I got a call this morning from an unknown number with a familiar area code, so I took a gamble and answered. A very enthusiastic man-bot greeted me, and informed me that he was calling regarding a survey I'd recently filled out. As I was trying to figure out whether the voice on the other end was a robot or an actual man who'd had the soul sucked out of him and replaced with sales tactics, he(?) explained that I could be the winner of several $25 gift cards to Walmart, Target....tuning out, tuning out, robot or man? tuning out....and, then he delivered the kicker: "Now doesn't that sound neat?"
I was stunned for a moment. This strange entity had combined the seemingly incongruous elements of mechanical speech and genuine childlike curiosity so impressively, I almost answered "yes, it sure does, old boy! tell me more!" But then I remembered about reality, and I told him to take me off his list. The lack of disappointment in his voice as he apologized for inconveniencing me was, well, disappointing. I thought we had something, old sales-bot and I. But it was all a facade. Dammit.
No comments:
Post a Comment