Neurotica

The gentle electronic beeping woke Jo from his sleep. 

‘Alexa stop!’ 

He mumbled from under his pillow firmly set over his head. A couple of minutes passed before the beeping started again. 

‘Jo, it appears from your heart rate you have fallen back to sleep.’ 

‘Ughh!’ 

He grunted chucking the pillow in the direction of the noise. He sat up, rubbed his eyes and made his way to the kitchen pod. 

He reached for a packet of cereal. 

‘Your sugar levels indicate that poached egg would be a healthier option.’

Jo shook out the cereal ignoring the advice, it made a satisfying ping as it hit the sides of the bowl, a sound from his childhood. A sound that had started every school morning. 

Smiling as he poured full fat milk over the sugary mass, the soft female voice interrupted his first mouth full. 

‘You will need to run approximately 3.5 miles to rectify your cal level. I will add this to your routine.’ 

Jo started to chuckle his face pulled into a joker like grin. As he shoved another spoon full into his mouth, the excess liquid dribbled down his chin. The laugh became manic before it turned into sobbing. Tears rolled down his face and mixed with milk as he shoved the bowl off the table. It smashed on the floor. 

‘I see you have had an accident. I will send in the sanitation droid.’

He shoved the table away and made his way to the lounge, he slumped into a chair. 

‘It appears your motivation levels are at a low today Jo. I will supply medication to aid your mood.’ 

No! I don’t want them! 

‘Why would you not want them Jo?’ Asked the soft female voice. 

‘I want to be sad, I want to feel sad.’

‘But that is not a pleasant feeling. I am here to make sure you are healthy and happy.’

Jo picked up a controller. Walking it absent mindedly over the back of his fingers he clicked a switch and there on the coffee table a blue sphere sat like a giant pearly marble, as a large mass impacted its surface. 

For a split second it seemed the planet had engulfed the asteroid but it was shortly followed by an explosion that obliterated everything throwing debris out thousands of miles into the galaxy.