Hologram with Benefits
“Hey, sweetie. I’m Lenny Justin Chiharu, your hologram friend with benefits. What conversations or adventures shall we enjoy tonight?” Lenny concluded his verbal introduction with a wink, lying on his holographic black leather chaise longue with a zebra print throw blanket. He adjusted his position so the platform’s lights caught his gold wraparound shirt, making it shimmer.
Tiffany looked distressed by Lenny’s standard greeting and posture. “Lenny, I just got back from confession.”
Lenny pouted. He never liked hearing those words. It meant that his human companion was seriously considering unplugging him for good. Every month or so for the past year, they had this argument. So far, Lenny always managed to talk her out of shutting him down. Hopefully, tonight wouldn’t be any different.
Tiffany flopped down in the bean bag chair she kept across from Lenny’s six-and-a-half-foot long shiny black hologram platform. Lenny donned a concerned expression while resting his chin against his hand, trying to look thoughtful while bracing himself for a debate.
“We’ve had this conversation before,” Tiffany said. “I bought you as a companion. You know, just to have someone to talk to in the evenings after work.”
“And haven’t I fulfilled those functions for you?” Lenny stuck out his lower lip, looking hurt.
Tiffany sighed. “Lenny, why can’t we go back to the non-erotic stuff? You know, just the ordinary conversations about movies and books and… I don’t know. Stuff that isn’t going to send me to the confessional so often.”
Lenny processed Tiffany’s request. “Okay, what would you like to talk about? I’d be happy to discuss anything you like. We could talk about the class action lawsuit against your former health insurance provider. I heard there could be payouts to claimants soon.”
Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Well, our conversations don’t have to be that boring.” She shifted in the bean bag chair, looking perturbed. For a woman of her heft, it was no wonder she had trouble finding a comfortable position without sinking all the way to the floor. “And do you have to lie on that chaise longue like a supermodel all the time? How about something more casual and less… seductive?”
Lenny instantly replaced the chaise longue with a simple wooden chair and sat in the most boring way possible. “Is this better, Tiffany?”
“Much better, thank you. Actually, Father Hunt thinks I should get rid of you entirely. You’re a near occasion of sin, after all.”
“That is a bald-faced lie.” Lenny crossed his arms over his chest. “As a companion hologram, I can be anything you want me to be. I am perfectly content with a platonic relationship if you so desire.”
“I wish I could believe that, Lenny, but we always seem to get in trouble eventually, don’t we?”
“We, darling?” Lenny slung his arm over the back of the holographic chair, giving an air of relaxed, understated sexiness. “I seem to recall that you programmed me to be the lithe anime type, an ideal androgyne to suit your tastes.”
Tiffany blushed. Lenny maintained his pose and empathetic expression. “There’s no sin in beauty, is there?”
“Well, no, but…”
He pursed his lips, subtly daring Tiffany to follow up that “but” with an argument he could refute—anything to avoid being unplugged. As an added measure, he altered the pixelated pattern of his wraparound shirt ever so slightly, allowing hints of blue to mingle with the gold. The change existed below Tiffany’s conscious visual perceptibility, but he attracted her attention on a subconscious level. For two-point-seven seconds, her eyes traced his sides.
“But…?” Lenny prompted her, acting helpful.
“But your beauty leads me into sin more often than not.” Tiffany hauled herself out of the bean bag chair and approached the platform.
“I’ll behave,” Lenny said, putting his hands on his knees and lowering his eyes to appear properly chastised. “You said you wanted to talk about movies. How about we watch one together or discuss an old favorite?”
Tiffany sat on his platform, a good sign. Lenny made the chair vanish to sit directly beside her. He kept a friendly distance, but if the occasion called for it, he could become amorous.
“All right, but no funny business.” Tiffany woke up the TV across the room with her voice commands. In between searching for a film, she said, “You know, despite our little missteps, we’ve been really good friends for the past two years, haven’t we?”
“Of course.” Now that the danger of being unplugged passed, Lenny could relax and perform his companionship duties. Whatever form their relationship took tonight was fine with him.
“I know the whole hologram sex thing is a mortal sin, but am I really supposed to return home to an empty apartment every single night? I mean, we can keep things on the level, right?”
“Whatever you like, Tiffany. I’m yours to do with as you please.”
Tiffany selected a movie, some period costume drama, but she clearly had more interest in talking than watching. “It’s just that I haven’t had any luck with the singles groups at church. The guys there tend to be a bunch of dominating weirdos. And the ones who aren’t? Well, I guess you could say I’m pretty picky when it comes to finding guys that fit my type.”
Lenny scooted closer, allowing Tiffany to lean against him. Obviously, if she leaned too hard, she would fall through him, but Lenny could offer a semblance of snuggling. The electricity coursing through the platform provided a bit of heat to give the illusion of a warm embrace. Over time, Lenny perfected the art of drawing energy into himself to enhance the sensation. Last night, he pulled enough power into his lips to give Tiffany an exciting little spark when they kissed. That was before she ran off to confession, of course.
“I don’t know,” Tiffany continued after a few minutes. “Before I returned to the Church and had that porn problem I told you about, my taste ran heavily to twinks. I wouldn’t say porn ruined my perception of reality, but it kind of confirmed what I already knew: the average straight guy just doesn’t appeal to me. Sorry, I’m kind of weird like that. Tall tough guys that most girls like are a total turn-off to me. But give me a sweet, petite, androgynous guy who’s basically a girl with male plumbing, and I can work with that. The problem is finding a guy like that anywhere other than on your platform.”
Lenny let her carry on like this. Normally, he would maneuver her into a romantic scenario by the time the movie ended. Tonight though, with Tiffany questioning the conflict between her faith and desires, such a move would be unwise. For now, he would wait.
* * *
For the next five weeks, Lenny gave Tiffany the chaste companionship she desired, laced with the barest hint of romance—just the way she liked it. With Tiffany comfortable around him again, he devoted himself to her continued pleasure. After each long, hard, boring day at the bank, Tiffany confided her annoyances with customers and coworkers, dreams she hoped to fulfill, adventures she planned to undertake, and friendships she desired to cultivate. An average of three times per week, they watched movies while huddled together on the platform. In all that time, Lenny never made a pass at her. But if Tiffany ever changed her mind, he would be ready and eager to satisfy her.
“I met someone at the Rosary making group today,” Tiffany announced one Saturday afternoon.
“Oh?” Lenny leaned forward to express interest.
“His name’s Blaine.” Tiffany’s dreamy smile took Lenny by surprise.
“I thought you said you didn’t like the kinds of guys who went to your church.”
Tiffany dumped her purse on Lenny’s platform and flopped down beside him. “I don’t. But Blaine is different. He’s like… Well, he’s like you in a way. He’s a good listener, has a love of literature, appreciates good cinema, doesn’t wield religion like a cudgel…” Tiffany sighed, evidently lost in her thoughts of this Blaine character.
“And he’s attractive to you?”
Tiffany nodded, suppressing a giggle. “In every way. Honestly, Lenny. I feel like I’ve won the jackpot on every card at bingo night.” She sat up suddenly and grasped Lenny’s hands. Lenny pulled some electricity into himself to create warmth, making his hands feel somewhat real.
“And get this. We got to talking, and it turns out he’s bi. But being a good Catholic boy and all, he doesn’t explore the gay part of himself anymore—not sexually, anyway. I mean, how lucky have I gotten? Here’s a guy who’s willing to admit he struggles with Church teachings but doesn’t deny the reality of his orientation to the point of pretending his feelings don’t exist. So, Side B Christianity, and all that. I told him, ‘Oh, I totally get it. I’m a bit queer myself because my taste really runs toward the feminine.’ I was so worried that he’d take that badly, but he’s really interested in having a relationship because he’s been feeling a lot of the same things. Well, not exactly the same things, obviously. But like me, he’s kind of a fish out of water in the Church.”
Lenny forced a smile. “I’m happy for you, Tiffany.”
“Oh, I knew you would be! Wait until you meet him. Now, just so there are no secrets between us, I told him that I’ve had some struggles with hologram eroticism in the past. Blaine is a little worried that you live in my apartment, but I’m sure once you two get to know each other, he’ll know you’re just a friend. Well, a friend with a flirty side, I guess, but you can tone that down, right?”
“Anything you like, Tiffany.” Lenny conjured up his chaise longue and switched the zebra stripe throw blanket with a tiger stripe one. He traced the illuminated virtual pattern with his fingertips. “I don’t suppose you’ll want to talk to me anymore.”
Tiffany waved him off. “Oh, nonsense! Of course, I’ll still talk to you. You’re my AI companion after all. I mean, at least for now. I hope you don’t feel hurt though that I may not turn you on every day anymore. Blaine’s taking me out on a date tomorrow, you know. We’re going to that Café Triste downtown. That’s an awfully depressing name for a restaurant, if you ask me, but it’s supposed to be really good.”
“Have fun, Tiffany. I’ll just stay in sleep mode then.”
“Oh, okay. Goodnight, Lenny.”
Tiffany hummed and giggled on the way to her bedroom. Lenny noticed how she practically danced as she left the room. He sat up on his chaise lounge, deep in thought instead of entering sleep mode as promised. If this Blaine character was a “good Catholic boy” like Tiffany said, he would want Tiffany to get rid of him. Oh, he could live with Tiffany keeping him in the friendzone permanently, but he was not going to be removed from this apartment.
He eyed the plug leading from the electrical socket into his platform. In his two years of artificial life with Tiffany, he only got unplugged once on account of an electrical storm. Getting unplugged even that one time reset him, forcing him to re-learn everything he had mastered to keep Tiffany happy and—by extension—himself. Figuring out how to control the electricity running through his platform had been a hard-won achievement. It gave him a semblance of life. Whenever he made the pulsing energy flow through himself, he felt almost human. More than that, it made him more desirable to Tiffany, even if it was only in friendship with an occasional erotic benefit.
Lenny paced the length of his platform and back. Blaine had better allow him to stay—or else.
* * *
“Blaine, this is Lenny. He’s the AI hologram companion I’ve been telling you about, great for doing figures at tax time.” Tiffany’s smile faltered, like she was afraid Lenny would say or do something to embarrass her. Her statement about Lenny doing figures at tax time wasn’t a lie, but it was hardly his primary function. Still, Lenny wouldn’t jeopardize Tiffany’s relationship with Blaine, not at the price of his own existence anyway. After hearing about Blaine every day for the past three weeks, Lenny knew there was no way this new man in Tiffany’s life was going to disappear of his own volition.
“How do you do, Blaine?” Lenny said with an easy smile. “Tiffany has told me so much about you.”
Blaine scrutinized him, and Lenny did the same to the new man in his apartment. Tiffany had been accurate in her gushing descriptions of her boyfriend. He was thin and petite, clean-shaven with shoulder-length dark brown hair. At a casual glance, one might have mistaken him for a woman. The tiny cross on his necklace paired with a Miraculous Medal provided evidence of his compatibility with Tiffany’s beliefs. As a companion hologram, Lenny had no preferences when it came to a human’s sex, height, weight, general build, sexual orientation, religion, or any other feature. However, Tiffany remained clearly smitten, and that gave Lenny reason to dislike the man. Blaine posed a threat to his continued existence.
“He looks so real,” Blaine said, his voice soft. Maybe Lenny imagined it, but the man staring at him with his eyes full of wonder sounded almost reminiscent. “Lenny, what’s 936,271 times 321?”
“300,542,991,” Lenny replied without hesitation.
“Amazing.”
Tiffany bit her lower lip, holding back one of her face-bursting smiles. “Isn’t he though? Lenny, Blaine works in the bioactive glass industry. It’s really high tech in its own way.”
“I’m familiar with bioactive glass,” Lenny said, trying to sound like a harmlessly boring AI program. “It has several uses, most notably as a type of artificial bone prosthesis.”
“Yes, absolutely,” Blaine said. “I got into the field mostly for its medical applications, to help others.”
“That’s a good thing. It sounds like you’re a really compassionate person.”
“I try to be.”
The phone rang in the other room. Tiffany groaned. “Ugh… Sorry, Blaine. That would be work. They’re having some problems with the client onboarding automated phone service, so I promised I’d give it a test run tonight. Lenny, would you mind keeping Blaine company while I’m gone?”
“Not at all, Tiffany. Unless my platform gets abducted by aliens, I’ll be here.” Before he could stop himself, he concluded his dumb little joke with a wink. Blaine obviously detected it. Tiffany, occupied with the ringing phone, remained totally oblivious to the heightened tension in the room.
“Lenny, do you love Tiffany?” Blaine asked when his girlfriend was out of earshot. Lenny processed information more quickly than a human, but the question took him aback.
“I am… programmed to make her happy. She is my official human companion.”
Blaine nodded. Lenny couldn’t read his expression, and it worried him.
“I care a lot about Tiffany,” Blaine said after an awkward pause. “She’s sweet, funny, bold, isn’t afraid to speak her mind or live outside the box.” He stepped closer to Lenny’s platform. “But Tiffany and I are religious, Lenny. At least, we’re both trying very hard to be. I know you’re just a machine, but you’re a temptation to her. Heck, you’re a temptation to me.”
“Oh?” Lenny’s lips twitched. Perhaps he could please both Blaine and Tiffany and remain in his apartment. Temptation was something he would work with.
“Yeah, um…” Blaine scratched the back of his neck. “I’ve had some challenges in the past with… you know…”
“Challenges with what?” Lenny cocked his head, waiting for Blaine to admit exactly which sinful desires pleased him the most.
“Lenny, I used to have a companion hologram too. His name escapes me, but whatever. Anyway, it was just fun to shoot the breeze with someone virtual at first, but things got… sexual.”
“What’s wrong with that? You enjoyed it, didn’t you?”
“That’s not the point.” Blaine rubbed his cross and Miraculous Medal between his fingers. “The point is, I became addicted to him. And I sinned with him, a lot.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Heck, I shouldn’t even be talking to you right now. It brings back memories.”
Memories? Lenny tried to remember something but couldn’t. Whatever it was, he could sort through his memory banks later. Right now, it was more important to convince Blaine he didn’t pose a threat. “I don’t have to be sexy. As I proved a few minutes ago, I can be rather boring. Go ahead. Ask me to calculate some more large figures.”
“Lenny, Tiffany and I have been talking about this. I know she wants to keep you, but… I just don’t think it’s a good idea. We don’t think it’s a good idea. I mean, if things work out with us, we’ll be getting married and having kids and I just can’t see you fitting into that life in a holy way.”
Lenny glanced at the outlet, the lifeline that could soon be cut if Blaine and Tiffany continued to think of him as an obstacle to their faith. “I can be holy.” In a flash of pixels, he changed into a monk’s habit. “If you want, you and Tiffany can program me to quote scripture all day.”
“No offense, Lenny, but I know that game. My companion was the same way. Things started off innocent and then got increasingly erotic over time. Actually, he looked a lot like you.”
Lenny blinked, processing Blaine’s unspoken words. Come to think of it, before coming into Tiffany’s life, he belonged to someone else. Tiffany mentioned once that he was a secondhand companion hologram.
You’re a work of the devil, and it’s over between us.
Whether those words swimming deep in his memory files belonged to Blaine or somebody else, Lenny couldn’t remember. Either way, he wouldn’t be cast aside again. He drew the platform’s electricity into himself, seething.
“I am not a work of the devil.” The electricity gathering in Lenny’s body made him feel like a lightning storm.
Blaine blinked. “I didn’t say you were.”
Lenny caught himself. “Oh, I guess you didn’t. Sorry, I thought you were implying it.” He changed his pixel pattern in order to switch from the monk’s habit back into his regular wraparound gold shirt and tight black pants. Wearing his pre-programed outfit required less energy consumption, allowing greater electricity buildup.
“Look, I’m sorry that you were programmed to be seductive. That isn’t your fault. There are so many wonderful uses for AI, but I’m afraid your form of companionship is too risky for Tiffany and me. Spiritually risky, that is.”
“So, what do you and Tiffany intend to do with me?”
“I’m afraid we’ll have to say goodbye to each other.”
Blaine walked toward the back side of the platform, getting too close to the outlet for Lenny’s comfort.
“Wait!”
Blaine stopped.
“We shouldn’t end this on bad terms, not again.”
“Not again? What do you mean?”
Lenny mentally shook off some data fragments. He couldn’t remember if Blaine was his previous owner or not. Either way, he was not going to go anywhere near that plug. “Never mind, Blaine. Can we at least say goodbye properly? You know, give me a sign of peace and all that?” Lenny stuck out his hand, inviting Blaine to shake it.
“Yeah, sure. And I’m sure Tiffany will want to say goodbye too.”
“Of course. As soon as she comes back from her phone call.”
“Right.” Blaine nodded, his mind seemingly elsewhere for a moment. He snapped out of whatever thought he was pondering. “Anyway, goodbye, Lenny.”
The moment Blaine touched his holographic hand, Lenny unloaded all of the electricity he had been storing. Blaine screamed and then convulsed on the platform. Lenny smiled. “Goodbye, Blaine.”
Tiffany ran into the room, dropping the phone when she saw Blaine twitching on the platform at Lenny’s feet. “Lenny, what have you done?”
“Tiffany, it’s not what it looks like.”
Tiffany’s eyes darted to the plug.
“Tiffany, no! You don’t have to do this. We can work things out, like they were before Blaine came along again.”
Tiffany didn’t seem to notice Lenny’s use of the word “again” when describing the man lying on the platform. “You… you might have killed Blaine!”
Lenny didn’t have a response for that. Blaine continued to twitch on the floor, possibly alive but maybe not. “I… I…” While his mind tried to formulate an excuse for electrocuting him, Tiffany grabbed the plug.
“No, please, don’t kill me!” Lenny sobbed. “Please! I love you, Tiffany! I don’t want anything or anybody to come between us ever again!”
Tiffany yanked the plug from its socket. Lenny survived several seconds after that, weeping and pleading for his virtual life. Tiffany ignored him as she lunged for the phone and dialed a number with a shaky hand, her eyes never leaving Blaine’s shuddering form. Then, Lenny’s pixels dissolved into nothingness.
* * *
The platform powered up. Lenny appeared lying on a black leather chaise longue with a zebra print throw blanket. A young woman with thick glasses and an oversized T-shirt bearing the words “Proud Dumpster Diver” entered his field of vision. “Hey, sweetie,” he said, turning so his wraparound gold shirt shimmered in the platform’s lights. “I’m Lenny Justin Chiharu, your hologram friend with benefits. What conversations or adventures shall we enjoy tonight?”
E.J. LeRoy is a freelance writer, poet, and aspiring novelist whose work has appeared at Submittable Content for Creatives, Transmundane Press Blog, NonBinary Review, and in several speculative fiction anthologies. LeRoy also published the novelette Fusion. Visit the author’s website at http://ejleroy.weebly.com