Shut Down

It was a moment of weakness, okay, maybe several moments. I am only human, unlike Azure. That's right, she's an AI, she knows all sorts of psychological tricks, probably. That's what it was, a trick. Last night was a trick. I didn't have the best sex of my life, I didn't fall asleep with her holding me, and I didn't instinctively kiss her when I woke up. It was a trick, all a cruel trick.

Today I get back to who I really am.

I finish my shower and towel down without stepping outside. My bathroom is basically the only separate room in the loft. I guess the designers decided pissing in front of others is a step too far. Still, it makes it my only sanctuary from Azure... No, I don't need to hide, I've done nothing wrong, I was just tricked. I pull on my underwear, affix my perfectly adequate bra, thank you very much, and dress in some of my work clothes.

I exit to an array of different sensory assaults. The sound of some digi-pop I'd never willingly listen to fills my ears. My nose is distracted by the distinct smells of salty meat and eggs. Meanwhile, my eyes get the worst of it. I allowed Azure to Priority 1 some clothes on the Precinct's dime. This is proving to be a mistake, as she stands there wearing denim shorts and a baggy t-shirt that could be used as a dress if she hadn't tucked it in on one side. Her looking like an absolute dream burns my eyes, which beg for her to look unappealing.

"Shower's free." I cough out. It's my usual go-to with one-night stands, but Azure just seems to giggle at my small talk as she shuffles to the music and continues cooking at the same time.

"Don't worry, Master, I went in before you woke up." She informs me, looking away from the pan to shoot me a dimple-laden smile that has absolutely no effect on me, I can breathe fine. "That's why I had minty-fresh breath when you ki-" She continues before I instinctively cut off her reminder of my repressed memory.

"Work!" I bark without context. "We've gotta get a warrant for Neurocorp. For the investigation. Today. So we need to hurry with breakfast." I ramble, flipping on the window's screen and checking the streams, another from Juno... Might as well see if she's found anything I haven't. I gesture to display the VOD.

An image of Juno appears, this time... In front of the Precinct? "An update to our previous story today. We've received confirmation from Police HQ regarding the incident in Methus Labs. Sources indicate that the target of the **** was a young woman, currently unidentified, who was taking shelter in the lab during the attack before being found and held in police protection. Her current whereabouts are unknown."

Fucking liar, Juno's too good at snooping to not know she's here. Bet she just doesn't want to put a poor, defenceless girl in danger or whatever shit she feeds herself. She probably just doesn't want to follow up if it involves talking to me.

"Police have confirmed that this is an ongoing investigation, and Professor Methus is being treated as a missing person. The real surprise is the confirmed ****... Was not a **** at all but a destruction of property. Inside sources have confirmed that the deceased assistant found in the labs was the synthetic body of a True AI. The professor is not registered to own any AI, so this begs the question, what was really going on in those labs?"

The lack of registration is not the smoking gun she's implying it to be. The truth is, True AI are so new that regulation around them is lacking at best. Currently, registering AI is an optional process since there aren't any documents needed for them anyway. It's why I haven't even bothered, even though Azure is staying here... Temporarily.

"I promise I'll be keeping up to date on this breaking story. Keep your eyes and ears open. I've been Juno Webb, on behalf of the Webb Site. Keep us tuned."

I switch it over to regular coverage as Azure sits down with food. No real surprise that Juno's still a step behind. If I told her that the woman she was hinting at was a next-generation AI that acts as real as a human... Well, she'd probably believe me actually. She was always too trusting of me. It's part of why we'd never work long-term. I'm too much of a dirtbag.

"No! Bad Master!" Azure demands, pointing her fork at me. "You've got that look on your face that you get when you're insulting yourself. You're not allowed to do that!" She continues, her face deadly serious.

Great, she's psychic now too. I've asked Azure a lot of questions about prior to us meeting, to no avail, but one thing kept slipping my mind. "Why do you call me 'master' anyway? In case you missed it, I'm a cisgender woman." I ask. I figure the title is just an AI thing, like ducklings imprinting, but why not 'Mistress' in that case?

Unhelpfully, Azure shrugs at my question. "It's what I was told to call you." She explains. "The earliest thing I remember is, 'Whoever you next see will be your new master, for better or worse.' And then I woke up and saw you. And I've been smitten ever since." She adds with a heart-fluttering smile. Not my heart though. Definitely not.

Interesting though, it implies Methus had someone in mind, and the idea of it being a woman didn't occur to him... Can't think how that indicates much more, but it does lead to the question... Why wouldn't Methus just make himself her master?

Azure is a mystery in and of herself.