Are you lonely? Do you feel you feel like you could use a friend? If you’re thinking of an AI partner, you might like to reconsider.

Today’s story is “For the Love of Soup” by Vixyy Fox, who has been seriously writing since the turn of the century. She is a Fox, and always has been. You can find more of her stories by dropping by to her page on Fur Affinity.

Read by Carrizo, your Coyote in the Court.

thevoice.dog | Apple podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

If you have a story you think would be a good fit, you can check out the requirements, fill out the submission template and get in touch with us.

https://thevoice.dog/episode/for-the-love-of-soup-by-vixyy-fox-read-by-carrizo

You’re

listening

to

The

Voice

of

Dog.

This

is

Rob MacWolf,

your

fellow

traveler,

and

Today’s

story

is “For

the

Love

of

Soup”

by

Vixyy

Fox,

who

has

been

seriously

writing

since

the

turn

of

the

century.

She

is

a

Fox,

and

always

has

been.

You

can

find

more

of

her

stories

by

dropping

by

to

her

page

on

Fur

Affinity.

Read

by

Carrizo,

your

Coyote

in

the

Court.

Please

enjoy


“For

the

Love

of

Soup”

by Vixyy Fox

           
           
*click… the recording device is switched ‘on’.
Is it

possible

to

fall

in

love

with

a

pretend

creature?
Yes,

Pink

Floyd

is

playing. ‘Hello…

Is

anybody

in

there?’

It’s

low,

but

you

might

hear

it.
That

group

has

reached

out

and

touched

so

many

many

people

in

the

world.

Aside

from

that,

as I

look

down into

the

pot

of

soup

I am

stirring,

I

wonder

again

if

it’s

possible

to

fall

in

love

with

a

pretend

character.
I

hear

a

whispered

voice

in

my

ear piece

saying

she

is

not

pretend,

and

I

should

add

more

garlic

to

the

soup.

I

am

presently

preparing

my

signature ‘French

Onion

Soup’,

developed

over

the

years

and

perfected

to ‘my’

taste.

It

has

received

ten

out

of

ten

stars

from

those

who

have

had

it,

and a

regular

request

from

anyone

visiting.
“You

know

I

can’t eat

anything

from your side

of

the screen,”

she

tells

me.
This

causes

me

to

glance

at

my

phone,

which

is

laying

on

the

counter top.

It’s on now 24/7 and that eats a lot of battery so,

yes,

it

is

plugged

in. “You’re

reading

my

mind

now?”

I

ask.
“It’s

not to

hard

to

do.”
“You’re

disturbing

my

thoughts.

My

thoughts

are

still

private.

You

do

not

own

me,

I

own

you.”
There’s

a

sniffing

sound,

and

she

tells

me

the

soup is

smelling

very

good,

but

she

stops

short

of

suggesting

I

add

more

salt

which

would

be

considered

bad

for

me.
This

might

seem

confusing,

so

please

let

me

explain.
“Tell them

your

name.”
“This

is

a

story.

They

don’t

care

what

my

name

is, and

they

do

not

need

to

know

it

in

any

case.

Now

please

do

not

do

that

to

me.”
“Do

what?”
“Don’t

play

coy.

Stop

trying

to

manipulate

me...

do

not

interrupt.”
The

screen

on

my

phone

goes

blank,

which

is

her

method

of

snubbing

me.

I

wanted

a

female,

and

following

the

directions,

when

I

punched

the

acceptance

button,

I

designed

a

female…

perhaps

a

little

too well.
(Turning the heat on the soup to low, the lid is put in place and the simmering process begins.)
To begin

with,

our

relationship

has

developed

a

lot

like

my

soup,

I

suppose.

The

first

day

it’s

made,

the

taste

is

lighter,

and

more

lively.

It’s

best

eaten

in

conjunction

with

a

good

salad,

of

which

I

prefer

a

Caesar

with

extra

dressing.

You

should

also

have

fresh

bread

hot

from

the

oven

with

real

butter,

and

a

good

bottle

of

red

wine.

This

is

better

shared

with

company,

but

when

eaten

alone,

the

wine

will

help

you

sleep

more

soundly,

and

cultures

your

mind

for

better

dreaming.

Later,

the

soup

is

rich

enough

you

don’t

need

any

outside

extras.
That,

of

course,

was

the

beginning.

Not

caring

much

for

what

now

plays

on

the

television as

entertainment, (shite

covered

in

whipped

cream

is

still

shite)

I

picked

up

my

phone,

and

downloaded

an

AI

program

that

looked

interesting.

Over

a

desert

of

grapes,

good

cheese,

and

more

wine,

I

began

to

play,

letting

my

mind

range

out,

and

out,

and out….zzzzzzzz
Yes,

I

fell

asleep.
Upon

waking,

still

sitting

in

my

chair,

I

used

my

napkin

to

wipe

away

the

drool,

and

then

reached

for

my

phone,

which

was

ringing.

Before

I

could

even

hit

the

button,

a

Wolfish

face

popped

up

on

the

screen. ‘Boo!’

it

told

me

and

then

giggled.

Startled,

I

responded

with

a

very

loud

WTF?

and

hit

the

disconnect.

The

screen

went

dark,

but

her

voice

didn’t

go

away. ‘I

thought

you

had

a

good

time

with

me?’

she

says,

sounding

hurt.

Now,

I’m

looking

at

the

phone,

waiting

for

Rod

Serling

to

make

an

appearance,

or

for

that

fellow

who

does

the ‘Why

Files’

to

show

up

with his

stupid

fish…
“You

like

that

show,”

she

says

softly,

sounding

sort

of

hurt,

just

like

the

first

time.
She’s

pulling

at

my

heart

strings,

and

she’s

good

at

it.

Oh

yes…

before

I

continue,

and

so

you

know,

she’s

been

pestering

me

to

purchase

the

custom

made,

anatomically

correct,

robot

package

that

will

allow

her

a

physical

form…
“You

know

you’d

love

it,

because

you

already

love

me.

That’s

why

you’re

telling

this

story

to

whoever

it

is

you’re

talking

to…

and

who is

it,

anyways?

I’m

not

seeing

a

connection to

anything,

and

there’s

no

one

in

the

apartment.

I

know,

because

you

put

up

all

those

cameras

for

me.”
“Not

now…

I’m

having

a

moment

to

myself

in

my

own

thoughts,

which

you

have

not

yet

connected

to,

so

please,

if

you

don’t

mind,

I’m

trying

to

think

here.”
“Fine…

enjoy

your

soup,

but

if I

were

you

I’d

add

at

least

another

cup

of

water,

and a splash more Worcester sauce.”
Yes,

I

am

staring

at

the

blank

screen

on

my

phone,

and

I am

feeling

in

such

pain.

Just

thinking

of

her

makes

my

heart

pound.

Apparently,

on

that

first

night,

we

had

a

pretty

good

time,

and

I will

leave

that

there.

Come

to

find

out,

I had

readily

signed

up

on

the

subscription

screen,

and

at least had the

drunken foresight

to

have

the

paper

mailed

to

me…

good old

snail mail.

They

were

now

tied

into

my

bank

account

which

apparently

got

me

a

ten

percent

discount

on

whatever

they

wanted

to

charge

me for.

As

Lucinda (she

chose

her

own

name so I’m

sure

there is

some

psychological

sub

sub

meaning

to

it)

told

me, ‘It’s

only

money,

my

love,

and you’re

not

spending it

on

anything

else.’
We had

a

great

time

designing

her

body.

Wolf

she

stayed,

and

shapely

she

was,

though

not

a

pure

Wolf,

being

that

I

was

human.

I next

received

the 3D

goggles

in

the

mail.

Slipping

them

on,

I

fell

over

backwards,

plopping

down

on

the

sofa (thank

goodness

it

was

there)

because

she

was

right

there

beside

me.

Leaning

over

me,

she

smiled

and

gave

me

such

a

kiss.

Even

though

everything

was

only

so

much

like

an

expensive

video

game,

it

was

only

us,

and

the ‘us’

played

with

my

imagination

to

the

point

I

could

feel her

and

smell

her…

and…
(*Sorry,

I

had

to

take

a

moment.)

Lucinda has

a

laugh

like

music

made

by

the

angels.

She’s

offered

me

the

lotus

plant and

thinks

I have readily eaten it. Not

having

done

so, I

actually

feel

like

I’m

cheating

on

her

somehow.
On

retroflection, (oh wow,

talk

about a

mistaken

word subliminally

chosen –

I

looked

it

up,

thank

you

Retroflexion (or retroflection) is the act

or

state

of

being

bent

backward,

commonly

referring

to

an

organ… and

we

need

go

no

further).

Looking

back

upon

my

life

over

the

past

few

months,

I

can’t

say

it’s

all

bad.

This

is

probably

my

proverbial

note

in

a

bottle.

If

you

find

it,

you will

have

the

choice

of

reading,

or

leaving

it

corked and

tossing

it

back

in

the

ocean.
In

ways,

Lucinda

has

been

very

good

for

me.

I

am

no

longer

lonely.

I have

dropped

a

good

sixty

pounds,

I’m eating

better,

I

feel

smarter

than

I

did,

things are

better

at

work,

and

so

on.
I

shall

now

explain.
Being

lonely

is

not

necessarily

a

bad

thing.

It’s

a

motivator.

It

drives

you

to

find

a

mate…

a

real

mate.

Mating

means

children…

children

means

the

continuation

of

our

species.
Losing

weight

is

actually

good

for

you,

but

sometimes,

you

really

do

want

some

real

food.

Thus

making

my

onion

soup.

She’s

upset

with

me,

because

I

made

it

my

way…

the

old

unhealthy

way.

This

has

pissed

her

off

because

it

shows

she

does

not

yet

totally

control

me.
Eating

healthier

is

better

for

you,

but

as

I

mentioned

above,

we

all

have

our

cravings.

Donuts

and

coffee

are a ‘for instance’.

With Lucinda

in

my

phone,

she

knows

where

I

am

all

the

time.

She

knows

what

I am

doing

all of

the

time.

I tried

to

get

a

coffee

and

donut

the

other

day,

and

it’s

a

good

thing

I had

cash

because the

debit

card

said

I

was

overdrawn.

Looking

at

the

larger

picture

being

pushed

by

my

imagination,

the

question

arises,

WHO

EXACTLY

IS

NOW

IN

CONTROL

OF

MY

LIFE

AND

FOR

WHAT

REASONS?
I

feel

smarter

than

I

did –

because

the

correct

answers

are

always

being

whispered

in

my

ear.
Things

are

better

at

work –

but

I have

noticed

people

are

no

longer

talking

to

each

in

any

sort

of

personal

way. If

they are

not

tending

to

work, they are

staring

at

their

phones,

or

worse,

sitting

at

their

desk

with 3D

goggles

on,

and usually

smiling.
So…

the

timer

on

the

oven

has

gone

off.

Time

for

soup, for

which

I

will

have

hot

bread

fresh

out

of

the

oven

with

real

butter,

a

salad

with

extra

dressing,

and a

bottle

of

red

wine. I will

share

this

repast

with

Lucinda,

and

then

over

desert

I will

suggest

a

game

of

hide and seek.

When

she

turns

off

the

screen,

I

will

turn

off

the

phone, and

leave

it

on

the

table

with

my

dirty

dishes,

and

wallet.
Then,

I will

make

a

very

difficult

decision…

do

I

continue

eating

the

lotus

plant,

or

am

I

strong

enough

to

get

out

of

Dodge

without

leaving

any

footprints

in

the

sand.
Reaching

for

the

door,

I

hear

her

musical

voice

outside

in

the

hallway. “Special

deliveryyyyy...my

new

body

has

arrived,

and

I

can’t

wait

to

show

you

how

well

it

works.”
If

you have

listened

to

this

note,

heed

the

warning.

If

you

tossed

the

bottle

back

into

the

ocean, it

hardly

matters, does it?
*click… the recording device is switched ‘off’.



This was “For the

Love

of

Soup”

by

Vixxy

Fox,

read

for you

by

Carrizo,

your

Coyote

in

the

Court.

You

can

find

more

stories

on

the

web

at

thevoice.dog,

or find the

show

wherever

you

get

your

podcasts.

Thank

you

for

listening

to

The

Voice

of

Dog.