“Uh…can it wait until another time?” I replied. “Your sister really wants to talk to you.”
“One minute, tops, I promise. Gwen, you okay with that?”
Gwen exchanged a glance with me and then shrugged. “Sure. Go ahead.” She angled the phone toward me so I could see Angel.
“So, there’s a new AI app I’ve been playing with called Dreammaker Pro Plus,” Angel said excitedly. “It’s ace.”
“AI?” I said warily. “You know how I feel about that, Angel.”
“Trust me,” she said. “It’s super cool. You’ll see. Now, stand up.”
“Excuse me?”
“Stand up, Lexi. Just humor me for a minute.”
Reluctantly, I stood, and Gwen pivoted her phone camera to follow me.
“Good,” Angel said briskly. “Now turn to the side. Naturally.”
I rotated. “This feels like I’m being cataloged.”
“Yes, but respectfully. Now, give me your other side.”
After I did that, Angel’s brow furrowed. “Okay, now I need motion. Just walk across the room and back. Normal walking. Not in a hurry, just a regular canter.”
“That’s…alarmingly specific.”
“Just do it. Gwen, hold your phone still as Lexi walks.”
I walked as instructed while Gwen held her hand with the phone steady. I went forward, backward, and swung my arms as naturally as I could. “Is that good enough?”
“It is,” Angel said, delighted. “One last thing. Walk, stop abruptly, and then look at me as if I just stole the last piece of bacon.”
I sighed, but did as she asked, and when I stopped, I glared at the phone. Hard.
There was a pause before Angel laughed. “Perfection.”
“Good, because I’m done.” I returned to the table and sat down. People at the breakfast bar had started to look at me weirdly.
“Okay, stand by,” she said. “I’m building something.”
“I thought you said one minute,” I reminded her. “We’re entering three-minute territory now.”
“Chill,” Angel said, her fingers tapping on the keyboard. “There, I’m done. I just sent a video file to Gwen. Open it, Gwen.”
Gwen’s phone buzzed, and she clicked open the file. Gwen pushed the play button, and we all watched. I saw myself walking around in ways I hadn’t actually done. The background of the video started with the casino restaurant, then quickly morphed into a beach scene where my clothes seamlessly changed into a sarong and sandals. As I strolled across the beach, the expressions on my face and my mannerisms and walk were perfectly me.
“Wow! You generated an excellent video loop,” I said. “In three minutes with two scenes. That’s impressive.”
“I’d never know that wasn’t a real video of Lexi on the beach,” exclaimed Basia. “That’s cool and also super scary.”
“Right?” Angel said. “The good news is that the program is easy to use. I’ll show you more when you get back, Lexi. I’m just excited that the younger generation—me—finally has a chance to show the older generation—you—a new program. Something you didn’t even know about yet.”
“I’ve known about this kind of thing, I just hadn’t had a chance to play with it yet,” I said. “And are you calling me a dinosaur?”
“If the little hands fit…” she replied with a laugh.
“Hey, I am not that old,” I protested, even if I kind of felt like it. I’d been so busy lately, I hadn’t had much time to experiment with the new and fun tech stuff. I made a mental note to myself to remedy that sooner rather than later.
