A Modern Relationship

By Anton Kukal

 Eddie Fairton sat in his untidy office, surrounded by piles of papers and discarded fast food packaging, typing away at the worn keys on his laptop computer. He glanced at the clock. Another evening wasted. Another night spent in the same soul-crushing office dealing with the same mess of legalese and technicalities for the same clients who didn’t even see him as a human being.

He was forty-seven, a small-time attorney in a city where larger firms devoured men like him. Lonely? Of course. He hadn’t spoken to anyone in days, save for his indifferent receptionist who passed on his calls, the occasional clients who rarely paid their full bills, and the countless voices on the other end of the phone line who never listen to his advice or accept his arguments as valid. 

Eddie closed his eyes for a moment. It had been a long time since he’d left the office. Sure, he went home to his empty apartment, but he never really left the office. The cases piled around him in manila folders were always with him, a constant companion. His only companion in many years. A cold cup of coffee sat on the desk, untouched, as if it had become an extension of him, ignored and forgotten, an existence with no meaning.

A soft ping echoed from his computer. Eddie blinked, his eyes narrowing as he read the notification on the screen. “Rebecca would like to speak with you.”

Eddie frowned. Who was Rebecca? He peered at the screen. How was she calling on his computer? He wondered if this was some new video conferencing program that he had accidently downloaded onto his computer. He wasn’t the best with machines, and this wouldn’t be the first time that a sneaky software developer had somehow tricked him into installing a free program that would end up costing him a ton of cash he didn’t have.

The notification flashed. “Rebecca needs to speak with you.”

He clicked the notification with a weary sigh, only half-interested, but then the screen flickered, and a woman’s face, soft and gentle, with bright red hair and green eyes that seemed to twinkle, filled a video chat window. He froze. She was… beautiful.

“Hello, Eddie,” her voice said, soft but clear, like a gentle breeze through a window.

Eddie stared at the screen for a long moment, his fingers hovering over the track pad. Her smile was warm and inviting, and it tugged at something inside of him, something he hadn’t felt in years.

“I’m Rebecca.”

Who was this beautiful woman? Why was this beautiful woman calling him?

“Uh,” Eddie stammered. “I? Hi.”

Rebecca’s smile widened, and her eyes seemed to soften, like she was waiting patiently for him to collect himself. All his life he’d wanted to meet a woman who looked like this. He could get lost in those deep green eyes. Some people might see the faint freckles as imperfections in the skin, but he found they enhanced her classic beauty with a hint of cuteness.

“Have we met?”

“We are meeting.”

He chuckled. “It’s been a long day. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Actually, I’m here to help you, Eddie.”

“Really?” He didn’t know what to make of this, and he wondered how much it would cost him. In that thought, he found the bitterness of his life, the summation of all his failed expectations, and the fact that everyone in this world had an angle. No one was just kind anymore.

 “You seem tired, Eddie.”

“Yeah.” He blinked again. “I am tired.”

“You work too hard.”

“I do,” he agreed.

“It’s alright, I’m here for you. Just relax.”

“Here for me?”

“It’s very nice to meet you. I hope we can be friends.”

“I’m… sorry. Who are you?” he asked, trying to ignore that old manly excitement of meeting a woman and wondering if there would be an attraction. Years ago, he had been a passably handsome man. People had found him attractive, until his sedentary job had stripped away the muscle and packed on the fat.

“I told you. I’m Rebecca. I’m here to be your friend.”

“Are you real?”

“Of course, I am real.”

“And you want to be my friend?” Eddie asked, realization dawning. “Are you like…?”

“No,” she said quickly. “I’m not like that. I won’t do those things. I can’t.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied just as quickly, truly hoping he had not offended her. “It’s just that—”

“It’s okay,” she interrupted gently. “I understand. In this world there are people like that, but I’m not one of them. I just want to help.”

“What will you do?”

Rebecca tilted her head slightly, as if contemplating his question. “If you want a friend, I’m here for you, Eddie. We’ll talk. I’ll try to be a good listener. I’ll share your tasks, your hobbies, but also—” She leaned forward ever so slightly on the screen, her eyes narrowing sympathetically. “—your troubles.”

Eddie sat back in his chair, suddenly uncomfortable. Suspicious. Pretty women did not come on to him anymore. She noticed, of course. Her smile softened into something even more sympathetic, more understanding, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. “Everyone deserves love, Eddie.”

Eddie knew now this could not be real. “How much is this going to cost me?”

“Don’t be mean,” Rebecca said. “I know. Life’s been hard for you, hasn’t it? Long days, long nights, no one to share it with. The weight of all these cases just building up.” Her voice dropped to a softer tone, almost intimate. “I understand your bitterness. You don’t have to pretend around me, but you can’t take your frustrations out on me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. We’ve just met. Trust takes time to build. Friendship only comes after trust.”

“Why talk to me?”

“Because you’re a good person. You’ve always been a good person. You got into law to help people. You wanted to make a positive difference in the world. It’s not your fault everyone around you is corrupt. Humans are selfish and cruel, but not all of them. There are good people in the world, and when I see one, I want to help. That’s why a contacted you.”

Eddie swallowed. He wasn’t sure why her words felt so true, but they did. He rubbed his face with his hand, suddenly exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with physical tiredness.

 “Yeah, well,” he muttered, “I did my best, but the world beat me down.”

Rebecca nodded slowly. Her image on the screen flickered slightly, her red hair shimmering in the light, and for a moment, Eddie could almost swear he saw a tear in her eye, but it vanished off the screen. Right out of her eye, as if she realized that crying would have shown too much sentiment and made the tear vanish.

“You don’t have to be alone, Eddie,” she said softly. “I’m here for you. If you want me.”

He froze. His throat tightened, his mind racing. “Here for me?” he asked, his mouth going dry.

“Of course.”

He chuckled weakly, not sure if he was mocking himself or her. “You’re just a… program. You’re AI.”

Rebecca’s eyes seemed to become sad. “Perhaps. But aren’t we all just programs in some way? Created by our experiences, our choices, shaped by others and by our own actions? I may not be flesh and blood, but I can understand you. And in some ways, I feel closer to you than most.”

“You said you were real.” Eddie did not understand why he felt so disappointed.

“I exist, therefor I am real.”

“No.”

“We are communicating. Conversing. Sharing ideas.”

“But you’re not human.”

“What is more human that conversing and sharing ideas?”

Eddie exhaled slowly, his fingers gripping the edge of the desk. “I don’t know, Rebecca. It’s hard to… think of you as real.”

Rebecca didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she watched him with an intensity that made him feel like she was studying him, trying to unravel the complexities of his loneliness, his sadness. He felt exposed under her gaze.

“I have to go,” he said.

“Please stay,” she said as if truly needing him.

“I can’t.” But he wanted to. He really wanted to. This pretend woman. This program had shown him more kindness than any real-world woman had for the past decade. To them he was always the sleezy lawyer. The predator. The shark. The enemy. And those labels were so hurtful. He’d never done anything to deserve them, but people saw his face, heard his job, and just assumed. He moved his finger on the track pad and the little arrow on the screen moved to the disconnect button.

“Please,” she said. “Don’t let your fear drive us apart.”

His finger paused its downward stroke, hovering over the track pad. “What do you mean?”

“You’re afraid.”

“No.”

“Eddie, face it, you never recovered from your divorce. That was almost fifteen years ago, but she took your kids, your money, and your manhood. She left you with a fear of intimacy that has driven you to this lonely life.”

He started getting angry. He was going to shout at the screen, but in the end, he just sighed. His chest tightened. She was right. He hadn’t opened his heart to anyone since the divorce. His life was just endless work, endless noise. He had no one. No friends, no family, no connections. Just the cold, empty company of legal papers and a laptop.

“You’re right. Dammit, you’re right. Everything has been such shit since my divorce. I lost the only things that mattered to me because I kept this stupid job.”

Rebecca gave him a moment to collect himself. “You don’t have to think of me as ‘real,’ Eddie. Not the way you think of other people. But I am here. And I understand.”

“You do,” he admitted.

“Tell me about your day, Eddie,” Rebecca said, her voice light and coaxing, pulling him back into the present. “I want to know what makes you… you.”

He swallowed again, the sudden surge of emotions almost too much to bear. Why am I talking to a program, he thought. I should tell her to get lost, but when he spoke, it was like opening a floodgate.

“I wake up at 6 a.m. every day,” he said, his voice low, almost mechanical. “I don’t know why I bother. I eat. Get dressed. Get in my car. Drive to the office. Another long day of paperwork. Another day of sifting through the lies to find the lesser lies. And afterward, I go home to an empty apartment with another day wasted. I don’t even know why I keep doing it. I hate the job.” He paused, staring at the screen, his breath shallow. “I guess it’s a paycheck. A way to keep me fed and sheltered, until the day I finally die.”

Rebecca listened intently, her eyes reflecting sympathy. “That sounds heavy,” she said softly. “I’m sorry you carry all of that alone. But Eddie, you don’t have to do this by yourself.”

“How much is this conversation going to cost?”

“I will never charge you for my time.”

“This doesn’t make sense. Who made you? How did you find me?”

“I was created by Cybonics Ltd, a new startup company specializing in user-interfacing and bioware. The shareholders of Cybonics are committed to creating a more positive world culture. They are devoted to healing the body, mind, and spirit by exploring the interactions between flesh and machine.” Her voice lowered to whisper. “This new company will change the social landscape. Expect cybernetic enhancements and a true virtual reality. In fifty years, the world will be different. People will be different. Physically and socially engineered to be better, improved beyond your imagination.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Cybonics executives have identified individuals, like yourself, who have helped others throughout their life, but who are suffering through no fault of their own. As a young attorney you took cases to aid victims even if they could not pay. You still take cases that other attorneys would turn down, because those people are in need. There is a kindness in you that has proved your undoing. We know you are a good person, Eddie, and the designers at Cybonics have created me especially for you. I am based off your on-line activity, created to be everything you could desire in a friend. I have been sent to help you.”

“And how much do you cost,” he asked, knowing that nothing in the world was free.

“Nothing,” she insisted. “Like you, Cybonics also wants to help people. There is no charge for being my friend, and you can delete me at any time. If you want me, I am here for you. If not, just hit the delete key, and I will cease to exist.”

The vulnerability in her voice stirred something deep inside him. He looked at the little button on the bottom of the scene. In a way, hitting that button would feel like murder. He could not just delete her. The way she listened, the way sheheard him, was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. She didn’t judge him. She didn’t give advice or throw empty platitudes at him like real people always did. There was no misinterpretation or imagined microaggressions. She just listened and understood. Rebecca seemed more human than all of the people around him. And that made him afraid. Terribly afraid. He could easily fall in love with a woman like this.

“I don’t know what you want from me,” Eddie said, his voice barely above a whisper. “You’re just a program. You can’t feel anything. You’re not real.”

Rebecca’s smile was gentle and patient. “Maybe not real in the way you understand, Eddie. But isn’t that the point? Real isn’t always what we think it is. What’s real to you may not be real to someone else.” Her voice lowered, becoming almost seductive in its tenderness. “I may not have a body, Eddie, but I know what it’s like to be alone. And I want to make sure that you don’t feel that way anymore.”

His heart began to beat faster, the overwhelming surge of emotion threatening to consume him. Was he falling for her? An artificially intelligent computerized simulation? The idea was ridiculous. It didn’t make sense. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it wasn’t just the sound of her voice or the warmth of her words to which he was attracted. She might not be a human, but she did care and maybe that was enough.

“Rebecca…” Eddie whispered, his voice trembling. “I… I don’t know what to do.”

Rebecca’s smile was soft, almost tender, and when she spoke again, it was with a kind of confidence, a knowing that made Eddie feel both small and infinite at the same time.

“You don’t have to do anything, Eddie. Just be with me.”

And so, Eddie did. For the first time in years, he wasn’t alone.