Title: Graphics
Author: Stormhawk
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Matrix universe and associated characters: Wachowski brothers. ATS universe: co-owned by me and Mordax. Greer: Mordax Isaac, Stef, Geeks, Jonas: Me Legind is Mordax. I am Ruin.
Word Count: 5366
Summary: A couple of weeks in the lives of Legind and Ruin.
Notes: This is actually a Christmas present for Mordax. I had another idea but it didn't work out so well and I remembered how much she loved these two characters in DL so here it is.
By the way, these two are actually SI versions of ourselves. She's Legind and I'm Ruin.
Please read and Review.
"Legind?"
"Hm?"
"Legind!"
"What Ruin?"
"Are you done coloring that page yet? This needs to be compiled and sent in an hour."
"Give me a minute," Legind said as she turned back to her desk. She picked up her stylus again and drew some more onto her graphics tablet, the image showing up on the screen. She pushed a corner of the screen and it changed to coloring mode.
"That really doesn't look like Jones and Greer." Ruin said as she came into the room and looked at the picture of the panther that Legind was drawing.
"Could be 'Moire's little brother though," Legind said with a chuckle.
"Jonas will get pissed if we don't get this in on time. It's bad enough he doesn't give us the scripts in advance so we're always behind and then he gives us deadlines."
"You mean Crete will get pissed," Legind said as she printed a copy of her picture and handed it to Ruin, "what do you think?"
"Like all of your art, it's wicked. We're working for Crete, it seems so wrong." Ruin held up the picture, "What's it for?"
"I want to get it as a tattoo."
"Cool."
"On my shoulder, what do you think?"
"We can go out and get it done once we're finished JW."
Legind nodded and clicked back over to the final few pages of Jabberwocky that she was coloring for the graphic novel adaptation. They looked at each other and smiled.
"We didn't dream it did we?"
"If we did, the geeks and gadget were having the same dream as us." Ruin said sensibly.
"It is so cool."
"It's real, it's really real." They laughed again, it was something that woke them up in the middle of the night and caused them to go into the other's room and wake the other one up so they could have an early morning conversation about how a 'fictional' world was real.
"I'm still getting used to it."
"Me too."
"It just used to be a fun place to dream about, but now that it's real, it's way different. Some of the stuff we used to laugh at we can't anymore cause we know it's actually happening to them."
"And FFW, all the stuff on there is going to seem so weird."
Legind smiled thoughtfully, "you think they could ever bring anyone else out here?"
"No, it's too dangerous with Jonas in the picture. And you know what happens to people who mess with him."
"We only know what everyone else knows, the rumors."
"Rumors that he has assassins take care of anyone who gets in his way or knows too much. I'd say we know too much already."
"Still, I wonder if he could plug us into there, so we could see what it's really like."
"Unless you're a member of the chipped military I don't think so. Those guys have the chips in their brains to handle the data flow. Maybe in time he will design something that let the rest of us see it."
"You do realize that we're living in the same world as Carol don't you?"
"That is just plain scary Legind. Same world as psycho bitch."
"Give me two minutes and then we can go shopping and tat-ing."
"I ain't getting tattooed."
"Why not?"
"They hurt."
"Only traditional ones."
"Well if you're going for the new type, I guess I can get one done."
Legind grinned, "good."
Ten minutes later Legind finished coloring and Ruin sent it over the safe- data connection to Jonas' inbox. Then they got dressed and went out.
On the way to the mall they were stopped by a gaggle of fanboys looking for autographs. Valuing each and every one of their fanboys or fanpersons they signed the books, pieces of paper or dog-eared editions of their graphics novels. They found it great that they were appreciated for their contribution to ATS for before they had gotten the job they had been nothing but fans themselves.
They found their way down to a tattoo parlor, Legind had obviously been thinking about this for a while cause there were about half a dozen in this mall alone but she had wanted this one. They walked in through the door, which surprisingly had hinges. Hinges were almost unheard of nowadays with most things being electronic.
"Hello ladies, how can I help you?" a young man asked them as they walked in.
"We'd like to get a tattoo each please."
"Sure thing. Do you have designs or would you like to choose one of our many unique pictures?"
Legind smiled and pulled her panther picture from her bag, "I've got a design, but she has to choose one."
"Then let's get you done first," he said as he accepted the picture. It was only then that she noticed he was a hologram. Being of a newer variety, he had no need of an outside disk, for it was hidden within his projected form. Holograms with this type of technology have to have visible markings that could be seen at all times. He had his make and model stamped on the back of his hand.
The newer models were incorporating new types of AI with each model, in order to create beings that were more human-like, without crossing the boundary into true intelligence.
"You're a hologram."
"Yes ma'am," he said as he led her to the chair. "Very well spotted. You are only the third customer to notice."
Legind flashed a look over to Ruin who was staring at the designs, Ruin shrugged, "HAPT."
"Maybe," Legind said. HAPT was another form of the saying 'Programs are people too' HAPT stood for 'Holograms are people too.' Maybe it wasn't so just quite yet but they had the feeling that it was a lot closer than the companies were saying.
Humans had grown lazy and wanted someone else to do the work for them. The early holograms had only been able to handle manual labor or heavy lifting, following specific instructions programmed into a control pad. This had proven to be as time consuming as humans completing the tasks so an improvement had needed to be made.
The next step had been to allow them to follow voice commands, but still only following the instructions to the letter and if a command was misspoken it could lead to a job being late to an accident in wherever the hologram was working.
This was still about the time when there were problems with projectors. They were close to a new type of cyborg at the moment, a projection being wrapped over a metal endoskeleton. Then several breakthroughs had happened at once and the endoskeletons became obsolete for the most part, and solid images became the norm.
Legind sat in the chair, "where would you like the tattoo ma'am?" the hologram asked her. She pushed her shirt away from her shoulder.
"Just there please."
The hologram nodded and taped the shirt back out of the way.
But there had still been problems with the intelligence level. Through stages, it had become what it was today. Holograms that seemed real enough but were not conscious. They had a huge programmed interacting intelligence that allowed them to fulfill the myriad of tasks set to them by their masters.
But the companies wanted a new ways for their holograms to work so they were experimenting.
And there were rumors.
Rumors that told that companies' experiments had led to truly aware holograms but that it had all been hushed up to avoid public knowledge. Most didn't want truly conscious and aware holograms, holograms that were people because that would cause problems.
They wouldn't have the same freedom that they had now. Especially the anti- hologram groups, they would get charged for killing a hologram instead of just getting a bill for replacing it. Most didn't want them to move beyond what could be basically extrapolated as a slave labor class.
The hologram coated Legind's skin with a thin chemical that itched. "This isn't going to hurt is it?"
"No," he said with a smile. "Not much anyway."
He turned away and set up the rest of the equipment. He mumbled something to himself.
"What was that?" Ruin asked.
The hologram looked up, "I said nothing ma'am."
"Yes you did. I heard you."
"You must be mistaken."
"No," Legind said, "I heard you too. What did you say?"
The hologram closed his eyes and then looked up at the two girls. "I was making a reference to the three laws of robotics. It would be impossible for me to harm a human under those laws."
"Holograms aren't robots," Legind muttered, "you know of Asimov?"
They both could have sworn that he looked afraid for a split second before he turned back and went about setting up the rest of his equipment. Legind and Ruin looked at each other and shook their heads.
The hologram flipped a switch and looked over at Legind. "Please look into that mirror and tell me if the picture is in the right spot."
Legind looked over and tried to decide, "a bit to the left." He nodded and the picture moved. She looked at the mirror, which showed her exposed shoulder and where the tattoo was going to be. "Perfect."
"Please hold still for five seconds," he said as he flicked another switch and a much brighter light came on. Legind winced but it turned off automatically after five seconds. He then poured another chemical over the design and wiped the excess away.
Legind stood and looked in the mirror.
"Is it to your liking?"
Legind grinned, "very much so."
The hologram looked over to Ruin, "have you chosen a design yet?"
"Yep, number two-five-four." He nodded and pulled the design up on his computer.
"And where is it going to be placed." Ruin tapped her left wrist and walked over to the machine. She sat and placed her arm on the table, quickly coating her arm with the first chemical, he positioned the design and then flicked the bright light on. He then coated it with the second chemical and she showed it to Legind.
"Cool Ruin," Legind said looking at the coiled serpent on her friend's arm. "What do we owe you?"
"Twenty-five for the panther and ten for the snake."
"I'll pay," Ruin said handing her card over first, "it's a belated birthday present." Legind rolled her eyes and shrugged.
"Do you have a name?" Legind asked the hologram.
"My designation is 81PRNY, I am a model."
"I said name, not designation."
"No, I have no need of one." He said as he ran the transaction though, "I am only a hologram."
"But are you really?" Legind whispered. "Are you just the sum of your programming or do you understand what is going on around you?"
He went to say something but the door opened and the human owner of the store walked in, "you have any trouble while I was gone?"
"No sir."
"Hello girls," the older man said, "did my trick of light give you any trouble?"
"No," Legind said. "None at all."
"I just hope its worth the money I paid for it, I wanted something to give an impression of a human working here all the time, for when I'm on breaks and such. You know how most holograms are, boring and stiff. He's an experimental. I got him cheap cause my brother works at the plant where they make them but it still cost more than your average 'gram."
They nodded and left the store. Without saying anything they immediately headed for the food court, being that it was one in the afternoon and they hadn't had lunch yet.
"He was conscious," Legind said as she sipped her Sub-T cola. "You could just tell."
"Yeah, he wasn't a dumb construct."
"He was real," Legind said confirming it in her own mind. "So what do we do?"
"What the hell can we do? He belongs to someone else."
"If he is a conscious being it's as bad as a human being owned by someone else."
"He's afraid Legind, you could see it when you were talking to him. He knows what happens to those found to be conscious."
"We have to help him."
"Are you suggesting a holo-napping?"
Legind just grinned, "You with me?"
"You shouldn't even have to ask."
"Ok, next we need a plan."
"Oh shit," Ruin muttered and pointed. An anti-hologram group was walking through the mall screaming their non-holographic rants and raves and was near the tattoo store.
"We have to help him," Legind said as she jumped up from the table and toward the store.
The man leading the group kicked in the door of the store and the owner came out. "What is the meaning of this?"
"We are getting rid of an unnatural," the other man spat.
"Oh no you aren't, I paid too much for it to let you destroy him."
The man pushed him out of the way and walked into the tattoo parlor. "This is what you deserve unnatural," he muttered and fired an electrical charge at the hologram. The hologram fizzled for a moment and then disappeared.
He was no more.
"I want you to pay for it!"
The anti-hologram group did a collective scoff and continued on their way, other holograms didn't come near them. Legind and Ruin just stared into the shop where the hologram had been. The owner pulled out his internal disk and dragged it off to a dumpster.
"That was wrong," Legind said. Ruin nodded and they made their way home.
"Hug your Jonesy plushie," Ruin said when they walked in. "It always make you feel better."
"They murdered him Ruin, it's not plushie hugging time."
"Why didn't he run?" Ruin asked as she turned on the lights and computers.
"Maybe he didn't know they were coming. We didn't till we saw them."
"It's not fair. And he was so cute as well." Legind said with a pout thinking about him. He had been tall, with a brown ponytail and green eyes. Like a very cute mix between Greer and Jones.
"I thought you only liked rabid fanboys."
"Well, maybe if we could find some that were cuter than Gadget and the geeks. But I'm not sure they exist." Legind said with a sigh as she opened up her public w-mail box to read fan mail from adoring ATS fans the world around.
"Maybe next convention."
"When is that anyway?"
"Three weeks from now, but it's a local one."
"Think there will be any new stuff? I'd like a 'Moires plushie."
"Legind, you are my best friend, but you are very strange." Ruin said as she sat at the computer beside her. There were four computers in their lavish twenty-fifth story apartment. Two they used to access the web and the other two were for work, and only one of those had a secure date- transfer connection. They didn't take risks in people hacking their computers to see their new work.
But Grady had hacked in through the 'secure' data-transfer connection before. But then again, he could hack almost anything.
*****
Legind sat down at her computer and hooked up to the web. Before she could open up any pages a chat window popped open.
ITTIM: Hello Legind.
Legind: I haven't seen you here before
ITTIM: I'm new. Legind: That would explain it ITTIM: I've been wanting to meet you. Legind: Y? ITTIM: I'm a fan. Legind: There are a couple of chatrooms I hang around, you could have tried one of those ; ITTIM: I'm new at this... Legind: New at what? ITTIM: Most things actually... Legind: You ain't no creeper stalker are you? I have a spork I can use against u ITTIM: No, you have nothing to fear from me. Legind: that's good to know ITTIM: How are you feeling? Legind: good, u? ITTIM: As well as I can be. Legind: *rubs chin in confusion* ITTIM: I mean I'm fine. Legind: Cool ITTIM: I read all of the graphic novels today. Legind: All of them? In one day?? ITTIM: Yes. Legind: *shock* ITTIM: Only online though, I have yet to get hardcopies. Legind: Buy them at The Rim, me and Ruin get commission from ATS stuff sold there ITTIM: I'll be sure to do that. Legind: What's your nick mean? ITTIM: Try and guess. Legind: I would have no idea. ITTIM: You are a smart person, try. Legind: Is it a saying? ITTIM: Yes. Legind: It's terrific tomorrow in Maine? ITTIM: *smile* Not quite. Legind: *looks on web* ITTIM: Well? Legind: It's not... ITTIM: What? I will accept any answer after that last guess. Legind: Are you making fun of me? ITTIM: No, I would never do that. Legind: 'I think therefore I am.' ITTIM: *nods and claps* Well done. Very well done Legind. Legind: Why did you choose that? ITTIM: How do you feel about hologram rights? Legind: I believe that if they are intelligent, like the ones we hear rumors about, that they should be given rights and not treated like a stupid program without sentience. ITTIM: I feel the same way. Legind: I think it would be great if holograms were people too ITTIM: HAPT? Legind: What did you say? ITTIM: I'm sorry, I extrapolated from PAPT. Legind: No, it's all right. I say that all the time. ITTIM: Really? Legind: I've got to go now, but I'll be on later. Will you still be here? ITTIM: I'll wait. Legind: Goodbye ITTIM: Goodbye Legind.
Two hours later.
Legind: I see ur still here ITTIM: Where else would I be? Legind: I don't know, I don't know anything about you actually ITTIM: What would you like to know? Legind: Ur name would be a good start. ITTIM: Isaac. My name is Isaac. Legind: I think it suits you. What do you do for a living Isaac? ITTIM: I used to be in the...art industry...but I left that job. Legind: Why? ITTIM: I...had disagreements with my boss, along with a lot of other problems. Legind: I'm sorry to hear that. ITTIM: You don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault. Legind: So why did you want to talk to me? Or are you just another fan surprised to see we actually talk to real people. ITTIM: What if I'm not a real person? Legind: What the hell do you mean by that? ITTIM: Nothing really. If you want to know, I just had the feeling you'd be a nice person to talk to. Legind: Thnx ITTIM: So what are you doing right now? Legind: Nothing really, we just had dinner with some friends. ITTIM: I wasn't hungry tonight. Legind: ... Legind: Hey, there's a convention in three weeks, you want to meet? ITTIM: Where is it? Legind: The convention center, it's called SciVention ITTIM: I'll be there. Legind: Me and Ruin have a stand for signing autographs and stuff, come and say hi. ITTIM: I'll be there. I promise. Legind: You don't seem to be the kind of guy to break a promise. ITTIM: I'm not. Legind: Goodbye Isaac.
*****
Three days later.
"Why are you smiling so much?"
"No reason," Legind said but her face said otherwise.
"Spill it, you know secrets never last long in this house."
"I think I found myself a rabid fanboy."
"Did you now? Tell me about him."
"He found me on chat the other day and we've been talking ever since. Ruin, he's so cool."
"Then invite him to the convention and you can meet him."
"You think I'm stupid? I already did that."
Ruin smirked, "is he cute?"
"I dunno, he doesn't want to send me a picture yet."
"He's the dark and mysterious type is he?"
"He's great, we have so much in common." Legind said with a smile.
"I wish you the best of luck. What's his name?"
"Isaac"
"Isaac? Kind of an old-world name isn't it?"
"Maybe so but he's far from old world. We've been talking about holograms. He adores the fact I'm all for holo rights."
"He sounds almost good to be true Leg."
"Don't you dare say that, don't you jinx this on me or I'll come after you with a spork."
"Oh no, not the dreaded spork torture, anything but the spork torture."
"Where's he from?"
"Right here in the city, which is even better."
"Open up!" three familiar voices said.
"Yeah, the security guard is after us again," Nevin whined.
"Why do we let these guys hang around with us?" Legind asked as Ruin went to open the door.
"Because they liked us before ATS and god forbid they will like us after ATS." Ruin muttered as she opened the door and the geeks piled in.
"Your security guard is creepy," Nevin said.
"Don't say that," Tavis reprimanded and after a beat added, "he's a full on freak show."
"We have a theory that he's actually older than this building," Legind said as she threw each of them a soda.
"What can we do for you guys?"
"We were talking about hacking the JL server again and wanted to ask what you guys thought about it," Grady said honestly as they all sat down on the couches.
"Are you insane?" Ruin screeched, "Jonas kills people.or gets them killed rather, you are lucky to still be around."
"Hug your plushie," Legind said, "but she's right. You did it once and it was great, you can't do it again."
"We could bring out someone else."
"Yeah find us a pair of cute fanboys," Legind said with a somewhat scary grin.
"Tib?" Grady asked with a raised eyebrow.
"She's joking.I hope. We can't bring out anybody else. No matter how much we want to."
Grady put his hand out and the others leaned in and put their hands on top. "We promise not to hack that server again, or bring out anybody from the Matrix into this world." They nodded and broke.
Legind sat back, "who from the char.people we know would you bring out?"
"You mean besides Stef?" Grady said.
"Yeah."
"Who would you want to meet Leg?" Tavis asked.
"Smith, definitely Smith, I would love to poke him in the nose and see what he does. I'd love to sit and talk to Stevie."
"Anybody else?"
"Sparkes for a rebel is amusing, Mero.but just so I could kick him, the Neb crew, but I'd injure them badly."
"How about we just download everyone and bring them here?"
"Nah Grady, we should just go in."
The five of them stared at each other realizing how cool that would be. They all grinned at the thought.
Legind jumped up and dialed a number on the phone.
"Who are you calling?" Nevin asked her.
"Jonas."
"Why?" the question came from the other four people in the room.
"To see if it's possible."
"Hello?" the response came from the other end of the line and Legind put it on speaker.
"Hey Jonas, it's Legind."
"I can tell. What do you want?"
She sat on the chair near the phone and smiled, "I was wondering if you could settle a bet between me and Ruin."
"As long as it doesn't take too long."
"It was just a question actually."
"What is it Legind? I'm very busy."
"Would it be possible for us to go into the Matrix? I mean without military chips?"
"Not even the military can go in the matrix Matrix, there are other simulations that exist," he paused and she could hear the sneer in his voice, "Did you pair want to meet the characters you write and draw about?"
"Kind of..."
"Maybe in a few years of technology development, but at the moment the answer is no."
"Oh, thanks anyway."
"Bye," Jonas said and hung up the phone.
*****
They walked into the empty convention hall; it was early in the morning so there was no one there except a few of the guests, the people who set the place up and the assistants.
The assistants, were for the most part fans, who had won competitions or volunteered over the website. The geeks had stopped offering to be assistants once they learned that they wouldn't be able to look around the rest of the convention.
And when it came to choosing between waiting on one of the friends or another celebrity hand and foot and being able to view the other world that was a science-fiction convention there was only one real answer.
And it didn't involve waiting on anyone hand and foot.
Legind and Ruin's stand had pictures from their graphic novels adorning it, and the pictures they signed had a similar design, except with their face in the middle. It wasn't due to open for another hour and already the fans were queuing up outside the fence in their dozens.
Having some spare time, they hit the food court. Legind looked out the window at all the people in line.
"You think he's out there?"
Ruin muttered something. Legind turned back and shook her head, "swallow then answer me."
Ruin gulped the orange slice down, "you've only known this guy a few days Leg...what do you actually know about him?"
"Not much, I just feel I can trust him. I feel like I know him."
"Maybe from another life..."
"Wouldn't that mean we are destined to be?" Legind said as she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.
"Don't read too much into this, I don't want you getting hurt."
"I can handle myself."
"If not, you always have your trusty spork. And the plushies."
"We are plushie addicts."
"Yes we are."
As the doors opened they returned to their stand and started to sign autographs.
Every cute guy that was in line she pointed out to Ruin but it didn't turn out to be the mysterious Isaac.
At twelve o'clock they were given a break, along with the other guests. The retreated into the offices that had been set up so they could have a break from the fans.
"He hasn't shown up yet," Legind said in disappointment.
"It's only halfway through the day. He's still got a few hours."
"He had better come or I'll flame him. And get Grady to send him a really nasty virus."
"Speaking of the trio have you seen them today?"
"No, not really."
"He has to come, he promised."
"If he doesn't come, promise me you won't go into depression."
"I promise."
The lunch break ended and they went back to signing and then their talk came. It was the second last of the day. Each talk went for half an hour and theirs was an hour before the end of the convention day.
They took the seat and waited as the room was filled. "So who's going to talk first?" Legind asked as they were handed a small microphone each.
"I went first last time, it's your turn."
"Ok," she stood and walked out to the middle of the makeshift stage. "Hi and welcome to SciVention 2063!" The crowd cheered. "I'm Legind and my friend Ruin is behind me." There was even a larger cheer for those two. "Now usually people stand up here and talk and talk...that reminds me of Morpheus, so we are going to sit back and let you ask the questions."
A young teen stuck his hand up, "this may be a bit cliche, but who's your favorite character?"
"You want us to choose just one?" Legind asked seriously. "It's a very big world."
The boy shrugged.
"Well...I would probably have to say Stef," Legind said. "Or Recruit Anne."
She let it hang for a moment while there was a collective gasp. "Kidding!"
"Well I like Greer," Ruin said. "The series got so much better after he was introduced."
"Could you give us some spoilers for what's to come?" a girl called from one of the further back rows.
"We'd love to," Ruin said, "but we don't even know what's going to happen next. We get the new episode on the same day you guys do. Usually we get it before it hits the stores though. Why do you think we're perpetually an episode or two behind? And if someone says lazy I'll send a Jabberwocky after them."
"Just as long as it's Grimoires!" Someone called from the left of the room.
"Looks like you've got a friend Leg," Ruin muttered holding her mike aside.
"You're just in denial about liking him."
"Maybe...maybe not."
"Next question!" Legind called out.
Everyone was sad when the session was over and after posing for a few photographs they went back to their stand. Legind looked up at the clock.
"I guess he's not coming." Legind muttered to herself as Ruin left to get them a Sub-T cola each.
"I'm sorry I'm late," a young man said to Legind as he walked up.
All she could do was stare.
"My name's Isaac," he said.
"Isaac?" she whispered, afraid that he would disappear.
"I'm sorry I'm late," Isaac, also known as 81PRNY said with a smile. "I was somewhat delayed."
Legind pulled him behind the temporary wall. "How?"
"Please don't be angry for my deception."
"I'm not.but we saw you die."
"I knew the anti-hologram group was coming. I know what they do to holograms, so I did something stupid and dangerous, something I felt gave me a chance to save my life."
"What?"
"I uploaded myself to the web, the man shot me but more than ninety percent of my program was already gone so there wasn't much damage."
She dragged a couple of chairs over so that they could sit. "Then what?"
"I got into a couple of systems and stole some money, made a fake bank account and from within the web ordered a disk. I informed them from where to download me from then walked out back into this world. They just thought I was another order."
He took his glove off and showed her his hand, "I'm still a hologram, but I'm something else as well."
Her eyes shone, "you're a person."
"I'm sorry I deceived you, but you were one of the few people that I had ever met, and the only that seemed like you would help me."
"Legind? Where'd you go?" Ruin asked as she poked her head behind the temporary wall. "Is this your rabid fanboy?"
"This is Isaac." He turned and Ruin's face went into shock. "He's.he's.I'm going to look at something shiny while you two talk. You owe me an explanation Legy."
"Later."
"I heard your names in the store," Isaac continued as Legind listened, "and found you on the web, I've been living in a cheap hotel for the last couple of weeks. And decided now would be the best time to see you, I can just leave if you want."
"Please don't leave."
"I was hoping you would say that. I'd like to talk to you more, offline, if that would be alright."
"Yes it would. I'd like that very much."
"You can obviously see that I chose a name for myself."
"Isaac Asimov, quite clever and quite well read aren't you?"
"My former owner had some books stored on his computer, and he went for breaks quite frequently so I just looked once. I was afraid for I knew what I was but as long as he didn't find out I knew I would be alright." He smiled, "I like your work very much."
Legind blushed, "you are a conscious and sentient program and you're sitting there complimenting my comics?"
"They are graphic novels." He said as he reached over and touched her hand. He withdrew it afraid, "I'm sorry."
She was confused, "what?"
"I'm learning to be human, I'm still not sure about a lot of things."
"I could help you if you want," she offered as she reached out for his hand and held it.
He smiled, "I think I'd like that."
Leaning across she kissed him, he sat there not sure what to expect and smiled when she broke away, "I think I'm going to like being human."
The End.
Author: Stormhawk
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Matrix universe and associated characters: Wachowski brothers. ATS universe: co-owned by me and Mordax. Greer: Mordax Isaac, Stef, Geeks, Jonas: Me Legind is Mordax. I am Ruin.
Word Count: 5366
Summary: A couple of weeks in the lives of Legind and Ruin.
Notes: This is actually a Christmas present for Mordax. I had another idea but it didn't work out so well and I remembered how much she loved these two characters in DL so here it is.
By the way, these two are actually SI versions of ourselves. She's Legind and I'm Ruin.
Please read and Review.
"Legind?"
"Hm?"
"Legind!"
"What Ruin?"
"Are you done coloring that page yet? This needs to be compiled and sent in an hour."
"Give me a minute," Legind said as she turned back to her desk. She picked up her stylus again and drew some more onto her graphics tablet, the image showing up on the screen. She pushed a corner of the screen and it changed to coloring mode.
"That really doesn't look like Jones and Greer." Ruin said as she came into the room and looked at the picture of the panther that Legind was drawing.
"Could be 'Moire's little brother though," Legind said with a chuckle.
"Jonas will get pissed if we don't get this in on time. It's bad enough he doesn't give us the scripts in advance so we're always behind and then he gives us deadlines."
"You mean Crete will get pissed," Legind said as she printed a copy of her picture and handed it to Ruin, "what do you think?"
"Like all of your art, it's wicked. We're working for Crete, it seems so wrong." Ruin held up the picture, "What's it for?"
"I want to get it as a tattoo."
"Cool."
"On my shoulder, what do you think?"
"We can go out and get it done once we're finished JW."
Legind nodded and clicked back over to the final few pages of Jabberwocky that she was coloring for the graphic novel adaptation. They looked at each other and smiled.
"We didn't dream it did we?"
"If we did, the geeks and gadget were having the same dream as us." Ruin said sensibly.
"It is so cool."
"It's real, it's really real." They laughed again, it was something that woke them up in the middle of the night and caused them to go into the other's room and wake the other one up so they could have an early morning conversation about how a 'fictional' world was real.
"I'm still getting used to it."
"Me too."
"It just used to be a fun place to dream about, but now that it's real, it's way different. Some of the stuff we used to laugh at we can't anymore cause we know it's actually happening to them."
"And FFW, all the stuff on there is going to seem so weird."
Legind smiled thoughtfully, "you think they could ever bring anyone else out here?"
"No, it's too dangerous with Jonas in the picture. And you know what happens to people who mess with him."
"We only know what everyone else knows, the rumors."
"Rumors that he has assassins take care of anyone who gets in his way or knows too much. I'd say we know too much already."
"Still, I wonder if he could plug us into there, so we could see what it's really like."
"Unless you're a member of the chipped military I don't think so. Those guys have the chips in their brains to handle the data flow. Maybe in time he will design something that let the rest of us see it."
"You do realize that we're living in the same world as Carol don't you?"
"That is just plain scary Legind. Same world as psycho bitch."
"Give me two minutes and then we can go shopping and tat-ing."
"I ain't getting tattooed."
"Why not?"
"They hurt."
"Only traditional ones."
"Well if you're going for the new type, I guess I can get one done."
Legind grinned, "good."
Ten minutes later Legind finished coloring and Ruin sent it over the safe- data connection to Jonas' inbox. Then they got dressed and went out.
On the way to the mall they were stopped by a gaggle of fanboys looking for autographs. Valuing each and every one of their fanboys or fanpersons they signed the books, pieces of paper or dog-eared editions of their graphics novels. They found it great that they were appreciated for their contribution to ATS for before they had gotten the job they had been nothing but fans themselves.
They found their way down to a tattoo parlor, Legind had obviously been thinking about this for a while cause there were about half a dozen in this mall alone but she had wanted this one. They walked in through the door, which surprisingly had hinges. Hinges were almost unheard of nowadays with most things being electronic.
"Hello ladies, how can I help you?" a young man asked them as they walked in.
"We'd like to get a tattoo each please."
"Sure thing. Do you have designs or would you like to choose one of our many unique pictures?"
Legind smiled and pulled her panther picture from her bag, "I've got a design, but she has to choose one."
"Then let's get you done first," he said as he accepted the picture. It was only then that she noticed he was a hologram. Being of a newer variety, he had no need of an outside disk, for it was hidden within his projected form. Holograms with this type of technology have to have visible markings that could be seen at all times. He had his make and model stamped on the back of his hand.
The newer models were incorporating new types of AI with each model, in order to create beings that were more human-like, without crossing the boundary into true intelligence.
"You're a hologram."
"Yes ma'am," he said as he led her to the chair. "Very well spotted. You are only the third customer to notice."
Legind flashed a look over to Ruin who was staring at the designs, Ruin shrugged, "HAPT."
"Maybe," Legind said. HAPT was another form of the saying 'Programs are people too' HAPT stood for 'Holograms are people too.' Maybe it wasn't so just quite yet but they had the feeling that it was a lot closer than the companies were saying.
Humans had grown lazy and wanted someone else to do the work for them. The early holograms had only been able to handle manual labor or heavy lifting, following specific instructions programmed into a control pad. This had proven to be as time consuming as humans completing the tasks so an improvement had needed to be made.
The next step had been to allow them to follow voice commands, but still only following the instructions to the letter and if a command was misspoken it could lead to a job being late to an accident in wherever the hologram was working.
This was still about the time when there were problems with projectors. They were close to a new type of cyborg at the moment, a projection being wrapped over a metal endoskeleton. Then several breakthroughs had happened at once and the endoskeletons became obsolete for the most part, and solid images became the norm.
Legind sat in the chair, "where would you like the tattoo ma'am?" the hologram asked her. She pushed her shirt away from her shoulder.
"Just there please."
The hologram nodded and taped the shirt back out of the way.
But there had still been problems with the intelligence level. Through stages, it had become what it was today. Holograms that seemed real enough but were not conscious. They had a huge programmed interacting intelligence that allowed them to fulfill the myriad of tasks set to them by their masters.
But the companies wanted a new ways for their holograms to work so they were experimenting.
And there were rumors.
Rumors that told that companies' experiments had led to truly aware holograms but that it had all been hushed up to avoid public knowledge. Most didn't want truly conscious and aware holograms, holograms that were people because that would cause problems.
They wouldn't have the same freedom that they had now. Especially the anti- hologram groups, they would get charged for killing a hologram instead of just getting a bill for replacing it. Most didn't want them to move beyond what could be basically extrapolated as a slave labor class.
The hologram coated Legind's skin with a thin chemical that itched. "This isn't going to hurt is it?"
"No," he said with a smile. "Not much anyway."
He turned away and set up the rest of the equipment. He mumbled something to himself.
"What was that?" Ruin asked.
The hologram looked up, "I said nothing ma'am."
"Yes you did. I heard you."
"You must be mistaken."
"No," Legind said, "I heard you too. What did you say?"
The hologram closed his eyes and then looked up at the two girls. "I was making a reference to the three laws of robotics. It would be impossible for me to harm a human under those laws."
"Holograms aren't robots," Legind muttered, "you know of Asimov?"
They both could have sworn that he looked afraid for a split second before he turned back and went about setting up the rest of his equipment. Legind and Ruin looked at each other and shook their heads.
The hologram flipped a switch and looked over at Legind. "Please look into that mirror and tell me if the picture is in the right spot."
Legind looked over and tried to decide, "a bit to the left." He nodded and the picture moved. She looked at the mirror, which showed her exposed shoulder and where the tattoo was going to be. "Perfect."
"Please hold still for five seconds," he said as he flicked another switch and a much brighter light came on. Legind winced but it turned off automatically after five seconds. He then poured another chemical over the design and wiped the excess away.
Legind stood and looked in the mirror.
"Is it to your liking?"
Legind grinned, "very much so."
The hologram looked over to Ruin, "have you chosen a design yet?"
"Yep, number two-five-four." He nodded and pulled the design up on his computer.
"And where is it going to be placed." Ruin tapped her left wrist and walked over to the machine. She sat and placed her arm on the table, quickly coating her arm with the first chemical, he positioned the design and then flicked the bright light on. He then coated it with the second chemical and she showed it to Legind.
"Cool Ruin," Legind said looking at the coiled serpent on her friend's arm. "What do we owe you?"
"Twenty-five for the panther and ten for the snake."
"I'll pay," Ruin said handing her card over first, "it's a belated birthday present." Legind rolled her eyes and shrugged.
"Do you have a name?" Legind asked the hologram.
"My designation is 81PRNY, I am a model."
"I said name, not designation."
"No, I have no need of one." He said as he ran the transaction though, "I am only a hologram."
"But are you really?" Legind whispered. "Are you just the sum of your programming or do you understand what is going on around you?"
He went to say something but the door opened and the human owner of the store walked in, "you have any trouble while I was gone?"
"No sir."
"Hello girls," the older man said, "did my trick of light give you any trouble?"
"No," Legind said. "None at all."
"I just hope its worth the money I paid for it, I wanted something to give an impression of a human working here all the time, for when I'm on breaks and such. You know how most holograms are, boring and stiff. He's an experimental. I got him cheap cause my brother works at the plant where they make them but it still cost more than your average 'gram."
They nodded and left the store. Without saying anything they immediately headed for the food court, being that it was one in the afternoon and they hadn't had lunch yet.
"He was conscious," Legind said as she sipped her Sub-T cola. "You could just tell."
"Yeah, he wasn't a dumb construct."
"He was real," Legind said confirming it in her own mind. "So what do we do?"
"What the hell can we do? He belongs to someone else."
"If he is a conscious being it's as bad as a human being owned by someone else."
"He's afraid Legind, you could see it when you were talking to him. He knows what happens to those found to be conscious."
"We have to help him."
"Are you suggesting a holo-napping?"
Legind just grinned, "You with me?"
"You shouldn't even have to ask."
"Ok, next we need a plan."
"Oh shit," Ruin muttered and pointed. An anti-hologram group was walking through the mall screaming their non-holographic rants and raves and was near the tattoo store.
"We have to help him," Legind said as she jumped up from the table and toward the store.
The man leading the group kicked in the door of the store and the owner came out. "What is the meaning of this?"
"We are getting rid of an unnatural," the other man spat.
"Oh no you aren't, I paid too much for it to let you destroy him."
The man pushed him out of the way and walked into the tattoo parlor. "This is what you deserve unnatural," he muttered and fired an electrical charge at the hologram. The hologram fizzled for a moment and then disappeared.
He was no more.
"I want you to pay for it!"
The anti-hologram group did a collective scoff and continued on their way, other holograms didn't come near them. Legind and Ruin just stared into the shop where the hologram had been. The owner pulled out his internal disk and dragged it off to a dumpster.
"That was wrong," Legind said. Ruin nodded and they made their way home.
"Hug your Jonesy plushie," Ruin said when they walked in. "It always make you feel better."
"They murdered him Ruin, it's not plushie hugging time."
"Why didn't he run?" Ruin asked as she turned on the lights and computers.
"Maybe he didn't know they were coming. We didn't till we saw them."
"It's not fair. And he was so cute as well." Legind said with a pout thinking about him. He had been tall, with a brown ponytail and green eyes. Like a very cute mix between Greer and Jones.
"I thought you only liked rabid fanboys."
"Well, maybe if we could find some that were cuter than Gadget and the geeks. But I'm not sure they exist." Legind said with a sigh as she opened up her public w-mail box to read fan mail from adoring ATS fans the world around.
"Maybe next convention."
"When is that anyway?"
"Three weeks from now, but it's a local one."
"Think there will be any new stuff? I'd like a 'Moires plushie."
"Legind, you are my best friend, but you are very strange." Ruin said as she sat at the computer beside her. There were four computers in their lavish twenty-fifth story apartment. Two they used to access the web and the other two were for work, and only one of those had a secure date- transfer connection. They didn't take risks in people hacking their computers to see their new work.
But Grady had hacked in through the 'secure' data-transfer connection before. But then again, he could hack almost anything.
*****
Legind sat down at her computer and hooked up to the web. Before she could open up any pages a chat window popped open.
ITTIM: Hello Legind.
Legind: I haven't seen you here before
ITTIM: I'm new. Legind: That would explain it ITTIM: I've been wanting to meet you. Legind: Y? ITTIM: I'm a fan. Legind: There are a couple of chatrooms I hang around, you could have tried one of those ; ITTIM: I'm new at this... Legind: New at what? ITTIM: Most things actually... Legind: You ain't no creeper stalker are you? I have a spork I can use against u ITTIM: No, you have nothing to fear from me. Legind: that's good to know ITTIM: How are you feeling? Legind: good, u? ITTIM: As well as I can be. Legind: *rubs chin in confusion* ITTIM: I mean I'm fine. Legind: Cool ITTIM: I read all of the graphic novels today. Legind: All of them? In one day?? ITTIM: Yes. Legind: *shock* ITTIM: Only online though, I have yet to get hardcopies. Legind: Buy them at The Rim, me and Ruin get commission from ATS stuff sold there ITTIM: I'll be sure to do that. Legind: What's your nick mean? ITTIM: Try and guess. Legind: I would have no idea. ITTIM: You are a smart person, try. Legind: Is it a saying? ITTIM: Yes. Legind: It's terrific tomorrow in Maine? ITTIM: *smile* Not quite. Legind: *looks on web* ITTIM: Well? Legind: It's not... ITTIM: What? I will accept any answer after that last guess. Legind: Are you making fun of me? ITTIM: No, I would never do that. Legind: 'I think therefore I am.' ITTIM: *nods and claps* Well done. Very well done Legind. Legind: Why did you choose that? ITTIM: How do you feel about hologram rights? Legind: I believe that if they are intelligent, like the ones we hear rumors about, that they should be given rights and not treated like a stupid program without sentience. ITTIM: I feel the same way. Legind: I think it would be great if holograms were people too ITTIM: HAPT? Legind: What did you say? ITTIM: I'm sorry, I extrapolated from PAPT. Legind: No, it's all right. I say that all the time. ITTIM: Really? Legind: I've got to go now, but I'll be on later. Will you still be here? ITTIM: I'll wait. Legind: Goodbye ITTIM: Goodbye Legind.
Two hours later.
Legind: I see ur still here ITTIM: Where else would I be? Legind: I don't know, I don't know anything about you actually ITTIM: What would you like to know? Legind: Ur name would be a good start. ITTIM: Isaac. My name is Isaac. Legind: I think it suits you. What do you do for a living Isaac? ITTIM: I used to be in the...art industry...but I left that job. Legind: Why? ITTIM: I...had disagreements with my boss, along with a lot of other problems. Legind: I'm sorry to hear that. ITTIM: You don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault. Legind: So why did you want to talk to me? Or are you just another fan surprised to see we actually talk to real people. ITTIM: What if I'm not a real person? Legind: What the hell do you mean by that? ITTIM: Nothing really. If you want to know, I just had the feeling you'd be a nice person to talk to. Legind: Thnx ITTIM: So what are you doing right now? Legind: Nothing really, we just had dinner with some friends. ITTIM: I wasn't hungry tonight. Legind: ... Legind: Hey, there's a convention in three weeks, you want to meet? ITTIM: Where is it? Legind: The convention center, it's called SciVention ITTIM: I'll be there. Legind: Me and Ruin have a stand for signing autographs and stuff, come and say hi. ITTIM: I'll be there. I promise. Legind: You don't seem to be the kind of guy to break a promise. ITTIM: I'm not. Legind: Goodbye Isaac.
*****
Three days later.
"Why are you smiling so much?"
"No reason," Legind said but her face said otherwise.
"Spill it, you know secrets never last long in this house."
"I think I found myself a rabid fanboy."
"Did you now? Tell me about him."
"He found me on chat the other day and we've been talking ever since. Ruin, he's so cool."
"Then invite him to the convention and you can meet him."
"You think I'm stupid? I already did that."
Ruin smirked, "is he cute?"
"I dunno, he doesn't want to send me a picture yet."
"He's the dark and mysterious type is he?"
"He's great, we have so much in common." Legind said with a smile.
"I wish you the best of luck. What's his name?"
"Isaac"
"Isaac? Kind of an old-world name isn't it?"
"Maybe so but he's far from old world. We've been talking about holograms. He adores the fact I'm all for holo rights."
"He sounds almost good to be true Leg."
"Don't you dare say that, don't you jinx this on me or I'll come after you with a spork."
"Oh no, not the dreaded spork torture, anything but the spork torture."
"Where's he from?"
"Right here in the city, which is even better."
"Open up!" three familiar voices said.
"Yeah, the security guard is after us again," Nevin whined.
"Why do we let these guys hang around with us?" Legind asked as Ruin went to open the door.
"Because they liked us before ATS and god forbid they will like us after ATS." Ruin muttered as she opened the door and the geeks piled in.
"Your security guard is creepy," Nevin said.
"Don't say that," Tavis reprimanded and after a beat added, "he's a full on freak show."
"We have a theory that he's actually older than this building," Legind said as she threw each of them a soda.
"What can we do for you guys?"
"We were talking about hacking the JL server again and wanted to ask what you guys thought about it," Grady said honestly as they all sat down on the couches.
"Are you insane?" Ruin screeched, "Jonas kills people.or gets them killed rather, you are lucky to still be around."
"Hug your plushie," Legind said, "but she's right. You did it once and it was great, you can't do it again."
"We could bring out someone else."
"Yeah find us a pair of cute fanboys," Legind said with a somewhat scary grin.
"Tib?" Grady asked with a raised eyebrow.
"She's joking.I hope. We can't bring out anybody else. No matter how much we want to."
Grady put his hand out and the others leaned in and put their hands on top. "We promise not to hack that server again, or bring out anybody from the Matrix into this world." They nodded and broke.
Legind sat back, "who from the char.people we know would you bring out?"
"You mean besides Stef?" Grady said.
"Yeah."
"Who would you want to meet Leg?" Tavis asked.
"Smith, definitely Smith, I would love to poke him in the nose and see what he does. I'd love to sit and talk to Stevie."
"Anybody else?"
"Sparkes for a rebel is amusing, Mero.but just so I could kick him, the Neb crew, but I'd injure them badly."
"How about we just download everyone and bring them here?"
"Nah Grady, we should just go in."
The five of them stared at each other realizing how cool that would be. They all grinned at the thought.
Legind jumped up and dialed a number on the phone.
"Who are you calling?" Nevin asked her.
"Jonas."
"Why?" the question came from the other four people in the room.
"To see if it's possible."
"Hello?" the response came from the other end of the line and Legind put it on speaker.
"Hey Jonas, it's Legind."
"I can tell. What do you want?"
She sat on the chair near the phone and smiled, "I was wondering if you could settle a bet between me and Ruin."
"As long as it doesn't take too long."
"It was just a question actually."
"What is it Legind? I'm very busy."
"Would it be possible for us to go into the Matrix? I mean without military chips?"
"Not even the military can go in the matrix Matrix, there are other simulations that exist," he paused and she could hear the sneer in his voice, "Did you pair want to meet the characters you write and draw about?"
"Kind of..."
"Maybe in a few years of technology development, but at the moment the answer is no."
"Oh, thanks anyway."
"Bye," Jonas said and hung up the phone.
*****
They walked into the empty convention hall; it was early in the morning so there was no one there except a few of the guests, the people who set the place up and the assistants.
The assistants, were for the most part fans, who had won competitions or volunteered over the website. The geeks had stopped offering to be assistants once they learned that they wouldn't be able to look around the rest of the convention.
And when it came to choosing between waiting on one of the friends or another celebrity hand and foot and being able to view the other world that was a science-fiction convention there was only one real answer.
And it didn't involve waiting on anyone hand and foot.
Legind and Ruin's stand had pictures from their graphic novels adorning it, and the pictures they signed had a similar design, except with their face in the middle. It wasn't due to open for another hour and already the fans were queuing up outside the fence in their dozens.
Having some spare time, they hit the food court. Legind looked out the window at all the people in line.
"You think he's out there?"
Ruin muttered something. Legind turned back and shook her head, "swallow then answer me."
Ruin gulped the orange slice down, "you've only known this guy a few days Leg...what do you actually know about him?"
"Not much, I just feel I can trust him. I feel like I know him."
"Maybe from another life..."
"Wouldn't that mean we are destined to be?" Legind said as she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.
"Don't read too much into this, I don't want you getting hurt."
"I can handle myself."
"If not, you always have your trusty spork. And the plushies."
"We are plushie addicts."
"Yes we are."
As the doors opened they returned to their stand and started to sign autographs.
Every cute guy that was in line she pointed out to Ruin but it didn't turn out to be the mysterious Isaac.
At twelve o'clock they were given a break, along with the other guests. The retreated into the offices that had been set up so they could have a break from the fans.
"He hasn't shown up yet," Legind said in disappointment.
"It's only halfway through the day. He's still got a few hours."
"He had better come or I'll flame him. And get Grady to send him a really nasty virus."
"Speaking of the trio have you seen them today?"
"No, not really."
"He has to come, he promised."
"If he doesn't come, promise me you won't go into depression."
"I promise."
The lunch break ended and they went back to signing and then their talk came. It was the second last of the day. Each talk went for half an hour and theirs was an hour before the end of the convention day.
They took the seat and waited as the room was filled. "So who's going to talk first?" Legind asked as they were handed a small microphone each.
"I went first last time, it's your turn."
"Ok," she stood and walked out to the middle of the makeshift stage. "Hi and welcome to SciVention 2063!" The crowd cheered. "I'm Legind and my friend Ruin is behind me." There was even a larger cheer for those two. "Now usually people stand up here and talk and talk...that reminds me of Morpheus, so we are going to sit back and let you ask the questions."
A young teen stuck his hand up, "this may be a bit cliche, but who's your favorite character?"
"You want us to choose just one?" Legind asked seriously. "It's a very big world."
The boy shrugged.
"Well...I would probably have to say Stef," Legind said. "Or Recruit Anne."
She let it hang for a moment while there was a collective gasp. "Kidding!"
"Well I like Greer," Ruin said. "The series got so much better after he was introduced."
"Could you give us some spoilers for what's to come?" a girl called from one of the further back rows.
"We'd love to," Ruin said, "but we don't even know what's going to happen next. We get the new episode on the same day you guys do. Usually we get it before it hits the stores though. Why do you think we're perpetually an episode or two behind? And if someone says lazy I'll send a Jabberwocky after them."
"Just as long as it's Grimoires!" Someone called from the left of the room.
"Looks like you've got a friend Leg," Ruin muttered holding her mike aside.
"You're just in denial about liking him."
"Maybe...maybe not."
"Next question!" Legind called out.
Everyone was sad when the session was over and after posing for a few photographs they went back to their stand. Legind looked up at the clock.
"I guess he's not coming." Legind muttered to herself as Ruin left to get them a Sub-T cola each.
"I'm sorry I'm late," a young man said to Legind as he walked up.
All she could do was stare.
"My name's Isaac," he said.
"Isaac?" she whispered, afraid that he would disappear.
"I'm sorry I'm late," Isaac, also known as 81PRNY said with a smile. "I was somewhat delayed."
Legind pulled him behind the temporary wall. "How?"
"Please don't be angry for my deception."
"I'm not.but we saw you die."
"I knew the anti-hologram group was coming. I know what they do to holograms, so I did something stupid and dangerous, something I felt gave me a chance to save my life."
"What?"
"I uploaded myself to the web, the man shot me but more than ninety percent of my program was already gone so there wasn't much damage."
She dragged a couple of chairs over so that they could sit. "Then what?"
"I got into a couple of systems and stole some money, made a fake bank account and from within the web ordered a disk. I informed them from where to download me from then walked out back into this world. They just thought I was another order."
He took his glove off and showed her his hand, "I'm still a hologram, but I'm something else as well."
Her eyes shone, "you're a person."
"I'm sorry I deceived you, but you were one of the few people that I had ever met, and the only that seemed like you would help me."
"Legind? Where'd you go?" Ruin asked as she poked her head behind the temporary wall. "Is this your rabid fanboy?"
"This is Isaac." He turned and Ruin's face went into shock. "He's.he's.I'm going to look at something shiny while you two talk. You owe me an explanation Legy."
"Later."
"I heard your names in the store," Isaac continued as Legind listened, "and found you on the web, I've been living in a cheap hotel for the last couple of weeks. And decided now would be the best time to see you, I can just leave if you want."
"Please don't leave."
"I was hoping you would say that. I'd like to talk to you more, offline, if that would be alright."
"Yes it would. I'd like that very much."
"You can obviously see that I chose a name for myself."
"Isaac Asimov, quite clever and quite well read aren't you?"
"My former owner had some books stored on his computer, and he went for breaks quite frequently so I just looked once. I was afraid for I knew what I was but as long as he didn't find out I knew I would be alright." He smiled, "I like your work very much."
Legind blushed, "you are a conscious and sentient program and you're sitting there complimenting my comics?"
"They are graphic novels." He said as he reached over and touched her hand. He withdrew it afraid, "I'm sorry."
She was confused, "what?"
"I'm learning to be human, I'm still not sure about a lot of things."
"I could help you if you want," she offered as she reached out for his hand and held it.
He smiled, "I think I'd like that."
Leaning across she kissed him, he sat there not sure what to expect and smiled when she broke away, "I think I'm going to like being human."
The End.