Setting: Ren's startup lab, late night. The city lights outside flicker, but the glow from Ren's monitors outshines them. He's alone, focused, and immersed.
The quiet hum of servers filled the room like a lullaby only he could hear. Rows of prototypes, motherboards, and heat-dispersing cases lay neatly organized on metal shelves. Ren sat at the center of it all — eyes locked on the 3D render spinning on his ultra-wide monitor.
A cylindrical form, no bigger than a school thermos, floated in the animation. Sleek. Metallic. Hollow core for hardware. Extendable ports for interaction. The foundations of what he now called: "Project LUCIA" — short for Living Utility Companion with Integrated Awareness.
"You're going to be our little assistant someday," Ren muttered, pulling up lines of code."...and I'm going to make sure you learn everything before you wake up."
He wasn't building just any AI. Ren was designing something that could think, reason, and help without constant human commands. It would assist them on the countryside farm — monitor crops, balance energy usage, predict weather, and even provide emotional support. And the secret to it all? His growing personal database.
On the wall beside him hung a sprawling blueprint: not of a home, but of a lifestyle. A self-sustaining ecosystem, run with harmony between humans and intelligent machines. Just like he promised Aoi — a quiet, peaceful life. Together.
Meanwhile, back home in their countryside house…
Aoi sat in the garden under the stars, waiting. Her phone buzzed. A message from Ren:
"Still at the lab. Progress is going well. I'll be home by 3 AM. Love you ❤️"
She stared at the screen for a long moment. Then smiled softly.
"Whatever you're building… it better say 'good morning' to me every day like you do."
Back in the lab, Ren pressed enter. The simulation ran. The cylindrical AI rotated, emitted a soft glow, then began parsing mock data from their existing systems.
A single notification flashed on-screen:
✅ [System Calibration: 73% Complete]💬 [Emotional Response Layer: Testing Phase Initiated]
Ren leaned back, tired but fulfilled.
"One more step closer… to our dream."