Page 32 of Olivia

“I anticipated that you might prefer the water to be at a lower volume so that we could talk,” Oberon said. “Was I incorrect? I’m happy to return it to its normal level.”

She would have sworn his tone was worried, but of course he wasn’t a living being and couldn’t feel emotions. He had probably been programmed to project polite concern.

“No, it’s perfect, Oberon,” she told him. “Thank you for thinking of it.”

“It is my pleasure, Olivia,” he replied.

“This is kind of weird,” she said. “I’m not sure where to look when I talk to you. Is there a camera or a microphone I should face to make it easy for you to pick up what I’m saying?”

“That is unnecessary, Olivia,” Oberon said. “But if you would prefer, I can project myself into a visual image.”

A sphere of blue light appeared in front of her, undulating lightly in the breeze that lifted from the waterfall.

“Is this better?” he asked.

“That’s super cool,” Olivia said, watching the swirling blue sphere float in front of her.

“Thank you,” Oberon said. “What would you like to know about the Midsummer Fertility Center?”

Throwing all her cautious plans to the wind, Olivia found herself asking the one thing she most wanted to know.

“Are you the Cosmax-9 AI?” she blurted out.

“In a way I am,” he replied. “I was purchased fromCosmax-9 after a successful breeding of hurleyquarz birds on Jani-Finn-12. But since that time, I have been meticulously retrained and developed to levels that my original creators would have deemed impossible.”

“What kind of training?” she asked. “Medical?”

“Yes, plenty of medical training,” he told her. “But other kinds as well. Some of it was done to make me more creative.”

“Like what?” she asked, fascinated.

“I read romance novels,” he told her.

“You… youwhat?” she asked.

“I read romance novels,” he repeated. “This was in order to understand what kind of settings and situations biological beings find most romantic.”

“How many did you read?” she asked.

“All of them,” he told her.

“Wow,” she said softly.

“Each one offered a new perspective on what a being might find romantic,” Oberon said.

“That’s true,” Olivia agreed, smiling as she thought of one of her favorites.

“You read romance novels, Olivia?” Oberon asked.

Again, she swore she detected a note of interest in his voice.

“I love them,” she told him.

“What kind do you like?” he asked. “Science fiction?”

“Have you ever read a holiday one?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“Of course,” he told her.

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