The Pet
Madeleine Crombie | Vermont Secondary English |
7/8 English | Term 1 2025
Despite being only thirty years old she was sure she was ready. She got up out of her bed and yawned, a robotic arm slid across a metal wire jutting out of the side of the wall and handed her a nice coffee. “Good morning #zjmcf7349358.” The Ai said in its monotone voice.
“I told you just use my nickname.” She complained yawning.
“Ok Fiona Jones. Your vitals suggest you are tired; would you like your energy pill or more coffee?” The ai system asked, handing her the coffee through the robotic arm, the ai’s voice was comfortingly robotic and monotone.
“I’ll take the energy pill thank you.” Fiona responded groggily, using her soft wipes to get rid of the sleep in her eyes. The robotic arm quickly came back with her pill, it was small, round, and yellow. She ate it quickly and drank her coffee to help it go down her throat. She looked at her vitals on the opaque blue screen and her eyes widened in shock, how could she not yet feel motivation, or even energised? The bars on the screen were just below the red line at varying heights. Fiona instantly took the coffee from the robot hand already with another one. She chugged it down and looked at her vitals again, she relaxed, she was finally felt the energy she needed for the day.
“Today pink furs are in fashion mixed with yellow chrome skirts with golden accents.” The ai informed her, she looked through her wardrobe and saw she indeed had pink furs from the 12,089 trend and Fiona was glad it came back, she didn’t have any yellow chrome skirts though, because they were an elite item only unlocked by higher ranked citizens. She would have to wear a mundane daisy skirt with yellow fluffy accents instead, how embarrassing it was for Fiona.
“Are there any yellow chrome skirts in the inventory?” She asked hesitantly.
“There seems to be no yellow chrome skirts in inventory, but would you prefer a yellow silk skirt instead?” The ai’s static voice suggested, she thought she heard it become slightly more concerned.
“But yellow silk skirts are sooooooo last week!” Fiona whined, her arms crossing. Her eyes skimmed through her digital inventory shown on the opaque screen, after a few hundred skirts she found one that looked all right. The skirt she chose had yellow fluffy rim around the hem and a sunshine yellow colour. “Ugh, this one was so last month but it’ll at least match my pink mink coat.” Fiona grumbled as she clicked on the digital yellow skirt. The robot armed rushed over and put the yellow skirt on her and made sure there was not a single wrinkle and that it was symmetrical. She scrolled through her inventory again and found a golden headpiece with sapphires in it. “It’s a simple outfit but it’ll do for now.” She muttered under her breathe.
She sat at her breakfast table and the transparent screen appeared in front of her, she scrolled through the different news items, the ai advertising certain goods occasionally. Fiona decided to have some olden day food in honour of history day which the ai promoted to her. The breakfast was some weird round food with grid lines poking up in the shape of squares. On it was a round scoop of white solid with a translucent brown liquid, she couldn’t believe people so long ago ate such weirdly shaped food, it didn’t even make a design. “This food is from 2019. The golden-brown circles with a jutting out grid shape originated in Greece long before the year 0 but the ancient country Belgium is where waffles like these were made and perfected, it is where the delivering port now stands. The white sphere is made simply out of sugar, cow’s milk, and vanilla extract which is then frozen. It originated from ancient Italy and has been then changed by many other ancient countries. The translucent liquid originated from old countries in the old north American continent as it was known in 2019. These ingredients created a breakfast for people in 2019.” The ai explained the history of the meal while Fiona ate it, it tasted sweet, salty and surprisingly tasty for a meal so bland sounding and looking. “We have also added extra sweeteners and our own forms of bread to make it more suited to an average Pothyrian, the original meal is reported to be bland and sickly sweet based on food critics reviews,” the ai informed her. As she hastily ate the last bit of the ancient breakfast; she wondered what those ancient people were thinking to have put a liquid with a solid and not even have the funky shape of the waffles match the ice-cream. “Ancient people were not that intelligent, were they?” Fiona asked her ai system. “No, they were not.” The ai responded.
Fiona looked in the mirror on her mahogany vanity detailed with carvings of flowers and branches, her brown hair falling on her shoulders in neat symmetrical strands. The robot hands in her vanity began putting on her pink make up in quick succession, occasionally stopping to allow Fiona to check and perfect the look. Finally, the robot had done her cosmetics she looked in the mirror, her hair had been done up in a neat bun with pink tulips in a bun flower crown. Her face was covered in pinks, magentas, and purples creating a flower design, delicate appearing petals over her eyes, below and above her eyes as well. The design looked like a pink water lily.
“Thank you that looks good enough,” Fiona said before heading out of her apartment, she made her way down the stacks of apartments that were stacked up like a tower of cardboard boxes. The apartments on the outside were mess of colours, muted, pastel, vibrant, and neon. Fiona’s apartment ‘box’ was a soft sage green. The small winding paths between the stacked apartments were narrow and busy with people, everyone was wearing the daily fashion trend. Fiona continued to walk with the sea of pink fluffy mink coats until she got to the pod waiting line. She watched as the light grey pods efficiently got into place; each pod could only contain five people which Fiona found was a bit of an inconvenience for her and the line certainly didn’t help. The pods were able to float and sway so gracefully and hastily because of magnetic material on the bottom of the pods following a set route on the magnetic lines on the floor. After a gruesomely long-time waiting Fiona finally was able to get on a pod. Inside the pod was a long, curved booth like seat with soft faded blue colouring. As the pod slowly swayed as it started moving through the maze of stacked up apartments it finally reached the city. The large stark white buildings reached for the sky, and plants seeped through the buildings like blood. Giant ghostly blue screens were projected against the buildings. Some stated the new in fashion trends for the day and possible future trends, others showed the flawless new foods, others advertised which companies and ai systems to invest in to keep a wealthy lifestyle. The pod slowed to stop. Fiona hopped out and began to walk on the streets. There was a loud shattering sound down an alleyway, she glanced down the alleyway where a messy looking person was being detained by the robotic police force. “Stupid person probably invested in Flough instead of Miven.” Fiona muttered under her breath as she continued to walk, the homeless person’s protests suddenly turning to silence. She eventually arrived at her destination, she looked at the robotic assistants and the clean sleek walls and floors, both pale and white like the sun in the sky.
“Due to today’s vote today will have a light shower of rain and warm temperatures of 20 to 24 degrees Celsius,” the robotic voice announced over the speakers outside the building.
“Oh no! I forgot to vote for the weather this morning!” She muttered to herself. “Hi, how can I help you #zjmcf7349358? Or do you prefer Fiona?” The robot said, its camera head tilting and its metallic needle-like hands grasping together, replicating human gestures.
“Oh, I prefer Fiona thanks,” she said with a warm smile; she had been spooked a little by the assistant.
“Ok Fiona, come right this way.” The robot led her through the different hallways that stretched and curved creating neat well-formed layout. Every metre displayed a vertical transparent screen each presented a foreign looking creature, all had the same features but slightly different, one might have had slightly larger frill while another might have had a smaller round like snout. These were the Trovax.
They were the creatures harvesting all the materials for this planet and they were only 7.5 billion kilometres away from them. She looked at the different screens of the varying Trovax, they had navy blue colouring with frills and short buzz cuts, their hair was black as night. The Trovax on the hazy screens highlighting their qualities were small and stocky, perfect for mining minerals and gathering other fabric like materials. Each screen displayed how long until they arrived. Her heart swelled, Fiona felt so generous and kind being able to choose one as a pet, it would be the kindest thing to do letting them be pets instead of working in such dusty grubby caves and forests. The mere thought of such unsanitary and grimy places made her stomach churn. She suddenly stopped, Fiona caught sight of a Trovax, it had a lighter appearance, it had more of a dark ocean blue colour with smaller frills and cute beady eyes. Fiona thought it was super cute, she looked at when it would arrive, only a month! “I would like this one.” She told the assistant robot. It’s whirring wheels suddenly stopped, the assistant’s robotic torso slowly turning fully around.
“Ok Fiona, it will be $15,100, an extra $100 fee because it would be arriving so soon.” Fiona was shocked at the price.
“You are sure this magnificent Trovax only costs $15,100? Even with the fee? That’s so cheap compared to the other ones, why is that?” She asked still astounded by the cheaper price.
“Well, it’s because of its colouring defect. No one wants a mutative gene in one,” the robot explained, despite it not having a face she could see its fake smile. Fiona remained silent. She looked back at the Trovax, it’s beady black eyes on its profile staring back at her.
“I’ll still take it then.” Fiona stated confidently, looking back at the robot’s camera.
“Well then I’ll make sure it’s delivered to your house Fiona.” The robot responded, rolling away on its thick wheels. Fiona felt giddy with excitement; she had to tell her friend. After deciding to take the scenic route to the tea café she messaged her friend through the system. Hannah, her friend, arrived in a few moments wearing the pink furry mink coat and yellow chrome skirt, she also had pink pearl earrings and lots of daisy themed makeup on. In her hand was a scale patterned purse with a green chromatic colour that shone brightly in the light. Her heels were a golden colour and made a distinct clacking sound. Her friend’s face was pale with freckles dappled on her nose.
“Would you like something to drink?” The grey robot asked, it had a rounded boxlike shape with a large hole in the middle holding other people’s warm drinks.
“I would like a latte please.” Hannah muttered, suddenly getting interested in the café’s sign.
“I’ll have what she is having,” Fiona chimed in, “oh and no sugar,” she added before looking back at her friend. The dull grey robot rolled away following the multiple metal lines towards a new table like a moth to a flame. Fiona turned back to Hannah, feeling like her stomach had butterflies from the eagerness to tell her friend the recent news.
“Spill the tea, Fiona.” Hannah said dramatically as slammed her hands on the table. “Hannah guess who just got a Trovax?” Fiona said excitedly, her face beaming like the sun.
“Ooh, let me guess, is it you?” She said gesturing at her with finger guns.
“Yes!” Fiona squealed. Hannah’s face lit up.
“How expensive was it? When will it arrive? How cute is it from a scale of 1 to 20?” Hannah asked rapidly, her face looking like a child who just got a large lollipop.
“Only $15,100, arrive in one month, and 1,000 out of 20 cute! It had eyes just like your favourite black obsidian earrings!”
“How did you get a Trovax so cheap?! How did you also get one arriving so soon and how the hell did you get one so CUTE!” Her friend responded with just as much excitement as Fiona had. “Hey, remember that one I got nine years ago? It’s arriving in a week!” Her friend said before squealing in anticipation.
“What if they become besties?” Fiona suggested, her friend put her hands over her mouth in excitement. Hannah gasped before her face turned grim “Are you sure you’re ready for a Trovax?” She asked, concern masking her face.
“Yes, I am sure.” Fiona stated proudly, but her tone was not well at hiding her sudden self-doubt. She wasn’t exactly shocked at her friends doubt but slightly confused at Hanah’s doubt; did Hannah really doubt her abilities to take care of a Trovax? Well, it made sense, most only get one when they are 50 years old, not 30, like herself.
“It’s fine I’m sure you’ll be a good owner.” Hannah comforted Fiona, her face smiling but something was off about her friend. Her smile was too wide, eyes too open. Fiona was sure it was just the excitement getting to her head.
“Here is your coffee,” the catering robot said, breaking the awkward silence. It handed the cups filled with warm coffee to Fiona and her friend. The steam floating and swirling upwards. Hannah drank the coffee rather quickly while Fiona took slow sips from her spoon. After some more unbearable silence Fiona finally decided to break it.
“So, see you next week?” Fiona mumbled, stirring her spoon slowly in her now cold coffee. Her smile was strained and fake.
“Yeah, sure. Coffee or just café?” Hannah asked picking up her purse.
“Café, we can go to the one by the garden lake,” Fiona answered simply. Did Hannah, her friend truly doubt her abilities to take care of a Trovax? Maybe she wasn’t as ready as she thought.
“Well, have a good week.” Hannah said nodding before quickly walking away before Fiona could respond. The sound of heels clicking and clacking eventually fading.
Fiona returned to the pod area hastily. She sunk into the pod’s seats. After a while of thought she decided she was ready for a Trovax, of course she was.
— One Week Later —
Fiona checked Hannah’s profile on the internet-verse. The blue screen casted an eerie glow on Fiona’s face as she looked at Hannah’s pictures online about her new Trovax and was taking lots of pictures in the park, dressing up her Trovax in pampered outfits that clashed with the creature’s colours, and a few funny videos of the Trovax climbing around her apartment. Hannah since the café meet up had been ghosting her at other places and had blocked her online. Fiona had to make many alternate accounts just to see what Hannah was up to. Fiona turned off the screen and curled up in a ball on her bed and cried. Since the first time Hannah had ghosted her Fiona only felt lonelier and isolated. She had only ever left her small apartment to see if Hannah would show up at any of their favourite cafés each time, she returned home more disappointed than the last. She slowly walked back to her room and sat on her bed.
“Due to your antisocial behaviours, you will be given a prescription of 8 hours of virtual device socialisation,” the A.I stated, its robot hand had come to her room quickly and made a quiet screeching noise as it slid to a stop on the wall’s rails. The robot had two small white circles both identical. Fiona groaned and flopped back down on her bed. After she thought about the prescription for a bit she finally sat back up.
“Fine, I’ll do it,” She groaned as she snatched the two thin circles from the robot’s blocky hand. She lay back down on her bed, closed her eyes and then placed the circles on the sides of her head. Instantly bright colours flashed past her in whirring fuzzy lines and then she was in a bright park. The digital park had trees with colours foreign to the ones she saw by cafés, their colours varied from neon blue to pastel pink. The trunks however stayed the same.
After returning from the digital world, she couldn’t remember a thing all she knew was that when she entered the digital world it was morning and now it was night. Fiona rubbed her temples trying to remember anything but at best she could remember a flurry of different colours.
“How was your virtual socialisation?” The A.I asked her as a tray of food was brought to her by the robot arm. The food was in an organised display that looked like a mountain with little shrubs and trees dappling its surface, a few small bird silhouettes on the top of the miniature mountain. She took the spoon and began to eat it. It had a soft texture that melted on her tongue, the greenery had a musky and salty flavour while the mountain had a sweet cocoa taste with a bit of citrus.
“Good,” she mumbled as she ate her food. Fiona did feel good afterwards, but she could not remember anything. Suddenly she felt tired, her eyes drooped. Whatever she did in the virtual world must have exhausted her a lot.
“While you were gone the Miven interest rates have-”
“Shush, I’m going to sleep now,” she interrupted laying back down on her bed. The A.I system shut down and the robot hand had taken away her empty food tray and pulled the covers over her.
–Three Weeks Later —
Fiona felt giddy with excitement, her Trovax was arriving today! She could barely contain herself. The virtual visits had been making her happier, but she couldn’t remember anything afterwards. Her A.I system always bothered her afterwards and she always ignored it or interrupted. The system should know not to disturb her if it isn’t important. if it isn’t important. A box had arrived at her door, the robotic hand had brought it inside and put it down on the floor in her bedroom. She carefully opened the box, as she did it created a small hissing sound, and she gasped at what she saw inside.
