carp

,,,

<div class='text'>You are sitting in your high class apartment, eating cup ramen. You are trying to keep from thinking about your recent breakup. [[watch youtube videos]] </div>

<div class='text'>You pull up some cooking video. Those always help you when you need distracting. Nowadays, food that isn't pre-packaged is hard to come by, and you find the process of cooking from scratch fascinating. However, as the hands on screen prepare to crack open an egg (from a chicken! Imagine that!), the royalty-free music is interrupted by an advertisement. (You vaguely remember hearing that Youtube used to have a skip button on ads. History sure is fascinating!) [[watch ad]] </div>

<div class='text'>Soothing music plays as the screen becomes a field of gray. A concerned voice begins to speak. "We've noticed that you've just gone through a breakup. Aren't you tired of those?" You sigh in agreement, and the voice continues. "We thought that might be the case. We think we've found a product that might help you." You raise your eyebrows. "They're called CARPs-- Computerized Autonomous Romantic Partners." You are intrigued, to say the least. [[check out the website]] </div>

(set:$gf=0)<div class='text'>You click the ad. It directs you to a polished looking website. Three different models of the CARP are advertised.</div> <div class='text'>Tyra: This model has 100% natural meat body that was grown right here in the US! Tyra is a shameless romantic who loves piña coladas and long walks on the beach. ($500 extra for implanted memories) (align: "===>")[[[►->checkout1]]]</div> <div class='text'>Iris: This model is a hologram, made of pure light! Iris is somewhat shy... maybe she needs the right partner to coax her out of her shell? (align: "===>")[[[►->checkout2]]]</div></div>

<div class='text'> You open the door to find a pretty woman with long wavy hair. "Ohmygod hi! It's so good to see you again," she says as she pulls you into a hug. She feels... real, for lack of a better word. Organic, maybe? No, that sounds weird... In pondering the proper word choice for your mental monologue, you keep the hug going for slightly longer than is socially acceptable. Whoops. "I wanted to give you this," she says as you (finally) separate. She hands you some sort of pamphlet. [[read it]] </div>

<div class='text'>You open the door to find a cardboard box about the size of a shoebox on your doorstep. you bring it inside and open it with a knife from the kitchen. inside is a round device, sort of like a tv remote, and a sphere. [[examine remote]] [[examine sphere->examine cube]]</div>

<div class='text'>you make yourself a smoothie. when you get back, you see that your thingy has downloaded. yee haw. [[open the file]]</div>

<div class='text'>a new window opens, labeled "setup". There are a few boxes to check, language, subtitles, terms and conditions, yadda yadda yadda. you drag the program, with a gray cloud as an icon, into your applications folder. [[open the application]]</div>

<div class='text'>another window shows up, this one has a gal on it!!!! that's all i have for this route as of now :P</div>

<div class='text'>You go on a date to a fancy restaurant. It's kind of awkward since she can't really interact with the food, so she ends up just watching you eat. [[ask her about her day]] [[talk about yourself]] </div>

<div class='text'>You and Iris are arguing. You feel that she is constantly present and getting in the way. "If you don't give me some space, I'll-- I'll turn you off again and put you in the box!" you say. "No, no, please no!" she says. [[put her in the box]] [[don't put her in the box]]</div>

<div class='text'>You put her in the box. Eventually you take her out, but the cycle keeps repeating. You drift apart. Or rather, you drift apart from her. She is always the same. You meet someone else. You move on. She does not. But it's not like there's anything she can do about it. [end]<fin|(mouseover-replace: ?fin)[[[replay?->start]]]</div>

<div class='text'>You don't put her in the box. You apologize for threatening her like that. Time passes. You two have the occasional argument, but you never go as far as you did that day. You enjoy her company, and she yours. You try not to think about how that's the only option she has. You get married. The ceremony is only symbolic, of course. Though activists are pushing for AI/human marriages to be legal, it hasn't been extended for models programmed for romantic relationships. Something about consent. You try to put this out of your mind as you kiss. The static hums on your lips. [end]<fin|(mouseover-replace: ?fin)[[[replay?->start]]]</div>

<div class='text'>The two of you are having drinks in the kitchen. You wonder if you should break the news to her. [[tell her that she is a robot]] [[don't tell her that she is a robot]]</div>

<div class='text'>You set down your glass and sigh. Tyra sets down hers. "What's up, babe?" You tell her that she is a robot. She takes it better than you had expected. No crying, instead more of an... emotional hardening? "I... I don't think we can date anymore. I think I need to figure some things out." [[let her leave]] [[don't let her leave]]</div>

<div class='text'>You let her leave, and give her one last hug. She doesn't respond to it like she normally does, instead she sort of stiffens up. "Goodbye," she says as she closes the door. You give her a halfhearted wave. You see her on the streets sometimes. You think she has a girlfriend now, another AI, maybe? Sometimes you think about talking to her, but you never do. Some things should be left well enough alone. [end]<fin|(mouseover-replace: ?fin)[[[replay?->start]]]</div>

<div class='text'>"You can't just leave," you shout. "I own you! I paid for you! You're not going anywhere!" You stand over her, and she cowers, tears welling up in her eyes. The next day there is no trace of her when you wake up. "Tyra?" you call as you step into the kitchen. There is no response. You sigh and sip the room-temperature remnants of her piña colada. [end]<fin|(mouseover-replace: ?fin)[[[replay?->start]]]</div>

<div class='text'>You decide not to. You figure that suddenly upending her entire sense of self would freak her out. You go to bed. The next day, you see a scrap of paper on the floor. You bend down to look at it. It's the pamphlet she gave you the day that you met. "Tyra?" you call out. There is no answer. [[go into the kitchen]]</div>

<div class='text'>Tyra leaps out from behind the door. Suddenly, you feel as if you've been punched, hard, and you fall to the floor. It takes a steadily encroaching pool of crimson on the tile-- emanating from your side-- for you to realize that you've been stabbed. You barely register Tyra breathing heavily over you through the ringing of your own ears, then the shutting of the front door. As you pass out, you vaguely wonder if you can sue the manufacturer over this. [end]<fin|(mouseover-replace: ?fin)[[[replay?->start]]]</div>

<div class='text'> You decide on the first model, and shell out the extra $500 for memory implants. Why not? You've still got quite a bit of money left over from your brief stint as a website designer. Who knew freelancing would be so lucrative? This is most certainly a good idea. You queue up a few more cooking videos and are halfway through "Making Home Baked Pizza #brick oven #outdoors #food" when the doorbell rings. [[answer it->meet1]] </div>

<div class='text'>You decide on the second model. You've always wanted to have a hologram girlfriend ever since your vocaloid phase in middle school, and Iris sounds like a good candidate. You queue up a few more cooking videos and are halfway through "Pasta From SCRATCH?!?! Making Spaghetti BY HAND" when you get the notification that the package has been delivered! [[go to the door->meet2]] </div>

<div class='text'>Juno: This model is completely digital, a piece of software downloadable on computers or mobile devices. Perfect for those on the go! Juno is outgoing and headstrong; do you think you can handle her?(align: "===>")[[[►->checkout3]]]</div> <div class='text'>you decide on the third model. it sounds the most convenient. the thing starts downloading. [[go get a smoothie->meet3]] </div>

<div class='text'>you press the round button on the remote. The circle around the button glows with a blue light. The sphere, which you had set down on the coffee table, flickers and shines with a white light, too bright to look at. You shield your eyes. "Um... Hi?" [[take a peek]] </div>

<div class='text'>You take the pamphlet. It's titled "User's Guide" and has a picture of Tyra's smiling face on it. It contains all the essential information on owning a robo-girlfriend: her make and model, serial number, the number for the CARP help desk... According to the manual, Tyra has been programmed to have memories of you two being close friends in school, and she had (has?) always had a crush on you. You're not sure what to do. Do you, like, immediately start a relationship? Do you need to get to know her first?? Who knew having a robot girlfriend would be so hard! (And she's not even technically your girlfriend yet!!) [[invite her in]]</div>

<div class='text'> Whatever. You'll figure it out later. For now you'll just hang out together. Maybe watch a movie. Put the moves on her? Maybe?? (Man, this sucks!) "Uhh... do you want to come inside??" you say, somewhat hysterically, as you awkwardly gesture behind you. [[many romantic tropes ensue]]

<div class='text'>Someone trips and falls on top of someone, there's only one bed, lots of romantic tension, etc etc. You two are now dating! [[time passes->stuff happens]]</div>

<div class='text'>The remote is black with a single, indented button that has a gray circle around it. [[examine the sphere->cube]]</div>

<div class='text'>The sphere is a similar gray with a black base. [[turn it on]]</div>

<div class='text'>The sphere is gray with a black base. [[examine remote->remote]]</div>

<div class='text'>The remote is black with a single, indented button that has a similarly gray circle around it. [[turn it on]]</div>

<div class='text'>A dark-haired woman is in front of you, looking at you with concern. Great. Now you've made yourself look stupid in front of your cool new hologram girlfriend. "Hi," you reply eloquently. "You're... Iris, right?" She nods. "Nice to meet you, then," you say, offering out a hand for a handshake. She reaches out and tries to take it, but it's not quite right. Her hand seems to be going through you instead of around you, and you feel only a slight buzzing on your hand. Oh. Right. Hologram. Duh. [[ask her out?]]</div>

"So, um... Would you want to, like... Go to dinner with me?" She flushes. "That would be nice..." [[go on a date]]

<div class='text'>"So... How has your day been going?" "Um... pretty well, considering I was kinda... just born..." Hologram. Right. (It's hard to remember when she looks so realistic...) [[time passes]] </div>

<div class='text'>You talk about some of your interests. Nothing special. Iris watches you, fascinated. [[time passes]] </div>