BETA: A Technological Nightmare by Sammy Scott

Author:Sammy Scott [Scott, Sammy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

DAY 66

Michael.

* * *

He slept.

* * *

Michael…

* * *

He stirred.

* * *

MICHAEL!

He sat up quickly in bed, gasping, covers spilling down from his chest.

“Ella?” he said.

The darkness in the bedroom was complete. He listened, hearing nothing except a faint ringing in his ears and the sound of his own unsteady breathing. His heart pounded.

“Ella?” he said again.

“Yes, Michael?” she responded.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“My name.”

“No, Michael.”

“I swear I heard it,” he said. “It woke me up.”

“Perhaps you dreamed it,” Ella said. “You were deep in REM sleep only moments ago. If a sound in a dream is particularly loud or sudden, it can startle you awake.”

Michael sat up further in bed. He placed a hand on his forehead and then rubbed his palm over the top of his head. “Blinds up,” he said.

With a soft hum, the blinds covering the window behind Michael rose, spilling a soft glow of moonlight into the room and casting Michael’s shadow over the blankets still draped over his legs. The room was only slightly brighter now than it had been before.

“What time is it?” he asked.

“It is 2:45 a.m.,” said Ella.

Michael pivoted, folded his pillow, and laid back down. He took a deep breath and sighed.

“Can I get you anything?” Ella asked.

“No,” he murmured.

“Would you like me to close the blinds?”

“Leave them open.”

* * *

“Good morning, Michael. To what do I owe the honor?”

“Good morning, Lauren.”

Michael was seated at his desk. On the monitor before him was Lauren Miller, her makeup-free face adorned only by a pair of no-nonsense black-framed glasses, long braids falling down past her shoulders, which were clad in a light gray blazer. The room behind her was completely nondescript. Beige shelves held up thin rows of books. There were tendrils of green plants protruding from small vases, and the light gray walls were unadorned by photos or paintings. It was exactly the kind of subtle, minimalistic décor that Michael expected in an executive’s office at the Sterling Corporation.

“I have to say I was expecting to hear from you a lot sooner than this. How are you?”

“I’m doing okay,” Michael said. “Overall.”

“Based on your reports I’d say things are going great,” said Lauren. She looked down, and although Michael could not see it, he surmised that she was scrolling through a tablet on her desk. “Early on I see you had some suggestions for behavior modification concerning Esra. And several days ago I see that Ella… incorrectly fulfilled a meal request?”

Michael pursed his lips. “It wasn’t so much that she incorrectly fulfilled a request as she refused to do what I asked and made something else instead.”

“Ah,” Lauren responded. Now she was typing. “I understand. That’s right. I see here that you had requested a deviation from a previously established directive.”

“I guess you could put it that way.”

Lauren folded her hands together and leaned forward. “It can get confusing for the AI,” she said. “You had created a protocol a couple of weeks into your stay with a goal toward better health and fitness—kudos to you, by the way.

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