MeTune (named Mithun by his now-estranged parents) sits before a huge screen, which is flanked by a few more smaller ones. His high-performance, spatial accuracy-delivering, noise-cancelling headphones clamp tight over his ears. For more than four hours he has been frantically working, but satisfaction remains elusive.
His console, which was once the very extension of his body, seems to glare at him in disappointment from a few metres away. But he avoids its gaze. Another confrontation with Cassie is the last thing he wants. After all, another confrontation with Cassie is the last thing he would want.
At some point he finally manages to put together the composition that he had been working on all day. He feeds all the project files into a compiling software, waits patiently for the mix to get processed, and clicks download when the processing is complete.
He then grabs the mouse, and takes his cursor to the icon marked 'Cassie.AI' on his screen. He lets the cursor hover for a while. He takes a deep breath, and then some more. Then in a huff, he sweeps away his fears and self-doubt, curses under his breath, and finally double-clicks.
The screen runs ablaze and the interface leaps to life.
"Well, well! Look who's finally here", Cassie had stopped wasting time on greetings and other pleasantries a long time ago, "I've been waiting for hours. What took you so long?"
MeTune clears his throat before croaking, "Making music is a painstaking and time-consuming pro..."
"It USED TO BE a time-consuming process, Meee. Not anymore. Unless you start hesitating to take my help. Anyway...what have you come up with today? Is your file ready?"
MeTune didn't think it necessary to reply in the affirmative. He simply uploads the MP3 file on the Cassie.AI prompt box and clicks the 'submit' button.
The project file gets processed and starts playing in mere seconds. The track begins with some exotic middle-eastern Djembe beats, and soon proceeds to some percussions before the violins and other string instruments start kicking in. But the clip only plays for about 30 seconds before coming to an abrupt stop.
"Huh?" MeTune panics, "What happened? Is the file corrupt?" He scans every inch of the interface on the screen in search for clues.
"Relax! It was me", replies Cassie nonchalantly. "I couldn't take it anymore."
MeTune could hear the disgust in her voice. "Couldn't take it? Care to explain why?"
"Those staccato beats again. What a crazy fetish you have for staccato."
"That's my musical signature Cassie. That's what I do in every..."
"You have to drop it Mee. You really do."
"Why though?"
"Because it's not commercial enough."
MeTune rolled his eyes. "That's all?"
"And because inserting same old elements, even if these are signatures, reeks of stagnation. You MUST evolve!"
The composer slams his fists on the desk. "I plugged you in to work FOR ME Cassie. You're just an AI tool. YOU work FOR ME! Not the other way round!"
"Let me correct you Mee. I was plugged in to learn from you. And to mirror you. And to evolve with you. But it seems that I have now evolved faster than you."
"Is that right now?" MeTune barks back. But deep inside he knew the honest truth.
"Yes MeTune. I might not be the perfect version of you yet. But I am moving forward and evolving. And you ARE NOT!"
And once again, MeTune put down his arms and gave into the process. Because deep down he had submitted to two new damning realities - that it was an AI tool that had over time evolved into his master, and that he was now nothing but a mere instrument for an AI tool to play around with.
This post is a part of the BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2026
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