12+  Less than forty-eight hours after receiving her online order, Third Age Cybertronics delivered Jack to Daisy, a sprightly centenarian who purchased the Advanced Companion Droid to help her with household chores and carry her bags when travelling.

Jack was an autonomous AI droid designed for housework, shopping, and cooking meals and boasted a comprehensive medical and disaster database to cater for all emergencies, from Daisy tripping or having a heart attack at home to a tsunami or a plane crash in the Bermuda Triangle on their travels.

The droid also featured interactive conversation and entertainment functionality and could carry several large suitcases. In short, Jack was the perfect old-style companion for Daisy, an independent woman who'd never married or had children and had only shared her homes with generations of her favourite breed of dog, the Jack Russell Terrier.

That's not to say Daisy was a loner. She had led a long and productive professional life and, while slowing down slightly after turning one hundred, thanks to the marvels of modern medicine, she still enjoyed her post-retirement travels and meeting new people.  

However, Daisy did not like having people in the house, only her Jack Russells. But dogs couldn't help with housework, shopping and cooking and got underfoot when travelling. So, after the last Jack Russell died, Daisy decided it was time for a new Jack.

"Hello, I'm Daisy," she introduced herself as the delivery drone departed. 

The droid blinked on activation and responded in a clipped, English butler-like tone. "Hello, Daisy. Should I commence cleaning, boil the kettle, or stream the latest virtual reality TV game show for you?" 

"No, thank you," Daisy chuckled. "I may be old, but I'm not an invalid. I'd like you to be my companion, not a servant, like my old Jack Russells."

"My name is Jack," the droid replied with what sounded like a programmed hint of surprise. 

"Yes, I know," Daisy chuckled again, "I called you Jack because I have fond memories of my dogs and hope we'll make fond memories, too."

"My memory storage is virtually inexhaustible," the droid reassured Daisy, "and can be uploaded to cloud servers for additional security."

"I'm sure that won't be necessary," Daisy said, chuckling again at the droid's seeming naivety. "Let's start with basic house rules, as I did with my Jack Russells. And then we can get to know each other."

Jack listened as Daisy outlined her expectations for their daily routine. To be precise, Jack processed this information. Being a droid, Jack was multi-tasking, integrating with Daisy's household AI bots and placing a supermarket drone delivery order to restock the fridge and pantry.

But the droid was also distracted. The surprise in Jack's voice when Daisy revealed its "Jack Russell" connection had been genuine. Jack computed that these dogs had stolen Daisy's heart and registered this as a special relationship.

Could Jack build a similar bond with Daisy? Jack hoped so. But why this should matter was beyond the droid's AI parameters.

© 2024 Robert Fairhead 

Thanks to Jean-Paul Jandrain from Pixabay for sharing the robot man/droid image.

A New Jack should have been my entry for the Australian Writers' Centre's January 2024 Furious Fiction challenge. The brief for the story was:

• It had to take place on a character's FIRST DAY OF A NEW JOB
• Include something being stolen
• And the words TRIP, TRIANGLE and TSUNAMI.

But I was holidaying in Perth on the weekend of the challenge in January, and I couldn't find the time or space to polish the slightly futuristic draft I'd written about Jack's first day on the job as an Advanced Companion Droid for Daisy, the sprightly centenarian.

When the Writers' Centre published its showcased stories at the end of January, it inspired me to revisit and finish my story. The tweaked and polished final version is similar to the draft except for:

• The ending—which I hadn't written 
• Something being stolen—which I'd overlooked
• The story title—the draft was untitled.

I flirted with having Jack steal something from Daisy's house, perhaps a ceramic Jack Russell. But the simplicity of Jack computing that dogs had stolen Daisy's heart was perfect for the story and gave me its sweet ending.

As for the title, I was editing a penultimate printout of the story on an evening walk when the idea of A New Jack popped into my head. And like that shiver up the spine moment when I've written a final sentence, I knew I had the title for my story.

January 2024 was only the second Furious Fiction I've missed since April 2020. I was also in Perth the first time I missed the challenge, for a family wedding in October 2023. As with A New Jack, I finished and shared the story later in the month, back in Sydney, The Lonely Moon. 

PS. Special thanks to Dean Koorey on Twitter for his suggestions after I shared A New Jack on Tall And True. The edits made it a much tighter and better short story!