The room fell into a cool darkness and Apricot seated herself back at the table.
“Maybe you all saw what you wanted to see,” Rose said.
“No, I bet they did see something,” Edie said. “I’ve been seeing some weird stuff on this island, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a bunch of little kids running around.”
Rose turned to Edie and gave the full force of her disbelief in the strength of her side-eye. “How would the video have changed?”
“Maybe it’s AI,” Cassidy said. “Like, maybe if our posts aren’t in violation of anything, but they still have something that they don’t like, they’re using AI to change them.”
“Who isthey?” Rose asked.
"Whoever is behind this coverup,” James said, pressing his hands onto the table and leaning in. “You’re all missing the point. Whether it’s AI or whatever, there’s a reason that they’re doing it, and I think we’re some of the only people who have realized what’s happening. We have the ability to crack this whole thing wide open, but we have to be careful. They could be watching us, watching our posts, looking for us to say something. If we do anything too big too soon, they might try to censor us.”
“Again, I ask,who?And why would they want to change videos just saying negative things about a stupid music festival when you think they have a death on their hands?” Rose asked.
“Because they want to avoid drawing negative attention. They’re suppressing the people who might get the coverage.” James ran a hand through his hair and stepped away from the counter, beginning to pace with agitation. “You all don’t get it. Social media is more powerful than you realize. I’ve built my whole career on it, and I know that you have to be careful, but if you play it right then it can be a sword or a shield.”
“That’s a bit high-minded,” Rose said, tapping away at her phone. The other women watched James pace with rapt attention, but Cassidy wasn’t sure she believed him either.
“All I’m trying to say,” James said, stopping in the middle of the room to face them, “is that we have something I think we can use to help us. I think we need to test and see if we’re being watched and see what we can get away with saying. Why don’t we make some videos saying negative stuff about the festival? Reasonable stuff, nothing big, but negative.”
“I get the power of social media,” Rose said with a condescending laugh and put down her phone. “I have a lot of brand sponsors who I think would be pretty unhappy with me if I suddenly got really negative on social media, especially if they find out it’s because I believe some conspiracy about this place. And Edie’s in the same boat.” She pointed to her friend, who sat staring ahead at the table with wide eyes and startled upon hearing her own name. “You’re scaring her out of her mind and now you’re telling her to jeopardize her livelihood? Honestly, she takes the whole thing more seriously than I do but I still think it’s a bad idea.”
“Are they brand sponsorsforthe festival?” James asked.
“No, but they’re paying my bills because I make fun posts and I keep it light. I’m having a good time on an island and that’s what everyone wants their summer to be, and if I come online complaining about little things that make me look like an entitled bitch, they might not want to work with me anymore.”
“I did post a negative one earlier, that’s how Edie found me,” Cassidy said.
“Is it still up?” Apricot asked, tapping at her screen again. Cassidy picked up her phone as well, but Apricot got to the post first. “It’s still there,” she said, and opened it to play.
On the screen, Cassidy looked out at the viewer with shabby-chic beach curls and the slightest hint of eye bags. Cassidy couldn’t help but think that the honesty probably came across better since she was au natural in the video, and she cringed at her own vanity.
“Okay, so I wasn’t sure if I should talk about this or not, but no one else seems to be, so I guess I have to …” Cassidy felt a tension in her shoulders release. The video remained unchanged. “But, like, the non-alcoholic drinks here are amazing. Here, look.”
The video shifted and paused before the point of view changed in the camera to show a large margarita glass with a blended yellow concoction, red powder dusting the rim, and a pineapple slice skewered and locked into position with a metal pick topped with a skull. Behind the drink, Apricot sat with her phone in one hand and a similarly ornate drink in the other.
“Usually, places don’t really put much effort into their alcohol-free drinks, or they dress them up like they’re for a kid. But look at this! It’s so cool, and it’s so good!”
The camera changed point of view again and Cassidy appeared on the screen with the drink near her mouth.
“Cheers to fairness!” she said and took a drink. The video ended on the still of Cassidy sipping the drink.
In real life, Cassidy felt faint. Her head swam and she couldn’t get a full breath of air. When Apricot looked over, Cassidy guessed that her friend felt about the same. On the other side of Rose, Edie also went pale.
“What the fuck was that?” Apricot asked.
“That can’t be the same video,” Edie said.
“I wasn’t in the first video,” Apricot said. “How was I in this video? How wasIin the video? I was in the same clothes and everything. Was someone else recording us?” The questions came rapid fire and took up all the air and mental space that Cassidy needed to process what was happening. “Oh fuck, someone is totally spying on us!”
“That was like a video I would actually make. It was saying words I would say. Idon’tdrink. If I was going to make a positive video, it would look like that,” Cassidy said. She kept her voice low, afraid to say all of this out loud. It sounded crazy.
“That’s how AI works,” James said. “They take content you’ve already made and feed it to the computer to teach it how to make something authentic.”
“There’s no way that was AI,” Rose said. “She didn’t have any extra fingers or anything.”
“And I was wearing the same clothes! Could it do that?” Apricot was on the verge of tears. The screen went black, and she put it face down on the table and clapped her fingers over her mouth.
