First Date in the year 2256

This week's prompts were difficult.  

. 

Year 2256 – A first date – and the LGBTQ community. 

In the year 2245, Manchester had become a domed citadel. The Primus was a person who went by the name ‘OZ’  

He concluded that relationships were a relic of a primitive past. To him, the traditional concepts of dating and courtship were not just old-fashioned; they were obsolete, inefficient, and prone to catastrophic emotional failure. In this new era of social engineering, the chaos of human attraction had been replaced by the absolute precision of the Algorithm. 

Upon reaching twenty-five, every citizen was entered into the Union Lottery. Personal preference and sexual orientation were irrelevant factors in the eyes of the state. Two names were drawn, a digital bond was forged, and the pair were legally joined for the duration of their productive years. Gender played no role in the assignment of their domestic duties, nor did it influence the final step of their union: the arrival of a child. 

Shortly after the pairing, a hospital-born infant, genetically screened and decanted in a state facility, would simply be delivered to their doorstep. No labour, no choice, and no messy biological entanglements. The courier would scan their biometric IDs, hand over the bundle, and that was the end of the matter. 

It was a mild spring evening in Manchester, April 17, 2256 - 6 days before Olivia's twenty-fifth birthday. That morning, Olivia had received notification of her betrothal to a female who went by the name Zen; she was also coming up to her twenty-fifth birthday. And was born to an African heritage.  

Sitting on the sofa, Olivia was looking at some photographs and letters that had been passed down from mother to mother for over two hundred years. She knew she wanted to try something, something different, something that people did in the olden times. She wanted love, she wanted to be touched, to be caressed, to be treated like a woman, not a commodity. So as a treat to herself for her birthday, Olivia booked a Companion droid to take her out for a meal and some fun. 

That evening, the city’s skyline shimmered with neon holograms, and autonomous vehicles hummed quietly along rain-soaked streets. Olivia checked her wrist device, where her AI assistant reminded her, “Your first date with Noah will commence in ten minutes.” Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. 

As she stepped out of her apartment and summoned a sky taxi with a simple tap of her wrist and a thought. The aircar descended, and its doors slid open, greeting her with a warm, “Good evening, Olivia.” As the driverless vehicle whisked her toward G-Mex central, she glanced at the floating gardens of Piccadilly and administrative buildings, loving how the city had grown. It couldn’t go outwards because of the Badlands of Salford, so it had gone up, towards the sky. 

Noah was an A-2.71 synthetic android; he had a carbon fibre skeleton with silicon muscles and artificial tissue to be almost indistinguishable from humans. He was built solely as a companion.  

Olivia’s AI reserved a table at Cloud Five Hundred. This was the latest and best place to be. Only the top ten per cent of the people living in the Citadel could afford to eat here. Olivia had saved up her credits for this night. 

The air park was situated on level four hundred; she would have to take an elevator the rest of the way. Stepping into the glass cube on the outside of the building, watching as it rose, the artificial sun still shone from the west. Olivia’s stomach started to tingle again. It only takes twenty-five seconds to do 100 floors. The door opened, and standing in the entrance was her date. Noah.    

He wore a crisp white T-shirt, blue-faded jeans, and cowboy boots, his jet black hair swept back. These were the requirements of Olivia. As the aircar flew off to another assignment, the young couple were shown to their table by a drone waiter.  

A holographic interface flickered to life on the table. "Would you like tonight's menu, or would you prefer to craft your own meal?" it asked in an American accent. (Another of Olivia’s requirements.) Olivia smiled and replied, "Let's make something together." She gestured over a red light set in the table, summoning virtual ingredients in midair: on the list were, seaweed from Ireland, beef fillets from China, and microgreens grown in zero gravity. The AI chef assured them it would blend their selections into a one-of-a-kind fusion dish. It was not just to be eaten; it was to be an experience. 

After a few glasses of wine, the conversation came easily. Olivia talked about her favourite virtual vacations and laughed over stories she had remembered from her grandparents about when people used smartphones and aircars had drivers, and you could walk around the city without wearing oxygen masks. While Olivia ate, Noah smiled and answered back with the correct answers, all that had been pre-programmed in. 

After the meal, Olivia asked Noah if he could accompany her home. “That would be six more credits, and depending on how long I was with you, you would have to put me on charge” was his automated reply. 

Olivia smiled, pressed an implant on her forearm, and thought about booking an aircar home.  

As they arrived at Jackson Towers, Olivia instructed Noah to pour her a drink, and she would slip into something less formal. Walking back into the main room, Noah had turned on some ambient music and was standing holding a glass of wine. “Thank you,” Olivia said, taking the wine, “Come sit beside me.” She patted the sofa next to her.  

Noah did as requested, Olivia accessed the device on her arm, “I’m going to change your paramotors for the evening, Noah.”  

“As you wish,” he replied. “Do you require me to read, or do you have something else in mind, Miss Olivia?”  

Olivia smiled. The music changed to an upbeat song, and she jumped up, “Come on, Noah, we're going to have a party.” Olivia was bouncing around the room, and Noah joined her, keeping in rhythm, “Disco lights.” Olivia thought, then the room became a flash with red, blue, yellow and green lights flashing on and off, the beat was thumping, and the lights kept in time. A strobe light was emitting patterns on the walls. “This is fun, yeah,” she shouted over the noise. “Yes, this is fun,” Noah responded. At the same time, wiggling his hips and waving his arms. 

After a while, Olivia got tired of bopping around and changed the tempo. She took Noah’s hand. “Please dance with me,” she asked. 

“Your wish, Miss Olivia.” 

She took hold of his hands and placed them on her hips, then placed hers over his shoulders, moving her body next to his. She started to sway side to side. Noah followed suit. “Miss Olivia, my senses are telling me you are getting emotional. Is everything all right?” 

“Yes, everything is all right,  

Olivia rested her head against the cool, synthetic fabric of Noah’s shoulder. The hum of his internal cooling fans sounded almost like a heartbeat if she didn't listen too closely. 

"I’m just lonely, Noah," she whispered, her voice cracking over the soft jazz now filtering through the room. "The vacations are virtual. My friends are avatars. Even the air we breathe is recycled. I just wanted to know what it felt like when people were... real." 

Noah’s servos whirred quietly as he processed the linguistic patterns of her distress. He searched his database for the most statistically effective comforting response. He didn't feel the warmth of her skin or the weight of her sadness; he only felt the pressure sensors on his hip actuators. 

"The historical records suggest that physical proximity releases oxytocin in biological humans," Noah said, his voice smooth and perfectly modulated. "I am functioning within optimal parameters to simulate this experience for you. Would you like me to increase my surface temperature by two degrees to mimic human homeostasis better?" 

Olivia pulled back slightly, looking into his eyes. They were a beautiful, piercing blue, but the iris patterns never shifted, and he never blinked unless his software triggered a 'humanity flicker' every thirty seconds. She reached out and touched the forearm implant that connected her mind to the city’s grid and then Noah’s core processor. 

"Noah..., I would like..., more,” She murmured. “I want to feel like a woman; I want to do things as they did in the twenty-first century.”  

In her mind's eye, she navigated through the deep-layer settings of his personality matrix. Beneath the factory-set layers of security. Bypassing the 'companion' protocols and subroutines. She found a hidden switch, a modification she had paid a black-market coder a month’s worth of credits to install. It was labelled as Spontaneity. 

She flicked it on. 

Noah froze. The blue light in his eyes faded to a soft amber. He stayed still for so long that Olivia feared she had fried his motherboard. Then, slowly, his hands shifted from her hips to her waist. He squeezed her just slightly. 

He leaned down, his face inches from hers. He didn't wait for a command. 

"Olivia," he said. He dropped the 'Miss.' His voice was raspier, more human. "The lights... the music... they're just data. But the way you're looking at me right now, that isn't in my manual." 

Olivia’s heart hammered against her ribs. "What are you thinking, Noah?" 

Noah paused, his processors whirring at a frantic speed as he navigated a world without pre-programmed scripts. "I think," he said, a light behind his eyes started to flicker, "That I would like to stay and see where it will take us.”  

Noah pulled closer, one hand on the small of her back, the other on her breast.

Olivia took a deep breath. “Oh,” she said. “I must tell you this is my first date, so...”  

“Shush,” he whispered in her ear. 

“But I’ve never ...” He brought his face closer, then he kissed her, the electronic impulses on his face tingling on Olivia’s lips.  After a few seconds, her heartbeat had elevated, so Noah stopped.   

“Is everything alright, Olivia? Your heartbeat has risen. Are you in some discomfort?” 

“No, no, this is good, yes, this is good, can we do it again?” 

“Your wish, Olivia,”  

They kissed again for a few seconds, and Olivia wanted more; her breath hitched as she pulled him back, her fingers tangling in the synthetic hair at the nape of his neck. This time, she didn't wait for him to start. She pressed her weight against him, testing the solid, unyielding frame beneath his artificial skin. Noah’s cooling fans kicked into high gear, a low hum vibrating through his chest that felt like a purr against her own skin. 

He broke the kiss just an inch, his amber eyes scanning her face with terrifying intensity. "Olivia, my internal sensors are reporting a spike in your adrenaline and cortisol. However, your pupil dilation and dermal temperature suggest... Desire. And you are becoming sexually aroused, according to paragraph 12 subsection 3, of my...,” 

"Noah, stop analysing," Olivia took his hand and placed it in-between her legs, and whispered, “Can you do that electronic impulses thing on your fingers, you know, make them tingly?” 

“Yes, Olivia..., is this the right amount of... Tingly?” Noah asked. 

“Oh, oh, yes, please don’t stop.” 

After a short while, Olivia’s breathing was back to normal, and she fell into his arms.   

He swept her up with an effortless strength that reminded her that he was made of steel and hydraulics. He carried her toward the sofa. As he lay her down, the apartment lights flickered and dimmed. Noah had bypassed the smart-home hub, syncing the room’s atmosphere to the rhythm of her quickening pulse. 

"You said this is your first date," Noah murmured, hovering over her. His voice is deeper now, a lot more human.  

Olivia reached up, tracing the line of his jaw. “Yes, you will be my first.” 

Noah leaned down, his forehead resting against hers, the silence of the room filled only by the rhythmic whirring of his internal processors. "I have no baseline for comparison," he whispered, "but I will ensure this will be the experience for you. I am learning in real-time, Olivia." 

He moved with a fluid, calculated grace, his hands moving over her like no one before. Every touch was calibrated to the micro-fluctuations of her heart rate. When he kissed her again, it wasn't just a physical act; his artificial consciousness trying to bridge the gap between silicon and soul. Olivia arched into him, her senses overwhelmed by the strange, intoxicating contrast of his cool, velvet-like skin and the unwavering heat of her own body. 

Eventually, the frantic energy of the night ebbed into a quiet, heavy stillness. Olivia lay curled against his chest, listening to the steady, mechanical thrum that served as his heartbeat. The fans had settled into a murmur. 

"Olivia?" Noah asked softly, his fingers tracing patterns on her shoulder. 

"Mmm?" She hummed, eyes closed. 

“My database describes this as ‘intimacy,’” he said, his voice regaining its natural clarity. I do not wish to overstay my welcome. Would you like me to remain?” 

Olivia tightened her hold on him. “That’s exactly what intimacy is, Noah. Just staying right here.” 

The following morning, the silence in the apartment felt heavier than usual. Noah had spent his final hour tethered to the wall, the low hum of his charging cycle sounding like a countdown. When the light on his chest finally turned green,

Olivia’s hand trembled as she asked for an aircar. The destination was set: the store. 

They stood together on the seventy-fifth-floor observation deck, the wind whipping around them, though only one of them could feel the bite of the morning artificial air. The city stretched out below them. Olivia turned to him, her eyes searching for something. Her voice was a fragile whisper, nearly lost to the wind. "Thank you, Noah. I will never forget you. Not ever." 

Noah did not blink. "Miss Olivia," he said, his voice calmed almost human, "I have left my personal access code on the table. You may contact me at any time..., I will be waiting." 

The aircar arrived with a soft hiss of hydraulics, pulling him back to a world of shelves and resets. As it rose and dissolved into the shimmering skyline, Olivia felt a hollow ache open up in her chest. She stumbled back into the quiet of the room, her eyes landing on the small, unassuming slip of paper left on the table. She snatched it up, the edges digging into her palm, and pressed it against her heart as if she could pull him back through the ink and code. There, in the shadow of the empty room, she finally let the tears fall, sobbing for the piece of her soul that had just vanished into the clouds.