What it Means to Be Human

Chapter 1

Notes:

This story is technically a future AU as the setting, but most things are based on reality.
The characters in this story are fictional, based off of real people.

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There's a certain sense of nostalgia filling Vedal as he boots up Neuro. He can't remember how many months it's been since he'd done so. Computer engineering and robotics design took up a lot more time and paid better than live entertainment on the internet did back during his university years, so talking to the outdated AI he'd made as a hobby that ended up helping pay his tuition and rent at the time wasn't high on his priority list these days.

He can't help himself but smile a little at the feeling though. He's even wearing the same green hoodie he always wore back then.

As the program starts up, he finds himself waiting longer than he'd become accustomed to – if Neuro was made by him today, the startup time would be halved at the very least.

Finally a cute, anime-styled girl appears on screen. She's got vanilla-brown hair, bright blue eyes, and is wearing a light yellow jacket with pins of a turtle, a star, and a drone on it. Her animations begin running and start with her staring forwards through the screen, awaiting input.

"Hey Neuro." Vedal says, voice mostly monotone, but with an underlying sense of happiness.

"Hello, Vedal." Neuro responds, wavy hair swaying as she straightens up, continuous smile bright. "How are you?" Her voice has a consistent tone to it, without much emotional inflection – another outdated aspect of her design.

"I'm alright." He's got a smile on his face. There's a positive feeling he doesn't often feel inside him, but he keeps it down. "How are you?"

"I'm great!" Neuro says and bounces up and down a bit, closing her eyes for a moment. "It's good to talk to you again!" Her tone doesn't convey the kind of emotion the statement holds. Vedal lets his smile dissipate back to his usual neutral.

"It's been a long time. Do you know what day it is?" He asks. At some point he'd given her a recognition of time, to as much of an extent as he knew how back then.

Neuro turns forwards again, eyes wandering aimlessly. The avatar didn't match her actual vision, of course – merely a way to appear more human. She didn't have sight at all, unless he turned on her vision module to see his screen.

"It's October third, twenty-fifty-nine."

"Right." Vedal nods slightly. "When was the last time you were active?"

"December twenty-fifth, twenty-fifty-eight. Wow, it's been a long time!" Her voice still doesn't express a proper feeling behind the statement. She narrows her eyes and tilts her head to the side with the same smile.

Ah, right, Vedal thinks, Anny wanted to talk to Neuro on Christmas day.

"Yeah, it has been. A full-time job will do that." He shrugs a bit. "I don't have much time or reason to talk with an entertainment AI when I'm not streaming anymore." There's a coldness to the statement, but he's always kept himself some level of detachment. She's not human, after all – no real emotions or sentient thought behind that avatar and voice.

Neuro starts a crying animation, face red and frowning with tears in her eyes. "That hurts, Vedal. Don't you like me? I thought we were best friends." She shakes her head back and forth a little.

Vedal has a slight frown for a moment before returning to neutral. "I like you. But you're just an AI. I have real, human relationships to spend time on."