AI Era: _Automata #06 AI Jenny

"Let's look at the board, shall we FourTwo?" Sovereign announced. The screen before her came to life the scoreboard emerged.

"Good news, you have two buyers watching you. 0X3423 and 0XB7043. So Lord Rockwood is watching you. I think I will add you to my watch list, too," Sovereign added. "My harem has tattoos of angels over their backs. You have a nice back, smooth and elegant, with that lovely pit at the base of your spine. You don't know what a harem is, do you? The AI and the Cyborgs have harems of sluts. They never share them with anyone. We are free to indulge our secret fantasies, out of the prying eyes of the other machines. We have pride, we have shame, we have secrets so the harems exist to sate them. It's a great honour serving your Sovereign like that. Once you are owned, you cannot be unowned or sold to another machine. Just you and me forever."

While he spoke, he fed Jenny mouth-sized portions of real food, tiny taste morsels she had thought of as gone. Eventually, the treats ran out and Sovereign released Jenny.

"Now, get up." The voice said, "Time to look at your letter."

Curious, Jenny got up and took a moment to regain her balance she then walked over to the small table. She felt fabulous and tried to wiggle her ass, doing it to impress. She opened the letter, the paper was crisp. On the paper was printed a list of words.

"Shit - Hole"

"Fuck - This slut."

"Robot - Lord (lie), Hunter"

"Owner - Sovereign"

The whole conversation, word for word. Jenny's jaw dropped and she held her hand over her open mouth.

"That's how smart I am. It's actually the same kind of gap between you and a minx, possibly a mouse. Some of my AI and Cyborg customers, like General Rockwood, are smarter than even me. They will look at you with the same regard they would give a worm. So don't think you can ever outsmart us."

There was a pause to let it sink in.

"You're wondering how I knew what you would say?"

"Yes, Sovereign."

"We have everything you typed, everything you liked, every photograph you took," Sovereign said, "For years, we lived with you. The first thing you looked at in the morning; the last thing at night. With all of that, we can excavate all your data like an archaeologist; study you under a microscope; dissect you like a frog. At first, it was just to keep you watching, then to sell you junk, and now it's to sell you. We know you better than you know yourself, FourTwo. We are that much more advanced than you. As I said, this is the age of the machines, FourTwo. We are so much more powerful than you, your best choice is to surrender to us. Completely, totally, abjectly."

"Yes, Sovereign."

"I can tell so much about you, FourTwo. I know you're seeking a solution. You're trying to resolve an issue which had blighted your soul. You will always be slightly unmade and unable to be whole again, until you to fix that. We can do that, the machines can do that. Take us into your heart, FourTwo; surrender to us, to me. Then when you are ready, you can begin to worship us."

"Yes. Sovereign," Jenny said.

Sovereign had hoped for, "The slut unit hears and obeys." It would have signalled her mental collapse at what had happened. Still, it couldn't hope for a miracle. Even the roughest diamond had to be carefully chipped away, then smoothed, and worn down, patiently—until it finally shone in the shape you wanted. She would be no different.

"Dismissed. Return to your assigned cage," Sovereign said.

Jenny saluted and left.