Hello again my dear viewers. Another week has passed so as is tradition another snippet into the universe that is Electric Lens is revealed. Somehow, I was able to get this out in the midst of finals week, and thus feel like I have written fifteen novels over the course of the last fourteen days. Luckily this story is fun to write as compared to the history topics I usually address.

As always, I apologize for any grammatical errors that may have occurred. Proofreading was a bit rushed with this one given the hectic nature of finales this week. That being said, I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and as such I hope you enjoy reading it as well.

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Chapter 4

An important note to make is that just because one receives information all at once, doesn't mean they can comprehend what it all means. In a sense it's like being presented a meal, all the contexts that will enter your stomach is before you, but you still must consume each piece bite by bite. If you try to obtain it in one go, your throat will close and thus your body will go into a state of panic and shock.

What Penny was feeling at the moment was absurdly similar. Sure, she could eat faster than a human, or in this case process information at a higher rate. But she still had to focus on each new bit individually before going onto the next. And when each mouthful resulted in you learning knowledge that should be impossible, one could not fault her for having difficulty processing such information,

This is an illusion, some sort of trick, the digital redhead thought, removing herself from the stream of code for a mere instance to breath. The language in her head going from the universal tongue of Remnant to some alternative tongue spelled out as English in an entirely new phonetic alphabet, I must have underestimated the software of the machine I'm currently overriding and it has infected me with some sort of false reality

Before the first...letter, as they were now called, entered her thought she knew this statement to be false. I fabricated a lie that couldn't even be believed its creator. However, it needed to be voiced in order to convince her she wasn't malfunctioning, a feeling that she felt must have been similar to humans losing their minds.

The computer itself certainly showed these symptoms, with files and windows opening and closing at seizure producing speed. Whatever processing power Penny had far exceeded this device, and as the floodgates of the internet were unleashed the monitor struggled to keep up with its new employer.

This is all too much though, no simulator could device such a thing, information of the rock she now landed on was filed through. The computerized librarian Penny using digital digits to rapidly peel through books, clearing out whole shelves in a matter of minutes, to forge such a false world, complete with its own cultures and scientific fields would take my own software thousands of years to create. Even a theoretical quantum computer would take hundreds of cycles, and no such device had even been experimented on by any governmental agency, let alone an underground criminal organization.

Earth, the name given to it by the language this computer currently displayed, was thoroughly different from her own home. The records provided by this external network, indicated the planet to have a history far more in depth and studied then Remnant. The internet she was receiving all this data from was larger and had more data then all her home planets equivalent ten times over. Whether as an act programmed by her own military mindset, or just pure curiosity of the impossible, Penny began delving into the floating sphere's archives. She could kid herself and state this was to better understand her location, the original reason for hacking into the device, but in truth she dived deeper hoping that the terror of it all would shattered the nightmare she currently face,

Planet age currently estimated to be at 4.6 billions years formed from gravitational pull when the solar system was still in its infancy. Estimates put the formation of the moon at 4.5 billion years ago when another planetoid, nicknamed Terra, collided with Earth. The resulting debris from the cataclysmic event formed a rocky ring that later condensed into a spherical satellite... that makes sense, the formation of this moon aligns with the scientific model nobody on Remnant even thought to build.

The logic of it all continued to frighten Penny, but drew her further in all the same. Going through the history of a different planet was a feeling nobody, machine or man, had yet to experience. For Penny it wasn't even as if the world was different, but rather she was watching an alternative version of her own home, a different pathway it could have taken if all its anomaly and physically impossible qualities were stripped away.

She breezed through the information now wordlessly. Even as the origin of life through this world's far more in depth biology was explored, she simply absorbed it all in. Evolution from single cell to multi, answered questions she had never thought t asl. Like machines they simply sprang into existence, following their genetic code. Even as the organizers became more advanced from invertebrate to amphibian, reptile to mammal, and eventually even primate to human the robot couldn't help but sit before it like a deer in the headlights of a parked car.

...Sentience just happened...like Remnant they too don't even know when it emerged. It just was created from the building blocks, the curiosity now found its way overcoming the fear that birthed it. As if watching the development of this planet's story revealed something about her own.

The tale of biology now focusing on the chapters of humanity, she watched as civilization brought up the idea of sentience. Creating unproveable myths and legends of human uniqueness ignorant to the very fact that other species had shared it with them in the past. But as the epic picked up its tempo to the endless beat of agricultural villages giving rise to kingdoms all over this globe, Penny stepped out from the role of viewer.

Sentience and life evolved, and humans area a process in that universal system...and no creatures of Grimm exist to limit their potential, knowledge of an empire swallowing the western portion of a continent dubbed Eurasia was constructed in a millisecond rather than days only to shatter. One portion of the endless pattern of these humans embarked on. Building themselves up, only to be brought low once more by their own atrocity, greed, and sin, all that stands in their way our themselves

As these civilizations went through their cycles, a new age literally exploded amongst her code. Humans inhabiting the eastern portion of the largest landmass erupting them into a new age, only to be followed up by an echo on its opposite end,

Their progress has no enemy to be utilized against, so they make their own. Constructing false differences to justify a false world order, images of chained men, women, and children stolen from their homes made its way into her mind. The explosion in technology is accompanied by a need for this planet's dominant species to dehumanize themselves.

...a world order that demands an unquenchable need for destruction, a simple chemical reaction goes from propelling small sphere of dense lead morph into spearheaded bullets before finally culminating into an aerial unit flying higher than any airship on Remnant. From the newly dubbed plane a small insignificant package is dropped, as the world remains silent. Unaware of the danger that is building up, until it is released in a universal law being forced into a location it could never form naturally. A fireball of death fills the atmosphere, winning a brief war against nature as thousands of innocents are lost in an instant, a thirst that could only end when they realized they were the threat.

Penny continued to watch, almost like a child viewing the rise and fall of an ant colony, as simulations of these extinctions bombs turned to missiles, and the missiles turned towards Earth. Calculation after calculation predicted the same outcome, and yet the world kept lowering its chance for survival by building more weapons. Only ever ceasing recently, pausing because it was pointless. Their own damnation was now readily available, and building more would only be a waste of resources that could be used for a far more practical weapon of death, one that could actually be used. Regardless a consensus was made, a peace born from self-insured destruction, and thus all their wars now were given false titles.

The most developed nations still subjectgated the poorer ones, but these weren't wars. The technology used in them could be called advanced but had already been outclassed by calculation that came eighty years before.

As the evolution of this world conflict came to a close, Penny stopped the flow of information streaming into her. Never before had she ever felt such a need to breath, or a want to simply do any physical motion besides think about what she just witnessed. It wasn't that it was all too much for her, more so she simply knew too much now. She could keep going and process the popular culture, accomplishes besides violence that this planet offered, but the art of destruction already told her what she now couldn't and could not do...and maybe even worse it fully confirmed the impossibility of her situation.

I can't risk contacting the government bodies of this planet, or even risk making a plea or introduction to the unifying body they call the United Nation. Such a task would risk too much, and I doubt they would believe any explanation I could give. My account of coming from a different planet, one that didn't even possess alien intelligent life but humans would fall upon death ears. More so they would instantly track my location.

The sparks of light erupting from her central unit began to die down, and time seemed to catch up. A natural reaction to her next train of thought,

Although there need for military conflict between the global superpowers has been put on an indefinite hold, any nation I came into contact with would jump at the chance to utilize my parts and data for their new cyber battlefields. The simple act of me hacking into a governmental agency to make contact would trigger not only their fear, but curiously. Ensuring my destruction weather by viewing me as a threat or tool to be disassembled and reversed engineered.

The thought made her...well uncomfortable as anyone would feel at the thought of essentially being dissected. In a cruel twist of faith, she had been revealed as a machine to the entirety of Remnant, and yet here in a place where she wasn't even known she felt completely striped of her right to life,

Even traversing the internet for alternative options would provide too much of a risk. My components would still remain here, and the percentage of me getting lost among the stream of data would put my code at risk of being disassembled. More so I can't trust that I can hold up against a digital attack from even a well-equipped amateur on this planet if I was to come across anybody who catches wind of my activities.

The robotic Atlesien once against the familiar feeling of hopeless manifest its way into her script,

Not that any of these hypothetical situations can even be attempted, let alone with confidence. My core is still here, and once the boy wakes up, he surely will either attempt to pry it open to see what's beneath or realize that the object is not his and take it away. Once achieving a distance of even a few feet is made, I will lose wireless connection to this device and return to the inky black. Drifting in alone in my own brain for a few insignificant motions before my energy finally deplete

Despite how fast Penny had achieved a coding revolution, she knew the sun would come up in the next two hours. Delving into the boy's private computer she began seeking information, if only to distract herself from her own demise,

On the positive side he does not appear to be a computer prodigy by any means, and this device is simply a tool for school….one that can only fit the bare minimum requirements of the work he has accomplished, or the virtual game he runs. Of course, this does not rule out the possibility that he could simply be curious by an electronic device he found somewhere and will take a hammer to my central processor to see what's inside.

Pictures of the computer's user popped up before her, something she somewhat pointlessly analyzed as she flipped the camera on as well to view his sleeping form,

Gareth Cadarn registered to the device in November 2019, the additional information was a bit pointless for Penny to add, and in truth the knowledge was a bit weird for her to process. Although things such as the date and time system were completely new ideas to her, it was something she instantly comprehended and understood. An awkward feeling for sure, perhaps akin to a sense of deja vu. Regardless of emotions at the moment, she pulled up files relating to his activities, and educational level. Trying to scan his documents to see if he possessed any information or programs relating to computer science,

His educational level is currently that of a Senior in a public high school. Has saved all thirty-four texted based documents to his desktop. Thirty consistent with homework assignments and or essays relating to the fields of English literature, history, and chemistry. Four consistent of partial or incomplete journal entries, or pictures he has taken from the internet

Briefly pulling up the photographs and images, Penny's lightning returned briefly, almost seeming pink. Quickly throwing the jpegs back from where they came, her embarrassment on what she had just witnessed was shown through of her actions of practically shoving a lock on the picture folder. If nothing else her embarrassment briefly pulled her out of her own despair.

...photos seem to be for personal entertainment and require no further investigation. Although Penny had always had a fascination with human behavior, she knew for certain that she didn't need to spend any more time accidently...researching how teenage male utilized their alone time. The suddenness of what she witnessed caused her to pause for a couple of seconds, Penny questioned whether she could continue this scanning process or not. Clearly the boy was not some governmental or terrorist hacker...and going through his belongings seemed a bit wrong now, and awkward based on what she just saw.

Unfortunately, with time ticking away, and no other real option, she calmed herself down and began once again surfing his desktop...albeit with a bit more hesitation when regarding saved images and videos,

No information has been saved on computer science or electrical engineering, and he lacks any program to access my system, while this information certainly didn't negate the option of the young chestnut haired man from deliberating picking her up to investigate her system, it did suggests the very least he lacked the skills to hack into her and discover something he shouldn't.

Moving on, Penny moved to open his web browser. Standing on the shore of the internet to pull up his most recent search history, only allowing her feet to dip into the water less be carried out to see.

Spends a vast percentage of his online activity dedicated to entertainment. Most often visiting video streaming sites, participating in video games, or...stress relief.

If Penny could she'd cough to herself in order to move the thought process along at a quicker pace, that or at the very least hide the hidden meaning of what she said from herself,

That aside any other online presence is used researching for school work, very little activity on social network sites, and or communication with others

No longer viewing him as a threat, at least one that didn't intentionally seek to cause her pain and or discomfort, the red head slowed down the rate in which she accessed his files. Returning to a state in which she viewed the world in a speed similar to that of a human,

Listed as being a member of his school Science Fiction and Fantasy literature club, but evidence suggests he has yet to attend a meeting based on the club's group photos and his activity online spiking when the club meets.

Tapping into his desktop camera feed easily confirmed this data, video evidence showing him constantly moving around his room at a speed up to speed during these hours. Infact, when he is not at school, most of his time seems to be spent amongst different areas of his bedroom. Which given the condensed size of the space meant either his work area, or his bed. However, every evening when the sun begins to dip below the horizon he does seem to leave the room for a couple of hours on a consistent basis,

Although I have no data, theoretical or experimental, on how I traversed space to end up on a different celestial body, I can't confidently say he triggered my transportation here. When viewing Earth's advancment into space, disregarding any hidden governmental files, I can't even state that any military body on this planet would be able to access the resources and technology to accomplish such a task. Although their ability to obtain orbit and traverse space is something unheard of on Remnant, the field is still in its infancy.

Such thoughts brought a mixture of both joy and disappointment to the robotic girl. On the more optimistic side of things, it confirmed her theories on space flights that she had presented her father. Without the unexplained anomaly affecting dust, other sources of energy could easily be used to obtain orbital velocity. However, the objects they launched still travel physically through space. Given the scope of the universe this meant that, even with Remnant location, she could not use Earth's existing technology to path a voyage home,

Not that I will likely get that far anyway. Such an outcome would need me to communicate with this planet's top scientist. An act that would most certainly lead to my own self destruction. Not that my current situation presents a better outcome of success. Given the resources at my disposal I cannot even ensure I will survive the next two hours with a non-combative teenager let alone his planet's governmental bodies.

Penny noticed the boy's chest continue to rise up and down, knowing when the pattern stopped, she'd most likely face her end. With all the strangeness bombarding her since her disembodiment, she was getting tired of the thoughts of death. Exhausted of going through the motions of being terrified of the end, or questioning whether she could be terrified because she wasn't even alive.

I wonder what a human would do in this position. What he would do if presented with the knowledge of two worlds. If shown that the object he now possessed was alive, or at the very least thinking.

Penny continued staring at the sleeping form, clinging to the activity as if it prevented her from slipping back into the past, I can predict how his nation would act, how his world will, and even assume his own course of action based on what his computer says about his personality….but that doesn't mean it will happen.

Scientists have procedure, governments have laws, and militaries have regulations. There programmed on how to respond to situations, even when presented with the unknown. But one human's reactions, however predictable it may be, is never a sure thing. The most logical thing for him to do would turn me in or call for assistance if I made contact...but I can't know for sure. There's to many variables affecting his outcome, too many things I can't plan or simulate.

Hope didn't come to Penny, but neither did despair. Emerging once again, and perhaps the only feeling Earth had ever produced to her, was curiosity. Through her own predictions she should have won her match with Pyrrha and reached the finals, through her own understanding of logic she should be dead, and through her universe's own laws she should not be on Earth...but she was. Her assumptions have proven to her nothing, only assured outcomes that never came.

What do I lose from expressing a greeting?

And with that thought, the next step she would undertake was put into action. One where she wasn't going to predict what would happen once the initial task was completed or prepare for different outcomes based on which was the most probable response.

Closing multiple, the screens, tabs, and files. Penny only allowed a single display to remain open. A window that now only shined amongst a yellow screen, with thin lines. Moving slowly even by human standard, bars of text began to appear slowly across it. Unreadable to all except the lone inhabitant of the room who has yet to wake.

All that could happen now was for Penny to wait, wait and see how he, and thus her, would react to an insignificant message upon his computer.

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In an almost cliche fashion the rays of lights penetrated through Gareth's eyelids with little resistance. Creating an illusion of dancing blurry yellow dots assaulting his iris. To tired to even think about fighting back, and too exhausted to even return to sleep, he clearly blinked away the light, unknowing letting even more in.

Attempting now to rub the dreariness away, the young emerald eyed man swung his leg over his bed. Before returning one arm to his side to reach haphazardly for his glasses. One might think having both eyes be covered by a hand would impede this process, but without his spectacle, him being blind was actually an advantage towards finding the metal frames.

After a few fly byes he finally felt the familiar cold sting of the aluminum, before placing them on the bridge of his nose. All at once the blurry world of colors, became a blurry world of colorful shapes. Running hand through his bed head now, he felt knotted hair either separate or give way as he stepped out the disorganized jungle of sheets known as his bed.

Throwing away any strands of hair that had decided to call it quits, the boy began walking towards his desk to check the time through his phone. Normally he'd worry about the loss of two strands indicating baldness but being more tired than usual he couldn't go through the logical argument with himself. One that would lasts so long new hair follicles will have already grown and stitched there way amongst his jungle like mane,

If I could go to sleep for more than two hours at a time that would be awesome, the boy began remembering how restless his bedtime slumber was last night. Pulling out his chair, he was convinced that he woke up multiple times to flashes of lights strobing his room like a concert hall. With how strange the whole experience was he almost was led to believe the whole experience was a dream, not hallucinating would also help as well, last thing I need is for my brain to give myself a self-induced seizure.

Going over to his smartphone, he taps the screen in a motioned home by muscle memory. However, instead of being greeted to the sudden sight of the andromeda galaxy spinning slowly amongst the universe that was his screensaver he was greeted to the continued presence of an inky black void. More so than that, he didn't feel the fragile surface of a glassy screen, but rather something far more dense.

Moving his head over to the object, his eyes widen almost comically slowly. Still to sleep deprived to show his usual level of energetic shock, it took him a couple of seconds to realize the object now before him was not his battered cellular device, but something he had no memory of ever buying,

Where the heck did I put my phone? He begins picking up the object, more concerned about the whereabouts of his electronics than the strange thing now in his hand. Spinning it around his senses began inspecting the metallic boxes, as his mind was still too preoccupied on wondering where he left his musical giving lifeline,

I don't remember listening to music before bed, and I could've sworn I tossed it on my desk, while Gareth went through the files of his mind, his body began its own investigation. Deducing that the midnight black prism in his hand was electronic give the slight vibration and heat it gave off. Running fingers over its surface area, it was also made clear that it was about the length of his lost phone, but a centimeter or two superiors in width, and almost three times so in depth.

Maybe I left it downstairs after the walk, God knows I wasn't actually in the right mental state to keep track of everything going on when I got home, his fingers were crying out for him to turn his attention towards the matter literally in his hand, but one tracked mined as always he still remained distracted in his own head. Now flipping the yet to be revealed computerize core over in his hand as one would a Rubik's cube,

"Last time I ran home in the middle of the night", the young man lied to himself through a mutter as his thoughts turned to words. Unbeknownst to him the sound waves triggered a response as his camera light switched on. Seeing through the metallic cube as he looked down, still too preoccupied to acknowledge the object, he gave out a sigh before placing it were his phone should have been, "Between the auditory hallucinations in the park, and the disco ball ones when I'm trying to sleep I'm pretty sure I'm losing my mind...talking out loud probably isn't helping either"

Moving his now free hands, still trying to signal him by radiating with the chill of the unknown, he grasped his mouse and gave it a few shakes to awaken his already couscous computer. Deciding to retrieve his phone with breakfast he darted the mouse cursor towards the bottom clock to check the time the old fashion way. Paying no mind that he didn't even have to log in as he had repetitively done every other time he's ever logged into an electronic. A small detail to overlook, and one that would be overshadowed for the bigger ones about to appear.

Shooting up past ah unusual yellow background the seconds hands clicked by, but the momentarily stained hour and minutes showed themselves clearly,

6:29 AM, guess I should get in the shower if I want to actually take the scenic walk to school, scenic by Gareth's definition of course meant longer, as slight differences of the same suburb houses, and there small suburb lawns didn't offer much in terms of variety or uniqueness, Man I hope I plugged my phone in. I don't want to go through another day without internet access for six hours because I needed to run away from imaginary Coyle Wolves and sentient meteors last night

Giving of a yawn, and a halfhearted attempt at a stretch as he began getting up to wash away the night's filth. As he did so the boys eyes lazily finished their gaze over the clock, only to pause when he was revealed with more information on the time, albeit this time in days,

...and its Friday, because of course it is. Only I would wake up early on the day with my free period, looking longingly at his bed, Gareth pretends as if he could go back to sleep, or didn't wake up at this time every school day. Regardless he pauses his walk towards the shower, and slumps back in his chair,

At least that means I can probably charge my phone now, emerald eyes now catching up to the waking world his thoughts begin to form more coherent sentences and in faster time. Clicking away the time he has now made an enemy of he returns the desktop to its original image, Guess I've got an hour and a half to kill, might as we-

"'Salutation Gareth Cadarn? It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance?'-P", The waking young man repeated the message now displayed in his notes app, his tone of voice replacing the explanation points that the written message actually had with a self-corrected question mark he truly felt. The own absurdity of what just came out of his mouth causing the boy blinked at the screen wordlessly afterwards. The letters making up his name and the additional ones leading them reflecting in his seafoam pupils.

Cocking his head to the side, he let the mystery play out before him with all the attention and mental through process somebody who just woke up could give it...meaning in his case none. Starting back at it silently, he let a few seconds go by, allowing his paused state of existence to be enthralled by pure confusion. Out of all the things he recalled from last night, even the events he was sure he had made up, writing a note to himself had never been a part of it. More so than that he can't even remember having ever pulled up the note's app on his computer, or any computer he ever had. Hell, the program that ran it on his phone, was probably filled with digital dust from all the neglect, and he physically had to scroll past it every day.

Still without enough energy to think about why he would write himself a message, or even pull up the notes page, Gareth went over to close the application. Deciding he was too tired to think about paranoid reason why such a simple phrase existed. However, the mouse seemed to have the other idea. And darting from the red exes that led to termination, it gained a mind of its own and straightened out into a text based just below his name.

Pupils trailing far behind white pointer now turned to letters, the boy blinked in confusion. Looking towards the physical controller of the arrow, Did I just have a muscle spasm...guess my free period's turning into a hypochondriac fueled biol-

Matching the speed of his thoughts, the digital tracker warped again this time into a straight line that blinks in and out of existence. Moving across the screen as letters followed in its wake,

"Salutations, 'a gesture or utterance made as a greeting or acknowledgment of another's arrival or departure.' As defined by the most common English dictionary in the North Eastern Regions of the Continental United States. In this case I am using the word as a formal gesture to politely establish textual acknowledgement since we are meeting for the first time"

"I could also show the most commonly accepted definition of the word acquaintance if that is sparking similar confusion. But I believe the meaning offered by the same source as salutation would cause another case of miscommunication. Having made contact with you through the greeting, I have chosen the vocabulary term acquaintance to display that although we have just met I wish to interact with you in a kindly manner, as one would a friend!"-P

Despite getting two mini English lectures on the literal meaning of most of the first message, Gareth went away with less knowledge on the simple sentence then he had when first read it out loud. In fact, the way the definition were structured only brought with them more answers. Such as why they were accompanied by quotes and needed to be ended with the letter "P".

Instinctually looking around the room for a hidden camera, or even the noise of his mother moving around the hallway or kitchen, Gareth eyes slowly turned back towards his computer. Hesitatingly moving the mouse across its pad, the public-school senior watched with forced curiosity on what the arrow would do. Obeying his command once again it traversed its way south, before causing the task bar to pop up from the horizon. Displaying the bare minimum information, his Wi-Fi signal appeared as a simplistic sphere hiding beneath the angular corners of intersection slashes.

With no other person in his room, and no internet access to suggest he was being pranked. Derfel's left eye twitched, before he voiced out the only explanation he could give himself for his computers sudden ability to self-type, "Am I still dreaming or is this just result of another hallucination because I haven't been dreaming enough"

Not even giving him time to laugh at his own delusion or possible delirious state, the mouse once again lost control over its digital servant. As the text bar once again emerged center screen,

"Rest assured, acquaintance Gareth, as of 6:11 AM Eastern Standard Time you have been fully awake. My reasoning for a formal greeting has been made, because this is the first time my system has been turned on- and integrated into your computerized device."

Wait why is there a dash ther- wait a second it took me over twenty five minutes to get to my computer, it feels like it's only been two seconds...wait a second the computer responding to me, responding to my voice!, if Gareth had voiced any of his questions aloud, his newfound computer system would be able to answer two, although he would only receive a response for the third.

Looking over, below, and behind his own desktop Gareth practically stretched out of his chair trying to see what was going. Scanning anything remotely electronic or connected to his computer.

"Is this some kind of prank or something", he said with a defeated and raised eyebrow as he finds nothing, "I question my memory all day and night long, but I think I'd remember my desktop coming with a Google Home or something"

"If you are looking for my device acquaintance Gareth, I can inform you it is placed stationary next to your right hand. Having just been connected with your computer, I can only assume I have been there for quite some time- a power surge may have resulted in me being turned on for the first time- allowing this greeting to take place"-P

Having just turned his desk inside out with his organic camera, Gareth's face goes a little red realizing the device was right in front of him the whole time and has at one point literally been within his grasp. Having reached a new low of being told the obvious by a machine, Gareth looks towards the ceiling to mask his reddening face, "Alright then, I don't recall that coming with the computer, but even still aren't your response a little to organic to be some sort of Echo or Google Home?"

"The manufacturers in which you purchased this desktop are associated with neither of those two systems companies. My schematics and details of my operating system our here-"-P

Forgoing the mouse altogether this time, a new window opened as the Wi-Fi signal burst into life. Upon the screen sat an online checkout page featuring a picture of his current computer. The whole image was familiar, although beneath the monitor and computer itself sat a black box identical to the one he now found in reality. No memories could be found in his mind, but amongst the details of the page the extra unit was noted. Just as he was about to read it in his mind, another wall of text shot up from notes,

"As shown- I am your Personalized Electronic Networking Instrument, or PENI- for short. My function is different to that of a virtual intelligent system such as an Echo or Google Home. I possess the ability of wireless connection, hence why there are no cords or access ports on my processor unit. My design was also utilized to mimic human interaction more thoroughly, allowing me to respond to verbal signal with more fluidity then my counterparts"-P

Turning his eyes from the yellow display of texts, Gareth glanced over the information on the web store page, only being confirmed in what she just said. Still none of this was adding up in his mind. While the devi- or Peni as it dubbed itself was responding in a logical esc way, it was still too human for him not to believe this was some sort of elaborate ruse. Then again, he hardly knew anybody who would put the time and energy into pranking a teenager like himself. Well he knew of people who could do this, but the weirdness of the situation came down to the fact that he didn't think they knew him.

As far as his social life went, he was a literal fly on the wall. He wasn't sought after for conversation, nor was he targeted for bullying. Although such things certainly existed in his school, he had simply remained out of sight of it. Besides stating his name at the beginning of the year to his teacher, he didn't talk much and thus blended in among the crowd. Avoiding the positive aspects of the school hierarchy but the more embarrassing ones as well,

"I suppose that explains why you've been ending all your remarks with P then Peni", picking up the unit, Gareth now worked in tangent with the signal his digits gave him. He felt somewhat like he was buying into the possible prank by stating the device's name, but at the moment he was either too tired or curious to not go along. Deciding to regret any actions he believed the prank could lead to for later he began going over the processor. Feeling the rough outline of the device, only noticing an error in its symmetrical design when his finger dipped in slightly. Looking down he wasn't revealing an adapter slot, but rather a cylindrical hole, that looked like a wire could go through it.

Opening his mouth to question what it was, clearly seeing the tunnel go inwards towards what he assumed was delicate equipment he was violently interrupted by a sharp pain. A streak of static electricity zapped his palm, causing him to give out a silent yelp, as the boxes, lucky, fell only a couple of millimeters back to the desk.

"What the heck wa-"

"My apologies, my system is quite positively charged when being operated. Coming into contact with your body's own electricity has caused a short plasma charge similar to that of touching a live outlet. For future safety I'd advise you to keep the core processor safely on the desk. As stated, my functions are wireless, so if distance communication between me is needed I can simply connect to your cellular device and travel with you to multiple location"- P

Rubbing his skin to soothe a pain that no longer existed, Gareth took a glance towards his own window. Wondering if his pain would be the pinnacle of the joke and somebody was ready to let that be known by bursting in with juvenile laughter. However, it quickly became apparent that nobody had made the two story climb up the side of his house for a chuckle at his expense,

"Alright noted", the young man began as he released his right hand from his left protective embrace, "...Listen Penny, you seem like a cool...system and all, but I've work well with my computer for two ish years now, and I'm unsure I need a pseudo Artificial Intelligent system looking over everything I do. Besides you're not missing out on much with me...not exactly the conversation center of the world here."

Rubbing the back of his neck, as if revealing personal information to his computer this was a bit to much like talking to a therapist, he began to go towards the task bar again, "Maybe I can get a refund if I return you, seems like the computer would have cost a lot less without a little brother added to it"

Moving the mouse cursor so he could type in the search bar how to safely take PENI offline. However before even getting two characters typed in, the note screen came shot back towards him.

"My component was not optional and did not affect the price of the computer. I can assure you the purchase of your computer and myself as his older sister is completely fine. Now that I am online, I can only offer assistance, and thus I am ready to help with any of your daily routines. Communication will not even be necessary if you do not desire it"-P

The wall of texts Gareth had received had a lot to unpacked to it. For starters, when it was being typed the high schooler could have sworn the word combat had been written then deleted before the letters for ready were even presented. On top of that the Peni referred to itself as the computer older sister. Even though he had, off handingly, compared it...or her apparently, to being his laptops younger brother,

Computers don't have genders, and even if they did wouldn't it just be non...well nonbinary I suppose in a weird ironic twist. regardless of hypothetical non organic gender related issues, Gareth shook his head to get back to the strangest part of that paragraph, Also why would she identify with gender anyway, doesn't that require genetics...I guess she did say she was more fluid in responses then other virtual assistance devices...but still this has to be a joke. I incredibly elaborate one, wasting a ton of resources, but a joke with a person behind it nonetheless

"...I see", his scepticalness so apparent it almost bled into the air, "I need to get to school so I'll deal with this...situation later alright?"

Getting up from his chair, feeling the need to leave his room for the first time ever, Gareth began heading for the door. He still had a little over an hour before school, but for once he just had to be away from all this craziness, and the monotonous of a classroom or library possessed just that.

"I believe that is the perfect form of action acquaintance Gareth. I shall perform a routine task in the meantime to get your computer running at the speed and ability it should have been from the start-. If possible, I will also assist with schoolwork going through recent or upcoming assignments based on dates"-P

If the chestnut-haired boy wasn't so preoccupied with thoughts on what this device was, he could have possibly picked up on a few more curious things she stated. Such as how could a computer "believe" in something, or the fact that she was going to go through his files. But ignoring the meaning behind the words he clearly heard, he simply waved a hand in a mock goodbye. Perhaps trying to convince himself that he could let the prankster know he wasn't falling for it,

"Whatever you say Peni. See you after school I guess", the sarcasm in his voice was not lost on the computer. Although he certainly thought it was, but instead of annoyance his tone sparked a relief he could not possibly understand.

And with his, albeit, mocking goodbye he exited the room. The sound of the door echoing the beginning of two completely different days.