Pym's Gal

Pym's Gal

Pym Malachi Ian was tired of being alone. He blamed some of his lonely nature on the name his parents gave him. Supposedly he was descended from some famous Greek sculptor, but he just thought it was lame. Not that he wanted to be popular, everything about the idea disgusted him, specifically the other people. He wasn’t cynical. He just couldn’t stand the rest of his generation, specifically the girls. All they cared about was how they looked and what parties they went to and every other aspect of their appearance. If something didn’t directly affect how other people looked at them, either literally or in a social sense, those girls couldn’t be bothered by it.

But Gal A. T., she was the exception. Everything about her was perfect, from her looks, to her brains, to her slightly shy personality. Everything that could be perfect about her was...in Pym’s eyes. The only problem was that she wasn’t exactly real. Pym was enough of a computer wizard to model, design, and create Gal in a computer program. Her name was actually just a play off of the program he used to make her, but it made her feel that much more real to him. He spent every available hour interacting with Gal, getting as close to her as he could. He gave her the ability to converse with him and they talked long in to the night. He showed her how to play different games and they would waste hours at a time playing together. He managed to insert her into a version of Google Earth and they would take strolls on the beach together. These walks were always the highlight of Pym's day.

Pym became desperate. Soon the conversations wouldn't sate him. The games couldn't satisfy his feelings. The walks were never enough to fill his heart with what he longed for. He began to try everything he could to make Gal more real. He looked into robotics to give her a physical body with no luck. He researched artificial intelligence to let her think more freely and respond in new ways, but it was beyond him. He even briefly looked at which religions granted miracles at the cheapest rates, but he came no closer to a physical Gal. Finally, when he was almost out of hope, he remembered his namesake and the era he came from. With no other options, and nothing to lose, Pym looked up the altar and offerings associated with Venus, the god who granted Pygmalion’s plea so many years ago. He spent an entire afternoon burning incense and praying for his Gal to be real, but received no audience with the god nor any indication that anything had happened. It had been a long shot, but Pym was disappointed nonetheless.

When Pym returned to his room, he was surprised to see his computer already on, and Gal’s program running on his desktop. It was as though he was being mocked, constantly reminded what will never be truly his. He angrily tried to shut down the program, but it wouldn’t respond. As he clicked with more aggression, he eventually realized the screen was getting brighter. He stumbled backwards as the screen became blinding, eventually tripping and falling to the floor, his hand shielding his eyes from the brilliance of the screen. Then, the brightness vanished. Pym blinked a few times, trying to adjust to his new surroundings when he noticed something new. Standing between him and his computer was the most beautiful girl he’d ever laid eyes on.

As Pym’s jaw slowly came back off the floor, Gal spoke with the voice of a god, “You have pleased me, Pym.” He knew it was Venus speaking to him. “I have granted your plea. May your love be a story told for eons.” As Venus’ voice faded, Gal blinked several times, as if coming out of a stupor. Finally, she locked eyes with Pym, and her eyes softened as she gave him a small smile.

Author's note: Author’s note: This started as the story of Pygmalion originally written by Ovid in his work, The Metamorphoses. He was a sculptor who felt no love for any real women. He was upset by their lifestyles and morals. He instead fell in love with his own sculpture, talking to it and spending hours simply holding it. He too prayed to Venus, who animated his sculpture, and the sculpture and sculptor lived happily ever after.

The plot of the original story is very similar to the version of the story that I have written. The main difference between the two versions is mainly just to place the story in a modern setting and adjust what was needed to still allow the plot to occur as closely to the original as possible. Instead of being a sculptor, the antagonist in my story is just a geeky kid who programs his beloved on his computer.

Bibliography: Metamorphosis: Pygmalion, from Ovid's The Metamorphoses Link

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