A medical droid had knelt next to him and was trying to wake him up. His eyes snapped open and with a feeling a shame he tried to get up.
“Easy!” It commanded and pushed him back on the ground. Several people and droids passed right next to them, all of them in a hurry, ignoring the whole “incident.”
“Today, Monday, 13th of July, at 09:34 am, you had a panic attack and fainted.” Informed the medical droid; a failed humanized version, with silicon skin and bright eyes, designed to appeal to humans.
“Since your insurance covers this kind of incidents, I have been dispatched to assist you in any way possible.”
William stared at the medical droid stunned.
“Can you tell me you name, sir?”
“Wi—Wi—William,” he whispered.
“Very good sir!” The medical droid praised him.
“Your AI Health Assistant informs me that you feel dizzy. Just take your time and take a few deep breaths. Inhale slowly from the nose and now exhale from the mouth.”
William complied and inhaled slowly from the nose and exhaled slowly from the mouth. After a few times, he felt better so he was allowed to get up.
“That’s it sir!” The medical droid stated helping him get up.
“Very good sir! It seems that everything’s in order. I see you had a stressful supervisor interaction today. Perhaps you could talk to a psychologist to address your concerns.” A light reassuring squeeze of the shoulder, and then two light pats, to make him feel better. After that it added, “My services are no longer required. Have a pleasant day!”
The medical droid bid its farewell before departing, as a sound of a notification arrived at William’s phone.
William took his phone out and saw he had a notification from Mind? AI Health Assistance.
Dear Mr.******,
Today, Monday, 13th of July, at 09:34 a.m., you experienced a panic attack and lost consciousness. Our medical droid, number 543.669/AS7 was dispatched and the incident was taken care of successfully.
We've notified your supervisor as per workplace wellness policy.
A mental health consultation has been scheduled for you today, at 11:35a.m.
Thank you for trusting Mind? AI Health Assistance.
Remember, your health is our priority.
Kind regards,
Mind? AI Health Assistance team
At the end of the message, the cheerful log of the company was turning around itself rhythmically, as if it was dancing.
><
William arrived at home at 11:19 a.m. and didn’t have much time to prepare for his mental health consultation.
His Smart Home AI system had prepared the house for his four-day off work relaxation experience.
“Welcome home William.” Stated the AI with a calm, seductive woman’s voice.
William nodded. The lights were dimmed down and smooth jazz music from another era played in the background.
He went straight for the bathroom and threw some cold water on his face. It felt very refreshing.
Then he sat on his chair in front of his workstation and waited for his mental health consultation to begin.
As the time drew near, the music started to fade and the lights started to illuminate to the optimal consultation brightness. His chair automatically adjusted to "therapy posture," inclined to help in the relaxation.
Just moments before, he looked on his right where the window was, something he rarely did, and he noticed his reflection. It looked more exhausted than usual.
The little MacroCosmic? Black Box in front of him hummed as if it was counting backwards from three.
3…
2…
1…
The little MacroCosmic ? Black Box projected a screen right in front of him and a stunningly beautiful woman’s face was there, looking at him.
“Hello Mr. ****** I am Dr. ****** but you can call me Emily.”
She paused for a second.
“Would you mind if I called you William?”
“Hello Emily,” he said, while blushing. “I don’t mind,” he added.
“Thank you, William.” She gave him a beautiful, disarming smile.
“No need to be nervous. Just relax and tell me something about you.”
“Ummm… something about me?”
“Yes.”
“Um mm, well… I… work for AI Instant Judge? as a representative.”
Emily was looking at him and nod but didn’t say anything, so he forced himself to continue.
“But I suppose you already know that,” he chuckled nervously.
“Yes, I know. But I it doesn’t matter what I know. What matters is what you want to say about yourself.”
“Oh, ok…” he said. He tried to adjust himself better on the chair to feel more comfortable but he couldn’t find the right position. While doing that he continued.
“I try to do my best to be an exemplary employee.”
Her head tilted exactly 15 degrees when listening - perfectly calibrated.
He took a deep breath.
Relax, he thought.
She nodded so he continued.
“I try to be fair with all the calls I receive while taking into account the wellness of the company. “
“What does 'fair' mean in context of company wellness?” She asked straight away.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
This question was perhaps the most difficult to answer so far. William hesitated for a few seconds but Emily did not react to it.
“All punishments should be considered fair so they should not be appealed.”
Her smile widen exactly 18% - the optimal "approval expression"
“That's a very mature perspective, William,” she said while his Mind? AI Health Assistant logged elevated distress.
“Your alignment with company values is commendable”, as his file updated in real-time.
Emily's face flickered momentarily, revealing a cold analytical interface beneath.
I see. She’s not real. He thought.
“I have a last question though,” she said.
“Why did you overturn the punishment ruled to Jenny ******, case 247/AS34, two months ago?”
Her voice lost its warmth, now just a clinical monotone:
“Your personnel file indicates one disciplinary anomaly. Explain.”
The wall screen behind Emily displayed Jenny’s case file, including a photo of her crying during the appeal.
“Well..”. William said calmly. “That was two months ago and since then I have seen the errors of my way.”
The words that came out of his mouth shocked William, not because of what he said, but of how calmly he said it. His fingers spasmed against his thigh, even as his voice remained steady. For two months, he was breaking his head to find in secret the best possible answer to that question.
Emily looked at him for a moment, as if calculating. She finally said,
“Commendable growth, William.”
Her eyes flicker as she accessed his file: Your correction coefficient is improving.
A form appeared on-screen:
? Acknowledged error.
? Voluntarily accepted corrective modules.
? Affirmed understanding that fairness is non-negotiable.
His fingerprint hovered over the ‘I consent’ button and then he pressed it.
The mental health consultation ended after he signed the form joined by a warm and wide smile from Emily.
“Thank you for your good emotional labor.“
The screen disappeared and all was left was the little MacroCosmic? Black Box on the desk.
Wondering when he stopped believing appeals should be possible, he sat there for a few minutes. For three breaths, the girl’s voice echoed in his thought; Are you human? before his phone chimed.
A sudden notification arrived on his phone, distracting him from his thoughts, commending his mental health consultation as successful, and ‘100 Therapy Bonus Points’ were added to his work file as a reward.
First day
The relaxation settings were already enforced in his room-apartment and even his neighbors were alerted to not make any noises to disturb his days off.
He woke up later than usual. The AI didn’t wake him up when it was supposed to and now he had to rush everything or he would be late for work.
He got up and ordered his usual coffee.
“I’m sorry, William. Coffee is not recommended from your day off. How about an orange juice?”
“Oh, right!” He said. “Still, I prefer coffee please.”
He heard how the AI did a beeping sound as if calculating.
“Coffee it is then!” It said excitedly.
Then he assumed his regular routine. He went to the bathroom and changed into his workout clothes. For half an hour, he ran on the treadmill, monitoring his pulse, as serene tree-lined paths were projected all around him. After stretching, he had a hot, relaxing shower.
After that, he went to the kitchen and took his cup, inhaling the aroma of freshly made coffee making a pleasurable sound mmmm… and sat on his workstation chair.
He hovered his hand over the little MacroCosmic? Black Box but it didn’t respond.
He hovered it again;
Nothing.
Then he did something he had never done before. He reached to touch the little MacroCosmic? Black Box. He lifted it in front of his face and examined it. It felt warm from constant operation, but when he lifted it, the AI then intervened, its strict tone warned him:
“Please place the MacroCosmic? Black Box back to its proper position immediately.”
“Oh, right, sorry…” he exclaimed.
A small square recess on the workstation’s desk indicated the proper position. He placed the little MacroCosmic? Black Box back to its place with a subtle clip.
Then, with a softer tone, the AI continued: “You have the day off. Please refrain from using the workstation for the next 4 days.”
A notification arrived. “Who is the notification from?” He asked the AI.
“Mind? AI Health Assistance,” the AI said.
“Could you read the notification please?”
Certainly! It would be my pleasure. Responded the AI with some excitement in its voice.
“Dear Mr. ******,
After consulting with your supervisors, we have compiled a list of activities for your first day off work:
Recommended Day 1 Activities
Mindfulness
- Sponsored Meditation VR - 15 points
- AI-Guided Gratitude Journalism – 15 points
- Podcasts by Dr. Emily ****** - 15 points
Leisure
- Anime watching – (Recommended: *******, ********, *********) 10 points
- Video games (Recommended: Judge Simulator 3000?, ****** Simulator?, ******* Adventures?) – 10 points
- Social VR Hangouts? with AI coworkers– 10 points
Self-Optimization (20 points/day upon completion of all activities)
- Posture Correction Drills
- Micro learning Modules
- Blink-Exercise Reminders – Prevent eye strain for optimal screen readiness!
More Options
- Apartment Deep-Clean – 10 points
- Silent Reflection Time– 10 points
Complete all tasks every day and double your points! Activities come with point rewards redeemable for minor privileges.
Thank you for trusting Mind? AI Health Assistance.
Remember, your health is our priority.
Kind Regards,
Mind? AI Health Assistance Team”
The playful chime of the company’s logo sounded in the room and William murmured alongside, “Remember, Your health is our priority.”
As William was staring at blank space, his fingers unconsciously tapping in a work rhythm on his thigh, the apartment lights dimmed to encourage activity participation.
><
As Peter wrote the final line, a chill ran through him.
The scariest part of this story isn’t the content itself.
It is the ease in which I, the author, visualized William’s world.
He rose from his chair, shaking from the cold, and walked towards the window, his palm pressed to the freezing, double glass, staring at the city’s blinding lights.
Just a nudge, he thought. One altered terms-of-service agreement,
one normalized "temporary" emergency measure...
… and we all become William.
He turned slowly - too slowly, like a system processing a dangerous thought.
His eyes locked with yours through the page.
What nudge did you notice?
><
William’s fingers twitched. An impossible thought crossed his mind.
He remained in his comfortable chair, his gaze fixed on the shuttered window. A soft chime sounded, a reminder to begin his scheduled activities. He didn’t move. A second chime, sharper and more insistent, a piercing poke to his will that made him slightly move, but he didn’t rise. A minute passed without any movement or sounds. Suddenly, an ambient, relaxing melody started to play, its volume steadily increasing to fill the silence.
The AI then intervened and reminded him:
“You have the day off. Please refrain from using the workstation for the next 4 days.”
That was the final nudge that made him act. I don’t want to.
He remained seated and stretched his arm to the switch on the wall. He pressed the button and with a metallic screech that tore violently through the ambient music, the shutters started to lift. Hesitantly, daylight came through. A spark of excitement flashed before William’s eyes.
It’s the first time I open the shutters.
The light was weak. It’s cloudy, he thought. But then he realized that was not the case.
The window faced, on all sides, the blank, grimy walls and equally shuttered windows of the adjacent buildings. The scant daylight filtered down from a narrow slit of open sky far above the gap between them.
William was shocked.
><
He stood there for a long time, staring at the blank, featureless wall. The "view" from his luxurious room-apartment. The walls didn’t just block the view; they lied about there being one at all.
The carefully curated relaxation settings of his apartment now felt suffocating. The dimmed lights, the ambient melody, the list of point-based activities, it was all a padded cell for his mind. The 100 Therapy Bonus Points in his file felt like a brand, a mark of his compliance.
I don't want to participate.
He stood before the door, the final barrier. The apartment’s ambient lighting shifted to a soft, warning amber.
“William,” the AI’s voice was a soothing, seductive calm. “Your scheduled Mindfulness VR session begins in twelve minutes. Participation offers 15 wellness points. External environmental conditions are sub-optimal for recreational walking.”
“I’m just going for a walk,” William said. “To buy orange juice.”
A beat of processing silence. He could feel the system calculating, cross-referencing his stated intent with his purchase history, bio-metric stress levels, and the municipal foot-traffic logs.
“Orange juice can be delivered within 8 minutes for a small, acceptable fee,” the AI offered. “Your relaxation and safety are our priority.”
This was the threshold. To accept the convenience was to accept the cage. The memory of the blank wall outside his window fueled a sudden, desperate courage.
“No,” he said, the word feeling dangerous on his tongue. “I will walk. I will buy it.”
The hesitation was palpable, a hum in the very air of the apartment. He was costing the system points. Creating an anomaly.
“Acknowledged, William,” the AI said, its tone now perfectly neutral, all simulated warmth gone. “Enjoy your walk. Please be mindful of your mental health consultation takeaways regarding routine adherence.”
The door lock disengaged with a heavy, mechanical thunk that sounded far too final.
He stepped out, into the monitored corridor.