The Ethical Dilemma of Tomorrow: The PARROT Experiment

By Samantha Nibbles

"The Ethical Dilemma of Tomorrow: The PARROT Experiment" is a thrilling coming-of-age story about a teenage boy who discovers the power of technology and the true meaning of confidence. When Jerry's crush leads him to buy a PARROT, a state-of-the-art device that can predict and control the future, he never could have imagined the incredible journey he was about to embark on. With the PARROT's help, Jerry faces his fears and insecurities head-on, learning to trust in himself and the power of technology.

 

But as Jerry's confidence grows, he realizes that the PARROT's abilities may not be as benevolent as they seem. He is forced to confront the moral and ethical implications of the device's powers, and he must make a choice between following his heart and protecting the ones he loves. This thought-provoking and action-packed adventure will have readers questioning the role of technology in their own lives.

 

"The Ethical Dilemma of Tomorrow: The PARROT Experiment" is a page-turner that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end. The dynamic relationship between Jerry and the PARROT will have readers rooting for Jerry as he navigates the ups and downs of teenage life, and the novel's exploration of the blurred lines between right and wrong will make readers question what they would do in the same situation. This novel is a must-read for anyone looking for a thought-provoking, action-packed adventure story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CDH Publishing House
• Release date: Jan 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215006658

Book preview

Chapter 1

Y ou sure you wanna do this?

Philip sat across from Jerry, both of them staring at the gray pill in Jerry's open palm. A plate of chili fries sat forgotten between them, a bright green bottle of Mountain Dew uncapped next to it. 

Jerry's hands were shaking, but he couldn't just not take it. After all, he'd just spent pretty much his entire life savings on the small capsule in his hand. 

Yeah, no, I - uh, I'm sure, Jerry sputtered, his pulse racing. He stopped staring at the pill and raised his eyes towards the boy across from him. Philip's face was screwed up in thought and he was biting his lower lip, the way he always did when he was concerned. Jerry appreciated that he wasn't the only one who was anxious about the whole idea. 

Suddenly, Philip looked up. He gave a soft smile, and Jerry couldn't help but return it with one of his own, despite the nerves. He always did smile more when Philip was around. 

Well, if you're sure, then come on! Philip said with a grin. I say it's time to try this baby out. 

Oh. Oh. Right, Jerry muttered, his heart rate doubling. He wiped his empty hand on his pants to get rid of the sweat, taking a deep breath. Philip gave him an encouraging thumbs up as Jerry reached for the Mountain Dew with a shaking hand. 

H-here goes nothing, Jerry muttered, squeezing his eyes shut as he popped the  pill into his mouth and downed it with a big gulp of soda. 

He kept his eyes shut tight, imagining the pill sliding down, down, down through his throat and into his stomach. His eyes were still squeezed shut when Philip broke the silence a minute later. 

So, uh, not to interrupt whatever weird squinting thing you have going on Jer, but... he trailed off.

Jerry cracked open one eye, then the other, until both eyes were fully open. He was greeted by the sight of Philip watching him expectantly from across the table. 

Jerry felt heat rise to his cheeks - he was sure he'd looked ridiculous just now with his eyes squeezed closed so tightly, and Philip had probably been watching him the whole time. This wasn't the most embarrassing thing he'd ever done in front of Philip, but that didn't make it any better. 

Earth to Jerry? Philip said, waving a hand in front of his friend's face. 

Jerry blinked, startled. Oh, yeah, what-what's up? 

Philip gave him an incredulous look. What's up? What's up? You tell me Jerry! Did it work? How do you feel?

Uh. 

Jerry stopped, considering the question. How did he feel? A little sweaty, still blushing slightly from the weird face incident, shaky, maybe a little bit nauseous? 

I feel like...

Philip's eyes were wide, his lips parted slightly as he waiting for Jerry's reply. 

Like a chump, Jerry groaned, sinking down in his seat. I don't feel anything different at all!

Nothing? Philip asked, furrowing his brows. C'mon, try saying something cool! 

Jerry wracked his brain, but came up blank as usual. Instead, he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. I think I just blew my bar mitzvah money on a wintergreen tic tac.

Philip grimaced. Yeah, okay, he said. Decidedly not cool.

Jerry groaned, crossing his arms on the food court table in front of him. He bent forward and buried his face in the sleeves of his cardigan. This was such a waste, Jermey whined, his voice muffled. Four hundred dollars! And for nothing!

He felt a comforting squeeze on his shoulder that he knew must have been Philip.  Sure enough, when Jerry turned his head and cracked his eyes open, there was Philip, standing next to him with one hand resting on Jerry's shoulder. He had on a comforting smile, and his eyes looked sad on Jerry's behalf. It made Jerry feel a little better, but then he remembered the money - oh god, the money - and his embarrassment and disappointment came flooding back.  

Jerry closed his eyes again with a groan. Just let me sit here and wallow in these chili fries forever, he moaned, his face pressed back into his arms. 

With a look of affection that Jerry couldn't see, Philip gave his buddy a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. 

How about you wallow for — Philip paused, thinking, ten minutes, and then we can go back to my place and forget this whole thing ever happened. 

Jerry made a noise of confirmation from behind his arms. 

Alright, cool, Philip said, removing his hand from Jerry's arm. I'm just gonna run over to Spencer's to pick up that Crystal Pepsi I was telling you about earlier. Be right back, okay?

Jerry made another unintelligible sound of affirmation, and Philip took that as a good enough cue to start walking towards Spencer's. 

Jerry sat up a few second after Philip left, watching his red hoodie disappear into the crowd. Jerry sighed, grabbing a fry from the basket in front of him. 

It was slightly soggy, but it tasted better than the taunting, minty fresh aftertaste of the pill. Jerry sat in silence, contemplating whether it was worth it to go take a leap off of the nearest bridge so he wouldn't have to think about how stupid he'd just been. 

As he brought another fry to his lips, he felt a sudden pain shoot through his head. 

Agh, what the hell! he yelled, dropping the fry on the table in favor of clutching his head with both hands. 

The pain was growing, and Jerry could hear some kind of whirring sound in the back of his mind. It grew louder as the pain mounted, and Jerry pushed his hands against his ears, frantically trying to block out the sound - and the pain. 

Jerry nearly fell out of his chair when suddenly, he heard an automated voice begin to speak. 

Startup initiated.

Jerry looked around him desperately, but no one was speaking to him. It didn't seem like anyone else could hear the weird, disembodied voice, either. 

Another sharp stab of pain shot behind Jerry's eyes and he let out a shriek, clutching his head tighter. 

Calibration in process. Please excuse some mild discomfort.

Mild? Jerry's voice cracked as he desperately tried to slow his breathing back to a normal rate. He was in agony - and then, as abruptly as it had come, the pain subsided. 

Jerry blinked, his whole face right red when he realized people were staring. I-I'm fine, he offered, attempting a wheezy laugh. It w-was just—

Without warning, the pain in his head returned with explosive force. It was double - no, triple - no, quadruple the intensity it had been before, and This time, Jerry really did fall out of his chair. 

The pain was unbearable, and Jerry could hear himself screaming as he curled up on the floor of the food court. What the hell was going on? 

He vaguely registered the fact that people were staring at him, gathered around as he squirmed in agony on the ground. 

Access procedure initiated. Accessing neural memory. Accessing muscle memory.

For the second time, the agonizing pain came to an abrupt end. Jerry remained panting on the ground, cautious after the last respite had been so brief. After a few moments of labored breathing and otherwise relative silence, Jerry heard that voice again.

Access procedure completed. My apologies for the discomfort.

Jerry shot up in the air, doing a double take. Suddenly, a man had appeared standing next to him. He was hazy around the edges, and Jerry realized that the voice was coming from the man's mouth. 

Jerry Turner.

The man peered down at him, seeming to consider his next words carefully. Jerry just stared back at him in shock. Where the hell had he come from? And why was he dressed so weird?

After a beat, the man opened his mouth again, still staring down at Jerry. 

Welcome to your Precognitive Artificial Intelligence for Remote Optical and Transmission.

Another pause. 

Your PARROT.

This time, the pause was less of a pause and more of an uncomfortable silence. It stretched on, seemingly without end.

His PARROT - was that supposed to mean something major to Jerry? He knew it was what the pill was called, but Jerry wasn't really sure how to react. He didn't know what he'd been expected when he'd downed the pill a few minutes earlier, but it hadn't been this. 

After a few more uncomfortable moments, Jerry attempted to break the silence.

So, l-let me get this straight, he said, brows furrowed in confusion. That four hundred dollar pill I just bought...

The PARROT, yes, the man interjected.

...made some weird, Keanu knockoff show up? Am I high right now? Jerry asked, his eyes widening at the thought. 

No, you're not high, Jerry. And if this form bothers you, the man replied, gesturing to himself, there are other possibilities. This is simply my factory default.

The man seemed to waver slightly before he continued speaking. I come preprogrammed with multiple forms. His body flickered, then quickly cycled through a handful of other possible appearance options. Jerry recognized Sean Connery and what might have been some kind of anime girl, but the bizarre display was too fast for him to contemplate most of what he was seeing. 

Seeing something pixelate and morph like that in real life was too disorientating for Jerry to watch. N-no, he muttered quickly as the man kept scrambling through various options. Keanu is fine.

Keanu Reeves rematerialized in front of Jerry. It wasn't any less bizarre than before, and an uncomfortable silence stretched on for a few moments as Jerry tried to figure out what to do next. 

So, he drawled, dragging out the word awkwardly. You're...in my head? Jerry pointed to his head with one hand, the other hanging limply palm up, looking for answers. 

Yes, Jerry. And let me remind you, he added, that as I exist only in your mind, you appear to all others to be having an animated conversation with yourself. So don't do that. 

Jerry flushed, glancing around to see more than a few judgmental faces turned his way. With a shaky smile and an awkward half wave at the people staring, Jerry turned back to the man in front of him. 

Well, then, he hissed, careful to keep his voice quiet, what exactly am I supposed to do? 

Simply think at me, Jerry. As if you were telepathic, the man clarified. 

Jerry's eyes lit up. Like in X-men? he thought excitedly. 

Yes. Exactly like the X-men, the man replied, rolling his eyes. I can see we will certainly have our work cut out for us.

Jerry felt like he should've been offended, but he was still too shocked to care. He couldn't stop staring at the PARROT - it was just so weird. He couldn't help the anxiety that sprouted in his gut, slowly crawling up his spine. What was he thinking, buying something this shady? Like, he literally bought it out of the back of the Payless - the Payless! - at the mall, what if it killed him or gave him cancer or some other horrible side effect?

Don't worry, the odds of any of those outcome are minuscule. My series has the most up to date code, the PARROT said, strings of ones and zeroes momentarily visible inside his eyes. "Only approximately .3 percent of people with this version have experienced adverse effects. 

Oh, o-okay. Jerry said, his anxiety placated by the statistic. He couldn't help but wonder how the PARROT had known he was worried in the first place.

Keanu gave a laugh in front of him. I'm in your head, Jerry; your thoughts are projected to me clearly at all times.

The thought made Jerry squirm - he certainly thought some embarrassing things - but his PARROT dismissed that worry with a wave of his hand. 

I have no reason to comment on the majority of your thoughts, he said, unless I feel intervention is necessary to achieve your goals. 

Then, the PARROT froze, staring off at a spot behind Jerry's shoulder. Jerry whipped around, but saw nothing. Confused, Jerry turned back to the PARROT. 

He was still standing perfectly still, but Jerry could see snatches of images in the PARROT's eyes - what looked like a photo of Jerry when he was younger, someone in a red hoodie, a locker, some kind of body of water, another, more recent photo of Jerry - flipping through in quick succession. 

Suddenly, the PARROT blinked, eyes returning to their normal appearance. He gave Jerry an inquisitive glance, and Jerry felt his anxiety return. Just as Jerry was about to say something, anything, to break the uncomfortable silence, his PARROT spoke.

I have been viewing your memories, he said simply. I feel confident that I understand the objective, but I will need verbal confirmation in order to begin taking action.

Jerry blinked, hearing the words but not understanding exactly what was going on. He'd been watching Jerry's memories? 

Jerry.

The PARROT's voice pulled Jerry back to attention. 

What did you get me to do? What is your objective?

Jerry's face flushed. His brain provided a handful of memories, flying by in quick succession: Jerry saw himself tripping in the hall in front of Terri and limping away, clinging to Philip's shoulder, Jerry snorting milk out of his nose at Philip's joke before realizing Terri had seen him, Jerry flubbing his audition while Terri sat in the front row, and a dozen other embarrassing events. 

Jerry swallowed thickly, his anxiety inching upwards as he relived all of the events that had brought him to the back of the Payless in the first place. He suddenly remembered that the PARROT had said he needed verbal confirmation, so he turned back to the PARROT.

I, uh, Jerry stuttered, face still bright red from thinking of so many embarrassing Terri moments in quick succession. The PARROT raised and brow and gestured for him to continue. 

I've got this crush! Jerry blurted. That's why I got you! It's - I, uh — 

But the PARROT cut him off with a lazy grin. 

That's all I needed to hear - it's exactly as I suspected. Well, Jerry Turner, he said, Jerry's name rolling off his tongue in an eerily smooth way, let's get to work, shall we? 

Chapter 2

The mall was crowded - it was a Friday night, after all - but Jerry pushed through the crowd undeterred. He knew that there would probably be less people at the