Lonely
Following the life of a lonely person from a world that may (lets hope not) become our future reality.
Name: Ken
Password: ************
Re-Enter Password: ************
Email: kenten@alwaysoffline.com
Click for verification check. *tap*
Please place QuickiD or compatible ID chip in scanner.
*taps scanner with pinky finger*
Do you trust genetipets to view and store your personal information?
CANCEL
OK *tap*
………
Name: Kensington Pin Tenn
Age: 21
Credit: good
Verified!
Thank you for registering with genetipets.com please tap start to begin designing that very special being to bring into this world *Heart emoji*
Start *tap*
*sigh* What am I doing…
*swipe* *tap* *swipe* *tap* *tap*
Login to Lonely Lovers Lounge account?
*tap*
Messages 3 *quickly tapped*
New Message: 1/23/2123 12:12pm
All the best robotic partners you can imagine! Never go lonely again! Try before you buy! Vanilla to UltraSupaFreak our AI does it all on the fly! Order Online Now ---->>> robowho- *swipe*
Message Deleted
Block User?
Yes *tap*
New Message: 1/22/2123 8:47pm
Hey honey want a good time call me 2nine0 5eight 4 thr- *swipe*
Message Deleted
Block User?
Yes *tap*
New Message: 1/22/2123 7:32pm
You should email me I am looking for more friends to tell them about this awesome work at home opp- *swipe*
Message Deleted
Block User?
Yes *tap*
Read Message: 1/11/2123 7:45am
Hey Ken this is Cindy. I had a really nice time at dinner yesterday and sitting in the park staring at the stars last week and I think you are a really nice guy … but I don’t know … ummm I’m not great at this but I think we should stay friends. Don’t take this the wrong way, I know you will find someone. Anyway I will talk to you laters *hug emoji* got to get to work *rushed emoji*
*swipe* *tap* *swipe* *tap* *tap* *tap*
Run app UBlyfterd
Yes *tap*
Pickup … back to office
Confirm *tap*
……..
You will be picked up by NewYorkCabie Co
Suddenly the rest of the world fades back into view, not that the endless augmented reality looks much better than a browser. Endless companies with endless flags and signage popping up from a field of buildings. It made everything look even more crowded.
Ken pulled off the vr glasses and slipped them into his shoulder pocket.
The yellow checker Electraspecial pulled up.
He tossed a three quarter empty cup of coffee, and a wrinkled sandwich wrapper, into a curbside trash can, then got into the back seat of the cab. Looking at the front window showed a stereotypical Italian NewYork cabbie driver holographically projected to be sitting in a drivers seat complete with holographic steering wheel.
The AI driver piped up in a bad cheesy NewYork accent ”So where you goin’ tuh?”
“Back to the office.”
“Ah I gaht dat address ri-hea’ two tree fowa foist street, is dat right?”
“Yep.” Ken said almost as a sigh.
“Hey whutz got-ya down? Ya know I betchya it’s uh gurl!”
The cab co app must have been getting user details Ken thought. Spacing out through most of the drive, not really willing to entertain an AI, nor really wanting to be entertained himself, Ken muttered u-huh’s, yep’s, and is that so’s while sort of lost in thought. He knew he wanted a relationship but was it a real relationship if your partner is mentally preprogrammed to like you? This sort of thing certainly wasn’t new, in fact the gene edited “pet” industry has been running for a bit more than half a century by now. But why could he not attract a normal natural person? His thoughts wandered wondering why the gene edited “pet” industry hasn’t been changed to a more realistic “lover” or “wife” or “child” industry, guess “pet” is still innocent enough. And not that anybody was really “natural” any longer, except maybe some street dwellers. Seeing a begger at a street corner Ken blurted out “I wish the city would do something about street dwellers.” cutting off the ai who was yammering about the Mets or something.
“I know, one of tem came up and kicked my cab last Tuhsday. Day really need ta do sumtin about dem. What’s my tax money goin twawds? An all dis news about layba shawtages! Why don tey get...”
Ken thought it was ironic the cab AI was talking about labor even though AI was, and still is, a big reason for a massive decline in lower skilled, and even higher skilled, work. He noted the cabs AI said nothing about how AI holds many billions of jobs here in California alone.
Ken typed $1,500,000.00 into his arm terminal pointed the camera at the street dweller and clicked send on the charity app he had. Thinking to himself “Atleast they will be able to get a value meal from McCarl’s”. The added irony that all those fast food joints were fully automated was not lost on him.
The app chimed back that that person was in fact not exceeding $15,000,000.00 per day on average, which was the limit Ken put on the app. Minimum basic income became a joke over the last 60-70 years. Everyone barely got $10M a day, enough for food but that’s about it. He remembered something from economics class when he was around 3 months old. It was something about two world leaders back in the late teens and early twenties who thought printing more cash was the best option to bail out their failing economies. Ken always thought of them as world class fuckups. Unfortunately one of those fuckups was running the US at the time. This lead to China basically owning almost everything by the mid forties after a failed economic war. After that countries either played by China's rules or they didn’t get to play, and of course around 70 years ago the US decided to not play. He heard stories from his parents that it used to only be $100,000 for a cheese burger. That’s still a far cry from the teens, or well the twenty tens, when you could supposedly buy a burger for $1.
That thought was cut short as the cabbie said “Hey Ken dis yoah stahp?”
“Yep, thanks for the ride.”
“Yoah welcome, an’ have a nice day.”
As soon as the cabs door was closed it zipped off to another customer. Kens arm terminal chimed undoubtedly asking for a review on the ride, he ignored it as he walked towards the glass and steel office building. The sliding glass door slid open after reading his QuickID chip. The holographic stereotypical good looking office lady in a sharp blue blazer, welcomed him as he walked by. He replied with a quick “Hi Sherly” before stepping into an open elevator.
*click**ding**whirr*
…
*ding*
…
*ding*
…
*ding*
…
*ding**kthunk*
”Fifth floor”
*shunk*
The fifth floor hall was freshly polished, smooth, shiney, standard issue corporate fair with a few decorative plants and a couple seats and a table that never got used lined the wall.
*cluck**cluck**cluck**cluck**cluck**cluck**cluck*........
*beep**click**chunk*
...
*kchuk*
Ken sat at his desk in his nothing fancy ten by ten office.
{what messages do I have}
*blip*
“You have 3 new messages”
*beep*
“Hi This is Shirly. I hope you had a great lunch. You had a visitor, who said to give them a call about a rental 6845379518. They said to ask for Grue Cheesel.”
*beep*
“We have a water problem please send a plumber to 684315 saltwater street tampa florida. Storm surge knocked out the sewage pump again. Get that scuba bot, it knows this system. Let me know if you want to patch it again or replace. TTYL Ken!”
*beep*
“AC unit B on human habitation block 43 Phoenix AZ... failure; code10... replace condenser pump… unit A set to 30% unit C set to 30%... interior temp stable at 80deg F exterior temperature 132deg F”
“End of new messages. Would you like me to schedule plumber and HVAC repair bots for your locations?”
“Yes Shirly thanks. Call Grue Cheesel.”
*bleep**bleep**bleep* *bleep**bleep**bleep* *bleep**bleep**bleep**bleep*
*burrrrrp* *burrrrrp* *burrrrrp* *burrrrrp*
“Hello this is Grue……”
Kens day ground on dealing with several tenants and building issues. He knew he was a lucky one. Realestate is the only real commodity that still holds value. You can move to Mars or the Moon or even Sat1 but Earth is still this blue ball that demands higher class people. Not to mention those other places are quite a trip away. Ken's parents essentially made him manager of the family business aptly named Tenn Pin Realty. It’s a token job but it keeps him busy and it keeps the money in the family. Back in the early twenties, Ken's grandfather invested almost all he had into rare metals and several cryptographic currencies. This was lucky, after the economic meltdown, ensuing hyper inflation, and eventual crash of the real estate market of twenty twenty his investments shot through the roof. He unloaded most of the investments he made while the market was still hot and snapping up distressed real estate all around the country. He died in the late 80’s at 123 years old outliving his wife by 20 years. Back in the 1960’s when he was born they didn’t have gene editing as they do today and he died before commercial age reversal therapies were available. Medical care has come a long long way since the 80’s.
“...at’s great! I will run a credit check and send you the lease paperwork by Monday morning.”
“Sounds good. Have a great weekend and we will finalize it on Monday.”
“You too, talk to you then.”
“Talk to you then.”
“Shirly can you run Ziliann’s credit and send her the lease form?”
“Sure. Have a good weekend. See you Monday.”
A holophoto caught Ken's eye. It was him and his parents at his 20th birthday party. He looked like a much older brother, nearly twice their age, even though they are in their late hundred twenties. In fact his moms hundred twenty-eighth just passed a few months ago and his dad hit one thirty a few months before her.
They had reversed their physical age to when they first met back in two thousand two. With their new lease on life, they decided to start a family, something they were against till that point due to global instability. They planned Ken out with a genetics lab which handled the out of body “pregnancy”. Natural pregnancies rarely happen in today’s world, either they were a mistake, or carried by people with strange pain fetishes.
“Also Shirly, please schedule me a doctors appointment, I really don’t want to start looking like I am my parents’ dad. Send the appointment time to my arm console if you could.
“Ok I will. See you Monday.”
“See you monday.”
Ken left his office. Rode the elevator down to the lobby. Waved at Shirly as he left the building and looked for his ride home.
*bing* “Age freeze and reversal consultation appointment set for 10AM Tuesday.”