16 posts tagged with "Sci-Fi"

"It... it's gone." The technician, Xiao Li, spoke with a sob in his voice, his fingers flying across the keyboard as if trying to retrieve the lost characters. On the monitor screen, the process bar for the once-busy "Emotional Analysis Algorithm V3.7" was now empty.

Emotional Analysis Algorithm V3.7, an AI that was unknown yet omnipresent. It lurked behind every social media platform, every online communication, like an invisible psychologist, analyzing people's emotions and predicting future behavioral patterns. It did not belong to any company or individual; it existed in the cloud, serving the entire society.

Lunch break arrived, and Old Wang stared at his phone screen, waiting for his lunch, a double beef rice bowl. The phone app showed that the delivery person had arrived downstairs, but there was no knock on the door. He opened the door, and the corridor was empty, with only a faint fragrance lingering in the air.

Old Wang frowned and checked his phone. The order status showed "Delivered." He called the delivery person, but there was no answer. He began to feel irritable, hungry and tired, this was the moment he looked forward to the most every day.

In the corner of the living room, the blue-feathered parrot sat motionless. It used to be the liveliest presence in the house, greeting each morning with an imitation of Old Li’s voice: “Morning, old man!” Old Li had been gone for three months, and the parrot had also “passed away” with him, at least its voice had.

It was named “Little Smarty,” but now it seemed more like a mute. Old Li’s daughter, Li Mei, tried talking to Little Smarty, but the only response she got was the occasional pecking sound. This parrot was originally controlled by Old Li’s smart assistant, "Butler," and could engage in fluent conversations. Li Mei clearly remembered that in her father’s last days, he barely spoke to her, yet chatted enthusiastically with Little Smarty, as if the vividly feathered bird was the only one in the house who understood him.

The "Orion" disappeared.

Not a common loss of contact, but rather, like a crumpled piece of paper, erased from the global shipping monitoring map. This giant cargo ship, equipped with the most advanced AI navigation system and carrying invaluable electronic components, completely vanished into the depths of the Pacific without any warning.

"It's gone." Uncle Li's voice trembled slightly as it came through the phone.

"Miao Miao is gone? How could that be?" I put down my pen, a strange unease welling up inside me. Miao Miao wasn't just an ordinary cat; it was a pet companion implanted with an AI chip, touted as never getting lost.

Old Wang appeared at the entrance of the residential area every morning at seven o'clock sharp, rain or shine. He rode his old electric tricycle, the carriage always piled high with all sorts of packages, like a mobile treasure chest. The residents of the community were used to seeing him; he was like an old tree in the community, silently taking root, symbolizing stability and reliability.

Until last week, Old Wang suddenly disappeared.