In a plausible future
For a while, she had been happy again, and not only because it was September and the weather was nice. The truth is that that day was very special. But some of the last few months had certainly been complicated.
Everything began the previous winter, when Lucy became worried about her grandmother. It was six in the evening on a winter day, and she had just left her grandmother Anna’s house. She hadn’t seen her looking well. She seemed very sad, and that made Lucy sad too.
Anna had always been a very cheerful person, and celebrations at her home were very special for the whole family. But she felt the absence of Alberto, her husband, who had passed away ten months earlier.
Lucy, who was a very detail-oriented young woman, noticed that her grandmother no longer had the same energy. When talking to her about her birthday, which was in two weeks, she realized that Anna wasn’t expecting to celebrate it.
That afternoon, on her way home, Lucy thought about how to maintain the tradition and let her grandmother throw a party like she always had. Lucy noticed that the idea cheered her up and decided to help her.
The next morning, Lucy called Anna to give her…
A surprise
“Grandma!” Lucy began. “I have great news!”
“Hello, my dear. What is it?” Anna asked.
“I’ve decided to organize your birthday party! That way, you can have it like every other year.”
“Oh, I don’t want to trouble you.”
“It’s no trouble at all! You’re going to love it! Does that sound good?”
“Really, there’s no need for you to do all that work.”
“I’ll see you this weekend so we can plan everything!” Lucy finished.
“All right…” Anna sighed, smiling.
Then Lucy, who had no idea how to cook, went over the options she had for organizing the party.
Initially, she thought about hiring just a catering service, but she finally decided to hire…
Bernie, the assistant
Bernie was a robot stAIward capable of handling all the birthday preparations. Lucy chose Bernie because he could take care of cleaning the house and doing the shopping the day before. He could also cook and serve everything so that Anna wouldn’t get tired.
He was certainly more expensive than just catering, but he covered all the needs and any unexpected issues that might arise. Lucy rented him for two days: for the birthday, which fell on a Sunday, and the day before.
On Saturday, at eight in the morning, Bernie arrived right on time:
“Hello! I’m Bernie,” Bernie said.
“Welcome, Bernie. I’m Lucy, and this is my grandmother Anna,” Lucy introduced them.
“Let’s get to work!” Bernie said excitedly.
Bernie took care of everything just as Lucy had hoped. The birthday was a success; the whole family came, and Anna was able to enjoy her day as she had in previous years.
Later, while cleaning up the house after the event, Lucy overheard her grandmother talking to Bernie:
“What things would you like to have done that you haven’t yet?” Bernie asked.
“Well, I still have the regret of never visiting Italy, which Alberto and I always wanted to do,” Anna replied.
“What do people your age usually ask you for, Bernie?”
“Often, they ask me to record and edit their biography as a video interview. That way, they can leave something as a keepsake, like a legacy.”
“I had always thought of a book format, leaving my life lessons as a legacy. But an interview sounds great! That’s a really good idea. How could I do one?”
“You can hire me or a company that specializes in it.”
“Tell me more…”
…
What started as a superficial conversation turned out to be quite significant.
Lucy still didn’t know it, but she was going to have to make…
An important decision
The week following the birthday party, something kept circling in Lucy’s mind. She had seen that spark in her grandmother’s eyes again, in her attitude, on her face, and even in her energy.
“What if having an assistant like Bernie could make her feel that way all the time?” she wondered.
“Plus, there’s the trip to Italy she always wanted to take, and the chance to record her biography as a legacy,” she kept telling herself.
She knew those things mattered to Anna, and she could see it clearly.
It was a dilemma. She would have to put her career on hold for a while in order to spend a year focused on her grandmother. Besides, she would need more money to have Bernie available for much of that year.
Lucy felt deep inside that helping her grandmother fulfill those wishes was something she could only do once in her life, at that exact moment. She didn’t want to regret not doing it later on.
“But renting a stAIward for several months is really expensive,” Lucy told herself. “I don’t have that kind of money. How could I manage it?”
With that question in mind, she found a side job for weekends that would allow her to save enough so that, by combining vacation time and a leave of absence from her main job, she could hire Bernie for four months and travel with Anna during that time.
That allowed them to have…
A different year
Lucy devoted the first part of the year to working. She made the reservation for Bernie for four months, while Anna planned the travel itinerary. Anna was very methodical and organized. She had also worked organizing business trips in the past, so she knew what was important when planning a trip.
By the end of May, Lucy began her break, and together with Bernie, she finished preparing the trip.
First, they visited places from Anna’s life to film sessions that covered part of her story.
Then they went to the coast to enjoy some sunny beach days.
Finally, they traveled to Italy, visiting ten cities before ending their journey in Rome. Every day, they also recorded part of Anna’s biographical interview.
The trip was coming to an end, and they were enjoying everything as much as they could.
The day they visited the Colosseum and the Roman Forum in Rome was special for both of them. They loved it and took a photo1 that Lucy would later frame and cherish. They were both happy.
It had been a special year for them both. They had a wonderful time traveling, Anna had been able to do the two things she wanted, and in the process, Lucy had learned a lot from her grandmother and about life in general.
Returning home was bittersweet. On one hand, they were sad to leave behind the days when every moment was a discovery, but on the other, they missed home.
Lucy dropped her grandmother off at her house. Now Anna was tired from all the hustle and bustle and felt the need to rest.
In a random moment, Lucy looked at her grandmother and just knew.
By the look in her eyes, she knew it had all been worth it.
The background
A robotic stAIward, which we already know from another story, is a humanoid robot that can handle household tasks professionally.
But it’s more than that.
It’s an assistant for people, excellent in many areas.
For example, it can do things like cook as well as a top chef or coach you on self-improvement like an international-level life coach.
(I repeat it because it’s important.)
Its cost is extremely high at the point in time when the main character of our story considers using one to help her grandmother. She can’t afford to buy it, so the obvious choice is to rent it by the day. There are also companies that rent them out by the hour each week—say, four hours every week.
First, Lucy rented it for two days to arrange the event she had in mind for her grandmother. While not cheap, it was still within her budget.
Thanks to that rental, her grandmother realized she had two unfulfilled needs she wanted to take care of before dying. These unmet desires were causing her frustration and sadness.
The impact of stAIwards is palpable, even if you only have them for a few hours or days.
In fact, seeing how positive its impact was, Lucy considered renting one for a longer period so her grandmother could accomplish what she wanted.
If that’s the impact after just a few days or weeks, what would it be like if you could have a stAIward for an entire lifetime?
We’ll talk more about butlers another day!
Have a great future!
The image is not entirely faithful to reality, but you get the idea.