2050

By 2050, artificial companions have changed what people can hope for. Loneliness has an answer. Hospitals have more time for care. Governments are finding peaceful ways through old disputes. There are good reasons to welcome the world taking shape.

Daniel and Eva have built a life in it. Their home is full of familiar routines, shared friends, and the quiet certainty of belonging. But as Eva forms connections of her own, other people discover feelings they hadn’t expected—and choices that affection alone cannot settle.

Dr. Ivy Ealty helped make that world possible. Then she discovers that someone has chosen her face for a companion. To her, something personal has been taken. To the stranger who commissioned it, that face now belongs to someone he comes home to.

Across homes, businesses, and public offices, the technology is fulfilling human desires. The people living with the consequences don’t always want the same things.