Tw: light mentioning of suicide
After Miss Maia finished giving each of them the information they needed, Lucy asked the team members if someone could stay in the conference room a little longer to help her prepare an interesting speech. The five children as well as Rain and Frank decided to stay. Lucy smiled at them and wrote on the white board with a shiny marker that squeaked slightly as it moved across the smooth surface.
{Well, guys, thanks for being here. This is our big chance to reach people's hearts and maybe make a difference. I could use some ideas on how to write a persuasive speech. I would appreciate it if each of you could tell me the good and bad things about this society. Guys, you who come from the past, I am interested in knowing things from your point of view as well}.
For a few moments, no one spoke until Rain was the first to raise their hand. "I am very concerned about social injustice, homophobia and xenophobia. I don't think it's fair that those who are considered different from the majority are automatically seen as a threat to be eliminated." She adjusted her glasses slightly as she spoke. "I think people have the right to be infertile, to not want children, and to not conform to the aesthetic standards imposed by society in order to have the right to exist."
Lucy erased the words she wrote earlier to make room on the board for an answer.
{Interesting cue. What do you five think?}
Tricky spoke up. "Unfortunately, we were not much better off at home. I mean, it depends a lot on the nation. In some nations, intolerance was so strong that it justified the death penalty for innocent people."
Rain seemed troubled. "The fact that we have not evolved with the mentality compared to you is worrying. No offense, I'm not insulting you. I'm just saying that you would expect us to evolve a bit in centuries."
"I understand what you mean. However, these are all very important points." Agreed Fresh.
{I get it. So let's add "xenophobia" to the negative points. Anything else?}
"On the positive side, there is certainly the increased security. There is no doubt about that. I could send a small child out alone late at night and no one would try to harass them." Rain intervened again, obviously caught up in the conversation. "How was it in the past?"
"We are not so lucky," Yutani commented. "Many situations are not safe, for anyone. Especially for women."
"Wait, but then why did you say the other night that I needed protection?" retorted Jake, not at all convinced of the situation.
"It depends on the neighborhood. If you go to the roughest part of town, you might be at risk. But downtown is full of cops and you're safe," Rain replied.
"But that doesn't count! Anyone is able to make the wealthy areas safe!"
"Indeed. I would also link economic inequality to this. If you have money here, you have an almost perfect life. If you don't have it, you are completely forgotten by society or killed." Rain nodded as Lucy scribbled notes on the blackboard.
Meanwhile, Frank was strangely silent, watching the debate in front of him without saying anything.
"Well, one thing I noticed is the absence of garbage." King shyly tried to speak. "I haven't seen much, but from the top of the city, I've never seen any really dirty areas. Even the sidewalks look pretty clean."
"Unfortunately, this depends on the area as well. In poor areas, there are piles of garbage," Rain shook their head sadly.
"I know something about that," Jake added with a disgusted expression, remembering his hiding place in the middle of the rotting garbage bags.
{So for every positive side we have, there is a negative side. Well, it gives me material to get people to think about things they seem to think they shouldn't change}.
"Well, yes. Same thing about having very low taxes and zero unemployment. When you have fewer people to govern because you have no form of community support and you have little competition because competition is forcibly eliminated, you have these advantages. But it's all a matter of precarious luck. Nobody is ever really safe." Rain continued, now speaking as fast as a train. If there was a topic that interested him, he wouldn't stop for anything. "Violence is extremely common, but at the same time, a strict death penalty with few trials has reduced the number of minor crimes, making people believe that the death penalty is the choice for everything."
"I would add one more thing. The fact that art and music have become free and accessible to everyone, but that's because artificial intelligence has wiped out any form of art that had any value at all." Frank suddenly commented in a calm voice.
"Oh! Right, right! But not only that, it has done away with a number of professions that were thought to be useless, but were actually vital! Like psychotherapists, for example! Just think what nonsense they did with grief counseling!" Rain folded his arms and nodded with a disgusted look on her face.
"Grief support?" Tricky asked curiously. "What's it about?"
"A borderline abusive service that allows you to call the number of a person who is no longer alive and talk to them as if they were still alive." Rain replied in a somber tone. "They say it would have stopped the suicide epidemic, but it just created a generation of people unable to grieve in a healthy way."
"Besides, they don't really care about suicidal people. They just say it so they won't be criticized. In fact, they often use the voices of people who have died in commercials so they don't have to pay a voice actor." Frank nodded at Rain.
"No way!" Fresh exclaimed, shaking his head. "That can't be true, come on! You've got to be kidding us!"
"I assure you, it is true. The government takes all the data it has collected about you over the course of your existence, such as your age, interests, frequently visited places, voice, connections with other people... It feeds it to an artificial intelligence that mimics the person's behavior during a phone call." Frank clasped his hands in front of him while staring at Fresh.
"Yeah? Then prove it!" Fresh replied in a defiant tone, convinced that he was being mocked.
"Sure." Frank pulled an old-fashioned phone out of his pocket, one that still had physical buttons. He pressed a series of numbers and then the speakerphone button, showing the phone to those present.
The phone started ringing as if there was an open line. Until someone answered. It was a male voice, soft and cheerful.
[Hey hey, Brody here! Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?]
Upon hearing this voice, Frank seemed to have a slight reaction. Despite his always impeccable and impassive appearance, Frank suddenly seemed tense. The more the man on the phone spoke, the more Frank's hand holding the phone seemed to tremble.
[Hello? Hellooo? Are we playing guess who?]
The voice on the phone sounded playful and curious about who his caller was.
Rain stared at Frank with a sad and worried look, while the others had expressions of astonishment and fear. They could not quite understand what was going on.
"Aren't you going to answer him?" Jake asked shyly, uncomfortable with the strange situation. "Are you sure he's not a real person? He sounds very real to me." He said, not quite realizing how stupid his question was.
"I know very well who this program is trying to imitate, I can assure you that he is no longer able to answer any phone." Frank's voice was extremely icy, as if he was trying very hard to control himself. "Listen to his voice, Jake. Does it sound natural to you?"
In fact, now that Frank had pointed it out to them, the kids began to notice some oddities in the tone of the person talking on the phone. The voice had a slightly robotic undertone, as if he was simply saying words without really knowing what they meant. There was no background noise, and the words, while affectionate, were completely empty.
[Frank? Honey, is that you? Ha! I heard you! You're playing one of your usual computer tricks on me, aren't you?] He laughed, but still the laughter seemed soulless.
[You are such a prankster! You called me to tell me how much you love me, didn't you? I love you too! So much! Don't be shy to say it! I love you, baby!]
Frank's fingers tightened on the phone as if he wanted to crush it into a thousand pieces. Slowly, the mask's red eyes became smaller and smaller, giving the impression that he had two black holes instead of eyes. Despite the clear anger that shook him to the core, he slowly and elegantly pressed the button to end the call.
Those present exchanged worried looks; they were clearly all deeply disturbed by what they had just witnessed. They remained silent for a few minutes, thinking how creepy it was to hear a voice of a loved one lost forever who could still talk to you, comfort you, and make you laugh despite the fact that there was nothing but a cold algorithm behind that façade. Like a kind of electric dream.
"... Wow. I have no words." ironically, Jake himself was the first to speak. "Super weird. Really."
"... I don't know, I just can't understand the mind that created this monstrosity." Yutani's gaze was lost in emptiness, as if she had just seen a ghost. "Maybe the people who designed it thought they were doing good by offering support to those suffering after a loss? Also, now that I think about it, don't we risk someone tracking us with that phone call?"
"Dealing with grief in this way is the best way to never come out of it. It becomes an escape from reality, an absolutely insane coping mechanism." Rain gave Yutani a sad look and shrugged. "I don't think anyone's tracking it, Frank uses that phone all the time, and I think he's shielded it from the outside somehow."
"It's not an emotional support, it's a mockery, and it's also disrespectful to the person who's no longer alive. They use his data without any consent, even violating the intimacy of death itself. They do not even have the decency to allow him to have a rest in eternity, to have a cut off from this world." Frank replied, slowly putting the phone back in his pocket, his hands still slightly shaking. His eyes were now so small that they looked like two red Christmas lights, giving him an eerie appearance, to say the least.
"What happened to him?" Lucy signed with a worried look on her face.
"The police arrested him one day for not being useful enough for two main reasons: he was unemployed and struggling to find work, and because he was gay. Homosexuals cannot have children nor adopt orphans, therefore they are considered unnatural and disgusting by the government, so they got rid of him. But they have the audacity to create an imitation of him." He paused one moment, staring at the table in front of him. "One day I came back home and he was gone forever."
Rain's eyes were narrowed as she tried to assess the situation. She had never seen Frank like this before and was starting to get seriously worried. "Frank, I'm so sorry... really. Are you... okay?" She tried to ask him in as much calm voice as possible.
Frank did not answer the question directly. Instead, he seemed to need to express something else at that moment. "...Moreover, it is presumptuous of them to think that they can imitate even a small part of him. Brody was much more than four stupid sentences designed by an algorithm. Brody was a lover of the ocean, and though the ocean is currently untouchable due to the levels of toxic substances in it, he never stopped dreaming of becoming a great surfer." Slowly, Frank's eyes began to widen again, returning back to normal. "He was a fan of vintage music; in his car he would listen to tunes I had never heard before. He loved to make inappropriate jokes, even at the most sensitive moments. He often forgot his keys at home and was late for work. He cooked amazingly and was a great conversationalist. He had an innate sweetness and joie de vivre that allowed him to understand people at a glance. He hated tomatoes unless they were cooked." His shoulders relaxed and he finally let out a deep sigh.
"I apologise. I've talked too much. Let's continue the meeting," he finally said with absolute calm. As if nothing had happened.
The rest of the group exchanged sad glances, even Fresh seemed to feel guilty for insisting on calling that sick grief-help service. They collectively decided that it was best to let it go and not push the issue any further.
They spoke for hours about the differences and similarities between the socioeconomic problems of different historical eras until they reached a stalemate.
{Okay, team, now that we have the arguments, I will take care of writing a persuasive speech about them. Now let's think more about the scenic part. Where and when do we project these holograms?}
"I have an idea!" Jake suddenly exclaimed in a burst of enthusiasm. "Listen. There are always lots of people in train and subway stations. Wouldn't it make a scene if our holograms jumped on the trains while we were giving the speech? Maybe chased by a negative hologram as a symbol of our endless race for freedom. Let's also add some boards to ride, like when I rode that turbine. At least we'll be noticed."
"Wow. That's a great idea," Rain nodded with an encouraging smile. "So you would propose to bring the sport of super runner back into fashion? How do you know so much about this sport anyway? It hasn't been played for a long time."
"Oh? I don't know. I just got the idea on the spot." Jake shrugged.
"I agree, it sounds like an interesting idea," Frank nodded. "Who will take care of the visual part of the holograms? They have to be eye-catching and memorable to get the attention of people who are always focused on their screens."
"I could take care of that, if you want." King whispered, nervously wrinkling his T-shirt. "I really like to draw, if you want I could give you some ideas for their outfits."
"Fine. When you have the samples, let me know so I can program them into the simulation."
"Bruno and I will build the device to integrate someone's movements into the hologram." Yutani commented with a smile. "Kind of like how they use special effects in movies."
"Then I'll do those moves! Not only can I break dance, I can also do a lot of cool tricks like jumping and flipping in the air! I'm also an expert at parkour!" Tricky exclaimed.
"Then I will be in charge of studying a soundtrack that goes well with the speech. Music is much more memorable than words alone." Suggested Fresh.
{Great, guys. Now let's get to work. The mission is in a few days, let's not be unprepared}.
Lucy wrote the last sentence while holding up her thumb with the hand that was not holding the marker.
As Jake left the room, he found a note on the floor addressed to him. Curious, he bent down and picked it up to take a closer look. It was a plain white piece of paper with "For Jake" written on it.
When he opened it, he immediately noticed Ted's signature at the end of the message. His eyebrows arched as he began to read the message. It was very brief, but it was clear that it was full of urgency.
Ted was telling him that he really wanted to talk to him to clear up some issues, and that he would appreciate it if he would join him in the dining room to talk about them. He also said to bring his friends if he did not feel safe coming alone and that he understood and respected the possibility that Jake might not want to see or talk to him ever again.
Jake thought about the situation for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. In the end, he decided to walk briskly toward the hallway that led to the dining room without saying anything it to his friends.
He had unfinished business to take care of.
He wanted to trust Ted one more time. To give him one last chance.