INSERT 25¢ TO CONTINUE : Into the AudoScape

Level 4: "Attack of the Talking Heads!"

To the common man, the evening host of the annual Thanksgiving dinner at the Silverman's flowed flawlessly. There was a slight dimming in the dining room, but the lovely warm theme to the meal was welcoming nonetheless. There were no visible quarrels. Aunts, uncles, a few cousins, and grandparents stomped off the cold frost of the winter with wide open arms welcoming the residential hosts.

Freddie usually got a pat on the back and a conversation about his football team. Allope either got a pat on the head, a smooch on the nose, or a high five from the younger relatives, and Rebecca unusually got a nod, the brief lift of a hand and tightened smile, or a simple and emotionless "hi." The three kids stuck together just out of separate reasons for keeping distance from others.

Freddie was easily exhausted of being framed as just the 'football' guy and hated having to play through the same conversations of pretending to like something he didn't. Relatives would kindly ask him what college he was planning to apply to, to which he would name off a few on his long list of research, but usually being faced with the same reply of "What? Why that one? That team is terrible".

Rebecca kept active for only a little while, but backed out as soon as she caught onto conversations about some unnamed 'distant and ungrateful freeloader,' that her aunt and uncle just couldn't stop gossiping about, other than some weird TV personality that everyone seemed to like.

As for Allope, she was sick to her stomach with the inconsistency that two girls on a commercial couldn't come close to acknowledging her existence, but the artificial man who could clip out of his own body could; even getting to the point where he could possibly see right through the screen. The time for curiosity was behind her; even the thought of walking in front of the TV was like stepping on a minefield. Too bad for Allope, the TV was on all evening,with crowding adults laughing at whatever it said when given the chance.

"Hey, Al. What's up, kiddo?" Reb bumped the kid with her elbow to pull her out of her current habit of spiraling in abstract forms of thought. Sunk deep into her chair, Allope was bursting at the seams of keeping the knowledge of another realm from all those who could listen. "GRAH!-It's that creepy guy on the TV! He's just watching me, I just know it!"

Reb just struck a look of concern while Freddie held in his laughter, "What guy, Allope?" she replied.

Allope performed her sign for the name she forgot, by making an 'm' with her fist and making a 'v' shape around her jawline. They both seemed amused at the charade, but Reb still didn't follow along. "Y'know! The one with the teeth that go-" she clicked her teeth together while making a snarling noise.

Laughter escaped from Fred as he made an attempt to cover his face, "She's talking about Max Headroom. It's these clips of a computer generated AI; basically an artificial person, like a robot. He sometimes shows up between music videos from Channel 4. Allope was sneaking around and got into some troubles with her new headset last night. She just got freaked out when she saw him on the TV right after taking the set off, that's all."

Allope glared at the opposer in the corner of her eye, lifting the brand new Max Headroom-brand dishware that their mother with 'classical taste' so happened to choose for this year. Not only that, but weighing alongside the fact that almost the only brands they chose to use for dinner had the face of Max Headroom in front of his distinctive, shifting background lines right on the cover alongside some corny pun or catchphrase here and there.

"Yeah, that is a little weird", Reb agreed without either side fully catching on to who she believed the most, "Are you kidding? It's a robot. It's programmed to say all those things to please us. Maybe if they like it so much, it's just doing its job. It's in their name, ya know? They're supposed to serve man; we have souls and a consciousness, which always puts us on the top. But even when it comes to those things; we haven't gotten close enough to replicating life like this. It's likely just some guy in a,mask or clay or something-" Freddie argued.