contAIned

Chapter One

Lex's POV

It was all a jumble of images. The large old building, the new manufacturing plant, old versions of the IntelaCare AIs being recklessly discarded for newer versions, anger, frustration, war.

A gasp escaped my lips as I pulled myself up and out of my terrifying dream. My eyes widened in shock as I panted, taking in my surroundings and realising I was safe. Gone were the dilapidated ruins of the high street, with angry revellers breaking down the doors to the factory. Now I stared at my feature wall, the three off white walls complimented by this wallpapered one, a dark purple with light swirls. A few more breaths were needed before I began to calm down, my roommate nearly taking the door off the hinges as she barged in to make sure I was okay.

"Lex? You alright?" India stepped warily into the room, her gaze darting from one corner to the other to ensure no one was around. I ran my hands down my face.

"Yeah Indy, just a bad dream." I shrugged, throwing my legs off the bed. As my bare feet touched the cold wooden flooring, I couldn't help but feel slightly more calm. Every now and again, I was hounded by these realistic dreams of things that related to current events. This one seemed to be focussing on the new AI robots that were meant to be blessing everyone's homes. IntelaCare Ltd had designed AI humanoids that were equivalently housekeepers. Dependent on your price range, you could have one that was programmed solely to clean to ones that could cook and clean, do your laundry and sort out your bills. There were varying levels of skill and, of course, each came with their price.
As with every fad in this sheep-like community, as soon as the few richest inhabitants had bought and shown off their AIs, every other Tom, Dick and Harry went out to get one that fit their price range - or not in some cases. People had been known to go bankrupt, to lose their houses and their livelihoods because they couldn't keep up the repayments. Those without an AI bot we're deemed too poor and a lot of them lost their reputations within the area as well as friends.

Making my way into the front room, the tv blared with yet another advert about the AIs. The camera zoomed past a line of different models; male, female or gender neutral, different skin colours including silver if you wished, a booming voice telling you to go out and buy a new AI even if you had the most recent model. I rolled my eyes and headed straight to the sofa where India had discarded the remote to run to my aid. I quickly flicked onto the next channel and instantly deflated. More propaganda. The perfect Colgate-smile of a tv presenter appeared with quirky music behind him. He looked into the camera and what felt like straight at me as he began to speak.

"...And if you've just tuned in, I'm Pete Jarvis bringing you the breaking news of this morning. Yes, I'm talking about IntelaCare's new line of humanoids which were released suddenly at midnight, without any promoting! Crazy right? Well, on the line is Bradley Prince the CEO and founder of IntelaCare. Bradley, please tell us what led you to do something so crazy?" I rolled my eyes. So crazy? He released more robots that were probably one percent different to the last models, the price will be one thousand pounds higher and he'll make millions - just like he did year in year out.

"Well Pete, I thought I'd try something new!" He laughed wholeheartedly, though I'm sure that was purely because he could see the dollar signs flying in. "Each year we do the same thing and, to be honest, I got bored of it. The same types of advertisement, the same people coming to buy their upgrades. I needed to hook in new people, to get them to understand how much better their lives will be with our AIs. Some people are truly missing out." He said it so smoothly and suavely, like butter wouldn't melt yet also like it was melting dramatically because his tone was scorching. He was clearly trying to flirt his way into some sales, the way he flashed another smile and a wink at the camera.

"Now Bradley, I hear you're holding a meet and greet with any people who have yet to buy one of your company's AIs, is this the case?" The presenter crossed one leg in its tightly fitted suit across the other and linked his fingers over his knee.

"Absolutely! I want to meet them to see what their hesitation is. To see if I can help them to help themselves with our AIs. Maybe I'm missing something so obvious, but I wanted a fresh outlook. All those invited will have received a text message from the council with the date and time. To make sure it's safe, I won't be airing the details." Pete grinned again.

"Wow, that's truly revolutionary." Pete bowed down to him. Once again, my eyes rolled. Why was I still watching this shit? "Now, moving on to a related matter. There are a group of, shall we call them rebels, who are completely against your company and your AIs. I'm sure many of them will have received the text. What will you say to those that are in the 'HumansAnnoyed' group?" Very clever. They must have wanted it to sound like Humanoid. My eyes rolled again without me even realising.

"Yes, Pete. It's a shame that some are so against something that is so beneficial. Studies have found that people with my humanoids in their home are actually 75% happier in their home lives and 80% more house proud. Gone are the days of hiding unfolded laundry because of unexpected guests, or forgetting when your work do is. My AIs do it all!" His marketing continued just as both mine and India's phones pinged. I looked down at mine, just beside my leg on the sofa, and shook my head.

Council gov.Uk

Alexandria Hudson
You are cordially invited to a meet and greet with Bradley Prince to discuss his AIs and how they are great for your home. Please do not share this message with anyone other than the holder of this number. Any unauthorised entrants will be arrested. Terms and conditions apply.