Always Bring Your Orbic Companion

A young woman from a society flawlessly governed by a supercomputer travels to an entirely human-managed city for the first time.

New York City was a frenetic, out-of-sync ant colony. Stepping out of the secure Battery Park waterport filled Anyo with a fearful excitement. It was her first time visiting a place governed mainly by human actions.

I’m going to sleep in, make my own breakfast, pick out my clothes and live like a bonafide pleb�"just like my honored foreparents, she mused.

She’d planned, prepared, and romanticized this moment for months. The idea of personal autonomy from technological intervention was sort of exhilarating.

Her first independent decision: walk twenty minutes to the hotel, bike ten minutes on a rented glowcycle, or take a six-minute taxi ride.

Walking meant a more intimate view of the city, but was the longest trip. Cycling cut that commute in half, but prevented closely scrutinizing sights and sounds. Taking a cab was complete insulate from the city’s vibe, but was fastest.

Breaking the introspective silence, the W-951 personal orbis hovering attentively over Anyo’s left shoulder chimed in. "Excuse me, mux. The hotel is�""

"I know, I know,” Anyo said. “I’m figuring it out on my own."

"Perhaps, if you reason it out loud, I can assist you in reaching a conclusion."

For the next five days, Anyo’s constant robotic companion, affectionately called “Earhart”, was set to provide minimal support. Usually, each orbis unit managed all aspects of its owner’s daily life by relaying relevant information to and from Centro City processing. The data flows influenced real-time service delivery to the five million who inhabited Alcinous’s twelve continental sectors.

Each day, before Anyo awoke, Earhart selected her wardrobe and meals, mapped out her appointments and scheduled all daily mundanities based on multivarious statistical trends.

"No. We’re taking a taxi," she said with much trepidation.

As part of the vacation package she’d undergone socio-environmental conditioning to help adjust to New York’s less structured lifestyle, but Anyo wasn’t ready to put it to use just yet.

She checked into the capsule hotel, took a shower, then slowly ventured out into the sprawling, skittery streets.

***

That evening, Anyo took a stroll in the brisk February air to take cinegraphic mementos.

When she came across a particularly rowdy tavern, she placed Earhart on protection-only mode�"suppressing its verbal interactivity�" and entered.

Intentions to sit and quietly observe quickly evaporated when a particularly attractive local named Misha struck up conversation without any formal introduction.

Without Earhart’s cues and with Misha buying the drinks, Anyo went far beyond her two drink maximum.

The next morning, Instead of being roused by her companion’s holistic alarm clock, Anyo awoke in her capsule compartment with a rhythmically crushing headache and Misha’s arm slung across her back.

"Can I get your phone frequency?" he asked en route to the subway.

"I’m just here for a few more days."

"And after that?"

"I go back to New Tokyo," she said.

"And after that?" His endearing persistence solicited a coy smile.

"In a month I receive my life partner assignment."

"What the f***s that mean?"

For the first time, it seemed strange to describe that Rego, Alcinous’s omniscient central computer, used complex algorithmic systems to match its willing citizens with their ideal spouse.

"We have a near non-existent divorce rate," Anyo rationalized aloud.

"So, in thirty days you’ll be married to a stranger?"

"Yes."

"I’d heard the technosnobs on that artificial rock were odd, but I thought it was all rumor."

"It’s been a perfect society�"functional and beautiful�"in every way since 2095. Over one hundred years," she countered.

"Oh yeah? Well, maybe I’ll find out for myself before this unification thing happens," Misha jested. "What do you do over there anyways?"

"I’m an urban agriculturalist. I grow hydroponic crops in indoor spaces for fast distribution to local businesses."

"Can’t one of your robot overlords do that?" he asked with a facetious grin.

"Not the way I do it."

When they parted ways on the platform, Misha walked away from an awkward kiss with Anyo’s frequency.

***

Each morning, Anyo awoke, made coffee at the lobby meal counter and chose every article of clothing by whim. It was glorious.

She hit as many historic sites, museums and galleries with orbic compatible DLC as she could�"even taking in an off-Broadway show and attending the afternoon taping of a popular late night talk show.

By the time Anyo’s final half day of activity arrived, her cinegraph-clicking finger was almost exhausted.

So filled with confidence was she, that Earhart remained on sleep mode in her hotel locker while she visited the Chinese New Year Parade.

The decision was a mistake.

When the dragon dance started, the throng of spectators pushed inward, becoming overwhelming. Layered with the amalgam of too-bright colours, boisterous percussion, and flashing firework sparks, the spectacle evolved into a sensory overload.

Anyo recovered from the social seizure, but frantically scrambling to the outskirts of the bustle, and cradling herself until the shakes subsided.

Back at the hotel, she retrieved her belongings and immediately activated Earhart.

When she passed through the customs terminal and boarded the hyperferry, Anyo turned to her trusted assistant.

"Earhart, check my schedule. Can you fit in another trip to New York City in the next four weeks?"

"I’ll see what I can do, mux," it obediently replied.