While I obviously didn’t publish just for the clout, it still pleased me that my work had been read by a great number of people. There were far too many comments for me to reasonably read however, so I asked Titan to sort them in descending order of “things I’d most like to read” and “most valuable/constructive feedback.” But while Titan’s sorting algorithms were generally extremely discerning and reliable, they did make mistakes from time to time. Like just now—the number one comment the system returned wasn’t even really a comment at all, but a mysterious photo of an indistinct, semi-transparent purple silhouette cast over a grassy meadow. I tapped the little icon to indicate that this was not the type of comment I was looking for, and the system quickly re-sorted the results in response to my feedback. This time, it did a much better job.
I glanced at the top few comments, which were primarily from passionate psychology enthusiasts like myself. There were even a few well-known and respected names among them, offering me constructive criticism and some much appreciated advice. One in particular that stood out suggested that I “might also find 21st century clinical psychology and its related literature of interest.”
Clinical?
This was a word I had to look up. The dictionary even pronounced it for me, as Titan knew I’d never spoken the word aloud in my life. A “clinic” was a facility where sick patients could go to receive treatment or advice from employed medical professionals, and “clinical” similarly referred to the field of medicine relating to the observation and treatment of patients outside of a theoretical or laboratory context. That is why it was such an unusual term—it was a remnant of an age gone by, when medical treatment was still administered by human hands, and there was an entire class of working professionals known as “physicians.”
Now, all of humanity’s medical needs were handled by Titan. Examination, diagnosis, medication, surgery—all of these were things that an AI was far more well-suited than we were. Humans were fallible creatures, and when lives were on the line, why would you not want to minimize risk factors? Automated medicine was simply better for all parties involved—though of course I knew that people in the past didn’t have that luxury.
“But what would clinical mean in a psychological context?” I wondered aloud.
I swiped over to my library. Titan had already predicted the terms I wished to search, and pulled up a list of results in descending order of relevance. Sure enough, there did indeed seem to be a field of psychology known as “clinical psychology,” and a related term “clinical psychologist” to refer to those who practiced it as their primary occupation.
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST (COUNSELOR)
A specific type of psychologist specializing in the treatment, mitigation, prevention, and study of psychological symptoms and abnormal behaviors resulting from various mental illnesses and psychosomatic disorders. May also refer to one whose focus is on the betterment, preservation, promotion, and education of mental health in a broader societal context.
Interesting. This did sound right up my alley. Apparently, educational facilities even used to keep “school counselors” on staff to help guide children on the path to becoming successful adults, which seemed to suggest a fair bit of overlap with developmental psychology. I found it hard to imagine that one or two clinical psychologists could possibly provide effective counsel for an entire school’s worth of students. That seemed more like a job for Titan to me.
My entire holofield was filled to the brim with new and interesting bits of information. Whenever a specific phrase or factoid caught my eye, Titan’s predictive behavioral monitoring systems would sense my growing interest and bring up the exact information I wanted at that moment in time. I’d read that in the past, there was a type of worker known as a “valet” whose main job was to provide various kinds of support to another human being throughout their everyday life—so in a sense, you could say that Titan was humanity’s collective valet. Here I sat, gazing out from my comfortable seat at the lovely trail of well-sorted articles and essays it had laid out before me. But just as I began to hunker down for a nice, relaxing morning read, a massive obstacle popped up on my screen—one that even Titan couldn’t proactively clear away for me.
It was an appointment message from Takasaki, requesting a second date. I was a little taken aback by this; he was following up sooner than I expected, given how things ended last night. Normally, this might have come off as desperate, but I kind of liked that bumbling awkwardness about him, so he didn’t lose any points with me. And considering I still was very interested in getting to know him better myself, I saw no reason to play coy. And so, after factoring in how long it would take me to get through this reading material and also bathe and make myself presentable, I told him I’d be delighted to meet up with him at eight o’clock this evening.
10
The courtesy car dropped me off outside the bar Titan had selected for us with plenty of time to spare. I felt a little bad for making him wait for me at dinner yesterday, so I made a point of showing up a little bit early tonight. I stepped inside, then let one of the establishment’s zoomboards ferry me to the private room we’d reserved. It was a nice, open space with a relaxed vibe and soft lighting emanating from the walls. When I sat down on one of the sofas in the center of the room, a list of recommended cocktails appeared on the holofield in front of me. I ordered something light to start off with. I wouldn’t have minded something a bit stronger, honestly, but I knew I should probably show a little restraint around a guy I’d only met yesterday.
When I thought back on how antsy he’d been yesterday, I couldn’t help but smile. Granted, I’d been a little on edge going in, with it being my first matchmaker date in nearly two years, but he was much more nervous—which made it a lot easier for me to let my guard down and act natural with him. We really were exceptionally compatible with one another, and I hoped that we could grow a little bit closer today. Gone was the vague sense of hesitation I’d felt last night. I was fully prepared to have faith in Titan’s judgment and take things to the next level.
After some time, the door clicked open, and I turned to look. A frown crept across my face as I saw that a man had joined me in the private room—but this was not Takasaki at all. That much was clear even at this distance. He was far taller and his skin much tanner—though more than anything, it was his attire that gave him away. This towering gentleman was wearing a very peculiar outfit that you almost never see nowadays, even in the big city. A jacket, a button-up dress shirt, a necktie, and a pair of slacks that together composed a very specific type of outfit, the name of which I knew I’d heard before… Oh, yes. That’s right.