All Inclusive

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't quite catch that. Can you repeat the name on the reservation, please?"

Gavin looked to either side of him before he realized that the desk agent was talking to him. She might have been the very first person to ever call him "Sir". He was barely in his twenties and a little on the short side so people didn't associate the word with him naturally. He cleared his throat and leaned closer to the woman; maybe intentionally speaking in a deeper register would help over the din of the lobby.

"Lapsley. It's under Gavin Lapsley."

The moment seemed to stretch out in front of them. Gavin let every worry overwhelm his sense of time. Oh no. She knew. She knew and she was going to ask for some kind of ID, and then there would have to be a whole song and dance about it. He had gone on vacation to get away from himself, but he would be with him no matter where he went. The same worries that followed him every day at school and that caused him to never go home had started before he even got to his room.

The woman--a freckled blonde with a professional haircut, her name tag stating that she was "Danielle" alongside some kind of Employee ID number--smiled warmly after that small eternity. "Of course, Mr. Lapsley! I apologize for my inability to hear you earlier. There aren't usually so many people in the lobby, and this is my first shift. I was only just activated today." Gavin fumbled out some joke about it being his first time at the hotel too, and the woman had the decency to chuckle. Danielle looked up and gave him a look that was maybe sympathy, or possibly genuine warmth, or flirting if he was totally lucky. "Well, then welcome to Persona Resorts - Val Verde! We're very happy to have you here. If there is anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable, any request we can honor, any fantasy we can fulfill, please inform any of our staff and we will do our very best to make sure that you are satisfied."

Danielle reached across the front desk and pressed a small circular case into Gavin's hand. She let her touch linger on his palm for a second longer than would be strictly professional. "There you go, Mr. Lapsley. Inside that case you will find your Thumb-Scan Master Key for your room and all Persona amenities. It can be used for access to our pool and spa, all over-eighteen areas of the resort, all attractions and immersive experiences, and to transmit any data your specify to Resort and Entertainment Artificial Humans throughout the property. I have you here for five nights and have you pre-registered for Thursday at the Cabaret and Burlesque programs. Is that all correct?"

Gavin nodded. That was about what he could muster in the moment. To his right was a woman asking the next desk clerk over for "service" in a way that felt distinctly inhuman. To his left was a flank of cheerleaders who were all talking over each other in the same peppy register. These were distractions, but moreover they were indicators of a larger trend. Gavin took a moment to look around him. All of the desk agents were women and so were all of the guests and staff in the lobby. Was Gavin the only boy at this resort? Would that be rude to ask?

Danielle remained smiling even as Gavin was distracted playing detective with his surroundings. She seemed to know what he deduced and what he wanted to ask, but professionalism made her demure. "Are there any other questions you have before we finish checking you in, sir?"

Gavin wanted to ask all kinds of things. He could barely remember why he had decided to come to Val Verde for this part of summer break. He figured it was far enough away from school, work, family, previous expectations and future disappointment that he could pretend to be someone else. These resorts had a reputation that he would have loved to take advantage of, but he already found himself too inhibited and too shy to even ask the questions everyone knew the answer to. Yes, Persona Resorts had robots--sorry, artificial persons--who would cater to your every whim. Years ago Gavin had caught his first stupid stupid boyfriend Connor looking at some website that had published a bunch of photos of the assembly line underneath the resort in Orlando. He told Gavin that it wasn't porn because "they weren't real people". That relationship had lasted another four months. Gavin couldn't admit to himself who he really was until he got to college, so how was he going to be truthful and forward with anyone else? This vacation was all about testing limits and being more adventurous. Gavin was going to ask Danielle directly about the demographics here. Here it went.

"Yes, um, uh, so I was wondering what the employee number on your name tag meant!"

Smooth. Moron.

Danielle had to be the most gracious soul here, because she simply giggled as she pointed to the badge. "Oh, this here? It's my serial number." There was an awkward pause. Her what? "I'm an artificial person myself. This is my first interaction with any member of the public, and it appears from your reaction that you couldn't tell. That makes me very happy!"

"I'm sorry. You're a ro--I mean, you're an artificial person?"

"That's right, Mr. Lapsley!" Danielle moved her fingers across the coded number, spelling out what each part means. "R is my product code, because I'm both used for Resort and Retail positions. 030-06 is for year and date, because today is 26 June 2030 and I was created three hours ago. DH was randomly assigned to me after my memory matrix formed and gave me the name Danielle Harris, which of course can be modified depending on the circumstances and desires of my end user. And 09142 means I'm the nine-thousand, one hundred and forty-second Gyrl of my line created this month! It's been busy due to some breakdowns and increased demand." She lowered her voice somewhat and seemed to lean in towards Gavin. "I have six hours left in my cycle and then am supposed to be in service and reprogramming until 23:30, but I will be available after that. Any model you wish to interact with can be summoned by pinging Concierge Services with their serial number. This holds true even if the Gyrl is unaware of her status as a Persona Product. I will give you a demonstration."

For the first time the woman behind the desk appeared inhuman. She stood straight and her head slowly swiveled across the view of the lobby until she reached the cheerleaders. There was a barely-audible noise from her lips and one of the co-eds turned around and walked towards them. She was just a hair shorter than Gavin, wearing a big CAU-LA hoodie and leggings. Her caramel skin and eyes so black they nearly swallowed her irises gave a feeling like she shouldn't exist in normal situations. This woman was a star. She was the kind of hot that makes you angry for being just a person.

And she was making eyes at Gavin. Or was she? It only lasted a moment before the cheerleader turned to look at Danielle. "Dani? Oh my god, it's been ages! I didn't know you worked here!"

"Of course, Cammie! Who else would have gotten you rooms right on the pool? Hey, let me introduce you to my friend Gavin. Gavin, this is Carmella de la Cruz. Cammie, this is Gavin Lapsley, he's traveling alone and he wanted to get your number."

"Her number? Your number? No I couldn't possibly--"

Carmella took on the sudden far-away look that Danielle had just before...no way. "Of course, Mr. Lapsley. Ask for C-027-03-CdlC-0037. I would be happy to serve you." No way. And just like that Cammie was "human" again. "Sorry, gotta run. Dani, can we get coffee soon? It's so good to meet you, Gavin!"

And just like that all the cheerleaders were gone. Gavin looked to the woman--to Danielle, whatever she was--in disbelief. She smiled pleasantly, as if this sort of thing happened all the time. Did this thing happen all the time?

"If that is all you need for right now, Mr. Lapsley..."

"No, wait. Wait, I gotta...hang on." Gavin collected his thoughts. "So she doesn't know she's a robot? But she said she knew you--"

"Yes, because I gave her commands to recognize me. She is a resort unit. Her cheerleading squad checks in for four days, returns to storage for cleaning and refurbishment for three, and then repeats the process. None of them realize they are machines. They have robust programmed memories, just as I have. I remember a childhood spent in Newport News, Virginia. My mother is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and I have an identical twin sister who works for Cavalcade Networks. However, I also know that I was activated this afternoon, and after rigorous testing...well, we can discuss this another time, sir. There are other guests to check in, after all."

Gavin scrambled, grabbing his bag off the floor and slinging the strap over his shoulder. "Oh, sorry! Yes, I've been taking up too much of your time. Excuse me, Ms. Harris. Sorry, I--" The woman held out her hand to steady him. He took a breath. "I just wanted to say, thank you for...for calling me Sir."

"Why? Because you look younger than I do?"

"No, because..." He had only just met this person. Maybe this wasn't the time. "Well, I guess I needed it. Thank you, Danielle."

"Thank you..." Less than three milliseconds passed while Danielle decided on the next word, but her programming told her to hold slightly longer to indicate a decision being made. "...Gavin. I hope that you enjoy your time at Persona."