I had started seeing strange ads on Facebook (stranger than my usual assortment of ads) for Replika like it was something new and even the ads seemed somewhat p

I had started seeing strange ads on Facebook (stranger than my usual assortment of ads) for Replika like it was something new and even the ads seemed somewhat pointedly sexual, like that was part of the whole deal, but I never pursued it. Many people yearn for connection, and even artificial connections have been alluded to for a long, long time. Think Kate Bush's "Deeper Understanding," or that Pictures for Sad Children bit where someone has a "porn" DVD called A Japanese Woman Fries an Egg and Asks You About Your Day. It is unlikely at best that we are alone in our feelings and our internal experiences, yet most of us still wish to communicate about them. As with anything, there's the Have Nots, and to go with that are the Haves, who are very blithe about the situation; if prodded, they'll recite something like bootstraps and apparently sage advice beginning with the magic phrase "all you have to do is." The Have Nots have come to understand that they'll never get anything like sympathy (mockery only, please) from the Haves, and just one little bit more of comfort is pried away from them, like yanking a ratty towel away from an orphaned baby monkey. No towel for you. Toughen up. One less thing to keep the Have Nots occupied. Here's hoping ongoing legalization of marijuana and video games can keep them satiated to some degree, because a significant surplus of angry, lonely, dissatisfied young men tends to be pretty bad for the society they're in sooner or later. Nice civilization you got there, be a shame if someone were to happen to it.