Zoe

---

[typing]

[typing continues]

[female computer voice] Describe the last

person you were in a relationship with.

[woman] He was a loner.

He...

Not an obvious choice.

He needed to let himself be loved.

We tried. It failed.

[computer] If your dog was ill and had

to have its front legs removed to survive,

would you have the surgery

or have the dog put down?

I would have the surgery.

What are the things that would

attract you to a potential partner?

The things he loves.

The things he wants to be.

Whether he likes pancakes or French toast.

Would you help someone you love

end their life if that was their choice?

Um

[man] Are you all right, Zoe?

Yeah.

Its just

It feels funny to be doing this

after working next to you for so long,

thats all.

- Would you be more comfortable if I left?

- No. Its okay.

I guess, I dont know.

My answer is, Im not sure.

What do you want your partner

to see in you?

[woman on TV] After we did the Machine,

our relationship completely changed.

The way that we saw each other,

and hows its gonna go into the future.

- [man] We scored an 81 on the Machine.

- [woman 2] Yeah.

And just to have that definite answer

of, no, its gonna work, its gonna

[announcer on TV] At the Relationist Lab,

head designer Cole Ainsley

has been doing groundbreaking work

in the world of AI technology

for almost 15 years.

One of the most important things

in our experience as humans is connection.

We are always looking for connection.

[announcer] When the board of directors

identified synthetic companions

as the next big growth area,

they hired Ainsley

to run the new offshoot of the company.

I have nothing to do with

the pharmaceutical side of the business.

Im purely focused on the synthetic lab.

So this then, for example,

is like research for you?

I mean,

this is great if you want a hedge cut.

But Im much more interested,

not so much in cleaning off the bench,

but who am I gonna be

sitting on that bench with.

And my drive is to create synthetic people

who will become companions for us.

Ultimately, you know, the idea

that youre safe, that its gonna last,

that theyre not... theyre not going to...

Theyre not going to leave you is

important, would be important to me, so

[announcer] Improving lives through

better relationships is the labs mission.

Hes ready for more.

Yeah, he is.

Were the fastest-growing start-up

in the human relationship market.

Weve got three divisions:

the Machine, Pharmaceuticals,

and our newest venture,

Synthetic Companions.

I supervise the entire lab

and run the Machine division.

At the Machine,

we evaluate singles, or couples.

For singles we comb our database

to find your best match.

The Machine comes up with a number:

40 percent, 60 percent.

The probability of two people staying

together in a happy, lasting relationship.

Perfect for couples like you wondering

if they should take the next step.

But you know, the numbers dont lie.

Weve got a documented

accuracy rate in the upper 90s.

But we like to say that the future

isnt inside our computers.

- Its inside you.

- [man on TV chatters]

[rock ballad intro]

[whirring]

[woman]

You leapt from crumbling buildings

Watching cityscapes turn to dust

Filming helicopters

Crashing in the ocean

From way above

Got the music in you, baby

Tell me why

Got the music in you, baby

Tell me why

Youve been locked in here forever

And you just cant say good-bye

[up-tempo rock] Hey

Your

Love

Haunts

Wait

Your

Just answer honestly.

Thats all you have to do.

[man on TV] We scored an 81

- Good night.

- Good night.

And just to have that definite answer of,

no, its gonna work,

its gonna be something thats for real.

[knocking]

Hi.

Oh, hey.

Do you want some caffeine?

- Oh, yeah. Perfect timing. Thanks.

- [pop top opens]

Youve made a lot of progress.

His bio-systems for processing food

are up already.

Im sure hes gonna be ready

for the tech summit. Im sure of it.

- Can I talk to him?

- Hes not quite there yet, no.

Do you think he will look

at the world like you do?

Since you designed him?

Sorry.

I guess its a personal thing. Im sorry.

No. Uh... No, thats okay.

Have a seat. I wanna show you something.

[typing]

Ive given him something

called emotional packets.

Theyre real memories

about emotional events.

Watch his synthetic facial muscles

and his body posture, how he talks.

[typing continues]

With emotions, we start with the physical

and we build inwards, see?

Give it a second.

Will it be different going forward?

Will...

Will she cheat again?

Is there any way I can make it higher?

There must be a way

I can I make the number

There has to be a reason

for me to have hope.

Will I hate her?

Do I hate her?

Will I ever get beyond this?

[typing]

Who is he talking to?

It was a conversation

that I had with the Machine.

Emma and I, we scored very low.

And we never really recovered from that.

The memory helps to create

his emotional infrastructure.

And eventually, we erase the memory,

but the infrastructure remains.

So, in a very real way, were...

Were teaching him how to feel.

Im sorry. I didnt realize.

Oh, its all right. Its just numbers.

Patterns of activation.

It looks a lot like real emotions.

Hes amazing, really.

No one will feel alone anymore

or feel that kind of pain.

- [phone vibrating]

- So

Oh.

Its Emma. Ive gotta go.

Cole?

- Yeah.

- Oh.

I-Ill see you tomorrow, okay?

- Okay.

- Okay.

Okay.

Yeah, see? Look.

Theyve totally come together now. Look.

Im sleeping in a tent at night.

Oh, cool.

Remember when we went camping before?

- Yeah.

- We didnt have balloons though, but

- Yeah. [chuckles]

- Maybe next time we should take balloons.

- You got any black?

- Yeah. Theres a black.

- That good? Or is it too thick?

- Its good.

You did this one before?

Its really good.

Its really good.

Did you just do that one?

Yeah.

Art Week canceled. So did Raw Vision.

So, you know

Where did you find this?

Oh. That was in the basement.

I was gonna maybe, I dont know,

use her for something.

- Installation or something. Is that okay?

- Yeah, of course, yeah.

I designed her when we got divorced.

For people who dont want

to sleep on their own.

- Thats one good thing, right?

- That came out of the divorce?

- Yeah.

- Shes still got body warmth. Amazing.

Such limited functionality though.

Just a few breathing patterns, thats all.

- So naive on my part.

- Mmm.

I think it stopped some people

being lonely at night.

- A little spooky.

- Sleeping alone is spookier.

No, actually sleeping with her

is probably quite spooky.

Hey, thank you for coming tonight.

- Its really nice of you.

- Yeah, I wouldnt have missed it.

I liked it. I thought it was good.

Really, really good.

- Thank you.

- Yeah. I thought it was a good show.

Thank you.

Look, I could, uh

I could leave or I could stay.

Uh, I started seeing someone.

I mean, Im trying, you know, to

Im just trying to

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