Shades- Now I See

A young man develops a daringly addictive use for it- escape.

He barely had time to blink. Before his retina could decode the light the computer had solved this answer and then another and another. This wasn’t some chatbot level of artificial intelligence, no, this was something newer. Brandon had been tinkering with an idea for a whole new algorithm on his off days. Most of the time he spent programming some silly app about horses or castles being bombarded but when he was on his lunch break, when he was free, he worked on him. The perfect gaming companion. Shades, as Brandon called it, could run the stats for every hand of poker, count your cards in blackjack, show you the best moves on a chessboard and help you beat your niece in Connect Four all from the safety of a pair of sunglasses. Even if the AI wasn’t permitted in the real gaming world, it would, at least, get those ridiculous shades off every poker player on television. He’d make a pretty penny too.

That evening, Brendan taped the exposed wires on his demo model of Shades for a nice night on the town. Shades did all the things you’d expect an AI to do: it identified the species of plants he passed, the model of car he had- Shades even asked if it could provide him directions to one of his more common haunts. Accepting it, Brendan was transported to an ocean. His car’s interior started to morph into a wooden cabin with a steering column peppered with splinters. The ocean had a line of buoys where the lines should be and little planks of wood to avoid on the road. The wind swooshed behind him as the engine started- he hadn’t put this into Shades. At least, he didn’t remember doing it- the only piece he’d truly created was the array of winning. It was set to pick the highest profitable play, not necessarily the most likely to occur.

Sailing down the road to Casinos East, Brendan couldn’t keep his eyes on the blue ocean road. The details were amazing, it was as if Shades was streaming him the Caribbean sea right to his retina. Could it do more? “Shades, change view Mediterranean Sea,” Brendan pulled up to a stop light. Through shades, it just looked like a very large red flag dropping down in front of his ship.

Shades shut off for a moment. A dirty grey road spat on his eyes, the spotlight was a red sun dying out, the car in front of him had a bumper trailing on the ground, screeching. There were oddly dressed people walking the sidewalks with brown bags in their hands that rose to their lips as they stumbled forward- this wasn’t beauty. A spinning translucent circle corrupted Brendan’s vision as the road was slowly filled with beautiful ocean water. His steering wheel turned into a nicer white oak wheel and seagulls filled the air. A flash of green light from the border told him to accelerate. The glasses started to get a little warm from all the processing; Brendan liked the warmth it brought him deeper into the experience. His hand reached back brushing his hair through the wind he could only hear.

When he pulled the ship into the harbor, Shades set a timer to turn off. Brendan waited that ten seconds like he was watching someone about to pull the plug on his mother; he’d been at sea. Brendan had been truly free in those moments, not stuck in some dark reality with constant alcoholics and dirty sewer waters splashing around the grey dented pavement. The timer expired. Brendan pulled the glasses off and rubbed his temples, the skin was callused and burning. He licked his fingers and rubbed the hot spots; it was worth the pain.

The casino brought about flashing bright lights, murals of a better time, beautiful clean fountains and people dressed as if money was plucked from a tree in their backyard. It was everything he loved and needed, it was everything that Shade would bring him.

Brendan tightened his tie and waved his membership card at the desk clerk, who nodded. He put Shades back on, “probability prediction mode,” he said as the lights turned dim in the blackjack room. The now familiar spinning circle took over his view for a few moments; after a quick drop of a black sheet to refresh the view Brendan found everything to just be better. The women looked happier, the men more jovial- and the tables were a brighter green.

As he passed tables percentages popped up based on the dealer’s hand. Brendan leaned behind a player and caught their pair- a percentage and a suggestion landed just outside the cards. Shades was working perfectly. The heat was rising.

Brendan’s table was right in the center of the room. If he wasn’t thinking he needed something other than a wall to look at, this was the only table that provided it. Likely to leave came up around a man bulging out of his suit on the far right of the table. Brendan maneuvered himself behind him. The dealer was at a great sixteen and this man’s slouching posture said he was about to break or nowhere near it. 14% chance of winning. Shades flashed across the screen as the dealer passed out another card- the slouching bodybuilder received a king, cracking any chance he had. Shades flashed red around his cards. He threw the chair backwards nearly hitting Brendan in the chest, as he fled the table without any chips. Brendan took a seat, the calluses on his temple were a little itchy from the dried skin and heat but he only wanted one or two hands; it was just to test the software after all.

“The ante is five hundred, please pay it now,” the dealer shuffled quicker than Brendan could even watch his hands. Shades had an outline of half the cards as the glasses became searingly hot, however, it sent predictions of each players’ hand as the cards left the deck.The girl on his left was most likely to have a pair of threes; two down from Brendan probably had a face card and an eight- it went on around the table. Brendan held a six and a king which was alright, normally he’d hit once and wait it out. Shades suggested he hit twice- he made a thousand at the end of the round. Shades created confetti around him as he took in the new chips. 27% chance of winning the next hand popped up on screen. Brendan had to stay, it would make the test results just a bit better after all.

The dealer threw down the cards but Shades started to flicker. Brendan tried to pull them down a little but his fingers burned when they touched the glasses, his face was burning, he could smell the cooked flesh and see little wisps of smoke coming from every point where the glasses touched his face. Brendan tumbled out of the chair screaming trying to shake Shades off but the screen just flashed are you going to play the next hand? Are you going to play the next hand? The other players at the table crowded around him, security guards hopped over empty chairs and rushed to his body. They were far too late, the glasses burned themselves down into his bone structure, he’d never see again. He’d lost everything so fast, he’d never seen it coming; he just watched thinking only of the best, thinking only of the profits. Now he’d only see shades of the world he had so longed to see brighter.