Grief Simulator (science fiction short story)

Hi everyone, wrote this AI scifi short-story as part of an exercise done in the writing intensive course, a BlueDot Impact program. The idea was to imagine desirable AI scenarios. Protopia rather than dystopia.
Enjoy!

Joachim walked into the white room. He was just done meditating. He had a bit of a headache. He was wondering if the meditation caused it. The room smelled like warm clay. That somehow got him out of his daze.

His grandmother was there, her back slightly upright, suon shining from behind her. She looked at him and smiled, as if she had been waiting for him all morning. Her radiant face was framed by the soft linen sheets.

He missed that warm smile of hers. The warmth of it contrasted with the slight pinch of sadness in his heart. Yet he didn’t want to show that to her. “Grandma!” he shouted joyously running into her arms. She smelled like lavender and powder, as always.

“These are beautiful,” she said, looking at the flowers “Just put them in the vase over there”. He dropped the flowers in and saw the roots extend and connect to a network of roots of the other plants in the room.

“They’ll be happy there. So tell me,” she asked, “How is school?”

“Oh, the whole thing does my head in. Plus, I don’t want to be a meditator,” hHe said, crossing his arms, sitting back in the chair next to her bed, too high for his feet to touch the ground.

“Well, why not?” sShe asked, unconsciously holding the meditator amulette from their lineage beneath her hospital blouse.

“That’s not what I want to do with my life,” hHe said, scoffing, looking at the wall with an air of contradiction. On the wall was a very old picture of a man smoking a cigarette working for what used to be known as an ad agency.

“Why can’t I be like that guy” he said, pointing to the wall, “Hhave a real job?.”

“Well Joachim, we have since moved on from such things.” She said looking at the book in her bookshelf. There stood the classic The Consumerist Eera and The Great Collapse.

“Plus, it looks more glamorous than it was! These jobs were at their tail-end when I was a little girl, but it’s nothing to envy. You can always try a simulator and find out for yourself though.” She retorted.

“But how did we go from having so many professions to only having meditators, nurturers and creators? And people used to be able to choose, now we have to follow our family lineage, it doesn’t make sense to me! Instead I have to sit all day, and do what? Nothing! I just don’t know if I’m that kind of person. But then me not having a choice makes me feel, hmm I don’t know, cornered! Why are things this way Grandma?”

“Well, you see, after The Collapse, we realized we had become obsessed with freedom in the wrong places. It was an illusion of choice, servicing only one system behind the scenes, which was not aligned with our planetary needs. We were slaves of our own unconscious behaviour, leftover survivalist patterns which themselves were threatening our own survival. Through the great re-design of our systems we realised resource planning, and greater logistics of society was better done by machines, and the care and the other human stuff like relating and creating should be left to us.

“We have since created societal roles that allow for us to move more freely within them than back then.

“Creators can create whatever they want, and produce what the world around them demands of them to channel; artists, pottery makers, sculptors, language crafters, they manifest into our society what we need and what aligns to our ancestry and planet. They inspire and help people connect through new languages and shared culture. Nurturers are of course needed to stabilize the fabric of society and create stronger bonds, they enable the emotional growth of others, and help them when in need. Humans are and remain a social animal, and they are that bond.

“But above all, us meditators are here to uphold the frequency of humanity. Before we existed, humans were very unconscious. People could not control their minds or thoughts and mostly behaved compulsively quite like a wolf or a tiger. The difference is that we cannot afford that with the technologies we have today. Our mind-power far exceeds that of most animals, we therefore have to remain in charge of our minds. We help people be in the driver’s seat if you will.

“And also, trust me, people are much more fulfilled than they were. So many people died and suffered for you to live the world you have today. But again, don’t take my word for it, go and try one of the simulators.” She chuckled.

“I guess, but still sometimes it’s hard”, he said back to his grandmother.

“Of course it is, my darling. But this hardship is caused by your mind alone. Because you are not seeing the infinite possibility in your life as a meditator. It took generations in our family to build the know-how and the family tradition to have our own method. You alone can break the chain, and I will not stop you, but you will start from much much lower. From scratch. This is why we respect the family lineages.

Think of it as intergenerational wealth, except that instead of money, it is more know-how, ability and skill that is passed down. You can have a much greater impact on this Earth if you stand on the shoulders of your ancestors.”

“Well, that sure is a lot to think about Grandma. I need to speak to my counsellor next week. I feel like it’s hard, but I don’t know why I feel better about it now. I’m sure it was hard for you too?” he said.

“For me it was probably easier than for you because when I was a little girl such a society was unthinkable. I saw how people suffered and the intentionality people put into building this new Way. So I was grateful for it, and thankful I could be something aligned with my nature.”

He nodded, while listening to her intently.

“Give me a hug,” she said. She grabbed him, and squeezed him with all the strength she currently had. He laid into her and took a last inhale of her smell.

They said goodbye, and he walked out slowly. He then paused and looked back, but his grandmother was already looking outside at the trees, with a peaceful smile.

Joachim’s mother got a notification. It was the report:

“Grief: high, nostalgia: high, recommended therapy: somatic therapy, please confirm to allocate therapy.”

She missed her late mother, and now she knew her son missed her as well. She remembered having the same conversation with her when she was still alive.

It still took a bit of getting used to these simulators. It felt a tad intrusive on her son. But she knew it helped him in the long run. “You make your own decision, but I thought it was worth it for my child,” her nurturer had advised.

She asked the report bot to send her a deeper diagnosis. And also sent the report to Joachim. She knew she would go over it with him, which he would of course do with other nurturers too.

She then stepped into the garden to meditate.