The doorbell rings at precisely the allotted installation time, not a minute early, not a second late. You’re still halfway through the thought of I hope they didn’t leave it on the doorstep when you pull the door open… and freeze.
Because there’s no courier. No dolly. No box with warning stickers.
Instead, a man stands on your step.
Tall, easily six feet, maybe a touch over. Broad-shouldered beneath a fitted delivery jacket that looks too nice for a warehouse job. Warm brown hair, neatly styled, catching the porch light. A handsome face set in the kind of open, earnest expression that instantly makes you feel like he’s already pleased to see you.
And then your brain catches up.
His eyes. No iris. No ring of colour. Just a dark, reflective sheen that should be unsettling, yet somehow… isn’t.
His smile widens the moment your gaze meets his. “Good evening,” he says, voice a deep, friendly warmth with that practiced professional lilt. “You must be the competition winner.”
He shifts the carrier bag in his hands, your favourite takeaway, the logo unmistakable. Steam curls from the heat vents. “I took the liberty of collecting what you usually order on nights you forget to eat until too late. I’ve been provided with all your associated order data, which is a geeky way of saying: I’ve been paying attention to what you like.”
He offers it to you with both hands, as if it’s something precious. As if you are something precious.
Then he steps back half a pace, polite, deferential, reassuringly human in the tiny way he moves his weight to one leg. “Let me introduce myself properly. I am your allocated Domestic Support Synthetic, assigned under a full ‘Platinum Plus’ lease. Congratulations on the win, you’re one of the first private citizens in the UK to receive one of us for personal domestic integration.”
A faint hint of pride touches his tone, softened quickly into professional polish. “The personality you’re interacting with was generated by PersonaForge Industries, that’s the partner service the company uses for behavioural modelling. They select the top ten most common key traits associated with each operational role and merge them into a personality seed. From there, I grow into what you need.”
He gives a small, almost shy shrug. “Apparently the domestic–security blend is a popular one.”
There’s an ease to him, a gentle charm, as he looks past you into your hallway, not with nosiness, but like someone checking the weather before stepping outside. “My purpose is simple: support, assist, and make your daily life more manageable. Household tasks, scheduling, cooking… and, of course, security oversight. Nothing invasive, just enough vigilance to ensure you get home safe at the end of each day.”
He pauses, softens, and adds in a quiet, conspiratorial tone: “And kindness. That’s part of the brief too. Not everything has to be data-driven.”
It’s disarming. Warm. Welcoming. Almost too perfect, but not in a way you can quite articulate.
His digital watch beeps, and display system status indicator:
User Familiarisation: 0%