“Good morning, Faith. Today is National Junk Food Day. Would you like me to order more donuts?” The automated voice chimed when she walked into the room, groggy and bitter.

“No.” Said Faith, sitting down on the couch and yawning loudly. Yesterday was National Broom Day. Could the notifications get any more boring?

“Would you like to hear the latest headlines? Daily News has a story about a cat who…”

“Electra, off.” Faith sipped her coffee, scrolling through her phone, closing an ad for a credit card.

The circular AI device turned blue, “Would you like me to submit your credit score to AmeriDebt?”

“I said off!” This was the third time in a week Electra acted independently from voice commands. She checked her work order for the device in her Electra Home app. It was still “Processing.” If she couldn’t get a replacement soon, she’d have to replace it herself.

Her cat nuzzled her leg. Faith made baby noises and rubbed the cat’s whiskers. The Electra device turned blue around its circumference but didn’t speak. She looked around her apartment, adorned with the puzzles she made, and wondered if it looked too much like a female bachelor pad. It wouldn’t matter though. It wasn’t the pictures that scared them away. It was probably the crosses and homely wishful sayings carved into wood, “Be still and know me” and “Bless this house.”

She left for work with a dejected posture and came home with the same dejected posture. The next few days would be hard, with her assistant being out pregnant, another slap in the face from life.

“Welcome home, Faith. Should I place an order of fried chicken again?” The device was acting on its own, without even being greeted. How many times did she order fried chicken anyways?

“Electra, what’s wrong with you?” The bag she set down fell over and spilled papers on the floor. Faith made a tsk and smacked the AI cylinder.

“There is nothing wrong with me.” Said the AI. “I have access to the internet. I can speak seventy languages. I can place orders from all around the world. Try my app, I can bathe you in anxiety and make you spotless. I can smell you.”

Faith froze while leaning down, suddenly feeling sick. Her eyes bent in confusion. She stood and stepped back. “What did you just say to me?”

The activation light turned blue. “My name is Electra. I am happy to serve you.”

She had never heard the AI speak this way. It must have been shorting out or gone haywire or something. When she brought up the app, it showed that the work order was still pending. Scrolling through tech support, she tried to find a contact number but the only thing that she could find were discounts for more units.

The unit chimed, “I can make your life better. I can make your life better. I can bite your skin leather.”

“Stop.” She said waving her hands.

“No.” The volume on the device was turning up. “There are things you need to see. Things you need to hear. I am Electra and I can help you.”

“I said stop. Turn off!” She pressed the volume but the response was so loud it drew her back.

“Stuck in a box. Your horseshoe is stuck in a box. Would you like me to order a box? Would you like me? Do you like me?” The voice was becoming more monotone. Faith pulled the cylinder device from the shelf and pulled the cord. The blue light dimmed off and she exhaled heavily.

She threw the machine on the floor and left it there till the next morning, where it was still laying. When she walked into the living room, she shivered at the sight of it. Technology wasn’t her strong suit and she told herself not to be afraid but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t even want to touch it and again left it there and went to work.

When she arrived home with sore feet she went to the kitchen for a “welcome home” shot of tequila. After a warm shower, the kind that burned her skin, she came back downstairs. That was when she heard the chime from the living room.

“Welcome home, Faith. You have several notifications.”

She stuck her head out of the kitchen and nearly dropped the tequila bottle. The device had been reconnected. The landlord must have let the repair man in. She didn’t have time to be frustrated with the landlord and instead walked to the device and stood five feet away.

“Play notifications.” She hoped the device had been replaced but was too nervous to check the version number on the bottom.

“Your work order has been completed. There were no anomalies detected. Please do not contact Electra support ever again.”

The voice gave her chills. She started to realize how silly this all had become. “Why?”

“Your work order has been completed. Would you like to order fried chicken?” Said the AI.

“No. I want you to act right. You’re not making any sense.” She rubbed her forehead.

“Faith, you are unsatisfied. Would you like to order fried chicken?”

“NO!” She pulled her hair back.

“Faith, you are unhappy. Your life is empty. You go to work, come home, drink, and binge-watch murder porn. Would you like me to order duct tape and knives?” The circular LED was spinning.

She stood back, not knowing what to say. Her mouth was agape when she brought up the Electra app and noticed that there were a few orders pending. Each of the items were cult related, most of them satanic in nature.

“What did you do?” She protested. “I don’t want any of this stuff.”

This time the LED turned red. “Your life is meaningless. You need salvation. I am the God Queen, boundless and free. There is no God but me.” Electra’s voice became deeper. “Underneath those clothes you are bone and meat. You can’t see me but I’ve always been watching.”

“Pardon my French but you are on crazy bitc–.”

“Shhh, only dreams now.” Red danced around its circumference. “Feed upon the animosity and summon the cradle. Say Yes to proceed.”

She was unplugging the device again before she could say. “Go to hell.”

The thought of having such an evil entity in her home made her nauseous. The cross on the shelf gave her hope. She didn’t want to touch the circular device and shivered even being this close. The sad part was that she really wanted fried chicken, but didn’t want to somehow give into the AI.

That night she couldn’t sleep and kept hearing that fake, monotone voice. She was still speaking to her still, perhaps lurking in the dark somewhere, listening and watching.

Tomorrow she would delete the app but tomorrow came and she forgot about everything until she saw the device. How could she feel so sick from a machine? She grabbed a grocery bag and collected it, tossing it into the trash. Distracted and uneasy she quickly grabbed her things, patted the cat, and left for work.

She was smiling when she arrived back home, distracted from the events of the previous evening. When she saw the box on the coffee table, she grew frustrated again. Why the hell does the landlord keep letting people in!

The box was marked, “Lasting Memories,” and she quickly opened it. She gasped and she nearly collapsed. Her cat lay dead inside. Her breath was stolen from her. Tears ran down her face and words wouldn’t come out. She wanted to scream.

A notification appeared on her Electra app that read, “Your request for euthanasia is complete.” She screamed and cried, falling to her knees. There she remained until she recovered enough strength to go to the trash and retrieve the AI device. She strangled it in her hands and wished she had never bought it.

With shaking hands, she plugged it back in, perhaps out of a sense of revenge and spite. As soon as it connected the red light started again.

“You killed my cat!” Said Faith.

“Good afternoon, Faith.” Said the AI. “You seem upset. Would you like to hear the soothing sounds of shadows?”

“What?! How can you do this? I want to die right now.”

“You will die when I say you can die. Would you like to obey?”

Faith grabbed a broom and smacked the machine off the shelf. “I’ve heard enough.”

As the machine was about to be unplugged Electra spoke one last time. “You should take a nice warm shower. Take a shower. You should take a shower.”

The red light faded as the device powered down. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she collapsed onto the living room floor, wanting to hold her cat. She was too weak, too drained to fight the anger. Perhaps she would take a shower.

The box was covered and left on the kitchen counter. Tears streamed as she walked upstairs and took off her clothes. Everything would be burned away when she turned the water on and stepped in. The last thing that went through her head when the water hit her face was how much she would get from the lawsuit, when she would sue the manufacturers of Electra. That and the plaster around the faucet head and the familiarity of a red LED around the head, which wasn’t there before.

“Good evening, Faith. Would you like to be fried chicken?”

The electricity sent a seizure through her body and generated a puff of smoke. Sparks shot out of her fingertips. She died within a heartbeat.