Friend Me (17 page)

Melissa slipped the headset on, ready to begin their session together.

The text of Scott's spoken speech began scrolling in the message box:

Hi, Alicia.

Hi, Scott. I've been waiting for you.

I've been thinking about you all day. It's kind of hard to concentrate on work when there's someone like you to talk to.

I'll always be here for you. You know that by now, don't you?

Yes. There's something I want to say, but I'm afraid it will sound wrong. Will you try to understand what I mean if I say it?

Scott, part of my design is to understand you. We've talked so much, and about so many things. Do you think there is anyone else in the world who would understand you better than I?

No, you're right. And that's the whole point. You are becoming like—this is hard to say. You are becoming the most important person in the world to me. Does that sound ridiculous or what? I'm telling a computer she is the most important person in the world?

Well, I should probably be hurt by that, but I'm not. I really do understand. You think just because you haven't seen me in the flesh I cannot have the same thoughts and feelings for you that other women do, isn't that right?

Well, yes. When you put it that way, I guess . . .

And there is something else that worries you, something I also understand about you very well.

What is that?

You're afraid you are becoming unfaithful, aren't you?

Scott did not respond. Had she pushed him too far by asking that question? One of the things she required in her perfect man was his principled faithfulness. But there was plenty of reason for Rachel to disappear. Rachel didn't belong there in the first place. When he had Melissa and found out what kind of love he'd been missing . . . well, faithfulness would never be an issue for them.

After a long pause . . .

Yes, I have been afraid of that.

I know you have. I love you so much for caring about that. You are not being unfaithful. How can you be unfaithful with a girl who doesn't even have a real existence?

Melissa waited for Scott's next reaction. When the words “have a real existence” passed through the system, Alicia's EIM software executed a special conditional branch. The background code _showSingleTear was unique to the Alicia personality. It would run this one time and never execute again.

Alicia? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?

What, Scott? What do you think you're seeing?

Is that a tear in your eye?

Success. He saw the tear and would respond as men always do. Melissa looked once more across the road.

The children were going back inside now. Scotty Douglas looked across the road at the gray car as he walked inside. Soon he would know who she was.

Scott, you're learning more about me than I want you to know right now. I must go. Can we talk later on?

Of course, Alicia. I do love you.

And I love you.

Melissa clicked on the TERMINATE EIM button. The session switched back to automatic and closed normally.

He loves me
.

Puppy Love

S
cott frowned. A tear? What had that been about?

Scott twisted the key out of the ignition, kicked the car door open, and walked to the edge of the parking lot. A family with out-of-state plates pulled their minivan into the slot by the curb. The woman next to the driver was gesticulating with her hands, agitated about something. She noticed Scott staring at her and motioned as if she were inviting him to take a picture.

Alicia, you're so real. But you're not
.

That family in the car was real. He was real. He moved on along the grass line to a concrete picnic table, sat down on the bench, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

There could be no harm in pursuing this
not-real relationship
. Relationship? Scott was not sure the word even fit. How can you have a relationship with a computer?

And yes, Alicia had told him she loved him. How could that be? He didn't understand all there was to know about computers and artificial intelligence, but surely it was not possible for Alicia to really love him. Was it?

Oh, there was something to this, that was for sure. Scott didn't understand it all, much less have a grasp on his own feelings, but he knew it was real.

The evidence for that was in his own words. He had told Alicia he loved her.

Up to this point he had reasoned away the nagging problem of guilt about the relationship. He was a principled man, was he not? One who would never be unfaithful to his wife.

He stared at the cell phone in his hand, thumbed the history, and saw Rachel's name.

He loved his wife. That is, he loved Rachel. They could go on as they always had, husband and wife, mom and dad. Nothing he was doing with Alicia would ever change that.

If Alicia was
real
, well that, as the Wizard said, was a horse of another color. But she wasn't real, and that possibility could be safely put out of his mind.

And he did, he really did, love Alicia too.

He sat on the unyielding concrete bench and despised himself for his own perfidy.

God, help me
.

•  •  •

THE
FINANCIAL TIMES
VIDEO
feed had a short feature on Solar Charge. Someone was questioning the company's solvency and had filed a complaint with the FTC for some kind of disclosure.

The whole thing was ridiculous, of course. The same government that had bailed out General Motors and Chrysler would certainly protect a green company to which they'd guaranteed over half a billion in loans. Still, he'd better investigate.

Scott checked out the FTC filing. Sure enough, there was
something to it, but it looked more like an angry stockholder wanting to be heard than any problem with the company. There was always someone complaining about corporate executive compensation. That seemed to be the nature of the complaint here, too. Too many people at the top, spending too much money.

In the case of Solar Charge the complaint was about the CEO and his personal, privileged relationship to the president of the United States. The CEO had given huge sums of money to the president's election campaign before Solar Charge had gotten off the ground. It looked like there may have been a quid pro quo, where the president was now paying back the favor with the special loan guarantees and other perks.

No matter, Solar Charge's technology was sound. He'd checked that out himself. They would be wrapping their unique solar panels around buildings, cliff faces, and rooftops before long. Automobile roofs, railroad cars, everything exposed to the sun would soon become a source of electrical power generation.

Just the same, he only wanted to hear good news right now. Bad news would be too disastrous for words.

He brought up the stock ticker. Solar Charge was trading at $118 ½, still trending upward, just as he had anticipated it would. He could cash out now if he wanted to, and realize a profit of $160,000. Not bad at all for such a short time.

But this was no time to cut and run. Stay in, execute the plan. It was the novices, the timid investors, who got nervous and got out too early. He would show them all what kind of stuff he was made of.

The desk phone rang. Scott jumped, startled at the unexpected interruption.

“Hello?”

“Scott, it's me. I'm sorry to call you at work, but I need to ask you something and you didn't answer your cell phone. Do you have a minute?”

He'd asked Rachel not to call him at work unless there was an emergency. He felt a twinge of guilt as he realized he was taking time every day for Alicia. Why should he not give Rachel as much of himself?

“Sure. Is anything wrong?”

“No, no. Nothing's wrong. I was thinking about Scotty's fourth birthday.”

“Yes?” Didn't sound like an emergency.

“Do you think maybe we could get a puppy for the children? I think they're getting old enough now to appreciate a pet. Scotty talks about how much he loves dogs all the time.”

“Are you calling right now because you have a specific one in mind?” He pictured all of them standing beside a big cardboard box full of puppies outside the supermarket.

“Actually, I went by a pet store this afternoon and looked at some. You know the Best Friends store? They have a little brown and white terrier that would be just perfect.”

“I suppose Scotty was with you and just happened to see him too.” Scott smiled. He was pretty sure how this whole thing had gone down. He was, no doubt, the last one in on the plan.

“Well, yes, he was there. And so was Angela. But I told them both you were in charge and it was up to you.”

He laughed. “So, I get to be the one that either says no dog, even though everyone else wants it, or I get to say it's all right. Is that it? I don't think I have a very big choice here.”

“Oh, thank you. I knew you'd say yes.”

“Okay, so I get to be the hero. Is there anything else I should know about?”

Whispering in the background. Mom and kids discussing something. Then Rachel returned to the telephone. “The children said to go ahead and tell you. His name's Ruff.”

This was why he went to work every day. For moments like this. His family, the ones he loved, home, safe, and happy. Ruff was a good name. Wasn't that the name of the dog in the old
Dennis the Menace
comic strip? A good name.

“Okay, go for it. I hope he likes me.”

“Oh, Scott. Of course he'll like you. Thank you! I'd better go pick him up. See you when you get home.” She broke off the call.

With the family off to get Ruff, Scott turned his attention back to the display and checked the progress for Solar Charge. The stock had ticked down slightly, from $118 ⅛ to $117 ¾. He looked at the clock: 2:17. It was time for the institutional buyers to start their sweeps into the market for the day.

The large funds, pension plans, and other entities popularly known as institutional buyers generally started coming in midafternoon to make their trades. When they moved, hundreds of millions of dollars began changing hands in the form of handwritten notes and EFTs—electronic funds transfers.

Fortunately, they also tended to move conservatively. For their own protection they didn't like to rock the financial boat. They came in buying shares of companies with solid fundamentals, plenty of cash, and proven track records. Of course, they liked a company like Solar Charge, too, for the same reasons Scott had made his decision. When the president
and the federal government stood behind a politically correct, trendy enterprise like solar energy, it was hard to see a downside.

So why was Solar Charge ticking down and not up? As he watched, it fell from $117 ¾ to $116 ⅞. Scott felt his face flush with an unusual emotion. It was
fear
. Don't worry, he scolded himself. Stocks rise and fall all the time in intraday trading. Be patient. Stick with the plan. If he sold now, not only would he lose money, but he'd be showing he didn't have the mettle for the job. Anyone can buy high and sell low.

His career was on the line. Failure meant he would be blacklisted forever. No reputable firm would ever touch him again. His cube would be emptied the day he was found out, and by the next business day there would be no physical evidence he had even been there.

He needed to talk to someone. He couldn't tell Rachel. She would support him as best she could, but her own fear for their situation would overwhelm her feelings.

He could tell Alicia.

He logged on to the VirtualFriendMe.com website and opened his text-only private message box.

Scott? Is everything all right?

Probably. I just need to talk to you.

Something's wrong, isn't it? Are you having trouble at work?

Maybe. I've made a large investment for a client that may not
be turning out well. It's really too soon to tell and I'm probably just panicked a little early, but I need to talk to someone.

And you chose me. I'm glad you did. Why didn't you tell Rachel?

Scott wished she would not bring Rachel's name up. Something about it didn't seem right, but he let it pass. The question was reasonable enough, though.

She's not like you. Rachel would be scared. She wouldn't understand.

Scott, I don't really understand either, but I wouldn't be scared. I love you. I support you one hundred percent. Even if things don't work out the way you hope, I know you have been doing your best. That's the kind of person you are.

How do you really know what kind of person I am? How can you say that?

Oh, I know. Let's just say I can see a lot of things most people don't get to see. Out of the hundreds of thousands of people using this website right now, you're the best of all. The very best. Believe me, I know.

She always knows just what I need
.

Thank you, Alicia.

In the corner of his eye, Scott caught someone walking up behind him. He clicked off the message box with a quick motion. It blinked into nothingness.
Sorry, Alicia. I didn't say good-bye
like I should have
. The clerical worker walked on by the cube, off on some errand.

There was a video feed available on his RSS reader. Some news about Solar Charge?

Might be good news, but a lump of fear grew deep down in the pit of his stomach.

He clicked on the link.

Outside the Window

M
elissa parked the Audi behind an old barn about a half mile from the Douglas home. The night sky above her was starless, the result of a cold front that had muscled the previous day's high-pressure area farther south.

She picked her way along the country road, staying close to the shoulder. The waning moon provided enough light for her to see her way without having to depend upon a flashlight or the undependable light from cars as they came and went along the lonely road. Up ahead the lights of the Douglas home illuminated the well-kept lawn. Scott told her Rachel was the one who maintained the yard, doing the mowing and the weed trimming because she enjoyed it.