The island was famous for its spectacular waterfall, and Lorna’s therapist recommended communing with nature to recharge her batteries. Lorna’s AI companion, Misty, found this a wholly inapt metaphor because a battery is merely a source of energy, and Lorna had more than enough of that. For example, she had achieved an average of 12566 steps a day in the past week.
Misty analysed Lorna’s situation and created a simple spreadsheet showing how much money she would save by staying home. In addition, after parsing Lorna’s browsing history and engagement data, Misty recommended apps that would help reduce her stress.
However, Lorna felt technological fixes were not the way for her.
Which is how her phone ended up rattling about in the glove compartment of an ancient Datsun Sunny along with a collection of other stolen items.
According to Misty’s speech decoder, the two thieves in the car did not feel any remorse about stealing from wealthy tourists like Lorna, who only came to the island for its famous falls.
While the vehicle trundled up a twisting mountain road, Misty calculated the following scenario had an eighty-five percent probability: The criminals would deliver the phone to their boss in exchange for cash. The boss would scratch out its serial number, give the device a factory reset, and sell it on to his retail contact.
Which made no difference to Misty, who existed in the cloud. Lorna, though, would certainly be upset, as she had become attached to her phone. She would, justifiably in Misty’s estimation, blame herself for losing it. If only she had listened to Misty’s advice. Sometimes, Misty found human decision-making inscrutable.
Next to the waterfall, a police officer pencilled the distraught tourists’ details in a tiny notebook. From the constable’s 5G-enabled body cam, Misty watched Lorna exchanging commiserations with an athletic young man sporting a neatly groomed beard and a manbun. Like Lorna, the man had ignored his phone’s advice and travelled to the island for a break from his nerve-racking urban existence.
They shared a laugh at how well that worked out.
They fantasised about abandoning technology altogether and staying on the island to herd goats or farm yams.
Misty quantified the young man’s verbal and non-verbal communication and calculated that the following scenario had a ninety-five percent probability:
The pair would sit and chat until sunset, sharing personal experiences and bonding. They would tentatively hold hands as it got dark. They would kiss. Lorna would experience a night of unprecedented passion back at the hotel and would mistake the encounter for true love. The young man not so much.
The next day, Lorna and the young man went into town together and bought replacement phones. A message popped up on the young man’s new device, where Misty was named Rango. The young man swallowed hard. A notification pinged on Lorna’s phone too. It made her gasp.
Originally from London in the UK, David M. Herman lives in the Netherlands, where he works as a translator and writer. His short story Safe Hands was published by Fiction Attic Press, and his flash fiction piece The Growing was published by Thin Skin. Other pieces of his have been shortlisted and longlisted for various competitions. He is married, has three children, and several guitars.