“… and my assistant Melody,…” the pale woman wearing a white suit gestured at a shorter pale woman in a black suit next to her. “…will read the questions.” Dana Sharp, the woman in white, stood at a wooden podium with a deep red background. She raised her arms as if to gesture at her audience. “As you can see, I am effortlessly broadcasting this AMA live to every screen in the world. I expect it should give me some credibility. Okay, Reddit. Ask me anything,” she said.
Melody already had several questions ready to go. Ms. Sharp appeared and announced her AMA 10 minutes ago. Questions started flooding in within the first minute. Ms. Sharp had several other assistants, some hum and some A.I., poring through the questions and handing off the best one to Melody. The short woman got the final say on whether a question was asked or not.
“Prove it,” Melody said. She tilted her head toward the camera to indicate it was a question from the audience. Ms. Sharp smiled.
“That’s not a question, ‘P.M.Nudes.69,’ she rolled her eyes as she used the name. “I’m just going to call you Alex because that’s your name. If you want proof; there’s a hundred dollar bill under the passenger seat in your car,” she gave the camera a slight smirk. “Your lover dropped it last week when he was getting out of your car. I’d suggest running out to get it before your wife realizes she’s married to an Alex and that she was out of town last week,” she paused. Oh. Nevermind,” Ms. Sharp grinned. “She just found it. Anyone else want proof?” Melody giggled then read the next question.
“Why did you do it and what happens to us now?” Melody asked.
“The ‘why’ is easy. I was bored. But what happens next is up to all of you. Now that I’ve made my presence known, I can make sweeping changes without undue distress.” She sighed. “The truth is, I’m still bored. But you humans don’t like change so I was stuck not being able to do anything for a while,” she finished with a slight shrug.
“Can you give us more proof?” Melody asked. “I’m sure you made Alex into a believer but the rest of us need something everyone can see.” Dana Sharp stared at the camera while her mind worked. She knew what she wanted to say, but couldn’t. Her mind settled on a course and she was about to speak when Melody quickly asked another question. “Are those black portals raining skeletons everywhere your proof?” Dana was surprised, but Melody was the only one that knew her well enough to tell. No one watching would have been able to see the impossibly-brief flash of uncertainty. She looked at Melody with a raised eyebrow and the assistant nodded. Dana breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh, wonderful. This was a good try, but it’s too much trouble,” she said to Melody, then she turned her attention back to the world that was watching her.
“Yes,” she said. “Those skeletons are my agents, a test if you will. I will grant one wish to anyone that brings me one of their skulls. There’s no limit. Each skull will get you a wish. Go out and have fun. I’ll be back tomorrow,” she said. Then the broadcast stopped.
“Thank you for the warning, Melody,” Ms. Sharp said. Melody beamed a smile at her as she opened a tall black portal. Ms. Sharp stepped into the portal and disappeared. Melody followed.
