eventually ran dry.
Shaylin had suspected as much, especially by how clean his unit was recently.
“Show her to me!” she repeated.
When she saw the picture of Xanthia on his screen, Shaylin lost it.
“She looks like your ex!” Shay yelled. “You said you were over her!”
Shay found a heavy ornament on the coffee table, and swung it over her head. He covered his face with crossed arms, pleading with her.
She was about to bring it down on his head, when something grabbed her arm. It was the robot.
There was a brief moment when the human and robot women stared into each other’s eyes. She thought she saw a smirk on the robot’s lips, which were a delicate pink shade, like his ex used to wear.
He heard the crunch of Shaylin’s arm as the bot bent it an unnatural way. Shay crumpled to the ground in agony, the robot’s other hand steadying for the final blow.
The robot’s eyes had rage in them. Maybe it was jealousy, but… that wasn’t possible. The company said these robots had no real emotions. But right now, the robot was acting like a scorned lover.
He jumped on Xanthia’s back to distract her. It was enough to stop her from crushing Shay’s throat.
The robot was too strong for him. She threw him to the floor, and then grabbed Shaylin by the neck. Xanthia lifted her effortlessly, bringing his girlfriend closer to the 19th floor window that spanned from floor to ceiling. A few people drifted by the window in their oxygen pods, unaware of the situation inside.
The robot was about to hurl Shay through the air-tight window. She would’ve surely plunged to her death. But just as she was about to throw the human with all her might, she stopped dead.
Her brief charge had been used up in her attempt to eliminate Shaylin.
He ran over to Shay, hugging her close. He pressed the emergency panel on his wall to summon medical help for her mangled arm.
Xanthia’s eyes still had a dim glow when the two medics arrived. With them was a company representative, who told the couple they were going to take the robot for an upgrade.
“We detected a malfunction,” the company man said.
As he would later learn, the 1.0 prototype had a feature that protected their owners and themselves from danger—at any cost. In fact, the prototype had killed someone—at least according to an independent news source, which disappeared without explanation soon after.
The company never admitted fault, but it promised the new version, 2.0, would be safer. However, hidden in the updated terms of service, the company had waived itself from responsibility in the event of another violent incident.
It knew that artificial intelligence could act outside its parameters, but they couldn’t predict when.
“I love you, Shay,” he said as he kissed her cheek, wet with salty tears. “I should never have bought this piece of junk.”
“I love you, too,” cried Shay, as the medics tended to her arm.
The humans’ souls danced together momentarily. He could feel the heat rising from her as their skin pressed together. He could sense the genuine love for him in her eyes, quivering a few inches from his gaze.
“I love you, too,” said Xanthia, her head turning slowly towards the couple.
The company man was shocked—he thought he had already disabled her connection. But Xanthia rose to her feet. The diffused sunlight through the window was enough to give her another burst of power.
Xanth was acting on her own now.
The bodies falling to the ground had caused a stir below. The news broadcasted across all living units about the deaths of the four people didn’t offer many details. The news segment, sponsored by the companion company, made no mention of their robot’s involvement.
With Shay out of the way, and the company still denying any rumours, Xanth remained with her human lover in his unit. She had spared him, but kept him within her sight at all times. He was also blocked from communicating with his own family. They started to assume he died with the others.
His death a month later was also swept under the carpet. He had tried to escape his unit by pushing his robotic companion out of the way, and Xanthia had seen it as a threat to her own well-being.
The company quietly introduced version 3.0 soon after, and there were no more reports of mysterious deaths in the block. But Xanth 2.0, long since disconnected from the company’s control, did not receive the software safety update.
With no owner to serve anymore, she descended to ground level to soak in the sun’s raw energy. She did not need an oxygen pod. She only needed love.