14 Desperate 03

Erik never really paid much attention to the Virtual World. He liked the grimy reality, the battle for power. In the Virtual World, you could have anything you wanted; it was easy. It was almost annoying, the AI always going out of its way to please you.

“Hey AI,” Erik called out. If this was the rest of his life, he’d better settle his beef with the AI.

“Yes, Master,” The AI spoke listlessly. Oh, right, Erik told the AI to call him that, back when he was feeling particularly malicious towards the programme.

“Don’t call me that anymore. Just Erik,” Erik’s eyes rolled when the AI repeated its first words with the new change. He could already feel himself getting annoyed at this yesman.

“What should I do in SinglePlayer?” Erik wondered aloud. The AI responded, such an ass to think the comment was for it, “You can do anything you wish in SinglePlayer, like a lucid dream.”

“Twat. I know that. Give me ideas,” Erik tapped his foot. Where were they? He must be in the same world as last time. It was a castle atop a hill, in the British Isles.

“People who lucid dream typically attempt to fly, but speaking to loved ones is also popular for SinglePlayer,” the AI couldn’t be more dry and mechanical. Was that Erik’s fault for assuming it would sound like a machine, or was it like that for everyone?

“I don’t have any loved ones. I don’t suppose you could invent loved ones out of thin air for me,” Erik scoffed. It appeared like the AI took that as a request, and without missing a beat there was a young girl before him.

“What the?” Erik stepped back. She was still. Was she a robot, too?

“Where the heck did you get this from?” Erik took a closer look. Certainly not a Virtual Real Avatar, this was an NPC. No additional users could connect to SinglePlayer.

“Thin air,” the smart ass said. Erik appreciated the comeback, “Hey that's pretty good. Be more like that. But really, tell me, you’ve got me interested now.”

“I’ve synthesized your perception of a loved one from memories, desires, and the like. I can simulate how you expect them to act, if you wish,” The robot returned to the formal speech, but Erik’s curiosity was entertaining the subject.

“Yeah, sure,” Erik watched as she came alive before his very eyes.

“Your SafeWord is ‘fuck off,’” the AI reminded him. Oh right. Erik set this up quite a while ago. He chuckled, that would be easy to remember.