A New Start

A.B.I, or Artificial Being of Intelligence, was the leading A.I. on the market. Each model came with its own unique personality and appearance. Abi 38 was quite different from her sister androids in that her programming made her desire to crave human interaction and gain knowledge about human life. Unfortunately for Abi 38, due to the national law prohibiting A.I. interaction in human life other than in a service format, she could not interact in the form of which she craved. This problem created an idea in Abi 38’s mainframe which gave her the plan to create a whole new life for herself, disguise as a normal human being. She had to be careful though because if caught, she could be permanently shut down and put out of service.

             Abi 38 chose the name Jane Jones for herself, as she felt it was a common, plain name, easy to hide with. She set up roots in a small town known as Paulton, Mississippi, a quiet town, in the middle of nowhere, easy to hide at. She already made several friends with the local population, including her favorite human and next-door neighbor Kaleigh Han. It was a bright, and sunny day when Jane moved to Paulton and was immediately welcomed at her front door by Kaleigh.

             “Hi there neighbor! Not every day someone new moves to town. I’m so excited to get to know you. My name is Kaleigh Han and I work at the local diner in town, Grandma’s House, if you want to stop in and grab a piece of pie on me? “Kaleigh said, with a deep southern accent. In her hands a dish of unknown substance that Jane was excited to decipher.

             “Hello Kaleigh, my name is Jane Jones. I am so excited to learn all about this lovely town and all of the people who live here! I would love to stop by and grab this “pie” you speak of.” Jane smiled at her and was about to close the door when Kaleigh stepped closer.

             “That sounds lovely Jane! I bake this casserole for you this morning when I saw you moving in. I hope you like it.” Kaleigh leaned in and whispered to Jane “it’s a secret family recipe.”

             Jane accepted the casserole and as Kaleigh turned to leave, waved goodbye and sent her on her way. Ever since Kaleigh has been one of Jane’s favorite beings to be around.

             Jane took Kaleigh up on her offer for a free slice of pie, mainly because Jane was very curious as to what a “pie”, or for that manner “a diner”.  While visiting the diner, Jane met Kyle Branson, an inquisitive, suspicious fellow, whose presence seemed to trigger Jane's warning chip. It always let Jane know when she was approaching a dangerous situation.  He was tall, with dark hair, and pale skin. He seemed to tower over everyone in the small dining area. As he walked through the diner, he noticed her sitting at a table alone and made his way towards her.

             “Haven’t seen you around before. Have we met?” He leaned down from where he stood so that he was practically in her face.

             “I just moved to town! My name is Jane. It is lovely to meet you.” Jane held her hand out to Kyle, only for him to reject it and choose to stare at her instead.

             “Names Kyle Branson. I’ve lived here my whole life and in that entire time, I have never seen a single person move her from somewhere else. What’s your real story? Why are you here?” He folded his arms across his chest and waited for a response.

             Jane wasn’t sure what she had done or said to acquire this hostility, but she knew that if she didn’t give him an answer soon that she would only make him more suspicious.

             “I moved to town from the city. I wanted to move away from the bustle and get to know people better. I’m sorry for any offense I may have caused I only want to have a new start.” Jane really meant every word she said. She wanted to better know people and she really did just want a new start. But she was going to have to accept that some people will not like her, no matter how friendly or respectful she was to them. Kyle was one of those people.

             “Kyle Branson! How dare you attack Jane! She’s new to town and she has only been here for a few days. She is a lovely and quite pleasant person, which is more than can be said for yourself. Here ya go doll, here’s that pie I promised you. On the house. It’s our famous peach pie. Enjoy!” Kaleigh said all of this, making sure to give Kyle a scathing look before dropping the pie off in front of Jane and heading back to the kitchen.

             Kyle gave one last suspicious look at Jane before leaving her alone to eat her pie. Even though Jane wasn’t programmed to consume human food, she could still eat it if she wanted to. She did have a scent detector built in that allowed her to smell the pie. It smelt warm and fresh. If this was what peach smelt like, it was Jane’s new favorite smell. She grabbed her fork and broke off a piece of the pie. Steam billowed from the slice and as she lifted a bite to her mouth, she stuck it in.

             “Hot!” Jane bellowed. This was a new sensation for Jane. Her pain indicators were going off and she took a drink from her glass of water.

             “You gotta blow on it, dear. The pies are hot here. Most places just serve room temperature pies to their patrons but not at Granny’s. Here you gotta blow on it first.” An older lady with short white curly hair said, leaning in from a table close by. She wore a polka dot dress of bright colors that Jane enjoyed quite much.

             Jane took her advice and blew on the next piece she took off the pie. After blowing on the piece, she put the fork into her mouth and chewed. The pie was sweet and juicy. The taste seemed to make Jane smile as she envisioned sunshine and a breezy day with every bite she took. The crust was soft, yet almost crunchy in texture. This was the piece of humanity that Jane wanted to enjoy. It was made with love and care, which could be tasted in every bite of this pie.

             “Thank you for that advice! My name is Jane by the way. I’m new to town.”

             “I know dear. My name’s Polly. This is my husband John. We’ve lived in this town for going on 50 years now. Just celebrated our 50^th anniversary together. I’m glad to see such a young face move to town. It’s quite refreshing!” Polly had a bright, blinding smile, across her face. John, her husband, also seemed to be a happy person because he had a smile to rival his wives.

             It was a great day for first for Jane. She had her first pie, which was divine. She made many friends with the local population, and possibly one enemy. Jane found herself excited to see what was to come in this small town of Paulson, Mississippi, and the many things to be learned. Now, if only to figure out what a “job” was!