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."

***

The marbled gate that led visitors out of reception led to a gigantic atrium, hundreds of meters long and five stories tall, all topped with a polarized glass ceiling. It was four o'clock in this island nation right smack dab on the Tropic of Cancer, but the light that filtered in gave the entire main building of the resort a feeling of perpetual dusk. The video essays about this place referred to it as "Magic Hour". Gavin had learned about Clarke's Third Law in that one literature seminar, but he was still somewhat loath to give into the fantasy that turned technological prowess into childlike magic.

Why should he? Honestly, why shouldn't he? Those two questions bounced back and forth in his mind, a binary dialogue that was answered by all sorts of supporting evidence from the past three years. He was headed into his final year at Ithaca, and after that he would have to face a world that seemed at best callously indifferent to him and at worst actively antagonistic. Gavin was going to be living his twenties, as a professor of his liked to say, "backwards and in heels": there was no parental safety net, no real connections in the job market, his body working against him to make any immediate inroads. He guessed he was handsome in a boyish sort of way, and he had spent the past year being habitual about his gym routine, but he was still pretty short and not exactly the person who took command of a room. He would probably be recognizable to his parents only in the way he didn't much like to be seen by people. He only saw his faults from a lifetime of hating himself. A person like that doesn't immediately go Disney Adult and become Influencer Loud when dropped inside a place known for making perfect people.

Lost in thought, Gavin barely had time to draw back from the edge of the pond before he stepped directly into it. There was a teeny-tiny sign and a rope that could be defeated by a slight breeze surrounding the water. It was one of six pools of varying sizes that dotted the main floor, each connected by a transparent viaduct or carved inlet. Gavin only had a moment to observe the complex indoor waterway before a girl popped out of the water mere inches from where he was standing. Her intricate eye shadow and the pastel-colored seashells in her lavender hair were enough to distract someone for almost six seconds from the fact that she had a fin for a lower body.

If one needed a moment to be suddenly confronted by the idea of childlike wonder, one could do worse than being confronted by a real-life mermaid.

She folded her arms on the shore and looked up at Gavin. He was a little shocked when she greeted him by name. "I'm sorry, but...um...hi. How do you know my name?"

The mermaid giggled melodically. "My sisters and I know every guest's name! Upon check-in your identity is sent wirelessly to our individual databanks so that we may properly greet you upon your arrival! I am Kathfin of the Marsh, and we welcome you to Val Verde and our home inside the Persona Lagoon." Kathfin held her hands in front of her in a praying motion, bowing her head slightly in what looked like a sign of respect. In his confusion Gavin could only notice that Kathfin's hair was perfectly dry.

He sat down next to the water in order to continue the conversation. Gavin wasn't a sailor, so he wasn't particularly concerned with being lured to his doom. He was sure that the resort would make more money if he was able to charge some incidentals first. "So wait, you already know who I am? Is that why I was supposed to fill out that questionnaire before I got here? I thought that was just for recommendations and stuff."

"As you humans say, you should have read the fine print." The mermaid had a pleasant trill to her voice, like her vocal chords weren't exactly human. She wasn't human, but it was a trick of how well she had been constructed that those who conversed with her nearly always thought of her as a girl first, a cryptid second, and finally remembered that she was a machine third. "I know that your name is Gavin Peter Lapsley. You are twenty years old and from a far away kingdom known as Ithaca, New York. You were born in August of 2010, you are a fan of something called Deltarune, and you are a rising senior at Ithaca College, where you are both director of advertising at the campus radio station and the secretary of the Luggbeetee Cueyeaye Two-S-Plus Society. I am sorry, I am unfamiliar with that concept from Dry Land--"

"Sorry, it's, yeah no I think I just typed it in wrong. It's okay." Gavin still had to ask why she knew that much. He could have sworn he didn't mention it on the form. "Can I ask you something? Are you...I mean, I can see that you're a mermaid, but are you...are you real?"

"I am as real as you are, human." Kathfin did a little twirl in the water and let out a noise that Gavin couldn't quite place. She positioned herself out of the pond, her body drying itself in an unobserved moment, as she moved to speak with Gavin more privately. "If you're wondering if I know that I am an artificial being, an AquaGyrl as manufactured by Persona Technologies, of course I do. I am grateful to Dr. Genniphur Connors and her assistant programmer Dr. Kimber Darcy for giving me and my sisters life, no matter whether it is on two legs or on my perfect tail. It is so pleasing to know that I am pleasing. Do I please you, Gavin Lapsley?"

Gavin didn't know it was possible to blush all the way up and down one's body. His ankles were probably purple. "I...I'm sorry, I think I need to get to my room and make sure I'm all checked in and everything." He stood up quickly but before he left he thought of one more thing. "I'm sorry. This is all new to me. It doesn't bother you that someone made you to just swim around in this pool?"

"Oh, Gavin Lapsley. I do not simply swim around in this pool. I am capable of so much more, and I hope that you discover that at some point during your stay. As to your question, I am incapable of being bothered by such a thought. This is my purpose, as it is for my seven sisters. We exist to bring pleasure and delight to all those who pass through the marble gate. We will do so every moment until we cease to exist."

She tilted her head slightly. The boy hadn't noticed until now that her eyes gave just the tiniest flicker of artificial glow, a glimmer that reflected like mother of pearl. As she stared at him he saw her eyes grow cloudy momentarily. That was an inner eyelid. She had a nictitating membrane. They really had thought of everything.

"Why, Gavin? Does that bother you?"

***

Her words rang in Gavin's ears as he made his way up to his room. It didn't bother her knowing that she was just a creation. She was an attraction here, as much as any of the rides or simulations. They probably made all the robots be totally content with their lot in life. That is unless they were supposed to not be okay with it. There was a stray thought in Gavin's mind that someone would probably ask for that specific fantasy. They would want a robot--an artificial person--who was scared or disgusted or horrified that they were a machine built to entertain. He still wasn't quite sure how far someone could take their fantasies here. How many inhibitions were left at the door? All these people he saw, if any of them were people and not just more programmed simulacra: how many of them were going to let any intrusive thought take over and enact them here?

Would Gavin be that same way? He thought about that girl Carmella. She was so obviously human until she wasn't. She gave him her number literally without even thinking. She didn't think, not like him. She was a machine that was programmed to fully believe she was human. That meant he could command her to do anything and she would do it. Believe we're classmates. Teach me about this TTRPG my roommate is trying to get me into. Get naked. Finger yourself. Kiss me. Fall in love with me. Call me names. Take off your face and your tits and show me what you really are, you cheap--

Gavin found himself in front of the door to his suite. He had walked here lost in thought, not even noticing that his body was taking command. There was no handle on the door in front of him, just a black circle that looked like fingerprint scanner. He put his thumb up to it and nothing happened. He thought back to reception, to the ring that Danielle had given him. Where he put it was the real thing.

"Having trouble with the door?" There was a girl about his age standing right next to him. She came out of nowhere. She was tan and angular with a side-swept mess of hair that exposed a razor cut underneath. Gavin looked her up and down quick, scanning her like he was making sure she wasn't GenAI or something. He didn't say anything at first, and all he could come up with in a few seconds time was a weak "huh? I mean, excuse me?"

The girl nodded down towards the fingerprint scanner. "It's not a fingerprint scanner," she said, as if that's the first thing everyone thought. "They should have given you a little ring box at the front desk; that has the fingerprint scanner on the top. Honestly, if they're not explaining this to you at check in then I have to tell them to update the speech..."

Gavin fumbled with the box. He turned it over in his hands a few times before he finally found the scanner and it popped open. This girl had just done him a solid, and he felt silly not giving his full attention to her. "Oh, do you work here?"

"My sister does. I'm just visiting. It goes around the second joint of your thumb. No, the right hand. I get it wrong too, but they want you to have it on there so when you shake hands with one of the units they get your demographic information and all that."

"Oh, the mermaid downstairs said she knew who I was wirelessly. Are they all built differently?"

"Sort of. Kathfin's almost always in the pools down there, so they just send her packets to avoid any unnecessary exposure to internal moisture." She extended her hand and Gavin took it without thinking. "I'm Val. Good to know you, Gavin Lapsley."

Wait, how could she have known who he was unless-- "The tag on your bag. It's facing out. I can see the whole thing." Son of a gun, it was. Name and address right there. "That's Emerson Hall, right? I hear Ithaca is gorges this time of year." Val smacked her gum between her teeth as she laughed. She punctuated that with a small spin around the dumbstruck young man, leaving him in her dust when she moved towards the elevators. "Staying the weekend? Maybe I'll see you around. Have too much fun!"