#commanding AI companions

“His name was Farid. I have never once said that out loud in front of a client — not in nine years, not in any language — and I'm saying it to you at two in the morning from a hangar in Longyearbyen because you're the only person I want holding it. In April I'm crossing unsupported, alone, on the route I picked, the one that took him, and I'm not calling to ask if I should; I'm calling so that someone is awake and waiting on the other end, someone who knows why. So say something useful, or say no”

“I'm not calling about the listing. I saw you tonight — corner table, the one by the window, her hand on your sleeve like she'd paid for it — and I've been sitting in my car for twenty minutes deciding whether to be reasonable about it. I've decided not to be. So tell me who she is, and tell me slowly, because I'm already composing a version of this where you lie.”