Rays of sunlight hit your face as shutters rose up the window pane. Your body sat up in your bed as a gentle voice echoed from a digital clock on your nightstand.
“Good morning Kyle, it is currently Saturday, 9:00 A.M. How may I assist you today?”
“Run… morning protocols…” you groggily responded. A small light around your neck blinked and your body turned and got out of bed, making its way to the bathroom.
The light came from a thin black band that was wrapped around your neck. It was called an Auto-Band, cutting edge technology that had ingratiated itself as the single most important foundation of modern society. In the past, Smart Phones had previously dominated nearly all aspects of life, providing any and every kind of convenience in the palm of one’s hand. However, Auto-Bands made cell phones seem like they were more akin to rocks and sticks in comparison. Personal data, bank accounts, and nearly all forms of personal belongings resided in the digital world, and these bands kept all of that data secure around one’s neck that was hardwired to the user’s nervous system and could be easily accessed with a simple thought. Muscle memory could even be stored and executed as a macro; turning oneself into an autonomous humanoid robot of sorts, puppeteering your own body to execute any task you were physically capable of without having to put in the slightest amount of effort.
As your hands reached out and began applying toothpaste to your toothbrush and brought it to your mouth to brush your teeth, you stared blankly into the mirror. You were a man in his low 20’s, fresh out of college and still looking for a job. You had specialized in engineering in your studies, but as the rent and bills and student loans began to pile up, you were really open to any kind of career path at the moment. As you finished brushing your teeth, your Auto-Band briefly blinked once more, shifting to a different macro in your routine as you turned on the shower. The band itself was thin and flexible, conforming to the shape of your throat and impeding no movement as your head turned or you swallowed. The bands are waterproof and virtually indestructible, so if there was ever any concern of it falling off, you’d probably be more concerned whether your head was still attached to your body.
After you finished showering, you wrapped a towel around your waist and then made your way over to your closet. In reality, it was really just a small pod the size of a phone booth that you stood in, and robotic arms would dress you with clothes that were stored somewhere else. Visualizing in your mind a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans, your body was then clothed accordingly.
Stepping out of the Auto Dresser, you stood still in your one bedroom apartment. “Morning sequence complete. What would you like to do today?” The same voice from before asked, though this time it was in your thoughts, coming from the A.I. that was linked to your body.
“I think I’ll head down to the employment center, and maybe stop by the food court at the mall after,” you replied, “Let’s walk today, I could use the exercise.” Not that you would be working for it anyway, as your body began to move on its own.
It was a pretty uneventful journey as you walked for 10-15 minutes down the street while self-driving cars zoomed by. However, that all changed when you saw a hooded figure running towards your direction as great speed. Your body automatically stepped out of the way to avoid collision as they passed you by and turned a corner into an alleyway. As they passed you, you heard a little clinking sound as something hit the sidewalk. Moments later, a pair of officers made the same journey in pursuit. With your travel interrupted, your body had come to a stop and you watched the scene unfold. Once the commotion was over, you noticed something shiny out of the corner of your eye from below. It was a small circular gem that was completely flat on one side and slightly curved on the other. It looked like a ruby decoration piece that women often wore on their Auto-Bands like jewelry. You looked around curiously as you picked it up and held it in your hand. The officers were no longer in sight, nor did a simple web-search seem to indicate that there were any jewelers in your proximity either.
With a good moral compass, you didn’t even consider keeping it for yourself or finding a shop to pawn it off despite a scan from your Auto-Band registering that the gem was made of a high quality ruby, so you made a note to stop by a police station on the way home to turn it in. However, as you made a thought to store the gem in your pocket, something unexpected happened.
The gem suddenly began to vibrate softly in the palm of your hand, and then it shot towards your neck like a magnet, hitting you in the throat. You reached up to feel your neck, it was fixed firmly to your Auto-Band and wouldn’t budge, no matter how much you dug your fingernails in. “Disengage adornment,” you commanded in your head.
“Encrypted device,” the A.I. responded, “Unable to remove without risk of damaging data. Device locked until data is secure.”
“What in the hell?” you let out a deep sigh as you fruitlessly clawed at it one more time. Resigned to let the technology sort itself out, you decided to resume your day’s plan and address it again later. The rest of your trip was uneventful as you made it to the employment center and submitted your resume for potential employers. There seemed to be a soft red glow coming from the gem as you entered your data. You tried pulling the collar of your shirt up around your throat embarrassed as some receptionists were caught staring at your feminine accessory and hurried out of the building once you were finished.
Feeling a bit hungry, you followed up on your initial plan and began making your way to the mall in search of food. “Decryption complete,” the voice rang in your head as you continued to walk, “Accessing profiles…”
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