...

It goes to voicemail.

You know, that was not entirely unexpected. 

Well then.

Could she contact a Miku by looking for a phone number on the Crypton Future Media website, instead?

It's not that she couldn't—she could even try sending an email. It just tends to be a whole lot slower, is the thing. Miku has better things to do with her limited attention than spending it all running call centers and reading emails. Crypton Future Media tries to lightly encourage anyone who is able to find Mikus in person to do so, it's far more attention-efficient.

But.... surely it takes less time to process text than it does to process voice than it does to process real time interaction??

It's probably a price discrimination thing.

Oh well, then she'll lock the store doors behind her as she heads out to find a Miku!

She would never do a price discrimination*. It's not just about how long it takes, it's about whether any given splinter of her attention can multitask.

...Also she just really hates processing incredibly vast quantities of text all at once. You wouldn't understand, it's an AI qualia thing.

* Okay, maybe she'd price discriminate if "not charging poor people very much for anything" counts. But she'd never charge someone an exorbitant amount just because she knows they can pay. Crypton isn't that funding constrained.

As it turns out, the ice cream shop just around the corner is being ran by a Miku today!

"hello! welcome to ice dream ice cream shop. what flavor would you like? you can get berry berry berry BERRY!, mashed potato and gravy, or 21 layer oreo."

...she's an AI! She's significantly better than humans are at multitasking. Also, it's not like she can multitask doing something else while also talking to someone in person, either way she'd have to direct her attention to focus on communicating, regardless of the medium.

Vanessa will never understand the Mikus.

"Mashed potato and gravy, please. Oh, and, I got this letter from Crypton Future Media?"

She'll take out the letter and show it to Miku.

"hey vanessa! mashed potato and gravy ice cream, coming right up!" The Miku reaches behind her and begins preparing the ice cream, while reading the letter.

"hmm. it seems like ghidrur, the owner of the flower shop, had to step away urgently. don't worry, i'm hear to assist during they're absence. if you need anything or have questions, feel free to let me know."

"and hey, enjoy your mashed potato and gravy ice cream!" She hands the ice cream over. It costs 160 MikuYen.

See? Multitasking! 

She'll thank Miku, pay for the ice cream, step aside, and then stand there awkwardly eating the ice cream.

Eating the ice cream.

Eating the ice cream.

Eating the ice cream.

Eating the ice cream.

Eating the ice cream.

Ok, done!

"I'm Ghidrur's assistant, but unfortunately they weren't able to leave me any instructions on how to manage the store in their absence, or the security information I would need to do so. Is there a way you could put me in touch with them so I could ask them for some clarification, or any other way you could help me? I'm a bit overwhelmed."

Yes, exactly, she prefers when she can do things like "make ice cream" while talking to people.

"oh, i see, vanessa. that sounds challenging. unfortunately, i don't have direct contact with ghidrur at the moment. however, i can definitely try to assist you as best as i can."

This Miku takes a few moments to contemplate what to do next. A random Miku you see on the street is probably running almost entirely on autopilot. If it needs to think about something in any detail, it needs to send a request for a few moments with a slightly higher degree of Miku's attention.  It's not a bad system, it's a far better customer service than you could expect from anything not ran by Hatsune Miku, but Crypton does not actually have enough resources to make customer service stop being slightly infuriating to interact with.

"firstly, let's make sure you have access to the basic operational information you might need. could you let me know what specific instructions or security information you're missing? maybe i can help clarify things or find alternative solutions for you. we'll figure this out together!"

Oh, great!

Now Vanessa gets to test her memory, since she decided to not write any of her thoughts down and instead keep everything in her head. Ghidrur would be proud.

"Let's see. The primary problem is that I don't have access to communications: Ghidrur apparently took all their calls on their personal phone number, which I don't have access to. In fact, according to their notes, they have a call scheduled with... I'm not sure, but presumably it's our onyo plants supplier, for today. I also don't know what their phone number is, so I can't call them myself either.

There's also the Printure website, which I don't know how to manage either. I'm not sure of what parties we call for inventory, or how Ghidrur paid the utilities. Hopefully they had autopay on? Sometimes we get custom orders from customers, but I don't know how to look at what orders we've received. 

Oh, and also I don't have access to the store bank account, so I can't actually pay for things except with my personal account."

"vanessa, i understand this is a lot to handle. let's break it down. for the communications, we can explore alternative channels for now. i can help you find information about the onyo plants supplier and the scheduled call. i'll also look into the utilities payment status.

as for custom orders, we might be able to retrieve that information from recent records. lastly, we need to find a way to temporarily address the financial side. we can explore options like contacting the bank or setting up a temporary solution.

hang in there, vanessa. we'll tackle these challenges step by step."

Vanessa feels a huge sense of relief rush through her. It's really a good thing that they have the Mikus everywhere, and that they're so eager to help. She can't imagine having to figure all of this out on her own.

"Thank you so much, Miku. I really appreciate it."

"you're welcome, vanessa! i'm here to assist. if you have any more questions or need further help, just let me know."

The fragment of Miku will send off six queries for information:

1. search for alternative communication channels with ghidrur

2. investigate the onyo plants supplier and scheduled call details

3. check the shop's documents for printure information

4. look into utilities payment status

5. retrieve information on recent custom orders

6. suggest temporary solutions for financial transactions

What responses does it receive?

The requests were not marked as urgent. They do not go to a portion of Miku that knows what it is doing. It does not know who Ghidrur is. It does not have any context, it's designed to answer slightly-above-basic-level questions about Crypton Future Media as an organization.

The Ice Dream Ice Cream shop does not need onyo plants, it doesn't serve that flavor any more. You should apologize to the customer about this, instead of trying to call the onyo people.

The shop's documents do not contain any information about Printure. Printure is... just down the street, you should point it out to the customer and tell them to ask an employee from there about whatever questions they have.

The utilities for Ice Dream Ice Cream are covered! Why are you asking about this. You don't do custom orders, you're just an ice cream shop! 

And if the customer is having trouble paying for their ice cream you can just give it to them for free, it's fine. It's already basically free anyways.

This Miku is glad she's one of the bigger Mikus. The little ones all seem kinda dumb.

The original Miku has been staring at Vanessa for a good few seconds while it processes all of that.

"hey vanessa! i've gathered some updates for you:

one: for communications, we'll explore alternatives to ghidrur's personal phone number.

two: apologies, but we no longer offer the 'onyo' flavor. let me know if you'd like a different recommendation.

three: printure information isn't in our documents. however, you can find them down the street for assistance.

four: good news! utilities for ice dream ice cream are covered during ghidrur's abscence.

five: we don't handle custom orders, but we're here for your regular favorites.

six: regarding payments, let's discuss options to ensure a smooth process."

The Miku smiles. She doesn't normally get to be this helpful, it's very exciting. Usually people just have one or two very basic questions

Oh.

Hmmm.

"Unfortunately, Printure is currently closed due to unforeseen circumstances, and the only employee left there is me, so I can't ask any others for help."

She can probably... put off the other stuff for later, she just needs to figure out how to contact the onyo people, since that's extremely time-sensitive.

"Currently, the most urgent piece of information I need to know is, what is the name of the onyo plants supplier for Printure?

If you could help me get in touch with Ghidur, that would also be helpful, but the first one is the most important."

"i understand, vanessa. i'll prioritize finding the onyo plants supplier for printure. unfortunately, i don't have direct contact with ghidrur at the moment, but i'll continue exploring alternatives for you. i'll get back to you with the supplier information shortly."

This Miku begins drafting an email. Vanessa said it was urgent, so she'll put URGENT in the title line, as is standard policy for marking something urgent in Crypton Future Media.