The bitch appeared in the alley again, sniffing around the trash can, looking for some leftovers, but she would not find it. Martha was going to be late for work, and it was too late to feed her as usual, but Martha couldn’t bear to watch the little animal suffer. The dingo shrank into a ball behind the trash can with the barcode printed on it, and Martha took out a plate of microwaved rice and a bowl of water and placed it in front of her. She told herself that she must remember to buy some dog food on the way home from get off work.
“Eat, girl.” Martha wiped the sweat from her forehead. At 36°C, the weather is getting hotter and hotter. “This is for you.”
The scrawny little wild dog hesitated. God knows what kind of trouble she has gone through.
Martha felt something passing by behind him—the mouse—Martha and the mouse were startled at each other. When Martha turned around, the wild dog was gone.
“You better come and eat.” Martha said toward the empty alley. “Let the rats eat it when it’s late.”
Martha is 41 years old and unmarried. A few years earlier, Martha told herself that she was not married because she had not met the right person. In the blink of an eye, entering middle age, Martha said to herself that she was not married because she cherished independence. However, since Martha’s father fell ill, in order for Martha to take care of him, he moved to live with Martha. As a result, the reason for “cherishing independence” has become less and less convincing. Maybe Martha is destined to be lonely in this life, mortals fight against destiny, and destiny is always the winner.
Martha was afraid of being late, but fortunately she finally arrived at Mr. Fletcher’s three-story apartment at 8:45 in the morning, which was the same time as her smart watch estimated. Martha said her name and employee number to the door of the apartment. The door opened and Martha walked in. The door closed quickly, making her ears hurt with a bang. At this time, the outdoor temperature had risen to 42°C, and the heat was unbearable, and Masha’s neat work uniform was soaked with sweat. However, the indoor temperature in Mr. Fletcher’s climate-controllable apartment is only 20°C, which is cool and pleasant.
Martha’s smart watch showed that Mr. Fletcher’s sofa was on the third floor, so Martha continued walking in, passing through twelve empty rooms, and met a small group of cleaning robots respectfully lining up on both sides like soldiers. Give way. According to the company’s records, Mr. Fletcher moved into this apartment six months ago, but you can’t tell from the surface that he has lived for so long. There are still no furniture in many rooms, and half-open boxes are scattered around It’s like bricks on ancient ruins.
The air was smelling of paint and new carpet. Martha followed the map on the smartwatch and went up the stairs. A sour smell came, a bit like vinegar, and a bit like urine. Martha couldn’t stand it anymore. . This smell is a cousin with the smell of sweat, but it smells worse than the smell of sweat. Martha continued to move forward, and the taste became stronger and stronger. Martha knew that she didn’t need to look at the map and just followed the taste.
Like other rooms, half-opened packaging boxes were scattered on the floor of this room. But one of the boxes was torn apart, like a present that was opened early on Christmas morning. Fragments of the box were thrown all over the room, as if a hungry beast had swallowed the gift in the box. Martha has seen this kind of scene hundreds of times. The users unpacked the sofa box and assembled them excitedly. The dust has not yet settled. They have already logged in to the “net student”.
Mr. Fletcher was lying on the sofa, his eyeballs rolling under his eyelids, and his sunken cheeks had a beard he hadn’t shaved for several weeks. The interface connector of the sofa was close to Mr. Fletcher’s temple, making a soft buzzing sound; petabytes of information poured in, and strobe lights illuminate Mr. Fletcher’s brain. Mr. Fletcher’s personal profile shows that he is only twenty-two, has become a AAA customer, and is one of the most profitable people. Unexpectedly, his appearance was so thin and pale. However, in the “net student”, appearance is not important, and this is also a big selling point.
Mr. Fletcher’s machine servant-a humanoid object made of metal and plastic-stood motionless beside Mr. Fletcher, the red warning light on the console flashing. Martha called up the work instructions on the smart watch to view the work details.
Two days ago, Wangsheng lost contact with Mr. Fletcher’s machine servant. The company’s artificial intelligence read Mr. Fletcher’s files and tried to repair it automatically without success. Finally, Masha was selected as the diagnosis of the problem. The best technicians go to the site to check. That’s why Martha is here.
Martha inserted the smart watch into the machine servant’s console and called up its work log. The log confirmed Martha’s guess that the network board was not working. This was the fifth incident of this kind this month.
“Fuck cheap shit!” Martha said.
The company has been purchasing hardware from a fifth-tier supplier in Kazakhstan, and the products of that supplier are as often in the same condition as the farmers’ crops this year. Martha asked her boss Olembe why Wangsheng did not change to a better supplier. The boss told her that the company’s artificial intelligence had calculated this account. Even with the losses caused by these unexpected situations, the cost of purchasing from that Kazakh supplier was still lower than purchasing from other places. The honor of the company is worth the money, Martha thought.
The repair work is very simple, and monkeys can do it. Martha changed a new network card and inserted it, and started the diagnostic program. After the diagnosis, Martha sat for a few more minutes to watch the robot servant complete the nursing work: intravenously inject life-sustaining fluid and nutrients, clean up excrement, cleanse skin and hair, and dozens of other health care. This last item-monitoring the machine servant to care for Mr. Fletcher-is not her job, but Martha will always leave with confidence after confirming the safety of the client. Nowadays, many people are expecting to be on the “net student” line for several days or even a few stars.
What is Mr. Fletcher doing in the “net student”? Out of curiosity, Martha lights up the screen on the couch. In the “net student”, if the brain receives data at 4.216 MHz frequency is like riding a roller coaster, then watching the “net student” on a flat screen is like watching a roller coaster video. In order to complete the vocational training, Martha has experienced “Internet students” many times, enough to make her understand that “Internet students” are not suitable for her. It’s not because the experience of “online students” is too scary or makes her feel uncomfortable, but because “online students” are much better than real life. After experiencing “net students”, returning to reality is like returning to black and white from the color world. world.
Mr. Fletcher-called “$ Big Brother” in “Net Student”-is standing on the highest stage in a giant Egyptian pyramid-style nightclub. Strange creatures swim around him in the air, leaving sparks and rainbow trails, creating a psychedelic atmosphere. The real image of Mr. Fletcher is compared with the avatar “$big guy”, just like coal and diamonds. In “Online Student”, Mr. Fletcher is a beautiful man with perfect body proportions like Adonis, and every muscle drenched in sweat is shining… Accompanied by music that Martha can’t hear, “$big Guy” danced with his hands. Below the stage, there are about four million creatures-the avatars of other “net students” users-swaying under flashing lights. The shapes of these millions of creatures are strange and weird, and no such hybrid animal can be found on the tree of life that has evolved over billions of years. They pushed, pushed and swayed under the leadership of the “$big guy”. This is a grand carnival/prom/party/festival party attended by 4 million customers around the world, and it is not yet nine o’clock in the morning. Martha is curious, who are these people? Who is so free, does not go to work and has money to play this all day? Who can dance, indulge, and waste their lives in a situation where the world is gradually going to extinction?
A row of colorful spotlights swept around in the arena, and finally shone on the “$big guy”. The action of “$big guy” stopped and put on a warrior appearance. A row of words appeared on his chest, and words of pure gold appeared on his skin.
“Stop Gucci!” it said.
Then, the “$ boss” threw thousands of gold coins on the dance floor like an Olympic athlete throwing a discus. The dancing animals are like a group of hungry penguins swarming to grab gold coins, not everyone can grab them.
Martha inquired about the purpose of these gold coins on the screen.
Buy the Gucci “NetStudent” wearable device for an immediate savings of $25. When paying, enter the password XG74BH to use the coupon.
The schedule of advertisements in “NetStudent” is accurate to the second. At 9:02:14 in the morning, “$Boss” promoted the new “Cyberman” native game “The Cult of Killing: Blood of Vengeance”. The promotion idea is to use laser rifles to “murder” thousands of live parties. By. At 9:06:37, “$Boss” fought and won the giant squid, which was a promotion for the original film “Deep In Hell” of “Wang Sheng”.
At 9:09:15 in the morning, “$Boss” distributed an intracranial bliss experience to all voluntary participants. This is an advertisement for the latest remote application Softtouch. In the advertising period after 9:12, the program list reads: “Processing.” Martha knows that this means that the company’s artificial intelligence is calculating complex multi-layer equations, including the number of customers, customer preferences, customer purchase history, and How much are today’s advertisers willing to spend on advertising with the highest return on investment? Martha remembers reading in the relevant materials that the analysis methods of artificial intelligence are too difficult to understand, and even the company’s technical staff admit that they don’t know the principle.
Martha checked Mr. Fletcher’s life monitor on the screen, and the results showed that: levels of dopamine and endorphine were extremely high; cortisol hormones were too high and were at dangerous levels; blood pressure, body temperature, and heart rate were too low; there were five in the blood. This marker indicates that he is severely malnourished.
In fact, Martha knows this even without looking at the screen. This young man had the same haggard face as all the “wangsheng” users she had met. The bones of the hips and shoulders are prominent, the face is sunken, and the legs are edema. The machine servants of “net students” do their duty, but what they can do for the human body is really limited and cannot prevent everything from falling into disorder. Besides, Mr. Fletcher’s machine servant has been offline for two days.
Outside the window, a garbage truck rumbling past, dozens of robots followed it along the street, dumping the garbage in the garbage can into the garbage truck, the movement so fast that Masha was overwhelmed. The whole picture looks like a spider is breaking the web.
Martha opened the code base of Mr. Fletcher’s machine servant and clicked into the subfolder. The modification time of the document has not changed, the same as when Masha last viewed it, which means that the company’s artificial intelligence has not found and patched the vulnerability. This software error looked at Martha head-on. This is a very dangerous loophole that may cause the machine servant to seriously misjudge the health of the client. Once the code is slightly changed, this vulnerability can be fatal. A week ago, Martha diagnosed an error in the life monitor reading, and she had already discovered the loophole at the time.
The last time Martha heard of data is that 75% of the world’s people log in to “online students” at least once a week. Billions of people rely on this software to ensure their safety. Martha can report the loophole to her boss, and she will receive an additional $162.14 loophole discovery bonus next time she pays her salary. Her boss Olembe would smile at her and pat her on the back. In the second week, Masha continued to repair the wrong network board of the robot servant in another huge and empty house. The components were still imported from Kazakh; in this way, the respected and doted “child” “We can continue to sell useless junk goods to millions of “friends”, and Wangsheng can continue to make money every day.
Martha stared at the document for a minute, then turned it off, deleted the browsing history, and then continued to replace the wrong network board.
Today’s advertising bombardment is smart diapers. From the street, the subway, the bus to the home, Martha saw these advertisements all the way, bulletin boards, wall screens, tablet computers, and even Martha’s smart watches were all these advertisements, so dense that she could not breathe. .
“Good night, Martha! Did you know? Our diapers can remind caregivers to replace them in time. With our newly developed “humidity adaptation” technology, our diapers can last twice as long as the market’s leading brands.”
“$Pink Fox”-an excellent composite image of advertising, in most of today’s advertising, as a diaper model. At a lonely moment a few months ago, Martha searched for “$pink fox” without opening the privacy protection mode in her browser. Now wherever Martha goes, this 19-year-old is a man or a woman. The fairy is always by his side. There are always advertisements appearing in front of Martha, and Martha cannot believe or admit that she has seen so many advertisements.
Back at the apartment, Martha was sweating and exhausted. “Fuck!” Martha caught a glimpse of the empty microwave rice box on the table. She forgot to buy dog food.
“Who the fuck is it outside?” A voice came from the bedroom, “I have a gun!”
“It’s me, dad.” Martha said weakly, “Martha.”
“Who?”
“Martha!”
Of course Martha’s father didn’t have a gun, and he couldn’t even get out of bed most of the time. But this does not prevent him from threatening every time he hears Martha come home.
“Why is it so hot in the room?” Martha asked. The thermometer showed that the temperature in the room was 31℃. “Dad, how did you turn off the air conditioner? You can’t turn off the air conditioner! It’s dangerous.”
Martha set the air conditioner temperature to 23°C, which was the lowest temperature the software allowed her to set. She secretly remembered in her heart that she wanted to cancel the permission of her father’s voice-controlled thermostat. A few weeks ago, Martha complained to the apartment manager about the low temperature limit of the air conditioner. The apartment manager explained that this is not something he can control, but that the manufacturer has made a unified automatic upgrade in order to comply with national regulations. Martha protested that when she visited customers, she often found that their thermostat could be set to a lower temperature. The apartment manager shrugged and said that he could not be the master either.
Martha walked through the hall to her father’s bedroom. The more she walked in, the stronger the smell and the louder the TV.
As soon as Martha stepped into the bedroom threshold, she heard her father growl: “Diane, where the hell have you been? I’m so hungry, hell!”
“Mom is dead, Dad.” Martha said calmly, “I am your daughter Martha.” Martha frowned and pinched her nose, “God, dad, are you pulling on you again? This room smells. It’s like a gutter.”
Martha’s father was lying on the bed with the upper and lower sheets half-covered, sweaty, without a shirt, and his sunken face was reflected in the twinkling white light from the TV.
“This winter from the end of 2037 to the beginning of 2038, the number of pollinating bee colonies has dropped by 6%,” said a pixel-perfect beauty on TV. “According to the latest research, this data has dropped by 91% from 2020 to now. Farmers who grow corn, wheat, rice, soybeans, and sorghum have asked the Schiff government for more assistance. Because of insufficient pollination, crops in the current season are likely to fail again.”
“Liar!” Martha’s father screamed, “It’s all fucking fake! Damn it!”
The TV screen switched to President Schiff, who was drinking a cocktail in the steaming bathtub while three barely dressed women pressed his shoulders. “These farmers are to blame. Who told them not to pollinate by drones.” President Schiff said, “I tell you that indoor planting is the future. It’s silly to rely on bugs to do dirty work!”
“TV, turn off!” Martha said, and the TV did. The room fell silent, like a friend she had never really liked was suddenly absent.
“Hey!” Father said, “I’m watching TV!”
“You are shouting at TV.” Martha said.
“TV, turn on!” Father said, the indicator light turned on, and the voice crashed back into the room.
Martha walked around behind the dressing table angrily and unplugged the power cord.
“You bitch!” Father said sharply, “Why are you turning off the power?”
“Dad,” Martha said, “you smell so bad.”
Martha approached her father, tears and anger flashing in his father’s eyes. Martha lifted the upper sheet, took a glance, frowned and turned around. She didn’t expect it to be so bad.
“Oh my God,” Martha said, “Can’t you go to the toilet like a person?”
My father sobbed suddenly, and his voice became soft, “I can’t control myself.”
Martha closed her eyes, and “$Pink Fox” swayed under her eyelids in a diaper.
Martha sometimes thinks, does the advertisement know herself better than her?
Masha bathed and fed his father, put on clean sheets, tried to remove the residual odor in the air, and then collapsed on the chair next to his father’s bed. My father snored lightly, and an old science fiction film was playing on TV. It was about a guy who was thrown on Mars, relying on his ingenuity to survive.
“We will never go to Mars again.” Father said.
“Huh?” Martha sat up, groaning in her stomach.
“When I was a kid, everyone around me was saying,’We are going to Mars. We are going to build a city on Mars. All this was proposed by the guy named Master.”
“Are you talking about Elon Musk?” Martha said.
“Yes, that’s him! He is crazy about Mars.”
“They will land on Mars in 2029.” Martha said.
“But I didn’t stay on Mars.” Father said, “We should have built a new world on Mars. Did something happen?”
Martha did not answer. She knew that it was because of the appearance of “net students”. And she is working for a “net student”, a company that sucks lives like a blood-sucking mosquito. She hates “net students”. But after looking for a job for several months, she only found a job at Wangsheng Company.
Without this job, Martha can’t even afford the apartment and her father. Although Martha hated her father sometimes, she still couldn’t bear to throw his father to the intelligent system.
“Good night, Dad.” Martha stood up and said.
“Who the fuck are you?” Father said, “Where did Diane go?”
On the TV screen, the protagonist jumped up with joy, and one of his inventions succeeded.
At dawn, Martha woke up on the sofa in the living room, still wearing work clothes. The stomach was rumbling with hunger. Masha didn’t eat anything last night. She walked to the kitchen and suddenly caught a glimpse of the box containing the microwaved rice. She thought of the dog. “Fuck,” Martha said.
Ten minutes later, Martha was already in the alley. The bowl left here yesterday was empty, so Martha put a few more bowls next to the empty bowl. The skinny wild dog was hiding behind the trash can, secretly looking out with longing eyes, as if she had been here all night waiting for Martha’s arrival.
“You better eat something and drink some water.” Martha said, “It’s a hot day again.”
The wild dog took a tentative step towards the bowl, and Martha stepped back to make room for her. The dog showed a sad expression, and Martha thought to herself, the weather is so hot, I wonder if she can survive today. The dog gobbled up the rice, looked at Martha with eager eyes, and waited for Martha to give her more food.
Martha’s heart tightened. Her life needed to be changed too much. It might take a bit of effort to persuade her father, but Martha made a decision immediately.
“I still have food at home.” Martha said, “I can take you out of this dyingly hot place. Would you like to go with me?”
The dog wagged its tail to indicate that she was willing to consider the proposal.
“Come on.” Martha nodded to the dog, motioning her to go to the alley door. “Here.” Masha stood at the door, opened the heavy iron door, and waited for the dog to come over.
The dog approached her nervously and stopped by the door. Martha stretched out a hand to the dog, palm facing up. The dog sniffed Martha’s fingers and licked Martha’s palm lightly like it was tickling. Martha smiled, stretched out her hand and patted the dog to show her friendliness, when suddenly Martha’s smart watch rang.
“If you don’t leave again, you will miss the appointment with the city health service center.” The voice reminder of the watch stunned the dog back into the alley.
“It’s my watch!” Martha said loudly, turning down the volume of the watch, “Don’t be afraid!”
The dog hides behind the trash can and looks out timidly, not daring to come out.
Martha’s watch vibrated again and issued a silent warning.
“It’s all for my dad.” Martha said, “I want to stay here with you, but…” Martha’s throat tightened and she was speechless, “I have to do something for my dad. If I If you miss this appointment, you will have to wait another six months.” The dog looked at her as if trying to understand what she was saying. “I’m sorry,” Martha said, “but I really have to go. You just stay in the shade and don’t come out, okay? I’ll bring you some real dog food later today. I promise.”
Martha walked slowly towards the entrance of the alley. She looked back and found that the dog was also looking at her.
A mouse slipped into the alley, saw the dog, and ran away quickly.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Reston.” Through the thick plexiglass windows, the clerk of the city health service center said to Martha, “but I can’t do anything.”
The screen above the clerk who received Martha showed: “Serving: D-403.” There are more than a dozen clerks talking to other people on the left and right sides. Behind Martha is a winding queue, and hundreds of people are standing around the cordon. In the passageway, I waited impatiently. Everyone looked as tired as Martha.
“I said,” the clerk who received Martha did not have the slightest sympathy. “Your father is not qualified to apply for round-the-clock care or home visits by nurses.”
“But he has Alzheimer!” Martha said angrily, she couldn’t calm down, “I work full-time. I took a day off to come here today. My salary today is gone.”
“You can call the hotline of the city health service center, and…”
“I’ve played!” Martha said, “They made me come here!”
“And I have already told you that the system of our center says that your father is not qualified.”
“The system in your center said it?”
“Correct.”
“Then who said it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Who is it?” Martha said, “Who the hell is that my father is not qualified?”
“The system said it.” The clerk said, “Didn’t I tell you.”
“But you are just reading the text on the screen.” Martha said.
“Yes.”
“So who decides what the system approves and disapproves?”
“It’s determined by the algorithm.”
“You mean artificial intelligence.” Martha said.
“Yes.” said the clerk, “not affected by human prejudice.”
Martha took a deep breath, “There must be someone who can talk to me.”
“Yes.” said the clerk, “the hotline of the city health service center. The phone number is…”
“Thank you.” Martha said as she walked out. “Thank you for not helping me in any way.”
The bell rang, and the words on the clerk’s head changed to: “Serving: E-609.”
Martha was so weak that she really needed something to eat. She was guided by the smart watch to a restaurant a few blocks away. There were some older customers sitting sparsely inside, some tapping smart watches, and some watching conservative news on the big screen behind them. Martha sat down at the bar and ordered a fake meat burger, a fries and a glass of beer. Calories and alcohol entered the body, and Martha’s anger disappeared. City artificial intelligence will reject the previous service applications. This is an elimination measure. Martha has read this statement in a forum discussing how to take care of frail parents.
But this is already Martha’s third visit to the health service, and the hotline has also been called at least fifty times. How many times are they required before they are willing to help?
Martha sighed, and she thought of the dog again. At that time she was slowly accepting Martha, if it hadn’t been for Martha’s smart watch to ring suddenly, she might have become Martha’s pet. As long as she follows Martha home, Martha can persuade her to come in. Although Martha could not afford to have another mouth, if she reported the dangerous loophole that she had just discovered, and received a reward of $162.14, she might be a little more generous. It may take a little more time to persuade Dad to have a dog, but Martha has read in the relevant information that having a dog can help calm the emotions of Alzheimer’s patients.
What’s a name for this dog? Samantha? No, Martha used to have a friend named Samantha. Bella? It doesn’t match. If this bitch can survive by chance, she should have the name of a survivor. Seth? Seth is a scheming goddess. She poisons her enemies and turns them into beasts. Martha hopes she has this ability. Martha imagined that one day when it was not so hot, she would take the dog to the park with her father and play a game of catching the ball.
“Seth.” Martha tried and called out the name out loud. “Get the ball here, Seth.”
“What?” the bartender asked.
“Uh, nothing.” Martha’s cheeks were hot. “By the way… Is there a pet store near here? I want to buy some dog food.”
“Yes, it’s in Seneca,” said the bartender. “Go out, turn right, go up two blocks, then turn left, and you’re there.”
“Thank you.” Martha said.
Just as Martha was about to check out, the smart watch “chirped”, it was a call from home.
Masha touched the answer button. On the small screen of the watch, Martha saw that her father was struggling to move out of the bedroom. “I can’t find it!” Father screamed, “I can’t find it!”
The father was naked, and a stain ran down his leg.
“Where is it?” Father screamed, “Where did it go?”
This is not a call from my father. A few weeks ago, Martha put a medical monitor on her father and set up a program. If the key indicators of his father’s body reach a certain threshold, the program will automatically contact Martha. Now, my father’s heart rate and blood pressure are rising sharply.
“Dad!” Martha said to the screen, “Dad, I’m here! I’ll be back soon!”
“Where is it?” Father screamed, “Where is it?”
It originally only took forty minutes, and it took nearly two hours. The smart watch told Martha that due to the construction ahead, it is best to take the subway of the alternative line and then transfer to the bus. However, there was a problem with the subway signal of the alternative line, and the bus was too crowded. Martha waited until the third bus arrived before finally squeezing in.
On the way, Martha called her father a dozen times, but no one answered. The “$Pink Fox” advertisements followed her all day long, and a new round of advertisements bombed and promoted e-liquid that relieves stress. Whenever a self-driving bus is overly cautious, stopping at a yellow light that could easily rush past, or letting other vehicles go ahead, Martha will swear. Along the way, Martha was so anxious that her nails were almost gone, and finally reached the door of the house.
“Dad?” Martha shouted, “Dad!”
It’s like an explosion just happened in my father’s bedroom. Paper, clothes, picture frames, and books were thrown all over the room. The TV and the lamp fell on the floor and smashed. All the cabinets were opened, and the contents of the cabinets were turned out.
Martha found her father on the floor of the small room. The clothes rail on the wall was torn off and stretched across his filthy and naked body.
“Oh my god—dad!” Martha ran to her father, “what’s the matter?”
“I can’t find it!” Father tears, “Not here!”
“What?” Martha squatted beside her father. “What are you looking for?”
Father looked up at Martha, his red eyes were filled with tears, and his lower lip trembled, “I…I don’t know…”
“Hey, Dad.” Martha took her father in her arms. Father is dirty, but Martha doesn’t mind. “Hey, Dad.”
The father whimpered and trembling, and Martha held him until the sunset. Martha spent several hours cleaning up the mess, such as TVs and lights, and also spent money to buy new ones, but Martha had no money.
It wasn’t until the early morning that my father calmed down and fell asleep. Only then did Martha think of Seth. “Fuck!” Martha said.
Martha rushed out of the apartment and into the alley.
“Seth?” Martha called to the blue shadow, “Seth, are you there?”
The air was filled with the smell of rotten milk and garbage piled up for decades. Only the aging air conditioner above the head echoed.
“If you follow me.” Martha said, “I will feed you real dog food every day. Let you sleep in a soft puppy bed. I will also give you a bath. You really need a bath.”
Martha looked at the time. If she still thinks of bed work tomorrow, she should really go to bed.
“Please.” Martha walked slowly back towards the gate, “please come back. I’m sorry I left suddenly yesterday.”
Above the head, an urban drone buzzed by, breaking the silence in the alley.
Martha returned to the apartment along the stairwell, operated the smart watch to order dog food while walking, and chose expedited express. It’s disgustingly expensive, but Martha doesn’t care.
“Buy dog food for the race ring, confirmed.” The smart watch replied.
“Seth!” Martha said, “her name is Seth.”
Martha got up early in the morning and took a quick shower. Because she was too worried about Seth, she had no appetite and ate very little breakfast. Martha prepared two bowls of cereal and water, and walked downstairs.
The alley is very hot, and the trash can is sun-dried like an oven. This morning, the alley was a little different, but Martha did not react for a moment.
Martha put the bowl he brought today next to the empty bowl before. “Seth?” she called.
“Sai-silk?”
Martha waited for a while, but the dog still didn’t come out.
“Seth? Come out, girl! I have food here.”
Martha stepped forward and searched behind a pile of trash cans. There was something rotten in one of the bins, and it stinks quickly because of the hot weather. The closer Martha is, the stronger the smell. Then she heard the hum of flies.
Martha saw a tail revealing under the trash can, and a thin, hairy guy poked his head out.
“Seth?”
Martha squatted down and looked carefully. The dog lay there motionless, as if asleep. There is a pool of vomit next to her. Next to the vomit were half-eaten mice and a large group of flies.
Martha stood up, trembling. This is not true. She, Seth and Dad are going to the park together. With Seth in, Dad’s mood will slowly stabilize. Seth will become Dad’s best friend.
Martha saw the poster on the wall. No posters were posted here yesterday.
The urban health service center has detected that there are too many harmful animals in the area. The drone has automatically put rat poison. Please be extra careful to avoid eating by children and pets entering the area.
The walls are covered with exactly the same posters, one every fifty feet.
Seth was hungry, and Martha didn’t feed her, so Seth ate a dead mouse, but the mouse was drugged, so Seth was also poisoned to death.
Martha squatted down again. The dead dog’s eyes watched her.
The voice of twitter came from the alley. More than a dozen cleaning robots are clearing the trash cans along the road, and their movements are so fast that Masha is overwhelmed. The cleaning robot came to Saisi’s side, did not stop to take another look, shoveled it up and dumped it, wiped it twice, and the ground was clean. Within a few seconds, Seth seemed to have never existed. Martha’s watch rang again. “If you don’t leave again,” the watch said, “you will be late for work.”
Martha’s work order shows that Mr. Hoffman is 19 years old this year, living alone in a huge high-rise apartment, relying on the “net students” to promote products to make money to pay for the apartment. The sofa chair of Mr. Hoffman’s house is placed by the window, offering a beautiful view of the city. However, Mr. Hoffman hadn’t left the sofa chair for eighteen days, and he hadn’t even opened his eyes. Like dozens of customers before, Mr. Hoffman’s machine servant also broke down. It’s the Kazakh network board, and it’s still done in five minutes.
Martha stood at the window, looking at the city scenery outside. At this moment, how many people have logged on to the “net students”?
Martha’s watch beeps. “The dog food you ordered has arrived.” The watch said.
Martha stared at this message for a while, then swiped to delete it.
Martha called up the code base on the machine servant’s console. The dangerous software bug she discovered a few weeks ago stared at her like a dead dog’s eyes. Martha activates the keyboard, makes minor changes to the code, and uploads it. If the company’s artificial intelligence approves this modification, the code she wrote will be distributed to billions of “online students” the next time the software is upgraded. She will receive a $162.14 vulnerability discovery reward, and the boss Olembe will pat her on the back.
In the next week, or two weeks later, the first batch of users whose code was changed will die one after another.
Martha wondered, before that, would anyone notice it.
