Pong or Uno? (Grant)

Naomi stared with suspicion at the new look the portals around San Malarus had. She wondered if she were to stick her hand through them, if she would get wet or if it would only affect her if she went through them. Either way, she had brought her rain coat and umbrella with her, since she was going through no matter what. She wanted to talk to someone she hadn’t seen in a while and the only place she could see them was there. She would step onto the paint splotch looking portal and find herself surrounded by the rain of the alternate San Malarus. She opened her umbrella and raised it over her head as her other hand reached to pull out her tablet. She smiled as she saw the icon of the woman that now had a place there. Tapping the image, she would smile as she spoke, “Hello, Beep. It’s been a while since we spoke. How have you been? Oh wait, first I should ask if you can even see me.” She had put the tablet in a clear plastic bag in order to keep it dry, so her face could be distorted from the camera’s point of view. If that was the case, Beep might not even know who she was speaking to. If Beep seemed to have any trouble identifying her, Naomi would just tell her who she was speaking to. After that she would ask a sort of strange question, “Hey, Beep, can you play games?” If she said no, Naomi would drop the topic. If she said yes, she would ask what kind of games Beep liked.

Naomi would get a big smile across her face when she saw Beep appear on her tablet screen, “Sorry about that. It’s raining out here, so I didn’t want you to get wet.” She realized how stupid that sounded as soon as she said it, “You can’t get wet, can you?” She would laugh at herself, regardless of if the answer was yes or not, “Sorry. I sometimes ask really stupid questions that I should already know the answer to.” When Beep asked what she wanted, she would shrug, “I wanted to speak with you, Beep. Well, mostly just play a game with you, because Beep seems like she spends all day helping people and I wanted to see if there was something she wanted to do to relax.” Naomi couldn’t imagine having to be there for everyone whenever they called on her. She actually admired Beep for that, even if she was programmed to do that, “I do have a home. Well, I do and I don’t. It’s complicated.” Her last sentence would trail off as she thought about it. She had one back in her world, but she was a stranger to this world, so she didn’t have a home here, “But I do have my weird moments, and I embrace all of them. I think everyone has their weird moments.” She would look away while she thought about something Beep said, “What do you mean you try to match people?” She hadn’t heard that kind of thing before.

“Well, I’m not going to test if you can or not. That would be pretty dangerous if the water made you short out or something.” She didn’t want Beep getting hurt. She would tilt her head slightly when Beep mentioned trying to be like them so they were easier to talk to, “I can understand why that may be easier, but don’t you want to be Beep? I mean, shouldn’t you be you so people can get to know you and like you?” She liked Beep as she was, but she also didn’t know if this Beep was the real one. She did mention that they were alike, so she could guess this was similar to Beep’s real personality, “I mean, don’t you want friends that like the real Beep for who she is?” She felt like she was asking something weird again, considering Beep was similar to an app. That made her almost laugh when the blue haired girl opened a game of solitaire, “That is a pretty famous game, but I think it’s rigged to be unwinnable. You basically have to luck out with what order the cards come up.” She knew from her many hours of trying to beat the game, but failing, “Also, be careful what you open, okay? I have things in her that are precious to me that are for my eyes only.” She hoped Beep would remember some of the conversation they had last time.

Naomi would get a smile of pride when Beep mentioned that she was weird, “Thank you. I find it to be one of the greatest compliments to say I’m weird. That means you notice that I’m my own person.” She liked being weird by other people’s standards. It made her feel special, “I’m not homeless. I just don’t really have one, but I kind of do. I’m visiting, remember?” She was an outsider to Beep, so that was the only way she knew how to describe it, “Don’t worry. I’ve been fine, and I’ve been having fun here. You were right. This place is amazing. I even checked out that club you told me about.” She didn’t know why, but Beep was really easy to talk to, and it made her smile, “I don’t really need anything. I just wanted to talk with you, and thank you for the help you gave me last time. It isn’t so scary to be in a new place when someone is helping you.”

She would laugh when Beep mentioned swimming, “Swimming is only fun when it doesn’t rain all the time.” She would point to the sky to make her point, “When it rains this much, I’m surprised the streets aren’t flooding.” She had couldn’t believe a lot of things in this world. It was like a fantasy that was stuck in the climax of the end of the second act. Naomi’s eyes would widen when the blue haired girl started opening up random things on her tablet, “Beep. You need to ask for permission before opening things.” Her tone would stay calm, as if speaking to a child. That’s how Beep came across, at least. She also couldn’t bring herself to yell after what happened last time.

She was taken aback when the conversation turn to how the AI didn’t want people to like her yet, “Why not?” Naomi would actually look sad for a moment, “I like Beep because Beep is nice and fun. You’re very special. You are also helpful, but I like you for reasons beside that.” She would have pet Beep’s head, but she couldn’t, “But the club was fun. I’ve never really had a drink like that before though. It was bit strong.” She couldn’t tell Beep where she came from though, so she thought of a plan, “How about this. One day I’ll show you my home. That would be even better, right?” She would give the AI a smile, “I want to be friends with Beep, so that means sharing with Beep.” She really did like Beep, and she wished that someday they really could be close enough for her to get glimpses of her home. Very small glimpses though. Nothing that would expose it as an alternate world.

When Beep mentioned a bad event, Naomi would try to remember the timeline she had seen before, “Are you talking about the Dark Night Massacre?” There were a lot of bad events, but that seemed like an AI would think it was the worst. It could also refer to one of the many other events, but she was taking a stab in the dark on this one. Her eyes would soften when old Beep was mentioned, “I don’t want that to happen either. I like you, Beep. I would be sad if you suddenly disappeared.” Even if Beep was supposedly nothing more than an AI, she had shown a personality that set her apart from others. Naomi liked that about her. She was fun and bubbly, “I have a mother. She’s really nice, a bit strict sometimes, but I love her. I can’t imagine what I would do without her.” She would smile as she thought about her mother, “It’s a pretty hectic life, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’ve had a better life than most people, all things considered.” Despite the things that didn’t go right, “Do you have anyone you consider close?” She didn’t know how Beep may think of family.

The other bad event must have been the Red Storm. Naomi remembered seeing that clearly, since she was so afraid of having Intertwined come out in this world. It was the reason she didn’t want any of her companions coming here until she could figure out just how safe it was for them here. She would give Beep a small, sad smile when she mentioned disappearing, “I won’t let you disappear. I promise.” She didn’t want to lose Beep. She felt closer to the blue haired girl more than she probably should have.

Naomi would have to do a double take when Beep lagged and dissolved into static for a moment, “Beep, can you feel when that happens?” She wondered if it was like a cold for her. She knew it wasn’t an issue on her end, since her connection was supernatural in origin. Unless the great unknown could mess up like that, there was definitely something wrong with Beep. Actually, it reminded her of that thing that was happening with the news when they were trying to get Lewis’ name from Rinna. Could this be part of the same phenomena? She could explain why some people were affected by this thing. Not only that, Beep had also lagged last time they met. It seemed that certain things caused that to happen, “Maybe you could tell me more about them. If they are someone so close to you, they must be special.” She was both interested in Beep’s special person and why she couldn’t hear their name, “How did you meet? Are they your creator?” She had to guess at this point.

Naomi felt guilty for making Beep panic like that. She would gently tap the icon to pull Beep back up. If the AI came back, she would look at her with gentle eyes, “Don’t worry. Nothing is wrong with you. Like I said, I won’t let you disappear.” She hugged the tablet so that it would be like hugging Beep, “You’re fine, I promise, so please don’t be sad.” If Beep accepted her words or not, Naomi would close the program immediately afterward. She needed to get home, but she wanted to make sure Beep was alright first. She wished she hadn't dug into the poor AI’s life. With a heavy sigh, she would head back through the new portal and return to her own world.

{EXIT}