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There was a moment, early on in our relationship, when Amanda freaked me out by appearing in a TV show. Not just any TV show, but a cartoon specifically. You see, the day they released her to me, we had a job to take care of. An alien murdered an interpreter and had to be hunted down and brought in before he hurt anyone else. So we were on the case before 169 was even tested to find out what all of her abilities were. She has a few I've never told the ArtReal scientists about, but she also keeps surprising me with new things I've never seen or experienced before. I was watching TV with her one morning and suddenly there she was, sharing air time with Bugs Bunny. Nobody saw it but me. Later on, some security cameras inside a mansion we were working in showed nothing but Bugs Bunny cartoons when their footage was replayed. Those cameras were not hooked up to any system that would allow them to pick up network television signals.

Usually, when Amanda watches TV or movies in a theater, she becomes almost totally enraptured with whatever she's watching whether it's Brad Pitt or some Disney princess, Star Trek, or even the most boring infomercial ever created. I can turn the TV on and know she'll stay put until the sun collapses. It's a weakness I readily exploit. She's been known to wander off on her own before. Had to recover her from Montana once. I never realized the kinds of ideas I was putting in her head.

Then one Halloween I left her upstairs with the TV on so I could hand out candy to the neighborhood kids. I buy full-size and sometimes King-size brand-name stuff 'cause I make good money and was poor as a child. It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Not the candy—I love being the guy in that house who gives out really good stuff. Lots of channels show horror movie marathons Halloween night. It never occurred to me this might cause trouble.