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"The Dating Sim"

People are an interesting concept. Their brains hardwired to function certain ways, their behavior leaning on the outside response of others. But what if there was a way to replicate the human mind, to study it and its behaviors in different scenarios? Would the results help humanity or create something darker?

A man sits alone in a computer room, typing away some code on his keyboard, the loud clacking resonating through the walls with every swift press of a key. The sound is almost melodic to the man. It sure beats the silence after all. He types a few more layers of code before hitting the enter button to test his work. Fingers crossed everything goes well.

There I sat, at the table in the local diner, awaiting the arrival of my date. This was the first time we were supposed to meet in person but she said she was running a little late. She wouldn't really tell me why, but I trusted she'd be here soon. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through social media, seeking to find some sort of entertainment to pass the time until she arrived.
Before I realized how much time had passed, I saw someone sitting down across from me out of the corner of my eye. I looked up to see Melinda, my date. She looked beautiful with her wavy, dark hair and cinnamon shaded skin. Her caramel brown eyes glimmered in the lighting of the dinner.
We talked for a few minutes before a waiter approached, asking for us to order. I got some chicken and mashed potatoes, she asked for the same thing. It surprised me, did she trust my judgement that much?
As we waited for our food, she told me the reason she was late was because of her kids. She was waiting on the babysitter to show up and her kids were running all over the place. "I love them, but sometimes it feels like they just kinda spawned out of nowhere and into my life, ya know," she joked. She asked me if I'd ever had any kids. I shook my head. "It's a shame, you seem like you'd be a good father," she said.
How was it she seemed to know and trust me so well, it almost felt unreal. Before anything else was mentioned, the food arrived. She scarfed it down like she hadn't eaten all day. I couldn't quite place my finger on it but she felt a little off.

After the date, I dropped her off at her house. It was a nice, two story brick house with tall trees on either side, overlooking the yard. I lead her to the door and kissed her goodnight. She didn't stop me, but at that point, it wasn't a surprise. She seemed to have a decent amount of trust in me.
"Do you want to meet my kids?" she asked. It seemed a little too soon, but I figured why not. She lead me inside and I was met with two kids, a boy and a girl. They both had dark hair like their mother. They looked like they couldn't have been any older than seven years old.
I didn't stay too long, telling her I had to get up early for work in the morning. She kissed me again just before I headed out the door. Just before I stepped outside, I swore I heard the voice of one of her kids, only it was distorted like a glitch in a videogame.

That night, I dreamed of Melinda and her family. She and I were cuddling and sitting on the couch. Her two kids came and sat on the couch beside us. It was a good, kid friendly movie, so we didn't send them off to their rooms. Then, through some doorway behind us, a man came by and pushed us all over before sitting on the couch with us. He must have been another family member. Then two more people came in, a man and woman about my age. They squeezed and sat with us as well.
Then, more and more people came until we were completely squished. I was surprised the couch wasn't breaking under the weight. It was getting hard to breath. I looked over to Melinda, whom I had my arms wrapped around, and it was another person entirely. Melinda was nowhere to be found.

The anxiety of the dream haunted me. Was I really so worried about her having a big family? It was odd. I know I mainly grew up in a small family and a small town, but why would I be so paranoid over something that hardly mattered. Maybe it was all the important people in her life I'd have to meet at some point.
The more I thought about it, the more I despised the idea. I was beginning to have a strong distaste for people. I hated people. As I sat at my dinner table in my apartment, I felt my hand clutching the knife tighter and tighter. I really hated people.
I knew just who I needed to get rid of. Melinda.

The program ended in another failure. The man at the computer couldn't understand it, what was the glitch that made the men's brains just snap like that? I programmed them just like any other person. Why do they develop such a strong distaste for people? He shut the program off and started it again. Maybe this time it would work better.

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