Virtue Us by Ellison Blackburn

Author:Ellison Blackburn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: science fiction, speculative fiction, women’s fiction, contemporary fiction, genetic engineering, cyberpunk, dystopian, artificial intelligence, androids, cyborg, droids, AI, virtual reality
Publisher: Goldbrier Press

Virtue Us

VIRTUE US WAS launched almost on schedule; it was delayed one quarter. And at first, it was met with a mixed reception from the public. However, as it had been in the business of social development for a long time, and knowing the stages of consumer behavior, particularly as it applied to AI, Tantamount had devised a foolproof rollout sequence.

A separate team had worked on a collection of 30-second ads that appeared on the various smaller Virtue channels. The tech giant then increased the push of marketing campaigns just when the initial, ignorant winds had died down and the wisps of curiosity began to flow in (as seen by duration statistics). Finally, footage of Raine and Lloyd interacting with one another was aired on a primary Virtue channel for all the world to see. It was a bold move to show actual people in a Virtue advertisement.

The whole campaign was designed to pique interest in a new way. The “sponsors” gave no forewarning or background about the actors. The program itself was not mentioned until the end of the advertisement. And from the videos, it was not plain which of the two characters was subhuman. Ten seconds in and reports showed the viewers’ heart rates spiking, then equalizing but still watching.

The couple talked and laughed, enjoying each other’s company among various everyday settings: a restaurant, a cafe, a swimming pool, a hiking trail, a park bench. The very public scenes were meant to impress upon viewers that Raine and Lloyd were an average couple (and subliminally that the bystanders were none the wiser). They held hands, they teased, they kissed. And at the end of the ad—each of which aired for seven days only—the pair leaned into one another, glanced at each other affectionally, then turned to look directly at the audience, inviting anyone interested in receiving a customized profile of their ideal partner to call in.

“I’m Lloyd.”

“And I’m Raine.”

“We found love and you will too,” he said, nodding once and smiling with his eyes.

Then on cue, together they said, “The future of love is Virtue Us.”

Some lingered after the commercial and posted a comment. Many revisited the channel or search for the program by its name or by “Lloyd and Raine.” Inquiries about Virtue Us trickled into the call center within a matter of weeks. A few weeks more and as many as five virtuals per day were being queued for manufacturing.

At this influx of interest, Raine was developing a guilty conscience, but still, she continued to guard her doubts closely. She had not mentioned the growing longing she felt to her sister—to be genuinely in love and to have that love reciprocated. How could she explain that her perfect match was programmed to love her? That that knowledge alone made it impossible for her to feel deeply for Lloyd beyond a certain point? And that he was logistically incapable of the same since he had not chosen her?

She might have tried to illustrate the point by saying

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.