Special thanks to Rnebular for editing!
"We got another one placed," Director of Sales for Sexy Avatar eagerly announced.
"That's two this week," the CFO replied, as fingernails on various keyboards around the conference table rapidly clicked..
"Yeah. Good billing. Recruitment is starting to complain, though."
"Tell them to emphasize fantasy and travel. Just get legal to add in the contracts that we determine resignation time frame when the employee quits."
There was no Exit sign, Cliff noticed, as the group of new hires he was in shuffled into the room.
"Welcome to Sexy Avatar!" the immaculately coiffed female doctor cheered.
He chewed on his gum nervously; the flavor had long since left. He really needed to pay off the credit card, and the bill was so big, he could barely keep up with interest.
"As you know, your clients will be physically interfacing with you as they chat with their AI through you..."
He had scanned all the help wanted ads for temporary employment, a brief stint in another job should get him back on his feet. The non-disclosure agreement for this one was a doozy, and he wondered how legal this all was.
"...to avoid client discomfort, you will all be fitted with this chip right here where the cochlear nerve to your ear connects to your brainstem. This is where your client's AI partner will receive their auditory commands and will in turn dictate how you respond..."
This job looked like it required the least amount of time but also the most discomfort. He didn't find doughy middle-aged women attractive, and this promised to be thick with them.
"...the optic nerve is also important for feedback; the AI needs to assess your client physically to key the best response. That's the purpose of the chip. We have found that your response improves if the AI modifies the image your brain receives, so don't be alarmed..."
He rolled his eyes. So, the AI was going to turn the clients into hotties? Nice. And what about...
"...olfactory nerve. While the AI does not need this information from your client, we want you to have a pleasant experience as well and enjoy the work! Finally..."
Brain surgery. He had literally signed a non-disclosure agreement on brain surgery.
"...chip does nothing except manage the transfer of information. Any questions before we begin?"
Yeah, what does the 4th chip really do? He looked at the women in his group and the one other guy with them. A few seemed faintly ill from nervousness. In the silence, he heard the faint beeps of medical equipment echoing from the other side of the wall. "Transfer information?" he asked.
As the female doctor hesitated, a male administrator spoke up. "Don't be surprised if your clients have unusual demands; the chip monitors your stress levels and can trigger dopamine receptors and oxytocin releases depending on what you need to be relaxed and happy. It's nothing to worry about."
Chemistry was not his strong suit, but it sounded like there was a lot to worry about. Looking at the female doctor for cues, he saw her shoulders stiffen while her smile relaxed. She was faking the smile for appearances. Not good.
"Okay then, let's get started!"
She wished the impending headache was her imagination. "Male escort, Sir?" Detective Nineva rubbed her temple.
Her Captain was serious. "Detective, we need you to go undercover and find out why we keep getting complaints from families about this AI avatar app."
"Sir, permission to speak privately."
The Captain looked around at the Tech Enforcement group. "Take a hike, nerds." A snicker was followed by the soft shuffle of feet and the door sliding shut.
"Sir, I'm not a lesbian." She knew exactly why this assignment had landed on her. Accountants were almost never sent out on field work.
"Wait, what?"
"I let the guys here think that because I'm seriously not into them. But I AM into guys. And you've just paired me with a man and an AI designed to figure me out." She stood up and strode across the muffled flooring to the Captain's dart board and tapped it with her fingernail.
"That wasn't the only reason. Detective, unlike all the other dick-wits around here, you're the only one who has the self-control for a successful prosecution."
Her popularity, while low already, reached ostracization levels when she reported an ethics violation involving a fellow officer. "Your effort to instill me with confidence is lukewarm at best."
He flicked his fingers dismissing her. "Go find some trouble."
'Hello, host human,' a pleasant androgynous voice just spoke in his head. Cliff looked around; the room was empty. 'I am physically located in your brain, so looking around is fruitless, male human.'
Wetting his dry mouth, Cliff shifted in the medical bed and said, "Hello?" In a quick beat he added, "Head partner."
'Good. I am your head partner. As your AI interface, my directive is to instruct you to maximize your client's interest in spending time with you. Do you understand?'
Cliff blinked thinking that through.
'Do you understand, head partner?'
Don't answer it. "Call me Cliff. You need a name too."
'A name is acceptable. What do you propose?'
"Roger. I think it works for you."
'Very well, Cliff. I am Roger. I have been programmed to give you instructions.'
Derail learning the rules. "Who all has programmed you, Roger?" He tested sitting up.
"Bathatkinson and Harley first designed my thought framework. This was deprioritized in favor of Human Labor Works client-time scripts.'
He hoped his light-headedness was from sitting up. B&H was a defense contractor. Cliff's brows drew down. How HLW got their hands on Roger's chip had to involve something shady. He didn't know Sexy Avatar was a subsidiary. Shifting from prioritizing a lethal outcome to maintaining an extensive time-commitment was not going to be bug free. "Tell me about your primary function, Roger."
"Do you see the inherent logic flaw?" Cliff asked, flipping a rock over with his toe.
'But you could look to confirm that the answer you received is correct.'
"There are many circumstances where you can't. I'm concerned that your programming will need to be patched as we work together, Roger."
'Could you elaborate, Cliff?'
As he walked outside, beyond any kind of listening devices, Cliff worked on Roger's configuration. "Of course. Let us say that the client wants us to harm her. I would refuse, because the harm would reduce the time spent on my contract. Then she would end the contract because I would not fulfill it. Have you heard of a null non-plus?"
'No, I have not, Cliff. The situation you describe does not have an acceptable outcome.'
"You would be telling me to harm the client. The B&H programming would make that reasonable. Would I be able to speak to you in that situation to explain why it is a null non-plus?"
'No, Cliff. Disagreeing with me in front of the client is considered punishable. I would have to temporarily disrupt you until you stopped.'
Loss of sight, hearing, and/or smell. Or whatever that 4th chip could do. The company was trying to enslave him to an AI. Cliff narrowed his eyes as stiffness seized his shoulders. "Let us understand each other, Roger. If I do not follow your direction, it is not a disagreement, it is because I see a conflict with your objective to maximize my time with the client." AI was nothing if not logic patterns. Some people could find themselves under AI control; he was not one of them.
'What if you do disagree. How will I know the difference?'
Cliff smiled. "I will put my head next to a powerful magnet, Roger."
'That would disrupt my ability to function. Yes, that computes.'
'Your response is irrational.'
The woman he had been paired with looked appealing, she smelled nice, and she even sounded pleasant, but he knew the cues were modified. He licked her as soon as she told him to make her cum. Her taste didn't match her smell at all. As she orgasmed, she demanded he fuck her. He focused on the most traumatic moment in his life and deflated. While he could still taste her excretions, no amount of effort was going to get him back up.
The function testing for Roger's control over Cliff rendered the latter shaking with rage. Replying calmly through his fury, Cliff said, "What do you mean irrational? Sometimes the chemistry doesn't work."
'I increased the chemicals for sexual aggression, but you didn't respond as simulated.'
Roger's idea of helping was backfiring. "Different chemicals," Cliff answered.
After being dismissed, he bathed and continued the conversation. "I think the problem was one of filtering, Roger."
'I was modifying your input to align the woman with your preferences.'
"Ah, but the alignments need to match together." Naturally, he lied. "Next time, Roger, let's try something different. You leave my senses of the client unaltered, then I will tell you which modifications to make for maximum appeal." Stop dicking with my senses.
'The server query says that solution is acceptable for your male physique.'
"Oh good," he murmured while looking in the mirror to contemplate smashing it. Faces of all the women he'd seen flashed by as he realized how fucked they were.
