There was a contrast between his slightly stained attire and the spotless automobile. Sarah thought on it for a while, the last time she spoke to her brother was a few years ago. Though they had stayed connected on the net, she could only see what he wanted her to see. That illusion of his success, his happiness, eternal and forever was betrayed by the first real look she had on him. It was such a common trait now of society, how so many imaginations would be shattered the second one takes a look at the real-self. Digital looks and manicured personalities tailor-made to captivate, drive salivation, and envy were all too prevalent in the net. Artificial general intelligence progressed that, accelerated it, now with a quick query to your personal assistant unit, you can show your life as blissful as the Dalai Lama while eating off of recycled meat.
Sarah Owen too was guilty of it, of course. It was natural, why would you show the flaws of your posture when one query to the assistant would generate you a-new to the world outside. When everyone else is perfect, why would you be less so? Why worry about the beauty mark upon your cheek when you can perfect false images on the net instead? And so — even though Sarah and Paul had kept connected all the time they were apart from each other, they still had felt that same feeling that some long-distance friends feel when meeting each other for the first time. I hope they don't notice I lied.