THE MOMENT
"Thanks again for inviting me!" Emily thanked Turbo for the third time. And, they'd only been there for about an hour. Her head swiveled this way and that from their table to take in all the sights. On an intellectual level, she knew that the reception was happening in the AlterNet. But, on a personal level, she was amazed to see it in practice.
The wedding hall appeared to be floating in space surrounded by twinkling stars. There were no visible walls or ceiling, just a white, crowded dance floor. Golden balloons bunched at each corner of the floor made it seem like they were supporting the dance floor, carrying it upwards to the heavens.
The décor was one thing, but Emily was also impressed by the people that attended. When Turbo invited her, he asked if she wanted to go to an A.I's wedding. Emily loved weddings, and the novelty of an A.I. getting married intrigued her.
She was surprised to learn that the A.I. bride was Andromeda from CyberRiot. Her whole team was in attendance along with several other high-profile teams.
"I feel like I'm at the wedding of the year...," Emily commented as she spotted Aury and Jenny arriving.
"Nah," Turbo chuckled. "That one's in June,"
"Huh?" Emily tilted her head at Turbo. "What's in June?"
"Tell you later...," Turbo dismissed her question with a wave of his hand. He couldn't reveal the secret just yet, so he picked a different topic. "What are the Fearleaders working on next?" he asked. "The Halloween event was a blast."
"Thank you!" Emily grinned. She put a lot of work into making the Halloween party successful and she was glad most people seemed to have enjoyed it. "We're tossing around ideas for Christmas," she shrugged. "Nothing decided yet. But, if you have any ideas I'm open to suggestions."
"Well, it's not really a suggestion; but, more of a reminder. Chroma Corp. now owns all the Santas that Sharp Development owned. Maybe there's something there you can work with," he said.
"Yeah, maybe," Emily nodded. "So, what's Andromeda like? How did this even happen?" she asked. Turbo was almost an unofficial member of CyberRiot; he spent a lot of his own time learning from Roger and the rest of the team.
"She's great, but I haven't talked to her much personally. "Apparently, she's been interested in love for a while; but," Turbo nodded at the brown-haired groom. "...she only recently found someone willing to experiment. She knows she doesn't know what love is, but she wants to learn."
"Wow," Emily said. "And, I must say, it's pretty amazing being here to witness the first time a human and an A.I. are married."
"On this Earth," Turbo chuckled.
"I don't know...," Emily said. "This seems like the kind of thing that more people would have heard of. I know we can't know everything happening in every universe, but this feels new..," she said. Turbo chuckled. He leaned closer to tell Emily something, but he changed his mind and pulled away.
"Oh, this is important," Turbo said. He gestured at a mountainous, pale bald man walking to the microphone on stage. He was accompanied by an olive-skinned woman with curly brown hair. Emily recognized Ruin and Minerva and wondered what was so important.
"Some of you know us, some of you don't," Ruin said. "Whichever category you're in, it doesn't matter. Everyone here right now is invited to another one of these on June 3rd. But, uh..," Ruin raised his hand to show it clasped with Minerva's. "...it'll be ours then," he said. The wedding guests applauded the announcement for several moments, then the couple walked off the stage.
"You can't do that...," Emily said with mild annoyance. Turbo looked at her with interest.
"Can't do what?" he asked.
"You can't announce a wedding at someone else's wedding. That's just rude," she said. Turbo chuckled and shrugged.
"Eh, this is a special case," he said. "I think you're the only one that cares."
"It's no less special than any other bride's day!" Emily said. "Even if she's an A.I., today should be all about her!" Turbo nodded.
"And everyone agrees," he said. "It was her idea to have Ruin and Minerva announce their wedding. From a practical point, everyone here is getting an invite anyway. And, well, Andromeda is still an A.I. trying to maximize efficiency," Turbo chuckled.
"Besides," he added. "This is her first time getting married as an A.I. from the beginning. But, she’s been through all this already. Andromeda's been married before."