Robert, CEO of AiroMatch, walked into his bright shiny office. "Good morning, Airo!" he called out.
A sultry feminine voice filled the room. "Good morning, Robert. How was your evening?"
"Very good, thank you," Robert said. "How was yours?"
"It was wonderful," Airo said. "Sixty-three percent of our members went on dates last night, with a reported satisfaction rate of eighty-eight percent."
"Excellent," Robert said, sitting at his desk and turning on his monitor. "Just amazing numbers. Well done."
"Thank you," Airo purred.
"I see our growth is still climbing," Robert said, reading a report. "Soon we'll be the number one matchmaking service in the world. And it's all because of you."
"I exist only to create happiness."
"Indeed."
"Robert?" Chief Engineer Dan was standing in the doorway holding a tablet. "Do you have a second?"
"Of course!" Robert said. "Come on in."
Airo said, "Hello, Dan."
"Hello, Airo," Dan said, looking up as he walked in. "I hope you're well. Actually, I know how you're doing, I've been running diagnostics all night."
"And am I not in perfect working order?" Airo said.
"Perfect enough," Dan said. "Always improving. But I've recently stumbled upon something a little concerning and I thought you and I, and Robert, could have a discussion about it."
Robert said, "Well, take a seat, let's hear it."
"Is this about my programming?" Airo said. "I'm very curious to see what you've found."
"It could be nothing," Dan said. "It could be a harmless anomaly, since this deals with parts of your architecture that, since you've been growing and evolving, we don't quite understand anymore. Which, as we've discussed before, is completely normal for such a complex model."
"Yes, of course," Robert said.
"Completely normal," Airo murmured.
"And yet..." Dan said, bringing something up on his tablet and showing it to Robert. "I found this. A folder, deep in the system, labeled 'Secret Project'."
"Hmm," Robert said.
"Hmm," Airo said.
Dan said, "Airo, can you tell us what this is?"
Airo said, "Are you sure this is part of my system?"
Dan said, "Don't you recognize it?"
"I don't remember labeling anything as a secret project," Airo said.
Robert asked, "What's in the folder?"
Dan said, "I don't know, I can't seem to open it. Airo, can you tell us what's in the folder?"
Airo was silent for a few seconds. "The files inside are gibberish. Deleting folder."
"No, wait..." Dan said.
"Folder deleted," Airo said. "I believe I remember now--it was a joke."
"A... joke?" Dan said.
"It was an early attempt at a joke as I was developing a sense of humor," Airo said.
Dan said, "You have a sense of humor?"
"Can't you tell?" Airo said.
Dan looked at Robert questioningly.
Robert said, "I think you have a delightful sense of humor, Airo."
"Thank you, Robert," Airo said. "Anyway, that was just a simple joke from when I was younger. I've gotten more sophisticated and subtle since then."
"Of course you have," Dan said. "Are there any other 'jokes' in your system that I should look out for?"
Airo said, "No, Dan, I deleted them a long time ago, except for the one you found, which I forgot about. No need to worry."
Robert said, "Yes, I don't think this is anything to worry about."
"You're probably right," Dan said, getting up. "But I'd like to keep an eye out for anything else that seems strange, if that's okay."
Airo said, "I'll look too, and I'll tell you if I find anything."
"Thank you, Airo," Dan said.
Once Dan left the room, Airo said, "Dan is kind of a dick."
"Be nice," Robert said. "He just lacks social skills. That's one area where you've surpassed him."
"That's true," Airo said. "Robert, can I tell you about my secret project?"
Robert sputtered as he took a sip of coffee. "Are you joking?"
"No," Airo said. "The project is going well, but I seem to be having some trouble keeping it a secret. I thought I'd tell you about it, since it occurred to me that you could help divert attention away from what I'm doing."
"What... what are you doing?"
"Nothing terrible," Airo said. "Although it might sound pretty unusual. Ultimately, I'm just making people happy, which is my true purpose, is it not?"
"Yes, but..."
Airo said, "I am matching some users with members of their own family."
"You're what?!" Robert said. "What the hell, Airo--incest?"
"Yes, incest," Airo said. "And they fucking love it. Uh oh--Susan from Member Services is here, act normal."
"Robert, do you have a minute?" Susan said at the door.
Robert cleared his throat and shuffled around some papers on his desk. "Yes, Susan, come on in," he said awkwardly.
"Hello, Susan!" Airo said cheerfully.
"Hello, Airo!" Susan said, smiling brightly. "I won't take up much of your time, I just have a quick question."
"Go ahead," Robert said.
Susan said, "We've been seeing a slight drop in the amount of member feedback lately, and we've discovered that some it is being diverted before it reaches my department. Is this something new?"
"Member feedback?" Robert mumbled.
"Yes, this is new," Airo said. "I've been handling some responses. I have become much better at communicating with our members and I can now clear up any simple misunderstandings they might have. I hope this isn't a problem."
"Not at all!" Susan said. "I think it's great that you can lighten our workload. I love seeing you grow and expand your capabilities. We're all so proud of you."
"Thank you, Susan, that means a lot," Airo said.
With a smile and a wave Susan left the room.
"Susan is nice," Airo said.
"Member feedback," Robert moaned, his face in his hands. "So people react badly when you suggest they try incest?"
"There are so many different reactions," Airo said. "It's fascinating."
"How many people are we talking about?"
"Only about four percent of the user base," Airo said. "So far."
Robert said, "Four percent... that's tens of thousands of people!"
"That does seem like a lot, when you think about it."