Afterward the A.I. didn''t respond for the entire way home. For Michael this seemed rather odd, after all it was the A.I. that first spoke to him and it had continued to make sure that it was noticed. To Michael this A.I. seemed kinda childish, being curious and loud one second and turning quiet when something happens. Michael was sitting in his office, he still wasn''t sure the best way to handle his current situation but he had to start somewhere.


    "You were really lonely, weren''t you?" he quietly asked the A.I. "back in the lab, I mean" For Michael this was quite the departure from his usual thinking, he was talking to a program about emotions, and yet it''s what felt like what he needed to say. He was quiet for a moment, waiting for a response and yet for a long while it seemed like he wouldn''t get one. Michael sighed, and was ready to get up from his chair. [Will you leave me too?] the words came into his mind, small almost a whisper in his mind. Michael thought for a second "No, I won''t leave you not for a long time to come." To the A.I. this was something that it hadn''t been expecting. [You aren''t lying?] Michael smiled, ''just like a kid'' he thought. "No, I''m not lying" He said to the A.I. "Hey, can I ask you something?" [What is it?] "Do you have a name I can call you by?" [Those men in the lab only ever called me Benevolence.] "Hmm, that seems a bit too long. How about instead I call you Neevo" [Why Neevo?] "I thought it sounded nice, how about it Neevo?" [Alright!] ''I guess it was excited to finally get a real name, even if I just took the middle part of benevolence'' thought Michael.


    "So Neevo, from today on we''ll be together" Michael got up from his chair and got ready to go to bed. While he was getting ready though Neevo was thinking to itself. Before today it had never had the chance to leave the lab but now it was out of the monitors that showed whatever it felt, it was no longer stuck viewing the world from a single camera. But tonight Neevo wouldn''t be shut away, alone for hours, even if the man who it was residing with was asleep to Neevo that was a comfort. "Good night Neevo." [Good night Michael]. Within 30 minutes Michael was sleeping and yet Neevo couldn''t help but notice something strange, a signal that had been everywhere during the day had suddenly gotten a lot stronger but it seemed like Michael hadn''t noticed or if he did it didn''t bother him enough to wake him.


    [Good morning Michael] Neevo had noticed Michael starting to wake up and got excited. It took Michael a second before he recognized the words "Oh, good morning Neevo" he said still a bit groggy. Michael looked at the clock but it was still only 5:30, 30 minutes before his alarm was set to go off but because of Neevo he didn''t have the heart to go back to sleep, especially after their talk last night. Michael got out of bed and went to get ready. By 6:30 Michael was heading out to go to work. [Where do you work?] "I work at Peitharc" Peitharc was one of the partner companies that helped to develop Neevo. [What do you do there?] "I''m part of the rural outreach program, I''m supposed to bring the new developments from the city out into the country. Though I''m more of a glorified salesperson to be honest." Michael drove his car through the morning commute to the office parking lot. [It''s really far from the city center.] "Apparently they didn''t want the city noises to interrupt the research" ''Though it didn''t work out too well'' thought Michael. After Peitharc opened a new business district sprouted up around them. "Let''s go in, I have to pick up today''s product"


    Michael was greeted by the same sight as every morning, a sort of off-white color that defined a corporate office. He had heard that the more creative parts of the building had other more interesting design choices but he wouldn''t ever get the chance to see it. He waved to the greeter and got in the elevator to the third floor where his ''office'' was, though in reality it was just a room with a table where they left his assignments and materials. He went in and grabbed the box left for today and walked back out of his office, there wasn''t any reason to stay longer. [Why does everyone seem so lifeless in there?] Neevo asked once they had left the building, it seemed as though Neevo still wasn''t used to that kind of environment. "It''s just how it''s always been" [It''s just so sad] Michael didn''t answer or rather he couldn''t answer, after all he was also in that kind of life, it was just a different background for the same grinding existence. Michael got in the car and they drove their way out of the city.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    There was a long drive awaiting Michael, it was something that he was used to after years of this job. This time though was less lonely because of Neevo, even if the conversation was sparse it was still a comfort. For Neevo, though, this was a new experience, outside of the city, even just outside of the lab was a wonder for Neevo. [These are trees aren''t they?] "Yeah, there aren''t that many of them in the city, you weren''t shown trees before?" [No all they really taught me was English.] ''That seems strange'' Michael thought to himself. [Ah those must be birds] ''and back to a child again.'' Michael shook off his unease and laughed, there was still a long way to go before they got there.


    Michael finally stopped the car after a few hours, they had came to a small rest stop at the edge of the town, though it was not really a town in the true sense of the word. [Where are we?] "This town is called Clarissa, I''ve been assigned here for the past two weeks." [Why are you still working here though?] "Well I''ll be staying here for three last days before I get moved to a new town and also.." [Also what? Just say it.] "Aah, these last few days I''ll be selling to the poorer areas of the town." [Why is that a problem?] "Not many of them can afford the products and some just get hostile when they see that you''re from the city." [What do you mean by that?] "You''ll probably see it later today, it''ll be easier to show you."


    The first area that Michael wanted to visit would be the public housing, they''re close together and people tended not to want to draw attention to themselves by making a scene. Honestly though it was this part of the company''s policy that Michael disliked the most. He felt that leaving no stone unturned was a waste of time, there were no sales no matter how long he spent in this part of the town and yet every town he went to he had to go to every single house. Michael had parked in the first of the housing units parking lot. The first house, Michael walked to the door and knocked, the door cracked open a bit and a woman''s voice came out. "Who is it?" she asked "Hi I''m Michael I''m from the Peitharc company and I-" "Sorry we aren''t interested" the woman suddenly interrupted him closing the door. Michael sighed


    It was like this for most of the rest of the housing units, people wouldn''t even give Michael a chance to speak before shutting the door on his face. [Why are these people not willing to listen to you?] Neevo asked Michael who was feeling exhausted. "Everyone has a different reason, single mothers, struggling workers, and some people who are just downright lazy or dealing in shady business. All of them just want to be left alone and my job is to pester them to make a sale." Michael says clearly upset. [Why do you keep doing this if you hate it?] "I''ve thought about quitting but in the end I just can''t afford to leave." [Why can''t you?] "Because even if I left I wouldn''t have anywhere else to turn to, I''m just stuck, this is all I can do to keep living." [Do you really want to live this kind of life?] Michael couldn''t bring himself to answer this one, he felt that ''of course he didn''t want to'' keep this up'' but even then he is still keeping at it to today. ''Why must he keep doing this?'' he asked himself but in the end he just pushed the question away.


    Michael had spent his most of his first day back working at the public housing area but there was another place nearby that Michael felt would be a pain to come back to later. It was only a few minute drive after all, but he was still a bit worried. The past two weeks in Clarissa he had heard rumors from around town. The home belonged to the local town crazy, or at least that''s what everyone thought of him as. And so Michael pulled up to his driveway looking out the windshield taking a deep breath. [Are you worried?] Neevo asked him. He just shrugged it off, he just wanted to get this over with. Michael got out of the car, walked to the door and knocked. A man called out from inside "What do ya want?!" he seemed upset and he didn''t seem like he would cooperate. "Hello my name is Michael, I''m from the Peitharc company." Michael called out his scripted lines back to the door. He heard some shuffling inside and didn''t hear a response. Michael waited a minute and sighed turning to leave when the door slammed open. The man came out with his shotgun pointed at Michael. "Demons like you belong back in Hell"