The software didn't just give him an answer; it took over. His webcam light turned blood-red. The program analyzed the neighbor’s social media, found a photo of him eating a croissant, and generated a three-hour monologue titled “The Flaky Crust of Betrayal: How French Pastries Undermine the Soundscape of the Motherland.”
Within a week, Alexey couldn't order coffee without accusing the barista of "brewing a bitter cup of Western destabilization." His eyes were permanently bloodshot, and he had started wearing silk vests to bed.
The screen went black. The "Solovyov-AI" faded. In the sudden silence of the apartment, Alexey realized the program’s greatest secret: it didn't actually help you win. It just made everyone else too exhausted to keep talking.