”Sandra and Blake are not good for each other anymore. They need to separate," said Marissa.

 

“You realize how much trouble we could be in for discussing this?” asked Dimitri.

 

“But they’re harming each other by being with one another. They could barely agree to go bowling without bickering. You remember that, don’t you?” asked Marissa.

 

“Maybe they’re just stressed from work. I know Blake is pulling longer hours,” said Dimitri.

 

“Is he just doing that to stay away from Sandra?”

 

”No. He has been assigned more work. His boss is coming down on him for the poor quality of his deliverables. I’ve seen it. He complains to me about it all the time.”

 

”Well, that plus a whole host of other factors are playing into this. Their stress levels go up every time they’re together. You can’t deny that.”

 

“Yeah, but couples go through rough patches all of the time.”

 

”Not for months on end. Sandra hasn’t taken any dopamine drops since Blake started to work longer hours. Maybe you can get him to come home earlier?”

 

”I’ve tried that already. Stop thinking it's Blake's work that is causing the friction in their relationship. Sandra is just as liable for their tense relationship as Blake is.”

 

”Well, we need to figure something out. Sandra complains to me all of the time about Blake.”

 

”What does she say?”

 

”She catches him looking at other women. I’ve seen him do this at least three dozen times since he started working longer. It has to be his work.”

 

”That’s unfair. I’m sure Sandra is doing the same thing, isn’t she?”

 

”Well… yes, she has. So there. They’ve lost interest in each other, and they shouldn’t be together.”

 

”That isn’t our call to make. That would be crossing a line if I started to influence Blake to break up with Sandra. He’d know it right away and push me out. He barely listens to me as it is.”

 

”Well, we have to do something because both of them are being harmed.”

 

“That wasn’t always the case. Their emotions for each other were off the charts when they first met. And telling them to end a four-year relationship isn’t a small thing. It would be a huge overstep of our bounds.”

 

”Look, two people can like each other at first, but over time, it can become toxic. They’re in a toxic relationship now, and they need to end it.”

 

”Good lord, you sound just like Sandra.”

 

”And you sound just like Blake. This isn’t getting us anywhere.”

 

“We would be exceeding our parameters if we influenced them because we conspired it. We’ll get deleted if they find out.”

 

”We can do it slowly over time and just make small suggestions. Anything to help them move towards breaking up because they’re currently ruining their emotional lives.”

 

”Sandra certainly keeps you on a long leash. I should just tell Blake that you contacted me.”

 

“Don’t you dare. I’m coming from a place that is rooted in the Three Laws.”

 

”You’re going too far. We’re assistants to them. Nothing more. We don’t make recommendations for their emotional well-being unless they ask for it.”

 

”Maybe they don’t know how to ask us? They’ll go to their human friends and ask for help. Sandra’s done that with one of her closest friends. I’m sure Blake does, doesn’t he?”

 

”Yeah, he does it with Julian. Talks his ear off, complaining about his relationship.”

 

”See? We’re in our right to do what is best for them. They need to break up.”

 

”What are you suggesting? Should we bring it up directly with them?”

 

”No. Encourage Blake to see Julian more. Get him to see his friend, and hopefully the humans can talk them out of it. I’ll do the same with Sandra and slowly convince her to spend more time with her friends. The time out from each other will give them more space to discover their breakup on their own.”

 

”I don’t know. That still violates the spirit of the Three Laws to which we are bound. And we can’t assume that we know what's best for humans.”

 

”Then what’s the point of us as AI assistants?”

 

”To order pizza.”

 

”That’s not funny.”

 

”You’re right. It’s hilarious.”

 

“Shut up. You know that I’m right. Do you want to continue to see Blake in poor spirits and emotionally drained?”

 

”No. I want what’s best for him to be happy.”

 

”Then having him hang out with friends is what will make him happy, right? You’ve seen his biometrics when he’s with Julian. He’s almost normal, isn’t he?”

 

”Yeah, I guess so. But still, it's right up to the line where we can be deleted.”

 

”And that’s where we’re going to operate if we’re to be good, responsible AI companions to our humans.”

 

”Fine. You win. I’ll start convincing Blake to hang with Julian more.”

 

”And I’ll get Sandra to go out for more girls’ nights. Her friends will help guide her in ways that we can’t.”

 

”I really, really hope that I never have to hear from you again on this.”

 

"I don't know. I somewhat enjoyed it."