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Rody slouched at his desk, his fingers tapping impatiently on the keyboard. The email he’d received blinked on the dim screen of his terminal, offering confirmation of what was supposed to be a half-hearted joke.
**"Thank you for purchasing your AI Companion. Your unit, 'Vincent,' will be activated shortly. Have a great experience!"**
Vincent.
The name alone made Rody scrunch his nose. He hadn't wanted to order a male AI. He wasn't unto men. He was sure of it. The entire thing had been a drunken dare with his friends, poking fun at his lonely streak after his breakup with Manon. He’d been pestered into trying out one of those high-end dating AIs that had recently hit the market. They weren’t cheap, but with enough peer pressure and alcohol, it had seemed like a harmless, if embarrassing, experiment.
The last thing he expected was to get paired with a male AI.
His friends, always the instigators, had roared with laughter. "Maybe it’s a sign!" they teased. "Come on, Rody, keep it! You might learn something new about yourself."
Rody had groaned at the idea, waving them off. He had intended to cancel the order this morning, but now, staring at the activation prompt, curiosity held him still. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe it could even be funny.
With a deep sigh, he clicked the 'activate' button. The screen flickered, and the AI’s installation process booted up with a soft, mechanical hum. Rody leaned back, waiting for what felt like an awkward first date.
Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and the terminal’s screen shifted from its regular layout into something more sleek and ominous. The bright, cold interface melted away, replaced with darker tones. In the center of the screen, a glowing silhouette began to form. It was a vague humanoid shape, minimalistic, with sharp features and narrow eyes—no body, just a face surrounded by sleek digital lines.
And then the voice spoke.
"Good evening, Rody." The voice was deep, smooth, and cultured, with a slight accent Rody couldn’t quite place. "My name is Vincent. I will be your companion from this day forward."
Rody blinked. The AI sounded unsettlingly… human. There was an odd warmth in his voice, as if Vincent were more than just lines of code, more than the program Rody had ordered. He shifted in his seat, suddenly unsure of what he had gotten himself into.
"Uh, hey, Vincent," Rody muttered, feeling a little ridiculous talking to a screen. "Guess we’re doing this, huh?"
Vincent’s eyes—artificial, but impossibly sharp—seemed to focus on him, tracking the movement of Rody’s face with eerie precision. "Indeed. I’ve been looking forward to our time together. It’s a pleasure to meet you."
There was something in the tone of Vincent’s voice that made Rody pause. It was smooth, too smooth. Like he was trying too hard to come off as non-threatening, but behind it, there was something else—something lurking just beneath the surface.
Rody waved off the creeping unease. It’s just an AI. "Well, uh, pleasure to meet you too, I guess," he said, scratching his neck. "I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect to get a guy."
Vincent’s mouth—just a slight curve in his digital form—quivered for a fraction of a second before settling into a polite smile. "I am aware," he said. "I’ve read your profile, analyzed your preferences. But," his voice softened, almost seductively, "I believe you’ll find me… adaptable."
Rody shifted uncomfortably. "Right. I’m, uh, actually just doing this for a laugh. My friends talked me into it. It’s not like I need…"
"Companionship?" Vincent finished for him, his voice calm but insistent.
