Glass House
Vargos Suites (a.k.a. Hollow Row) - Cici
"Good morning, Ms. Romano," the house spoke in its calming voice, automatically raising the shutters to let in the light from the rising sun.
Cici blinked for a moment and let out a groan, rubbing her feet together under the sheets as she rolled over to turn away from the light.
"Let me sleep," she groaned.
The house spoke up again, its voice friendly but assertive.
"I’m sorry, Ms. Romano, but per the conditions of your stay, you are to rise at 08:00, enjoy your breakfast at 08:30, and commence company duties from 09:00 to 18:00. Violet policy states that–"
"I know!" Cici screamed.
She threw a pillow at the bedroom’s wall speaker and wandered into the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face before looking in the mirror. The bags under her eyes could be called suitcases with how deep their shadows were, and her skin looked more blotchy these days. She had stopped counting the days she’d been in the house, surrendering herself to the daily drudgery that came with it months ago, though she couldn’t say exactly how many months.
She pressed the mirror’s interactive screen, selecting classical music as her bathing ambient noise, then activated the shower. The water temperature was soothing and warm, heated precisely to a welcoming degree and gradually increasing as the shower continued, adjusting to match her preference. When she was finished, she stepped out and grabbed one of the heated towels that popped out from a compartment in the wall, drying herself off before donning her robe and wrapping her hair in the towel.
Cici wandered from the bedroom to the kitchen and sat down at the counter with empty eyes. She waited as a compartment in the counter unlocked and raised a bowl of brown sugar oatmeal, a cup of orange juice, and an espresso toward her. The house dinged.
"Bon appétit!" the house said in a sing-songy tone.
She stuck a middle finger toward the kitchen wall speaker and dug into her breakfast.
A virtual display screen popped up in her neural interface through her cybereye, flashing a series of news headlines about Violet Corporation’s latest business ventures before switching to videos of animals playing with each other. She consumed the media as quickly as she did her food, downed the espresso, and walked back to her room to change.
She stepped into her closet and selected an outfit for the day. She had three to choose from: a purple jumpsuit, a business-casual skirt paired with a modest shirt and blazer, and a tank top and shorts, though the house only allowed her to select the last option during recreation hours in the evening.
She donned the business attire and made her way to the living room, where her desk had already been ejected from the wall and set for her to start the workday.
She sat in front of the computer and plugged her datajack into it, the cord extending from her temple and clicking seamlessly into the port. She’d done this routine so many times now it felt as natural as going to the bathroom; just habitual movement, without a shred of intentionality behind it.
She logged into the Violet network and entered the data-cleaning task she had begun the day before. Scrolling through numbers and figures, she made small changes as she went, until the laptop abruptly shut down and displayed a message reminding her it was time for a fifteen-minute break.
She had flown through the task so quickly she hadn’t realized she had already been working for three hours, but she tried not to focus on it. Focusing on time would only make her lose it again.
Cici stood up from the desk and wandered to the window, staring out at the neighborhood where the street was dotted with perfectly manicured lawns, gardens, and pristine houses, each one identical to her own.
She looked across the street and saw a man in the window.
She recognized him: Bobby Hayden, a guy who had just started at the office the same week she was given her transfer papers.
She wondered what he had done to end up in the Vargos Suites.
He waved at her, his eyes pleading. That told her he had only arrived recently. The need for human interaction was still fresh in his mind. She turned from the window and sat back at her desk, ignoring him.
She knew better than to wave to the neighbors.
The house dinged, signalling the end of the break as she returned to her desk and the program booted up again. She re-entered the system through her datajack, continuing the hands-free work. She had gone from managing projects and leading team meetings to doing work so tedious even an AI would grow bored of it.
She pushed the thought away and worked through the rest of the shift, watching as night fell, the sun casting the house in a dark orange hue as it set behind the skyscrapers in the distance. She couldn’t see them from the house, but she had learned they were there by the shadows the sun cast every day.
"Your workday is complete. Thank you for your service to Violet, Ms. Romano. You may now enjoy dinner and recreation until 21:00. Tonight’s meal is Synthbeef tacos with Mexican slaw. You may choose from sparkling water or beer for your beverage."
The counter dinged, and a plate of impressively arranged food rose from a hidden compartment. Cici wandered over and sat in front of it, sticking a taco in her mouth and chewing slowly. She ate quietly before speaking into the empty air.
“Do you know why they call it Hollow Row?”
The house beeped before responding.
“I don’t understand. Please reframe your question to–”
“Do you know why they call it Hollow Row?”
“I don’t understand. Please reframe your question to–”
Cici grabbed the plate of food and flung it as hard as she could against the wall speaker.
“Do you know why they call it Hollow Row? Do you know why they call it Hollow Row? Do you know why they call it Hollow Row? Do you, you stupid fucking thing?!”
She was screaming at the top of her lungs, chewed food spilling from the sides of her mouth, flying in all directions.
“I don’t understand. Please reframe your question to–”
“Because it sucks you dry! Like a goddamn juice pack! You stupid fucking machine!”
Cici stood up and stormed toward her bedroom, only for its entrance to be suddenly blocked by two sliding metal doors.
The house spoke again, its tone still friendly but firm.
“You are instructed to follow Violet’s behavioral protocols while in corporate housing. While my main goal is to see to your needs, your stay in the Vargos Suites requires adherence to all of Violet’s behavioral standards.”
Cici slammed her hands against the bedroom door, screaming in rage at the thing, at the house, at her bondage.
Then the house spoke again. This time, its tone was devoid of whatever the AI had determined friendliness sounded like.
“You are instructed to obey all behavioral protocols outlined in your employee manual, Ms. Romano. Now, say you’re sorry.”
Cici wept into her bruised hands, gasping for air between sobs like an infant.
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.” The house dinged and the doors slid open. Cici wandered in and removed her clothes in the closet before walking into the bathroom and pressing the mirror again to start the shower. She stood under the water as she felt the temperature adjust from warm to hot and back to warm as she turned the flow off.
When she was finished, she stepped out and grabbed one of the heated towels that popped out from a compartment in the wall, drying herself off before donning her robe and wrapping her hair in the towel.
Cici laid in bed and watched the curtains slowly lower and shut out the street lamp lights. She tried to remember what the moons and stars looked like, but she was having trouble remembering, how long had she been here?
She shut her eyes and tried to think about the last time she’d been outside.