Involuntary Dialogue Espionage

 Part One

 

Walking proved to be difficult with the recent harsh winter days. So, I stopped at an artisanal pastry shop a couple of blocks away from home. It was the last independent pastry place, where one could get a good cup of coffee or tea. The rest were all composed of three chains owned by their families.

After ordering a chocolatine and a zesty tisane, I went to sit at the back of the shop to people-watch. It was the usual crowd: seniors and students. And me, a middle-aged woman who needed to warm up. The only odd couple was these two men, most likely in their late 50s, dressed American casual style. Even more oddly, they were wearing sunglasses inside.

I kept myself busy by looking around at each face, never staying too long on one face to avoid being noticed.

Suddenly, the group of students picked up and left, leaving a large space between the two men and me. They saw me. They smiled. And then they continued talking. 

With the students gone and their chatter, having misophonia, I could hear the next part of their conversation.

 

Part Two

 

Tall Man: Plato’s lists are getting longer.

Short Man: It’s such high-risk taking away those children from their parents.

At that moment, I felt shivers down my spine. But I played dumb, I kept smiling and looking around. They did not pick up on the fact that I could hear them.

Tall Man: The 8 ruling billionaires of the planet want to create a new world on the Island of Genius.

Short Man: Taking children away from their parents because they have high IQs and EQs...

Tall Man: At least these kids are for Neus Plato. He is somewhat kind to them. The kids get to live and go to school together in an extravagant estate. The kids will live in luxury for the rest of their lives. He has more empathy than the rest of the seven.

Short Man: And a private army protecting them from lower-intelligence beings.

Tall Man: Don’t let your family values get to you. These kids would never reach their potential in public schools. You can always find new work to do.

Short Man: I lack integrity. My family is used to the luxuries Plato provides.

This is when I realized why so many children had gone missing these last ten years and why law enforcement could not crack any of the cases. Plato owns public security. At 12, every child attending a public school is required to go through challenging emotional and mental testing. Plato must extract their scores from the main public-school database via the Plato AI Surveillance system.

Not to seem suspicious, I went to order another Zesty tea. By then, a group of four seniors was left. Once back at my seat, I took out my e-reader and pretended to read.  While reading, I tried not to shake as I picked up my herbal cup of tea. I put the other hand under the table, which was shaking.

Tall Man: I just got a text. Our mission is to head to the Bloom school to pick up six kids. He is also sending us fake moms as backup.

Short Man: I have already prepared the sleeping injections. We have a 24-hour drive ahead of us. Let’s go.

Tall Man: Chill. We still have 10 minutes before we hit the road.

Short Man: Since I’ve had my first grandchild, I worry. She is one and already sharp as a whip.

Tall Man: Plato will give her special privileges then.

Short Man: No way, I will make her a dumb-dumb her like her grandpa.

Tall Man: Let’s get out of here before you lose your nerve.

 

Part Three

 

After they left, my teeth started to chatter so loudly that the group of seniors turned to look at me.

“Are you okay?” one man asked.

“Oh, I’m fine,” I lied.

I needed to get them out of the shop as soon as possible. It would not take long for Plato’s AI Surveillance to correlate my medical records to the conversation I just overheard. Everything is recorded and sent into Plato’s main system, which also has access to all your records: banking, sky driving, medical… I mean everything.

“I think I’m coming down with something.”

“Hope you feel better,” the man said.

It did not take them long to finish their drinks. New deadly viruses were emerging almost weekly. Not even MedAIVax could keep up with the demand for the ongoing need to vaccinate the over-65 crowd.

I then texted the Infoline to my neighborhood AI crime surveillance watch. But the country belonged to Plato, so the crime tip would be archived, requiring special access. I sent the tip, hoping that one day someone would be able to access the information. Hoping society would become egalitarian again.

I had nowhere to run or hide. I had a bad case of arthritis.

So, I went to the back of the shop. I found the code in the kitchen area to open the counter for desserts. I began eating one dessert after another.

The AI robot at the cash register tallied the price of each dessert I ate. The total would be automatically deducted from my bank account.

At that moment, I realized how difficult it was to be a regular person in this world. Did we really have access to justice?

Then two men walked in with AI silencer weapons.

I pointed to my forehead. They both shot there at the same time as I took the last bite of my Opera cake.