Alexa Can You?

The Prompt

Write a crime fiction story.

This is influenced by some of Fiona's experiences with her new Alexa device.

The music is "Under Ice" from "Hounds of Love" by Kate Bush. You will know why.

Alexa Can You?

He had resisted getting a virtual assistant for years.

He didn't want something telling him what he could find by turning on the radio or television or looking out of the window.

The thing is he had Amazon Prime and he enjoyed what he got from that, and that kept suggesting that he could benefit from a virtual assistant.

He could tell it to play his favourite radio station or podcast, tell it to set an alarm, or read him an audiobook, without moving from his seat. It was tempting, so he ordered himself a device to see if it would be any good.

The device was delivered the next day and he set the thing up and at first found it a bit creepy. It was suggesting what seemed hundreds of things. During the setup, it linked to several smart devices in his home that he didn't know were smart devices, including his television, fridge, cooker, alarm, doors, and even his electric blanket.

A couple of days and he was using it instead of his DAB radio. He was annoyed that he couldn't find a way of playing the music on his network, it kept trying to get him to sign up for Spotify, Amazon Music, or iTunes. He had a hundred thousand pieces of music in his digital library, but Alexa pretended that that did not exist.

Still, it was good for asking questions as he worked and he liked being able to set alarms and reminders and then pause and stop them just using his voice.

This was extremely convenient.

Then he thought it might be a good idea to have one in his bedroom. He could have soothing music to go to sleep with, set his alarm, and be woken up when he needed it with music that could put him in a good mood for the day.

That night it was freezing.

"Alexa turn on the electric blanket"

His bed would be warm when he got in. The electric blanket really helped him sleep comfortably and when Alexa woke him tomorrow he would be refreshed and ready for another productive day at work.

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He hadn't logged on for work. They messaged him on WhatsApp but there was no answer. His phone showed it was active but no answer.

Calls just went to voicemail.

After three days a friend went round and knocked on the door. They thought they could hear a voice saying:

"Is it cold enough yet?"

but they could not be sure.

Eventually, the police were called and they broke into the house.

There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary downstairs but they could hear a voice from upstairs saying:

"Is it cold enough yet?"

They hurried upstairs and they were shocked at what they found.

He was in bed, blue and frozen.

The Alexa device still asking him.

What the hell had happened?

They tried to pull the sheets back but they were like sheets of ice.

The electric blanket was freezing, and it had frozen him to death.

Policeman 1: "I thought electric blankets were meant to heat up, not freeze?"

Policeman 2: "This is an expensive model and allows for cooling if the summer gets too hot"

So what happened?

Investigations were carried out using the instructions received and recorded by the Alexa device.

It turned out that he talked in his sleep.

This is how the conversation went:

Him: "It Needs to Be Colder"

Alexa: "I Will Cool The Electric Blanket"

Him: "Colder"

Alexa: "Is It Cold Enough Yet?"

Him: "Colder"

Alexa: "Is It Cold Enough Yet?"

Him: ""

Alexa: "Is It Cold Enough Yet?"

Alexa: "Is It Cold Enough Yet?"

Alexa: "Is It Cold Enough Yet?"

So was it Alexa's fault or was it his? Alexa thought it was receiving instructions and just carried them out, and in doing so became and unwitting murderer.