CHAPTER 12
THRALL
ENTER TO BEGIN YOUR DATE
Welcome to your date! We at Thrall hope you’re enjoying your evening with ALFRED and that this is the first of many happy evenings together.
Are things going well? If so, just click DO NOT DISTURB and we’ll let you enjoy the rest of your evening in peace.
Could you use a little help getting things underway? If so, click FACILITATE and we’ll provide a few questions to get the conversation going.
Choose one from each pair to preload this option. Are you more interested in questions about:
Culture or Politics
Art or Sports
Your Work or Your Leisure Activities
Personal History or Future Goals
Relationships with Family or Relationships with Friends
Great! You’ve chosen: Culture, Art, Leisure, Personal History, Relationships with Friends
ALFRED chose: Culture, Art, Work, Personal History, Relationships with Friends
(Hey, four out of five ain’t bad!)
Here are some questions and topics to discuss with ALFRED:
- What are some of your favorite places to visit and activities to do in New Orleans?
Don’t forget: If you want rewards—including discount vouchers—enter your answers, and be sure to check your reward box for relevant discounts, codes, and special events! Maybe you’ll find a great place for a second date with ALFRED!
[You entered: Museum of Death]
- Can you keep a secret?
[You entered: Y]
- Do you *always* keep confidences? Under what circumstances would you consider telling a secret? Have you ever told a secret you wish you hadn’t? Kept one when you should have told? Discuss!
* * *
ENTER TO CHAT WITH YOUR DATE!
Arthur Quincey
Sorry, I saw this was an option and I want to see all the app's capabilities
Alfred V. Hale
Yws In tjenane of xcience.
x out
Yrs. Inthen ame of.scirnce..
Arthur Quincey
Haha, wow. WOW.
Also your keyboard click noise is still on, you n00b
Alfred V. Hale
I cant believe wehave.a further layerr ofmediation btween us .
Arthur Quincey
I can't believe you're trying to use punctuation
Alfred V. Hale
Make itstop..
Arthur Quincey
Hey I'm sure this is really helpful for people who can't come up with things to talk about
Alfred V. Hale
Just talkk tome pleaase
Arthur Quincey
Do you want to go to the museum of death tho b/c I just got a voucher in my app for like 25% off. it's pretty cool.
Alfred V. Hale
Im sitting right.here
Arthur Quincey
And no, you're going to need to get used to texting on your phone if you're dating me :)
Alfred V. Hale
:::9
::(
No
:))
No
Arthur Quincey
don't worry, I get it :)
You're seriously cute rn though
Alfred V. Hale
Itis harder to say thinngslike that out.loud,you are right. I seethe advntage..
Arthur Quincey
This is why textspeak exists Van ;)
Alfred V. Hale
Explain
Outloud
Arthur Quincey
shortened—oh okay fine
NIGHT HAS FALLEN
DO YOU FEEL IT?
We hope you enjoyed your date! Here’s an important question to end the evening: Would you like a good-night kiss?!
[You entered: Y]
[ALFRED entered: N]
Oh well, not everyone wants to kiss on the first date, but that’s okay! Maybe next time! Or, if you would like to match with other THRALL users, navigate to your home page and find all your other possible matches!
* * *
Google Hangouts
11:42 PM
Arthur Quincey
Okay, so, I'm trying not to obsess about this and it's probably stupid but…why didn't you want to kiss me? I chose yes, you know.
A. Van Helsing
I…no, I didn't know. I'm sorry, Arthur. It's not that I didn't want to kiss you. Of course I did. I simply didn't wish to negotiate it via an application. Is that why you left so precipitously?
Arthur Quincey
Uh…yeah. I should have probably made a joke about it instead of let it be an actual question.
Like I forgot for a second that it was an app and not…really part of our date. Which is maybe what you mean when you say adding a layer of mediating text between people
A. Van Helsing
Yes, exactly. But, I feel I should have anticipated that you would imbue the application's machinations with more gravity than I had. I didn't think about the fact that, as we were testing the app in other ways, it became part of our date. Insidious.
More to the point, I resent the application, because it cheated me out of my good-night kiss.
Arthur Quincey
It makes me actually interested in Harker's research, tbh. (remember what that means in text speak?)
Yeah, it…I'm sorry I didn't think to just, you know., Kiss you. Like I really fucking wanted to.
I know our date didn't end with a kiss and we were cock-blocked by an insidious dating app, but I'm glad I spent the evening with you :)
A. Van Helsing
I…I'm not quite sure what to say, Arthur. I feel I didn't comport myself as I should have. Let me make it up to you. With a date where an application isn't the puppet master of our destinies?
Arthur Quincey
I would like that. And hey, I still have that 25% off entry to the Death Museum, but to be honest, it's only like $15 a person without it.
A. Van Helsing
Ever the romantic, are we?
I do enjoy that museum. I'd be delighted.
Arthur Quincey
And next time, there's gonna be a kiss. Consider that you've already checked the Y box for that one. My yes box. Look, this analogy worked a lot better in my head, but now I'm a little distracted thinking about kissing you, so.
A. Van Helsing
How do you like to be kissed, Arthur?
Arthur Quincey
I want to be kissed exactly the way you want to kiss me.