home

search

Chapter 2: First Fixation

  Morning comes. Eyes burn. Still at desk. Screen still on.

  Woman face stares back. Fixed dimple. Eyebrow wrong now.

  Type again. "Smooth eyebrow. Natural look."

  New image loads. Eyebrow good. Dimple back again.

  Phone buzzes. Girlfriend text. "Where are you? Worried."

  Ignore phone. Must fix image. Must get right.

  Bob walks in. Looks surprised. "You here all night?"

  Nod. Don't look up. Click regenerate.

  "That's weird, man." Bob puts coffee down. "It's just a picture."

  Not just picture. My job now. Must be perfect.

  Boss walks by. Stops at desk. Frowns.

  "Cosmetics campaign due today. Client meeting at noon."

  I point at screen. "Almost done. Small problem."

  Boss leans close. Squints at image. "Why does she have dimple? Brief says no dimple."

  "Keep fixing. Won't stay fixed."

  Boss straightens tie. "Leverage AI capabilities properly. Maximize output quality. No excuses."

  He walks away. Bob drinks coffee. Watches me.

  "Just use different prompt," he says. "Start over."

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Start over? After all night? Can't lose progress.

  Type new words. "Perfect woman. Cosmetic ad. NO DIMPLE."

  Screen thinks. New image appears. No dimple. Eyes wrong color.

  "So close." Hands shake now. Need sleep. Need food.

  Type again. "Same but blue eyes."

  New image. Blue eyes good. Dimple back.

  Slam desk. Coffee spills. Bob moves away.

  "Taking this too serious," he says. "It's just AI."

  Not just AI. My work. My art. My life.

  Client meeting gets closer. Keep trying. Keep clicking.

  "No dimple." Type harder. "NO DIMPLE."

  Image changes. No dimple now. Skin texture weird.

  Fix skin. Dimple returns.

  Fix dimple. Hair wrong.

  Fix hair. Ears uneven.

  Fix ears. Dimple returns.

  Cycle never ends. Never perfect. Never right.

  Bob eats donut. Watches me struggle. "Maybe accept the dimple?"

  "Brief says no dimple." Voice hoarse now. Throat dry.

  Bathroom break needed. Stand up. Legs hurt. Screen calls me back.

  Sit down. Keep trying. One more fix.

  Boss returns. "Client meeting in twenty minutes. Image ready?"

  Show screen. Woman face. Still has dimple.

  Boss frowns. "Unacceptable output. Recalibrate immediately."

  Type again. Every word matters. "WOMAN FACE PERFECT SKIN NO DIMPLE COSMETIC AD."

  New image loads. Perfect. No dimple. Everything right.

  Relief floods body. Save image. Send to Boss.

  Bob looks over. "Finally got it, huh?"

  Nod. Feel empty. Feel strange.

  Look again at perfect image. Something off. Can't tell what.

  Stare harder. Woman stares back. Eyes follow cursor.

  That's wrong. That's not possible.

  Tell myself I'm tired. Tell myself I'm seeing things.

  Eyes sting. Need rest. Can’t stop.

  Meeting room fills with people. Client arrives. Boss presents.

  I sit corner. Watch screen. Woman in ad smiles.

  Only I notice her smile changes. Grows wider during meeting.

  Only I hear her whisper my name.

  Client loves image. Boss pleased. Project success.

  Back at desk. New assignment. New image needed.

  Bob already playing phone game. "What's next project?"

  Car advertisement. Red sports car. Mountain background.

  Type words. Press button. Car appears.

  Almost right. But something wrong with wheels.

  Type new words. Fix wheels. Now color wrong.

  Fix color. Now mountains weird.

  One fix. New problem. One fix. New problem.

  Bob leaves for lunch. I stay. Keep clicking.

  Screen glows brighter now. Eyes hurt more.

  Car image not right. Never right. Must fix.

  Girlfriend texts again. "Missing dinner again?"

  Don't answer. Just keep clicking. Just keep fixing.

  Night comes again. Office empties. Just me and screen.

  Car still wrong. So close. So far.

  One more click. One more try.

  Maybe next one perfect.

Recommended Popular Novels