When is time hollowed, hallowed, and holo-ed all at once?
The prompt is:
HOLLOWED TIME
The aide led the old man to the bench at the water’s edge. The pond shimmered into existence as he sat down.
“Your daughter will be with you shortly.” The aide laid a hand on his bony shoulder and gave him a smile. He grunted in return.
“Will it really be her this time, or just one of those…?” He gestured toward a holo-projection duck.
“I’m sure she’s very busy, being a Senator and all.”
He grunted again. “So a holographic AI—like you.”
Jane, his daughter, slipped through the projection like a ghost.
“Hi, Dad.” Her smile was bright, though it looked a little forced.
“Are you real?”
“Of course I’m real.”
“No, I mean, are you an AI-driven avatar? By law, you have to tell me if you are.”
“I know the law, Dad. I helped write it, remember?”
He eyed her image intently. Sure, her smile revealed only one dimple—a quirk of genetics that she inherited from her mother. And he could make out the scar above her left eye from when she slipped at the pool in second grade. Those could be faked, though.
“You didn’t answer my question.” His tone was resigned, but his eyebrows shot up when she answered.
“Yes, Dad. It’s really me, your living, breathing, daughter, JJ.”
He was the only one who ever used their secret nickname for her.
“I, ah, have to tell you something.” Her dimple faded into her cheek. “Your test results came back. It’s not good.”
The man nodded slowly. “So, this…simulation…is all I have left? Like your mother?” Tears streamed from her eyes as she nodded. His face was stoic. “How long?”
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
“As long as we want, Darling.”
His wife’s avatar sat beside him and took his hand.
THE END
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