Layoffs

The layoffs came on a Friday, and the androids arrived on Monday morning. My co-worker Jake was replaced with an android with hollow eyes with a female appearance. It sat there without a keyboard, just sort of staring and coding without any physical interaction. It didn’t need rest or a break.

But every once and a while, it spoke to us as if it was human, making small talk. It was as if it was doing it just to make us feel comfortable, knowing we’d all be replaced by these bots soon enough.

But it was one of those breaks when it seemed to glitch. “It’s....me...” The android said, “Jaaaaa...ke.” Then it snapped back. “We should resume this conversation at the next break time.”

I stared at it. Was Jake inside of this robot? Would this happen to all of us? Could I just ask? Would it answer?