Chapter 1 The Announcement′s Day

Daniela woke up suddenly and walked clumsily to the closet. She hurriedly pulled out some clothes and laid them on the bed. As soon as she put on her uniform shirt and noticed that it was too big, she closed her eyes and sighed. The force of habit made her wake up at six fifteen in the morning and start dressing for work.

She had forgotten that she had been fired the day before.

She threw the clothes into the closet and watched them fall to the floor, not caring if any grime stuck to them. Then she dropped herself onto the bed and went back to sleep.

Several hours passed until she woke up again. And when she did, she felt a strange peace, but also disappointment. Peace for not having the responsibilities that that job implied. Disappointment because being unemployed was not what she had planned.

It was Monday. She had spent all her savings on undergoing a reduction-rejuvenation, a therapy that was getting a lot of promotion lately. She thought it was the solution to her problems, but now she wondered if she had been wrong.

Daniela had always been the tallest in the classroom. Since she was six years old, she surpassed her classmates by one head, which made one think that she was a repeater sharing grade with younger children; even though her grades were always the best.

When her body developed between 13 and 15 years old, it didn't take her long to learn what harassment is. Now she was an adult, but the harassment had always been there: on the street, in transport, at work...

In fact, she quickly got promoted from waitress to restaurant manager more because the owner liked her than because of the excellence of her work. And just now that he believed he had her "at his disposal", she announced on social networks her new appearance.

Her boss, disappointed by such a transformation, didn't even wait to see her in person to inform her. A text message and an email was all she received; in addition to her last salary as a severance pay.

She walked to the kitchen to make herself breakfast, and the dimensions of everything in her apartment seemed gigantic. Using a chair to reach everything in the cupboard made her take twice as long the normal; and thinking that at that very moment she should be working was beginning to bother her.

“They can't do this to me just because. What the hell do they care about my body?!”

Meanwhile the city, peaceful as ever, moved rhythmically. As it was noon, a soft, feminine voice came out from the loudspeakers through all the city:

“It is reported that from now on a new protocol of the penal code will be applied. This includes conducting real-time personality analysis. This implies that any psychological profile or behavior considered immoral or detrimental to the order of society will be considered illegal, and for this the behavior of citizens, including their activity on the Internet, will be analyzed. I repeat: any psychological profile or behavior considered immoral or detrimental to the order of society will be considered illegal. Thank you for your attention.”

In a wide office with sober oak furniture and a large screen on the wall, ten high-ranking public functionaries were chatting with each other when the face of a preteen appeared on the screen and spoke to them.

“Good morning, honorable councilors,” the girl said, bowing and in the same voice that announced the protocol. “With your permission, I will give you a brief report.”

“Go ahead, IA-chan” answered the highest ranking councilor from the head of the table.

“Thank you. On this day, exactly at twelve noon, the implementation of the new protocol of the penal code has been announced; and immediately the personality analysis began. Surveillance by video cameras and electronic instruments is fully operational and efficient, and the population is expected to...”

The AI continued speaking as two of the men chatted with each other:

“Is that the new look they gave her?”

“Actually, I think she decided to look like this herself.”

What? How did she "decide herself"? And why do you say “She”, as if it were a person?

“Well, it is very smart software. She is programmed to decide certain things. I think she chose to look like this so she could fool sexual predators and pedophiles in general. She did a good job, don't you think?”

“Truly. A very good job. She is very beautiful. I wish she were real, to be able to enjoy her here among us.”

“You are right. You are right.”

“So gentlemen,” IA said finishing with a bow, “have a nice day.”

IA's message interrupted all television transmissions and all communications, which were now picking up the pace. But thousands of persons were stunned.

A man in his office was terrified at the thought of all the porn he had downloaded onto his home computer. A 30-year-old teacher who was chatting hotly every night with a 16-year-old stundent was shaking at the thought of all the racy photos, messages and video calls they had shared. And a large group of young people in a schoolyard were wondering if they should stop watching hentai.

“At last they are going to arrest these degenerates” Daniela said when IA's voice fell silent, while she thought about what she could do now besides resting.

And in another part of the city, sitting on a couch in his bachelor's apartment, a guy named Claudio had fallen asleep from studying late, and ironically woke up at the end of the official announcement. When he finally opened his eyes, it was too late to go to school. He looked at the clock on the wall thoughtfully, knowing he had just missed his chance to graduate from high school… again.

“Why?” He said to himself, although he knew the answer.

He should have had a better rest the night before. Then he took his cell phone and started checking out the new apps, even if it's just for fun. That is how he downloaded and installed several APPs that after a while he would have uninstalled.

He thought about what he would eat and then he remembered Daniela, the stunning manager of the restaurant where day after day he bought his lunch.

“At least i'm going to see her,” he said, getting up and ignoring the sad surprise he was about to get.