Flash SF: Social-Engineering Simulacrum

“Where did you meet Ms. Antaran?”

“In a chatroom.”

“May I ask what kind of chatroom?”

“It was…” Mr. Langbacher twiddled his thumbs uncomfortably and sniffed loudly. “It was a dating… It was a chatroom for meeting single women overseas.”

The detective scribbled the words ‘Mail Order Bride‘ on his notepad and nodded thoughtfully, “And she came to visit you?”

“Yes,” Mr. Langbacher nodded. “About a week after we started talking.”

“A week?” the detective raised an eyebrow. “She was able to obtain a visa in a week?”

“I–ummmm…” Langbacher frowned at this. “She didn’t say anything about a visa. We we’re just so happy to…” he sobbed once, “I don’t understand why…

The detective frowned and pushed back from his desk at this, “I understand that getting stood up at the altar is a crushing experience, but you are also the victim of a felony–”

“My life savings–”

“–and my job is to bring the perpetrators to justice. So any information you can give me about Ms. Antaran would be helpful. Do you have any idea how she came to possess your bank account numbers?”

“She…” Langbacher shrugged slightly, “It was part of our marriage plans. She gave me the information for her accounts.”

The detective nodded, looking at the absurd figure listed on Ms. Diante Antaran’s overseas bank account statement, “Mr. Langbacher, did you ever see Ms. Antaran eat?”

“I–I’m sorry?”

“Eat. Did you ever see her actually swallow food.”

“I… We…” Langbacher squinted his eyes, remembering. “We went to several dinners… I remember her playing with her food, but the plate was always full when the wait staff came to clear the table.”

The Detective squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to appear thoughtful. In fact, he was being thoughtful. He was trying to find a thoughtful way to explain to Led Langbacher what an incredible dunce he was.

“Mr. Langbacher, I’m afraid you’ve been the victim of a pretty common scam. Ms. Antaran, the woman you hoped to marry, never existed. She was an AI, probably one of those fourth-gen Real Dolls with hacked chatbot software. In fact, I am certain the robot is certainly being disassembled in a warehouse as we speak.” The detective sighed heavily, “These crimes are very difficult to solve.”

“But… you mean…” Mr. Langbacher’s eyes were welling up with tears. “Lacy wasn’t really daughter to the late treasurer of Freedonia?”

The detective grimaced and slouched in his chair.