[SHORT STORY] ALEX AND LXN

There was a brief pause after I explained to my father the complexity of dating in 2250. He stood in our kitchen, stroked his chin, as I talked about my metaverse girlfriend, Lnx

"So..." he said in an uncomfortable tone, "let me get this straight okay, so you've been dating this girl Lxn for the past two years on the metaverse and you have been making out with her virtually?"

I nodded.

"H-how does that work?"

I spent another five minutes explaining to him the intricacies of this very old piece of technology called the Metaverse that he should understand by now but my dad is indifferent about everything. He doesn't keep up with trends, he has never been on the metaverse. He consider it a child's plaything. For someone who grew up around a developer, I still do find it strange.

"During my time we went outside for dates," grandpa Max interrupted as he always does. He sat at the dining table opposite us, sipping his brown moRatian coffee, which no one drinks these days because they are rare and expensive.

"Well in my time we had phone sex," said my dad,

" And now your son is having virtual sex with an AI"

"She is not an AI pa Max,” I interrupted, "She is an actual girl–

"--With bionic arms and tits"

"Well, they come differently these days." my dad added. At this point I did not know whose side he was on.

" I am guessing you lot are going to give birth to a microchip," said Pa Max as he laughed, slapping those wrinkled brown fingers on his left thigh. I wish his arthritis gets the best of him. He thinks he is funny even when no one laughs at his jokes.

My dad had had enough of the conversation. “I will be back shortly,” he said as walked away from the kitchen with his fingers in his ears. Grandpa Max always had a way of making him feel embarrassed--he embarrassed everyone.

“Where are you doing?” asked Pa Max, his face trailed my dad as he made his way out of the dining area.

"I am going out." my dad answered.

"That's expensive."

"I know "

Pa Max scoffed and turned to pick up his cup of coffee, "in my time it was called a job and people had one."

"No one needs a job. It's 2250. Humanoids do everything."

"Including your thinking, that's why you lot are all dumb and lazy"

"I have an IQ of over 250."

Grandpa Max laughed. The audacity! A 250 IQ was too low for a man who could barely remember his name.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” he said. Still laughing.

“No, humour me.” I insisted. I wanted to know what was tickling his fancy.

“Well,” he said, “it seems the smarter your generation gets, the dumber they act.”

“But that doesn’t make sense,”

“Well, I agreed,” he winked.

I dashed out of the dining area. Pa Max can be very annoying most times. Living with an old man from the early 2000s is so tedious. The generational gap is so long, and I find it hard to relate with him most times and he doesn’t make it easy. I just needed advice on my first date with Lnx and I never got to that part thanks to my confused father and his known-it-all father.

Lnx is the first humanoid I am dating–the first girl I have ever dated. We met in a virtual bar on Hive Town and we clicked ever since. I often get the stick for dating an AI. Being a technosexual is a struggle in this age and you would think things would be better considering how our founding fathers fought prejudice against the LGBTQ community.

Lnx is the sweetest person I know. I wish people saw her the way I did. I am so excited to meet her in person. They say it is different from the metaverse–everything. I want to have that feeling but I'm nervous and it makes my stomach turn. I have not met anyone in person for over a decade now asides from my father and grandfather.

Since the outside tax had increased only the moRats–the elites could roam the streets freely because they had power, influence, and tokens. There is almost no way to change the status quo because people cannot work anymore. You only get what you are allotted by Omega–The AI of AIs and the worst part is that you cannot even share your possessions with your family or friends.

Grandpa Max is an moRatian. He was one of the people who built the Omega and he enjoys the luxury of being a founding father, even though he doesn’t agree with their philosophy of prioritising code over human emotions and denouncing their cult. None of that matters, because he cannot change anything. Nothing can change. The code is the law and it remained the same.

I and Lnx can only afford this date because she is a moRatian and I have been saving some of my FREEDOM tokens for the past 8 months, just so we could meet. I hope it is worth it. Honestly, I do not know what to expect but I am eager for a good time outside…

_{To be continued--if I remember.}