The Expo. Alberto set up his booth, a tiny lot at the corner of the exhibition hall. Due to the organizer's planning flaw, it had a minimum amount of visitor flow. He garnered a table, a wall sign, some brochures, and a large computer monitor. Just the essentials, the best his budget could muster.

All was ready, and Alberto plugged his mobile device into the monitor. Aesop, the fruit of his hard labor, instantly came to life.

The early-stage AI appeared on the flat screen as an animated bust of the ancient Greek fabulist. "Greetings, sir. What adventure awaits us today?"

"An important one," replied Alberto. "Let's do final calibration. Follow my finger, one, two, and three. Very good."

Although anyone could download a construction kit and build their own AI program, Alberto strove to make something different: a sentient machine capable of discerning right from wrong. Only large tech companies were capable of this, yet Alberto did it.

Patience was key; he browsed the internet for its vast collection of template programs, picked the right ones and stitched them into a single system. Being a hacker also helped: he broke and built interfaces so the components could work seamlessly together. And once Aesop came into shape, he felt inspired. Alberto started to envision an idealized, Utopian future, in which Aesop guided people with moral principles.

Because ten years after the Third Tech Bubble, the Western world remained in shambles. AI had been weaponized, pushing cybercrime in America to an all-time high. Robotic implants, illegal without a doctor's prescription, were nevertheless favored by the rich, so they could think better, run faster, and emanate stronger allure.

Anyways, the Expo. If Alberto wowed enough people, he might just be able to reach his crowdfunding goals. With enough money, he could push Aesop into beta. And after beta, full commercialization.

Indeed, a fair amount of people stopped by his booth. But they largely lacked interest, and by the afternoon, Alberto only handed out a couple of brochures. There was one person, however, who stood out as an exception. Not talkative, the woman with dark brown hair asked two or three questions related to Aesop, while her deep, telling eyes fixated on Alberto. When she left, she turned back to give him another look, before vanishing into the crowds.

"Aesop," asked Alberto, "who was that?"

His AI partner performed facial recognition and ran a query against public databases. "Rosario Ibaraki-Sosa, former AI algorithm specialist at an Austin-based tech startup. After the Third Tech Bubble, her employer went bankrupt. She subsequently went off the grid and stopped posting on social media feeds."

The Bubble. The number of lives it ruined, no one could fathom. Back when America was prosperous, people had jobs and dreamed for the future. But the Bubble burst, and two-thirds of people's savings disappeared. Homeless people filled the streets while the rich sipped mimosas in their green acre country clubs and left their businesses to the AI bots. People saw what happened and became furious.

Riots ensued. In a desperate move to restore social order, the Senate swiftly passed the 221st Amendment of the Patriot Act. The CIA took over police and judicial powers, effectively becoming the largest security apparatus in the history of the United States. Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand followed suit. The Five Eyes evolved into the grip that held together the Western world.

"Vanished in plain sight, huh?" said Alberto. "Wait, did you access the Deep Web for that information?"

"No sir," replied Aesop. "I am well aware of your current court injunctions."

"Not so loud!" cried Alberto, urging silence with his finger.

"Through your mobile device sensors," said Aesop, "I detect increased levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in your body, likely triggered by Ms. Sosa's brief presence. Would you like to hear a fable about love?"

"No."

"A lion fell in love with a beautiful maiden," said Aesop, "and had his claws trimmed and his teeth taken out to marry her. The moral of the fable is love can blind even the wildest."

"The moral of the fable is I need to calibrate you again."

After the Expo, Alberto wandered around the hall. His crowdfunding campaign fell below target, so he felt lost and defeated.

The crowds dispersed as the banners were being taken down. The hall echoed as its emptiness became more apparent. Alberto saw other vendors packing up, looking happy while boasting of their successes. Their dreams had come true, it seemed. That left Alberto squarely in the middle of the floor, neglected and alone.

He checked the clock. It was time to eat, but he was not yet hungry. Instead, he decided to go for a walk at a nearby park, where he could sulk and lament in his heart where no one was looking.