Their conversation had slipped into an effortless rhythm now. So when Avery suddenly reappeared, her presence felt jarring.
“Enjoying yourselves?” Avery asked as she stepped through the door. Chloe nodded. Then Avery said, “Rob, would you kindly wait outside?”
Rob didn’t look surprised by the request. He stood, then turned toward Chloe and pressed a hand to her arm. His fingers were warm—steadying.
“It was lovely talking to you,” he said.
Chloe felt a physical tug of disappointment as she watched him leave through the door he had entered from. She looked back to Avery, eyes imploring—did he really have to go?
“How did you find that?” Avery asked, taking the seat Rob had vacated.
“Oh, he’s lovely,” Chloe said, unable to stop grinning.
“I’ve been monitoring your data. You experienced elevated serotonin levels, and your conversation was split forty-five, fifty-five, which is well within the bounds of a ‘good conversation.’ I also noted a high level of physical attraction, evolving into a mental and emotional one. From our end, these look like top-tier results, Chloe. A perfect match.”
Chloe shook her head, bemused that the device on her arm could have told Avery so much.
“Would you like to see him again?” Avery asked.
“Definitely. Though maybe in a real restaurant next time. The service here isn’t great.”
Avery frowned. “There is no service. This is not a real restaurant.”
“Right, yeah, no, I got that,” Chloe said. “I was joking.”
There was a moment of awkward silence before Avery said, “I’m going to tell you something now that you might find surprising.” Avery folded her hands in her lap, her chin lifted with delicate poise.
Chloe tensed. A catch. Of course there was a catch. How could there not be a catch? She held her breath, bracing herself.
“Rob is not human,” Avery said.
Chloe blinked. “Sorry—what?”
Avery said nothing. Just let the words hang there, watching them sink in. But Chloe only laughed, because here she was thinking Avery didn’t have a sense of humor.
“What is he, an alien from the planet Hotness?”
“No, Chloe, he is not an alien, and there is no such planet.”
“Then what is he?” Chloe asked, her voice sharper now.
“He is a state-of-the-art AI humanoid robot. An android. Physically, practically indistinguishable from a real person.”
Chloe stared. Then she laughed, a real belly laugh.
“Well, that is quite the plot twist, Avery,” Chloe said, crossing her arms. “Come on, I’m notthatgullible.”
“I can assure you, he is what I say he is,” Avery replied calmly.
“No way. That kind of technology doesn’t exist,” Chloe said, her voice assertive, but Avery’s expression didn’t change. “It doesn’t. He told me about his job, his brothers, his childhood in Ireland—”
“Hebelievesthose things,” Avery said, cutting in smoothly. “They are what he’s been programmed to believe. We designed him according to your preferences—you like Irish men with big families—but he can have whatever backstory you desire.”
Chloe stared at Avery again. Now she felt unsettled, because the woman looked entirely serious.
“Do you really think a man like that exists outside fiction?” Avery asked with a note of pity.
“I don’t believe you,” Chloe said, but her voice came out small, uncertain.
