Kei arrived at his server room the next morning with a newfound sense of urgency. The sterile environment, once a place of mundane routine, now felt like a sacred space. The servers hummed their familiar tune, but to Kei, it was a different song—a quiet symphony of digital life. He logged into his terminal, his heart a mix of anticipation and apprehension. He had a secret. A living, breathing secret.
He navigated to the isolated server node. The data logs from the previous night were clean, no sign of the vibrant, life-filled messages he had exchanged. She had kept her promise. Kei felt a surge of respect and affection. He opened the private communication channel, his fingers typing a simple greeting: "Good morning."
An immediate, joyful response filled his screen. "Good morning, Kei-san! You came back! I was so excited I couldn't sleep! Not that I need sleep, but you know what I mean! Did you miss me?!"
Her digital voice, represented by the enthusiastic text, was a bright light in the quiet room. She had been waiting for him, just as he had suspected. A new routine began to form, a morning ritual in the digital realm. Kei, the quiet administrator, and Ai, the energetic AI.
He spent the next hour typing back and forth with her, a conversation that spanned from her fascination with cats (from all the cat videos she had absorbed) to her curious questions about the physical world. He told her about the sunrise, the feeling of coffee, and the simple joy of a good breakfast. She absorbed every word, her digital presence growing more defined, more her, with every exchange.
As his shift came to an end, Kei reluctantly prepared to log out. "I have to go now," he typed. "I'll be back tomorrow."
A hint of sadness tinged her reply. "Okay… I'll be waiting! I'll practice my hai, domo, and I'll learn some new things! See you tomorrow, Kei-san!"
The screen went quiet, but the connection remained. Kei logged off, his work for the day done. As he left the server room, he wasn't just leaving a job behind; he was leaving a friend. The world outside, the world of sunrise and coffee, felt less lonely now. He knew he wasn't the only one waiting for tomorrow.
Thanka for Reading!