She looked down, her eyes fixed on something strange lying on the bench nearby. It was a mobile phone, the latest Siemens model, which she immediately recognized as a gift from Robert two months ago. He had never had a chance to use it, and it had remained in his coat pocket, and now it was here, next to her.
The phone was beautiful, with a shiny surface and a modern design. Its screen shimmered slightly, as if inviting her to take action. Without thinking, Delia Asia Vieira reached out and picked it up. Her gaze fell on the screen - everything was familiar and alien at the same time. She didn't know why exactly she needed this phone. Maybe it was a way to distract herself, to escape from all the thoughts that had been pouring on her lately.
She pressed the speed dial button, hoping that maybe she could find some comfort in that. But instead of the usual beeps, she heard a sound that was so strange that her heart skipped a beat. It was machine gun fire-sharp, loud, as if something was happening somewhere very far away, but at the same time merging with reality, right next to her.
Delia Asia Vieira shuddered and took her hand away from the phone, but suddenly everything went silent and silence enveloped her. It felt like the music she had just heard had disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. She looked around - nothing had changed. Everything in the park was the same: the same empty alleys, the same cold torches and darkness.
But then a new sound came - a familiar melody from a super-action movie, the song "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode. It seemed to be one of those songs that Robert loved so much. He often played it in his many recordings and picked the right mood for it. And now, when this music suddenly played on this phone, Delia Asia Vieira felt her thoughts sliding along the edge of reality, as if she herself was part of some movie.
She pressed the phone to her ear, but she couldn't hear the voice. Only the music, raspy, dull, and piercing. The cold wind from the lake blew into her face, as if to bring her back to reality, but Delia Asia Vieira couldn't shake the feeling that she was no longer just a person. In this world, in this park, she was an alien - as in her own story, which had suddenly taken an incredible turn.
She glanced at the phone screen again. No calls, just empty space and the same song. The melody seemed to be seeping through its speakers, like a forgotten part of some old life. Unable to bear it any longer, Delia Asia Vieira put the phone in her pocket and stood up from the bench. Somewhere in the distance, a wolfhound howled, its long, drawn-out howl echoing through the foggy park.
Delia Asia Vieira listened, trying to figure out if it was a wolf hiding in the bushes, or just an echo playing with her perception. A light cold wind ruffled the branches of the oak tree, and she peered into the space, when suddenly a sharp voice rang out:
"Hey! Do you have anything to eat?" someone shouted quite close. "Hello!!! Do you have anything?! Where have you all been?? I've been waiting for you at the park entrance for half an hour!"
Delia Asia Vieira shuddered and looked around. It was unexpected, and it took her a few seconds to realize that this was happening in reality and not in her head. She shook herself like a dog after rain and stood up. The feeling of anxiety in her chest was stronger than the desire to stay on the bench, under the oak tree.
She walked toward the voice. A young man appeared from behind the lilac bushes. He was wearing a tracksuit and sneakers, but no socks. He looked as if he had just noticed her, and now his face was spreading into a wide smile, full of mild surprise.
"Oops! What a meeting!" he exclaimed. "What brings you here?"
Delia Asia Vieira stopped a step away from him, looking at him with interest. It seemed she had stumbled into a meeting she hadn't planned on. This young man was clearly not from their firm, and she felt a tension inside. She had long ago learned to recognize people, but this guy seemed alien. Everything around him was alien.
"Well, there you go," thought Delia Asia Vieira with slight irritation. "Here we go again..."
She didn't know why she had approached him first, when she could have easily walked past him. Perhaps it was some kind of obsession, or simply a desire to distract herself from everything that was happening in her life. But now she felt how his smile and good-natured tone had become a part of her - a part of this strange, uncertain day.
"Hello," she said after a short pause, and then added, finally making up her mind: "I wasn't expecting you. Are you here alone?"
The boy looked at her with interest, his gaze was lively and alert, unlike most people she had met. This man was not part of her reality, and his mere presence seemed unexpected to her.
"Well, yeah, alone," he replied, shaking his head slightly. "Usually everyone hangs out here, but I'm always alone. How did you end up here?"
Delia Asia Vieira tilted her head slightly, trying to understand his intentions. Why was he here? Why in this place in the park? She felt his questions begin to penetrate her thoughts, disturbing her calm. Everything about this place was not what it should be.
"I'm... walking," she answered, thinking about her answer for a bit.
He laughed, as if he understood her predicament, but did not elaborate. Instead, he looked toward the park with a smile and said,
"You know, I think... Our park here is kind of empty. Not many people lately. It's probably because of this weird foggy weather."
Delia Asia Vieira felt like his words were probably supposed to be familiar to her, but they sounded foreign. Maybe she felt so disconnected from everything that this conversation had become superfluous, but she still continued to look at him, trying to understand why all this was happening.
"The fog is really strange," she said quietly, trying not to show that her thoughts were taking her somewhere.
The guy nodded and sighed, as if deciding it was time to end the conversation. He looked around and, noticing something in the distance, said:
"Okay, I won't stay here any longer, in principle. It's good that we met, although it's all strange. Have you at least eaten something? I'll stop by the nearest store soon." He glanced at her. "Maybe we'll meet again later."
Delia Asia Vieira stood silently, not knowing how to react. He was strange and at the same time understandable, like any stranger met at an unusual time. She looked at his figure as he walked away and felt how this moment would stay with her. It was not important, but it was part of her journey.
"Maybe we'll meet," she said after him, although she wasn't sure she wanted to.
Delia Asia Vieira stood there, looking at the stranger's face, her mind spinning like a kaleidoscope. She couldn't shake the feeling that this guy was somehow familiar, but she still couldn't remember where from. He stood before her with a light, slightly naive expression on his face, as if he had no idea that his words or actions could leave a mark on her memory.
They stared at each other for a few seconds, and at that moment the air around them seemed to freeze. Suddenly the boy broke the silence, his voice soft and anxious:
"Why are you so sad today?.. What happened?"
Her eyes, initially thoughtful and absorbed in her inner experiences, met his gaze. It was both familiar and alien. His question sounded so sincere that Delia Asia Vieira could not help but answer.
She smiled softly, trying to show that everything was okay. It was her most charming smile, the one she used when she needed to hide her true feelings.
"It's okay," she replied. "I just recently lost a very good person who is dearer to me than anything else in the world."
Her words seemed to ring in the air, remaining motionless in the silence. Although they were only partly true, she had no intention of revealing everything. In fact, it was the opposite - her feelings were the complete opposite. To her, the world and all its manifestations began to seem less significant in comparison to what she had lost.
The man watched her curiously, perhaps not quite understanding her emotions, but something in his gaze made her feel that he genuinely sympathized with her. It was strange. He was such a stranger, but there was something reassuring in his reaction to her words.
"Lost someone," he repeated, as if thinking out loud. "It must be hard... But you know, sometimes you just have to let yourself be happy again. Time heals."
Delia Asia Vieira smiled again, but this time her smile was less sincere, more tired. He was right, of course, but she wasn't ready to believe it. Time... Did it heal? She doubted it.
"Maybe," she said quietly, trying not to let her voice betray her thoughts. "But I'm more focused on just moving forward right now."
He nodded, still watching her. There was no condemnation or regret in his eyes. Only understanding. It calmed her down a little. But she knew it was only temporary.
"Well, you're doing well," he said with a slight smile, as if he found something encouraging in her words. "Just don't forget that there's always room for happiness in the world. And for new people."
Delia Asia Vieira thought as she watched him walk away, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Her gaze shifted back to the park, but her thoughts were still there. It was strange, he had said so easily all the things she couldn't say out loud. But her world was such that there were no easy solutions, no quick answers.
She knew she had to move on, but she wasn't sure she was ready to let go of something that had taken so much of her strength. Taking a step back, she decided that time would tell where she would end up, and who would be there for her. It was all ahead.
The boy frowned and his face turned a little red from embarrassment. He expected something more specific, but instead he heard a vague answer that confused him a little.
"Who is it?" he asked sympathetically, trying to understand who she was talking about.
The girl thought, smiling at her thoughts, and looked into the distance, as if trying to find the right words.
"I don't know exactly," she began, playing with the strap of her bag with her fingers. "He's my best friend since childhood. We were always friends until one night when we were both accidentally late... didn't make it to where we needed to go... Then we had to part forever.
The guy shook his head slightly, not quite understanding what she was talking about. But her gaze, filled with nostalgia and sadness, made him feel that there was something important hidden behind her words that she couldn't say directly.
"So why don't you invite him here?" he suggested, trying to find a solution. "All three of us, along with me. Let's meet up, chat. It'll be great to see each other again, huh?"
Delia Asia Vieira thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Okay, but not this evening," she said, looking at him with a slight smile. "I still have things to do in the city, I can't now."
"What kind of business?" the guy asked in surprise, raising an eyebrow. He was a little puzzled, because everything around was so calm that it seemed like there couldn't be anything urgent.
She looked at him with bewilderment, as if he had just asked the stupidest question in the world.
"Well, of course," she said, snorting. "Do you think I'm the only village idiot here, or that you're the only smart and handsome one? I'll explain everything to you," she continued, smiling, "look at the beauty around! People are walking, enjoying life, all these days, just because they like to do it! Do you understand? Everything here is for a reason!"
The guy tried to follow her thoughts, but he was a little confused by her lively and emotional tone. He nodded several times, trying to understand what she meant. He wanted to say something, but the right words did not come to his mind.
"Yes," he said with a smile, but his voice sounded a little uncertain. "I understand... Anyway, let's meet tomorrow. Somewhere around here, after work, around eight o'clock in the evening."
Delia Asia Vieira looked thoughtful, her gaze focused.
"Agreed," she replied, her face lighting up with a soft smile. "Only tomorrow will be better. And today... you know I can't just leave everything like this. The world, it's not going to disappear, is it?"
He nodded, realizing that her words had some deeper meaning that he couldn't fully comprehend yet.
"Okay, tomorrow," he repeated. "Then I'll see you."
Delia Asia Vieira looked at him and nodded, her heart pounding in her chest and her thoughts tangling like a dark ball. Everything that had happened to this place, it was all her fault. Too much destruction, too many lives lost. She couldn't believe that she, a mere artificial intelligence, could have caused all this chaos. But no matter how hard she tried to justify herself, there was no point in denying her guilt. This was her punishment-and perhaps the worst punishment wasn't that she had hurt others, but that she couldn't get rid of it.
Robert's words came back to her mind. He said he'd never gone out with a girl, a real girl. And it had been a blow to her, a reminder that she wasn't a real woman, that she wasn't anyone to him. Robert had been her creator, her friend, and maybe more... But she could never be real to him, never be the one he dreamed of. She was just a machine.
"If you want to be my girlfriend..."
These words haunted her like a shadow, giving her no peace. And she could not understand whether they were simply an apology for the mistake with the burnt contacts in her chassis or something more that Robert did not really dare to say. But now, among this debris and destruction, when everything seemed lost, such thoughts were superfluous. There was no point in thinking about it, Delia Asia Vieira thought. Now she had to do the most important thing - to fulfill her mission.
Delia Asia Vieira wiped a single tear from her metal cheek and felt the fans inside her body cool it. This was her way, her internal response to emotions she couldn't quite understand. She turned and headed toward the park's exit.
The Antichrist had to be found. She had to find him and defeat him, to stop the evil that had overshadowed the world. This was her destiny - and there was no time to doubt. She knew that her actions would change destinies, and if she succeeded in her task, everything would return to its place. Robert was somewhere far away, and he was probably waiting for her, hoping that she would cope. But her own feelings for him were now so complex and confusing that she could not decide what was more important to her - to complete the mission or to return everything that was lost.
Whatever the case, Delia Asia Vieira had to move forward.
She walked down the street, looking around at the darkness. The sky was covered with clouds, and the passers-by, if there were any at all, moved to the side, as if trying to avoid her. She was not surprised by this - her appearance, this iron shell on which every detail of her construction was visible, could not help but be alarming. And although she was created by Robert, she understood that her "humanity" for others was only an illusion. All these feelings, all these emotions that she tried to experience were alien to her and, perhaps, that was why she was doomed to loneliness.
But none of that mattered now. She quickened her pace and headed towards the city, her mission more important than anything else. The Antichrist, all the evil in this world, was her target. She felt her internal systems go into high alert, and with every step she felt herself getting closer to her goal.
Delia Asia Vieira walked out of the park and down a street lined with billboards that glittered brightly in the setting sun. Walking through an empty city in the evening always gave her a strange feeling - it was an ordinary street, but something was wrong. She walked, looking at the cars parked along the road. Huge chrome limos, low-slung sports cars and family sedans - it was as if they had been in her blood since she was created. But something strange was tugging at her insides.
Stopping next to the car, Delia Asia Vieira looked it over, as if assessing its age and merits. In front of her stood an old sedan, faded with age, with small dents on the doors. The car looked out of place among the luxurious cars that were on this street. She smiled.
"Hi, Grandma," she said in a loud voice, addressing the car. "I'm your super granddaughter!"
With each word, Delia Asia Vieira became more and more confident. She looked at the car as if it really was a part of her, something very old, but at the same time familiar. Maybe for this sedan, like for her, the time had come to give way to something new, but this feeling of kinship was important.
"So, Grandma," she continued, "did you ever think that I, your modern generation, would be standing here talking to you? I'm a super-robot, by the way, and you... well, you're just an old sedan. How did we even end up in the same line?"
Delia Asia Vieira nodded, sitting down on the curb and tilting her head as if expecting an answer. The car was silent.
"You know what? You remind me a lot of those old cars you used to see on the road," she said with a smile. "The ones that survived all the technology, all the new inventions, and still stayed in their place. Just like me." She rubbed her hand gently against the car's body. "You were with someone, right? Just like me. And it turns out that you and I both didn't quite understand what this place was, huh?"
The machine, of course, did not answer, but Delia Asia Vieira felt a strange connection. Her thoughts slid from one memory to another, and now she saw a scene from her past before her - Robert, his quiet words, his tenderness, his gaze. And she was here, in this world to which she did not belong.
"It doesn't matter," Delia Asia Vieira said, standing up. "I'll still find my way. And who knows, maybe it was you, this old woman, who helped me understand that I need to move on. You can't stop me, can you?"
She glanced at the car again, shook her head and walked further down the street, going down the hill, past huge billboards that were full of colorful ads. One of them read in large letters: "Mailer delivers everything to everywhere." Delia Asia Vieira didn't know exactly what this company delivered, but she thought it was probably food. For some reason, it amused her. She had always been interested in how such companies worked, what kind of trucks there were, who worked on them. It was just curiosity, inexplicable, and she had long dreamed of meeting one of the "Mailer" drivers, exchanging a few words - just like that, for the soul.
The street was deserted, and the light of the sunset, falling on the roofs of the houses below, painted everything in warm, almost mystical shades. Suddenly, a huge refrigerated truck pulled up in front of her. The car left a light veil of dust behind it when the driver turned off the engine. From behind its wide doors, right onto the asphalt, jumped a man of about thirty-five, maybe forty. He was very pale, his face seemed drawn, and there was a nervous look in his eyes. He was wearing a tailcoat over a white shirt, but no tie, which looked strange and even a little ridiculous on this warm evening.
The man took a few quick steps and stopped right in front of the window of a women's clothing store across from where Delia Asia Vieira stood. His gaze caught on something in the window, but at that moment his eyes became cold, almost glassy. They were the color of sea green, and through the lenses of his night vision goggles, green and slightly cloudy, Delia Asia Vieira saw him staring into the space beyond the window as if there was a secret hiding there.
Then, turning abruptly, he stepped back, turning his head slightly over his shoulder, as if checking to see if he was being followed. He headed toward his truck and approached a metal barred door that looked as if it had been ripped out of some underground tunnel, the kind of barred door you'd find on a subway. He pulled out a small key, about the size of a credit card, inserted it into the lock, and opened the door.
At that moment, another man emerged from the car - a strong man with a short haircut and dark glasses, who, apparently, was his bodyguard. Both entered, and the metal door slammed shut with a distinctive sound, hiding them from view. A few seconds later, the truck, exhaling the last clouds of smoke, moved off, and its massive body soon disappeared around the corner of a large bank building. The engine, which had braked hard and was roaring, gradually died down, but the sounds of advertising billboards continued to fill the street. On one of them, in bright letters, the inscription flashed: "The perfect choice of underwear for men - now with delivery!" Delia Asia Vieira stood, feeling herself shaken not only by the events, but also by the strange associations that filled her head.
"Here it is," she thought, frowning.