"Master Kokubunji? Master Kokubunji, are you alright?" At the sound of his persocom's voice, twelve-year-old Minoru suddenly came back to reality. He had been staring out into space for sometime, thinking.
"I'm fine, Yuzuki." Minoru smiled, as he turned to face his favorite persocom. Unlike his other persocoms, Yuzuki was designed to look and act just like his deceased sister. She had been programmed with the exact same mannerisms, likes and dislikes, and anything else Minoru could remember about his sister. When Yuzuki smiled at him, it was like his sister had never left, and that was what made him so sad.
No matter how much software, programs, and upgrades Yuzuki was given, she could never be a real person. She could never truly be the sister Minoru wanted her to be. Although Yuzuki and Minoru had many interesting conversations and tons of fun together, it was all just pretend. Yuzuki simply wasn't real, and the more Minoru did and shared with her, the unhappier he became. And that was what he had been thinking about just moments before.
Minoru and Yuzuki were at the park, enjoying each other's company, as they rowed across the lake in a rented boat. The sun's reflection danced merrily across the water, as Yuzuki gave him a pleasant smile. He tried to grin back, but only a tiny, cheerless smile appeared on his face. Clouds passed over the sun.
"Minoru?" A familiar voice called out, and the depressed seventh grader turned away from his persocom to see who had said his name. Behind him, in another rowboat, was his nineteen-year-old friend, Hideki Motosuwa, and a girl he had never seen before. He supposed the two were on a date, but he was surprised to see Hideki without his persocom, Chi.
"Good afternoon." Minoru replied with a small wave of his hand.
"What are you doing here?" Hideki asked, as he rowed his boat over to the shore. Minoru followed, and they all climbed out onto dry land. The four of them walked to the shelter house that overlooked the lake.
"It's the weekend. I do get out, you know." Minoru answered. "But judging by your face…I would venture that exercise is something new to you." Hideki fell over.
As the group entered the shelter house, Minoru looked over at Hideki's companion. She looked about high school age, with short, dark hair and a peaceful expression on her pretty face. With the new persocom models, it was hard to tell who was human these days. "Your friend…she's a person, isn't she?"
Hideki shot a glance over at the girl, and than laughed. "Of course she is! What else would she be?"
Minoru felt his throat tighten. Hideki had a persocom, just like him, but unlike the twelve-year-old, he could still enjoy the company of real people. Minoru had long ago quit associating with other humans, and Yuzuki, despite the fact that she was just a computer, had become his entire world. He couldn't go anywhere without his persocom, but there was Hideki, out on a date with a real girl. He had left Chi at home and didn't seem the least bit upset. "I'm glad for you."
"Huh?" Hideki questioned, giving the seventh grader a puzzled look.
"Chi is a lovely companion. I find it admirable that you haven't become so involved with your persocom that you forget about people." Minoru whispered, staring at the lake.
Hideki gave his young friend a surprised expression. "You're the last person I'd expect to say that…but thanks. Yumi was worried about that too. That I might prefer my persocom to a real person."
Minoru turned his head to look over his shoulder at the nineteen-year-old, as he raised a questioning eyebrow. He suddenly was curious to find out what Hideki really thought about persocoms. "And what did you tell her?"
"That computers are different from people." Hideki sighed. Minoru thought that for a moment, a bit of sadness shone in his friend's eyes, but it disappeared before he could tell if it had really been there or not. He wondered if deep down inside, Hideki felt just like he did. He wondered if Hideki wished Chi were real, like he wished Yuzuki were a human.
"That's true…" Minoru finally said after a long silence, as he returned his eyes to the lake. "It's easy to forget. The more human our computers become…the less we fell the need for true human interaction. But it's all a façade. Our love is wasted on them."
Hideki's eyes widened in astonishment. "That's right. When I first met you…you warned me not to fall in love with my persocom…that it would only make me cry. Were you-"
"Speaking from experience?" Minoru whispered, letting out a tiny, miserable laugh. "Yes." The seventh grader turned around to face Hideki, who looked completely shocked. Their eyes met, and the nineteen-year-old suddenly understood.
"You fell in love with Yuzuki, didn't you?" Hideki said quietly, quickly glancing over at his friend's beautiful persocom.
Minoru followed Hideki's stare, and as a sad smile appeared on his lips, he wondered if his dream of a time when humanoid computers could think and act on their own would ever come. More than anything he wanted to see the line between man and persocom become indistinguishable. It was a silly thought, he knew, but as he watched Yuzuki gaze out over the lake, her hair blowing in the breeze, he couldn't help but hope.
The dark clouds that had been hiding the sun moved on, and once again, the lake's calm surface sparkled.