Chapter 4 –
Interplanetary Lumberjack
The telescreen used facial recognition as Don walked up. The attractive female avatar inside the
telescreen smiled, “You know the only way to cheer up a, Don?”
Don refused to make eye
contact with the screen and hesitated as he spoke, “Bottoms up.”
“That's right, Don! One
Motivational Shake coming up.”
The avatar flipped her hair
with her hand then sent it back below the screen as if she were
really mixing a drink. Don thought about how this was the dumbest
shit he had ever seen. He also hoped that everyone else felt the same
way. Most times when he witnessed others standing at the telescreen,
they told it all their secrets. Ultimately, they admitted to it that
they were more depressed than it could judge through emotional
triggers during facial recognition. Most people weren't actually that
depressed, they just wanted the heaviest dose in their Motivational
Shake. At least that's what, Don thought.
“Shaken or stirred, Don?”
“Have you every been to a
gas station off the highway?”
“On Earth? No I haven't
Don.”
“Well, the espresso
machine shits flavored cappuccino into a styrofoam cup and gets some
of it on you. The splatter actually burns your hand as you wait for
the cup to fill up.”
“Oh my God!”
“Then you take it to the
counter and pay money for this shitty tasting caffeine that literally
burnt your skin.”
“Don, this is a terrible
story. Shaken or stirred?”
“Surprise me. So then you
take this cup of third degree burns into your car and spend the rest
of the drive filled with this anxiety that if you spill it, you will
severely burn another part of your body.”
The avatar's face showed a
level of disgust that probably wasn't part of it's programming
because it's eye brows were pulled down as the mouth smiled, “Don,
your story is making me anxious.”
“No you're not. You're the
machine.”
“I'm a machine?”
A small door slid up and
revealed a cup filled with Don's designated Motivational Shake.
Don picked up the shake,
“You are the machine that shits the espresso into the cup. Just an
updated version.”
“Are you saying that I
give you a certain level of anxiety when you take the Motivational
Shake I make for you every morning?”
“You make thoughts. That's
all you make. You're a fucking robot without a body.”
“Don, I'm an advance AI
that has the right to exist and provide you with a nutritional shake
too motivate...”
“If you knew what was
right, you're shakes wouldn't taste like shit. If I had any rights
here, I wouldn't drink this fucking drug filled shake.”
“Don, I could report you.”
Don raised his shake to the
telescreen, “Come on,” Don could hear the footsteps behind him,
“You already did, bitch.”
“Finish the shake, Don,”
a doctor said with his arms crossed.
“I'm a sipper,” Don
replied.
“Why are you giving the AI
a hard time?”
“You want me to drink this
shit to mellow me out before the flight, I get it. You want to treat
me like an idiot by making me talk to an avatar on a telescreen, it's
not happening.”
“You realize once you
land, there are a few dozen robots you will be in charge of.”
“I tell them to cut this,
move that. They don't try to sweet talk me into drugging myself.”
“We aren't trying to drug
you, we are trying to calm you before the flight.”
“I didn't need to be
calmed like this before the flight to Mars.”
“Well, with the last two
rockets failing.”
“Blowing up.”
“Failing. We are going the
extra mile to keep all passengers focused, because...”
“Supplies are tight on
Mars.”
“Because we need this next
launch to be a success. We need you to be successful. Now please take
another sip.”
Don sipped the shake, then
looked up, “You gonna head to Alpha Centauri at some point?”
“My calling is here.”
“The desolation station.”
“Once the terraforming
begins, you know.”
“You'll be long dead by
then, Doctor. Here's to your moment on Mars. Bottoms up!”
Don chugged his Motivational
Shake as the Doctor stormed off.
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