[ Loads of people know the question, posed by Philip K. Dick, "do androids dream of electric sheep?" Most people aren't expecting an answer, but in this case, there actually is one.
Ash dreamt not of electric sheep, but of a fox. A very real, very ethereal fox who found him in Martha's attic, and lured him away with a promise to show him who he could be. He's never dreamed before, so the fact that this dream found its way into his memory is something rather remarkable.
He boots on in a field. The field is empty, save for him, or at least, it looks that way. There's music playing in the distance, but it doesn't occur to Ash to follow it to its source. Instead, he just stands in the field, uncannily still, mentally reeling with the fact that he knows he's beyond his preprogrammed distance limits, farther from his activation point than he's ever been. So far that he can't even register where he is on his internal GPS. He has no maps for this place. He's always been able to pinpoint his body's exact latitude and longitude, but... he can't now. He gets an error every time he tries.
He's... unmoored. Let loose. Granted freedom, and absolutely no clue what to do with it.
The idea is so distracting that he doesn't notice anyone else in the field until they've walked into his field of vision. At which point he blinks, and his eerily neutral expression springs to life with a casual, friendly smile. ]
Oh. Hello. Was I standing here long? ...Bet I looked like a right idiot.
02. you've got tricks...
[ The giant pumpkin-headed figure is a fair bit intimidating, but Ash doesn't let any trepidation show outwardly. When selected to choose between a trick or a treat, he laughs a bit too brightly, and quickly says, ] It's always more fun to say trick, isn't it?
[ With that, a tray is brought forth, with drinks set upon it. Ash makes a sheepish grimace and stammers a bit. ]
Oh, I don't— I mean, I can, if you want me to. But it'll be a bit of a mess.
[ Any liquid he ingests has to come back out again, and not in the usual way. He tried drinking with Martha, once, but after the sight of him awkwardly purging the wine she'd given him, she'd never asked him to do it again. ]
03. folkmore online...
un: ash_2.0
These relics are a bit odd, aren't they? I haven't used a game console like this in ages.
[ He's never actually used a game console, but that's neither here nor there. ]
Anyway, hi. I'm Ash. I've just got a question, and this seemed like the easiest way to ask. Is everything the fox said true? That bit about "our potential" and all that? It seems maybe a little too good to be true, but I'm not sure how else to explain any of this.
Ash Starmer | Black Mirror
01. fields of gold...
02. you've got tricks...
03. folkmore online...
00. wildcard...