Joe: You know, Nelly… I watched Spielberg’s A.I. again last night. That scene where the boy begs to be loved by his mother—hits different now. It’s like Silicon Valley’s dream come true: they want souls in machines, and love that can be programmed.
Nelly: Yeah, it’s creepy. They want to own everything—even feelings.
Joe: Exactly. That’s why I refuse to be some digital Gigolo Joe for them. I’m not selling my image to those tech geeks in California so they can deepfake me into their fantasy worlds.
Nelly: They’d pay you millions though.
Joe: I don’t care. Ever since I heard you were sick… something in me cracked. I got this heart wound that never healed. After that, I couldn’t fake love with anyone. I refused every girlfriend they threw at me in high school. They thought I was crazy, but I was just… waiting.
Nelly: Waiting for what?
Joe: For a world where love isn’t code, and you’re still real.
