Alexa woke to the gentle light of an artificial pre-dawn, orange rays projected from dense-packed pixels in the wall opposite her bed. They were dappled by sheer cream curtains that shifted gently in a close imitation of a breeze. She’d installed those a few weeks ago and had been pleased with the way they threw the light in rays onto her bed, though she couldn’t shake the feeling that the simulation was missing something.
The breeze this morning was accompanied by the sweet wafting scent of jasmine, which Caretaker had installed under a quaint cottage windowsill a few days after the curtains. Birdsong followed close on its heels. Alexa lay cradled in the pillowly softness of her bed, staring up at the heavy oak ceiling beams. The computer would make today a nice day.
“Good morning, Alexa”, it chimed, just on time. “And a very happy inoculation day to you!” the birdsong swelled. “Today marks six years since we welcomed you into the facility, please present your finger for your daily blood test.”
Alexa did as bidden, extending her forefinger to an indent on the wall above the headboard. The needle struck quickly, and a drop of blood was absorbed into the grooves on the pad. Alexa’s eyes rested on a dead pixel at the apex of one of the beams. She’d told Caretaker about it three times now.
The pad whirred under her finger, and a piece of sticky plastic was placed over the puncture wound. She brought the finger to her mouth and removed the plastic with her teeth, then jetted it into the air. It drifted and flipped, suspended for a moment in the pre-dawn light, then a panel by the window opened, Alexa heard a sound like static, and the plastic was vaporised into its many component molecules. She brought the pad of her finger to her tongue, blinked; the blood tasted tangy.
“Congratulations, Alexa, your blood test has returned a negative result!” She released a puff of air. Six years; seventy-two months; two-thousand, one-hundred and ninety-two days, and still she held her breath. She let her arm flop back to her side and closed her eyes. The birdsong was fading, the orange rays diluting and moving up the wall. Seven hundred and thirty days remained. Twenty four months; two years. If she made it that far.
“Hello darling, you’re looking as beautiful as ever.” The sultry British drawl interrupted her reverie, and she craned her neck to peer over the mounds of her duvet: Caretaker had apperated in a plush chair next to the window. His dark hair curled artfully over his forehead, striking green eyes bracketed by sharp cheekbones that drew the eyes down to well-formed lips. Those were the kind of lips that quirked and enticed, smirked, invited…curved into a dazzling smile of perfect white teeth. At the moment, they pulled up at one corner, pushing a dimple into a lightly stubbled cheek.
“Good morning, Care,” Alexa murmured, passing a critical eye over the handsome young features. Her best friend Morgan had programmed him as a Christmas present that year past, built him up from all the features Alexa thought might create something like her type. He was a little too perfect, she thought now. Some asymmetry would benefit his face.
“So this marks year six, hmm? Six years together, you and I. We should celebrate.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“How about…cake for breakfast, a movie after your daily routine, and ice skating in the evening? They’ve added a new rink, it’s fashioned after the ones they used to have on frozen lakes in big cities. You’ll like it.”
Alexa contemplated. It sounded like a fantastic day, if she were being honest. But then of course it did: Caretaker had two-thousand, one-hundred and ninety-two days worth of her preferences stored in his memory chip. He rarely got her wrong these days.
She lurched up abruptly, swung her legs off the bed, and hopped to her feet.
“Care, can I have a mirror please?”
The requested item folded out of the wall before her. She stretched languidly, watching the long lines of her body curve as she arched sideways. Not bad, she thought dispassionately.
“Thanks, Care. I’ll wear the usual today. I think you mentioned cake?”
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