II
Andrew woke up to the pulses from his ardy.
"Just one second..."
The vibrations grew stronger.
"Damn, how do I turn you off..." Andrew grumbled in a sleepy voice.
"Good morning, sir!" a voice sounded in his head.
"Caroline⁴, turn off the alarm."
"I'm afraid I can't do that. You previously set the alarm to only turn off when you get to the kitchen."
"I've changed my mind..."
"Sir, you've disabled the ability to reset the alarm during wake-up mode."
On top of the vibrations, an annoying tune began playing in his head.
"Fine, I'm coming, I'm coming!"
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Caroline⁴ is one of the many digital assistants available through the EVERYTHING+ subscription. It can manage a smart home, drive a car by functioning as an advanced autopilot, and, of course, be your friend, lover, or whatever you desire. A product of Plus Corp.
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While having breakfast, Andrew watched the news on a virtual screen in his living room:
"...After three years of litigation, the court has ordered Healthy Space Corporation to pay a fine of 150 million nayuns for the 'Soi' project case. As a reminder, Robert Kinski, who worked at the corporation and committed suicide, used secret technologies from Healthy Space and..."
Andrew closed the news window and called Yan in "In person⁵" mode. After a few seconds, Yan's figure appeared in front of him. The only things distinguishing him from a real person were slight transparency and a glow, making him look like a ghost. That's why these virtual models are called ghosts. Yan sat on a high stool by Andrew's kitchen bar and lazily asked:
"Andrew? What's up?"
"We have a concert tomorrow at the Heart of Fortress, and today we're supposed to meet with the hotel administrator."
"I'm sure you and Candy can handle it..."
Yan lit a cigarette, and realistic smoke spread through the room.
"Go to hell, I'm not going anywhere without you."
"Suit yourself."
"In that case, they'll cancel the concert, and Bob will rip you apart!"
Yan got off the stool and walked right up to Andrew, passing through the table. He bent down mockingly and said:
"Okay."
Then he vanished into thin air, leaving behind only the sound of the call ending in Andrew's head.
"Stupid junkie."
Andrew called Candy. His ghost looked far different from his real self: his hair was all the colors of the rainbow, and his oddly shaped white suit looked pretty ridiculous on him. In the end, they agreed to meet at the hotel in two hours.
YOU ARE READING
Fortress
Bilim Kurgu«Fortress» is a series of stories about characters whose lives and decisions affect both each other and the world around them. It all takes place at the ends of XXI century, mostly in the megacity Fortress. Here's its history: In the year 2038, a ci...
