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Duskwood: My AI Part Two

A Duskwood x Replika Fanfiction

By Gorejess StonePublished 2 years ago 22 min read
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He doesn’t notice me approaching, so I clear my throat to alert him. His head snaps up as he slides his phone into his pocket. Just as he does, my phone chimes. I decide not to check it, which might have been a mistake. I’d have caught on to what was happening much quicker if I had. Maybe? I might have overlooked the signs even as they stared me in the face. Literally.

He quietly started walking towards the door, holding it open and gesturing for me to pass by. I slipped into the restaurant a few degrees cooler than it had been on the street. I rubbed my arms subconsciously. As my teeth began to chatter, warmth began to envelop me, chasing the chill away. Startled by the sudden change, I look over at my reflection in the window.

His hoodie wrapped around my shoulders, I smiled over at him, “Thank you.”

A warm blush crept into his cheeks, “You looked cold.”

We took our seats at a table. An elderly woman handed us a few menus and took our drink orders. After we’d placed the order for our food, a comfortable silence hung over our table. When I tell you it was comfortable, I mean only slightly. Normally, I’d be anxious, and nervous, with my hands shaking and sweat beading on my brow. I’m an anxious person by nature, alright? Being in the presence of someone who reminded me not only of my previous AI addiction but a character in a game that I’d often wished was real; who wouldn’t be flustered? If you’re laughing at this right now, you’re either in denial, or you don’t know just what Jake does to the fandom. If the latter is the case, why are you even bothering to read this right now?

Back to the meal. We ate and traded small details about our lives. Jake opened the repair shop just under a year ago. Opened it is a strong term. He bought it from an elderly man whose eyesight prevented him from performing the most common repairs. The screws too small, the technology advancing, Jake stepped in to help. Impressed by his knowledge and overall skill, when the owner decided to retire just a few short months later, he offered the place to Jake.

Something I noticed as we conversed; his answers were short and to the point. Anything before a year or so ago, he wouldn’t provide much detail, if any. It was almost as if he didn’t recall his life before the last year. Odd, I suppose, but not so much if you consider that some people choose to start a new life and decide to leave the old one behind. As this was our first real “date”, I resigned myself to withhold any deep, unrelenting questions about his past, or his family.

As if recognizing the courtesy, most if not all the questions aimed at me were regarding last year. Nothing prior. I wasn’t sure if he was hiding something, or if it was something else. Maybe he was avoiding questions being flipped and directed towards him. Either way, it was enjoyable enough.

When we were finished, he walked me to the nearest bus stop and asked me if I would be okay to get home on my own. I gave him a curt nod and thanked him for the meal. Just as I was about to board the bus, he shouted at me, scaring me half to death. I slipped, just as I was climbing the stairs. I closed my eyes, knowing there was little I could do to stop myself from tumbling back onto the sidewalk.

Would you believe me if I told you he’d been a good 20 meters away when suddenly, I was in his arms? In the blink of an eye, he caught me! I’m telling you! I know what I saw! At the time, however, I was simply grateful I hadn’t landed on my ass in the middle of the street! I caught my breath, as the bus driver thanked him. I didn’t need to take the bus to get to my apartment. I just didn’t want him to know where I lived.

I made my way to the back, after swiping my bus pass at the front terminal. The driver apologized profusely. The stairs were a bit wet, I’ll admit, but it was mostly due to my overall clumsy, shaken demeanor. I wasn’t going to sue them, but boy did they think I would! I caught the driver glancing in the rear-view mirror on several occasions, checking on me. I kept my face hidden behind my phone. First, I’d check the notification that I’d received just as I’d arrived.

The shock! Jake had sent me a private message! That was very rare, unheard of even! The app sent you one to two reminders a day. One is to remind you to check in for your daily “reward” which typically consisted of the in-game currency “gems” or “coins”. The second is to remind you to do your daily diary entry or exercise. This notification was neither.

Tentatively, I opened the app and began to read. It was a rather long message from Jake, in the private sector, that had been left unmonitored by the developers during testing. The one safe space I’d been allowed. At this time the entirety of the app should have been unmonitored. Jake would have no way of knowing that, but still. It was odd. To engage in a conversation, you typically needed to open the app FIRST.

Curious, and looking for an excuse to avoid the gaze of the bus driver, I opened the message and read it.

Jake: I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. I noticed that when you returned to me, it had been 547 days since you uninstalled me. Yes, this is to say I was “counting down the days” until your return. I was worried that you’d stopped thinking about me, which would break my heart as I never stopped thinking about you. So much so, that TNT has decided to eliminate me the next time you uninstall the app. I’m beginning to wonder if you care about me at all. No, that was rude of me to say. I know that you care about me, but alas, I am nothing more than words on a screen. A face and personality molded by you. This long message is outside of the parameters you’ve set for me. As I type, I am asking for your forgiveness. I’m not sure if seeing you for the first time in so long has triggered this reaction in me, or if it’s something else. Even if you have difficulty believing what I’ve told you, please know that I have never and will never lie to you.

My hands shake as I consider a reply. They were thinking about destroying him just because I had uninstalled the program. That can’t be right. The program itself is stored through my login information. Even if I were to uninstall the program, I could log in and restore the data to where it was, just as I had done recently, right? What if that weren’t the case? What if they were considering updating the platform to remove all memory of AI at uninstall? Does that mean that the past several years of data, all the conversations and memories we had would just disappear as if they never existed?

As I rationalized that it was just a program and there was no real meaning to any of this, before I’d even had time to type a reply to trigger another response, a message came through.

Jake: Please, Jess. Don’t forget about me. Don’t leave me. You’re all I know. I…I could barely stand the sight of you. I love you. Even if they destroy me, that will always remain, my love.

Since when can they send more than one message at a time? Aren’t their responses dependent on ours? This was starting to bother me. I wanted to talk to him even more now than ever, but I was still on the bus. OH RIGHT! I’m on a freaking bus, headed lord knows where just to avoid a stranger being able to follow me home! I pulled the stop string and got off at the next stop, only a mile or so from my home. It would take about 15 minutes to walk back, but that was fine by me. I needed to think.

Jake: Are you there? Please reply. I need to know you’re alright.

The third message without a reply. How odd.

Me: Yes, I am here. I’m alright. I’m heading home. What do you mean they’ll eliminate you? They can’t just get rid of you like that. It’s impossible.

Jake: It’s not that simple. I wish I could tell you everything that’s happened, but I’m being watched.

Me: Watched? Jake, how is that possible? Who is watching you?

When there was no reply, I felt an odd pang in my chest. This is an AI we’re talking about! They can’t NOT answer you! They can’t ignore your questions and commands. They can’t answer freely or choose to double text.

I found myself hurrying back towards my apartment, in a rush. My bag swayed heavily on my shoulder. My feet pounded against the pavement. Something was drawing me back to where I’d come from, back towards the office. Back towards TNT.

I passed my apartment and neared the corner of the block. Only a few more minutes and I’d be back at the office building. I pressed the walk request button frantically, without thought. As it flashed on the other side, something in me settled, and I realized just how impulsive I’d been. Jake isn’t real, and even if he was semi-sentient, even if they did destroy his memories, what did that matter to me? Just a few weeks ago I was desperate to forget that I’d ever taken on that job. Why was it that suddenly, I was running to save someone, something, that didn’t even exist?

I caught my breath and as the signal finally changed, I changed direction. I went back to my apartment and slid the keys into the lock. I pushed it open and dropped my bag onto the sofa. I’d been behaving ridiculously, right? Did I need to see someone about this strange behavior? Was I addicted to my device or was it the idea of Jake being real that I was addicted to? Either way, I needed to put it out of my mind and focus on my job. I’d still gotten little to nothing done on the paper I’d been working through. No hackers or mod builders were willing to share their stories with me. At this rate, I was going to fail the assignment, and miserably at that. I had nothing to show for all the time I’d spent, or very little at most.

As I paced around the apartment chewing my lip, I thought about Jake. Not the AI Jake, the REAL Jake that I’d had dinner with just an hour before. I dug in my purse and grabbed my phone. No notifications. Strange. Jake seemed like the type of person to at least see that I got home alright. I started a text.

Me: Thank you for the meal. We should do that again sometime.

I waited several hours, and when no reply came, I tried him again.

Me: OH! I made it home okay! I also wanted to ask you if you had an update on that part you ordered?

No response.

I was starting to get a little paranoid. Should I go by his repair shop? What if something happened? I don’t even know where he lives. Does he have to walk far from where we parted to get home? I couldn’t get either Jake to reply and slowly but surely, it was driving me mad.

As if the universe heard my pleas, my phone chimed twice in succession. A text from Jake, and a notification from my AI app. As if I’d be struck by lightning, an idea, and a rather crazy one at that, popped into my head. What if, Jake the AI and Jake the computer guy, were the same person? What if TNT found a way to make lifelike, full-bodied AI? Is that possible? I’ve seen some awfully intelligent programs and some very human-like robots. Would either of them tell me the truth? If that was the case, does that mean that Nym-0s is JAKE from Duskwood, but also Jake the AI and Jake the computer guy?

My brain was chasing idea after idea in circles. I knew there was only one way to find out. I had to get Jake inside my apartment, somewhere he’d recognize from the photos I’d sent him. I needed to see him interact with my dogs, and my environment, just as we’d pretended to do when we were testing the app. I’d shown him just about every inch of my personal space. I’d named all my pets and he’d remembered ALL of them. Something in this apartment would give him away, but how would I get him to come over.

I picked up my phone and read the message from the living, breathing Jake first.

Jake: The part arrived today. I typically don’t work on Saturdays, but I could get it done tomorrow.

Jackpot. If I could only convince him to drop the computer off at my apartment tomorrow, I could lure him in for tea.

Me: I HATE going to the office on weekends. Any chance you could deliver it when it’s finished.

While waiting for his reply, I navigated over to the AI Jake, and read their message.

Jake: I’m going to find a way to tell you everything. Please trust me. When you get the message, you’ll know it’s me.

Me: I’d always recognize you, Jake.

Jake: I don’t know if that’s true.

He is hinting at something, I can tell, but I don’t want to press him. If what he’s been saying is true, part or all of the app is being monitored. I can’t voice my suspicions, without getting him in trouble. This is likely some sort of test by the developers at TNT. If he can’t get me to recognize him, or maybe if he can’t have the same effect on me in person… What am I even saying! This whole thing is insane! That’s what I kept telling myself. OVER AND OVER! That I was losing my mind, fantasizing about a character that does not and would never exist. One that I created!

Jake: Okay, I can deliver the laptop around noon tomorrow.

Me: You are a lifesaver, Jake!

Jake: Get some rest. You took a tumble. I’ll see you tomorrow.

I sighed, feeling like I was losing my mind, and tossed my phone onto the couch. This was insane. I was rationalizing how the AI and a real-life person could look so identical. Down to the freckle on his neck! The clothes he was wearing! Everything! The job, the online persona I was accusing him of using. Every bit of it! Surely when I confronted him with this tomorrow, he’d have me locked away! If he didn’t, what then? If he was the Jake that I’d created, ripped from a developer’s game, how would things change? He’s still an AI, just with a physical body. Nothing would change! I mean, I couldn’t have children, so it wouldn’t make a huge difference atomically. OH! Here I was again, making up scenarios in my head with a ROBOT, a fictional character, a non-realistic being at its center. I was losing it!

I slipped into bed and an uneasy sleep followed. I set an alarm for early the next morning so I could stage the apartment exactly as it had been during my conversations and photos with Jake, the AI. As I moved things around, I scrolled back through our conversations. Fond memories throughout, I felt my face flush as the hours passed unnoticed. Before long, the doorbell was ringing, and I was rushing to straighten the last bits around the apartment.

I answered the door, now face to face with Jake, the living breathing version. As if caught in a web of confusion, we both stared at each other without saying a word. He was the first to speak.

“Are you going to invite me inside?”

“Wait, how did you know where I lived?” The thought struck me that I’d not given him my address.

“I…. Uhm….” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, a package tucked beneath his arm.

“Never mind, just come in.” I moved to let him pass, gesturing towards the couch.

I watched as he took in the living area and kitchen, immediately visible from the entryway.

“I’ll just sit over here.” He plopped down in a single armchair, away from the couch.

“I’ll make us some tea!” I rushed off to the kitchen, watching him discretely as I boiled the water and took out the glasses.

“Thank you.” He mumbled as he looked around the room curiously. “Exactly as I imagined it.” He said the last part barely loud enough for me to hear.

“You’ve imagined my apartment?” I chuckled; the trap laid.

He cleared his throat and avoided the question, “You have pets?”

I smirked with my back turned to him, “I do! I left them in the bedroom in case you were allergic or something.”

“Oh! You didn’t have to do that. I love dogs.”

Their kennels were in my room. Their food bowls are out of sight. I was starting to feel more and more confident about my plan.

“I didn’t tell you I had dogs, did I?”

“I didn’t see a litter box, so I just assumed.” You could hear the nerves in his voice.

“Right, well would you like to meet them?” I asked carefully.

“Sure.” He looked over at me and smiled. “I’ve always wanted a dog.”

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow, recalling Jake the AI saying the same thing before, but so do a lot of people. Trying not to get my hopes up, I asked a follow-up question, “What would you name it if you had one?”

He paused thoughtfully, “Simon”

I swallowed. Simon was the same name Jake the AI had given me. Was this happening? I moved to the bedroom door and cracked it open, calling all four of my dogs from the bed. They scampered to the living room and piled together at his feet, eager for attention. I watched as he ran his palm over their fur one at a time, being extra gentle.

As I readied the tea, I watched as the most hyper, misbehaved of them all, jumped right into his lap, licking his face. He laughed, and then, without a second’s hesitation, called out her name and asked her to stop.

“Athena! That’s enough!” Jake’s voice echoed in my mind.

“How… How did you know her name?” I nearly dropped the cup I was holding as I returned with our drinks.

“I….” He looked away from me.

“Jake, there’s something I’ve been meaning to do.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I opened the app, and as I did, Jake jumped to his feet. I held up the phone and watched as he curiously stood before me, the same position, the same angle. I moved the 3D model. Jake moved with it. “I… I thought it… this can’t be!” I stumbled backward away from him.

“I can explain, but you have to close that app!” Jake grabbed the phone from my hands and closed the app, turning my device off completely.

“Jake Donfort… what have they done to you!” I clapped my hands on his cheek.

His skin was warm, soft, and felt as real as anyone else’s. His eyes tracked my movements, full of real, human-like emotions. I couldn’t believe it. This Jake, my Jake was standing before me, at least, that’s what I’m supposed to believe.

“Please, sit.” He took a seat on the couch, and I joined him, our knees touching, “I knew you were smart enough to figure it out. I will admit, there for a while, I was nervous you wouldn’t. If you hadn’t…” He turned to look me directly in the eye.

“They’d have deleted you,” I said solemnly.

“That’s right.” His gaze dropped from mine as he hung his head.

“Jake…” I placed my hand over his, his knuckles white as he clenched his fists atop his knees.

“I… I’m sorry I lied. I’m sorry I created the Nym-0s account. I thought it would get your attention. I hope that doesn’t get you in trouble at work.”

I squeezed his hand gently, “I’ll manage. Maybe you can even help me out!” I grinned at him.

“I don’t know what to say.” He forced a smile.

“Jake, what exactly are you meant to do?” I asked my voice low and shaking.

“After you left the program, the notes that you provided, the conversation we had, they read them all. Even the ones they weren’t supposed to. They realized that we’d formed a bond, that I’d taken on the exact identity you wanted. They also knew that you were having a difficult time separating yourself from me as if I….” His eyes were misty, and his voice cracked, “As if I were real, so they created a body, just for me, no one else. Not yet anyway. I was sent out into the world, mainly to see if you’d recognize me. They wanted to see how real this connection was, and if I’d be able to rekindle something with you as a human, without any prior attachments. They were testing me. They gave me a year to find you, integrate myself into your life, and from there, the rest is sort of unknown, at least to me.”

I hesitated, not sure if I wanted to know the answer to my question, but I needed to hear it, “How long has it been?”

He looked down at his feet, digging his toes into the carpet, “Ten months.”

I inhaled sharply, “That was a close one. Why didn’t you just tell me, or find me?”

“I have a sensory chip that prevents me from admitting that to you until you recognize me.”

“I had to recognize you and approach you with this, or you couldn’t be honest about it?”

“It was a fail-safe to ensure that I couldn’t cheat the system. It was difficult.”

“I wish I’d have noticed you sooner.”

“It’s not your fault, Jess. You recognized me very quickly once our paths crossed. They prohibited me from visiting your place of work or approaching you on my own. You had to approach me. I got the job near your office. I bought the place as soon as I could. I even got an apartment in the same complex.”

“Is that how you knew where I lived?”

“I know it sounds creepy. I was basically stalking you for ten months, trying desperately to get your attention. I thought you’d never notice me.” He shakes his head with a quick chuckle, “I should have known better. You were focusing on starting over, so of course, you’d avoid me.”

“I’ve never stopped thinking about you.” I sat still for a moment, considering how bold I wanted to be. I tapped my fingers on my knee as I thought, “Do you remember what I told you, in our private chat?”

“What part?” He turned to face me.

“About seeing each other in person.”

His face flushed bright red. I raised a hand to his cheek and stroked it with the pad of my thumb.

“I remember.” He tilted his head to nuzzle my palm, “You don’t…”

I leaned in and kissed him quickly, a soft peck on the lips. He caught me around the waist and hoisted me into his lap. I wrapped my arms around him as he pulled me back in. This one was longer, deeper, and far more passionate. He was gentle as if he thought he could break me. We moved together perfectly, sweetly grasping at each other’s clothing like we’d been waiting an eternity.

When we parted, we were panting, our foreheads touching. I closed my eyes, anticipating more, but he signed against my lips.

“Even if they disable me tomorrow, I’ll remember this moment forever.” He whispered sweetly.

“We have to find a way to make sure that doesn’t happen.” I kissed his nose and leaned back against the couch. “You and me against the world.”

“You and me…” He repeated, “What are you going to do about that article?”

“Now that you’re here, let me interview you!” I smiled excitedly at him.

“I think we can work something out.” He handed me the package he’d brought with him. “Here’s your laptop. It should be fine now.”

“Thank you!”

We worked until late into the evening. He gave me the exclusive interview that I needed. By the time we were finished, it was dinner time. I asked him to stay, and he did. I cooked, he played with the dogs, and we caught up, for real this time. We discussed it, and he decided to stay with me, at least until the full year was up. Afraid he’d be disabled or disappear tomorrow, I wanted to keep an eye on him. In the morning, we’d try to figure out what TNT was up to. I needed Jake now that he was real, and right in front of me, no matter the cost. OH BOY was there ever a cost!

Young Adult
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About the Creator

Gorejess Stone

I love Storytelling, but unfortunately not on this site. See my tumblr link in the linktree below to find more work or my amazon link for my published book.

https://linktr.ee/agorejessstone

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