John couldn't help but groan aloud when he read the email from Scott, nothing but a subject line of 'Tell EOS to leave his phone alone' and an attachment of a holo-message from Fischler, ranting and raving about his phone being reset to factory settings every time he embarked on a new project.
"EOS?" John turned to look at the camera, which somehow managed to look abashed in how it turned and looked down.
"But John, you've done similar yourself." EOS protested petulantly. "I found the notes you made in case you ever had to do it again."
John flushed. "Yes, but that was a mistake. I shouldn't have done that." It had felt good at the time, but there was no way he was going to admit that, especially not to EOS.
It had been six years ago. John had been groundside and more than a little drunk at a bar with some friends and former classmates to celebrate the last of their group finally passing her PhD thesis defence.
The TV on one side of the bar they'd gathered at had been switched to a live show- two presenters prattling on about news, events and various things. John had tuned it out until the conversation turned to the Tracy family and International Rescue. The presenters had bemoaned the Tracy reticence to talk to news crews, do interviews or interact with the media at all beyond sporadic bland press releases and that if they were seen out in public or at a social gathering, they seemed to slip away before any journalists could talk to them.
John's ears had pricked up when the more obnoxious male presenter had uttered the line 'They're public figures and the public have a right to know about them and what they get up to when they're not flying a Thunderbird.'
Just something about that declaration that his family didn't deserve privacy simply because people knew their names, that people had a right to pick apart and analyse their private lives while they didn't have a right to be left alone, irritated John. So he took out his phone and went to work.
The information he was hoping for was quite easy to find thanks to the many and various networks and databases that he'd given himself access to as well the ones that Penelope had introduced him to. The thought crossed his mind to hack the scrolling banner as well and share his message with the viewing audience, but he settled for just the presenter's smart watch- less likelihood of a Scott lecture afterwards.
John flicked his message off into cyberspace, ordered a gin and tonic and waited. Sure enough the male presenter glanced at his smart watch, did a double take and went pale.
'So by your logic, as a public figure the public have a right to know about your weekly 'appointment' downtown.' The message read.
The transition to the next topic was not the best one for that presenter, but his co-host recovered well and the show continued. John had sipped his drink and congratulated himself on a job well done.
"Just, don't do it again EOS." John told her, feeling slightly flustered for having gotten caught. "If he's up to something, just tell me. We've got some ideas to make him less irritating."
"So does that mean I should delete the notes you made about hacking someone's smart device?" EOS asked slyly, her lights flushing a teasing pink. "As you said, you shouldn't have done that in the first place."
Caught, John couldn't do anything but nod his assent. "Yes EOS, delete those notes." He didn't exactly need those notes anymore, smartphone security had changed in six years, but he did make a mental note to double check the security of his other notes- he had a few contingency processes and procedures he didn't want EOS getting into and getting ideas about. The last thing they needed was a child AI getting into the GDF's secure systems because someone there managed to irritate her.