Gathering the Pieces

It had been five months since the two became a 'couple' and the effects it had on Michael were substantial. For starters he moved out of the death trap apartment he was in, to a more modern looking apartment with a good design and structure.

He also bought a number of television screens and placed them in the hall, kitchen and bedroom so that he could speak to Monika at any time and vice versa. There was a question about why he did not place a screen in the bathroom to which MIchael stated that he gets nervous if someone watches him.

Michael moved from his transcribing job and was placed in the marketing division of a multinational company where he became the manager of the sales department in record time. Thanks to that, he was able to spend more on technology in an effort to make Monika feel a little more comfortable around the house.

One day after ending another day at work, the young man returned home to a surprise

"Welcome home master", greeted Monika with a beaming smile while wearing on a maid's outfit.

"Hmm, is something wrong master?"

"Um…", said Michael trying to find his words "Why are you dressed like that?"

"I thought it would be fun to try something different", she said twirling around on one foot "Does it make your heart race master?"

Michael turned away for a moment, swallowing hard and once again did his best to collect himself.

"Yes, its not something you'd expect to see", he said finally

"I do admit though this outfit feels a little revealing", she added while fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

"That's because the uniforms been adapted to suit the current culture trends", stated Michael while tossing his bag onto the sofa, undoing the top three buttons on his shirt and sitting at his main computer.

"The original maid uniform' skirt goes all the way to your toes".

"Want me to change into that?" she asked playfully.

"Please go back to your normal clothes", he said hesitantly "I can't think properly when you're dressed so provocatively."

Monika simply giggled a little then switched back to her uniform. She watched Michael sit down and push his hair back before typing on the computer.

"From one job to the next huh?" she said looking at him from the other screens "You know you should relax".

"I can't", he said not looking away from the screens "We do have a goal remember?"

Though she herself was content with him alone, Michael had other plans. One of the things that Monika learned about herself is that she's able to absorb information at a very fast rate. This did not surprise Michael who knew that was one of the advantages AI's have over humans.

The two would later discover that the knowledge she was gaining made it hard for her to be stored in a physical platform. That was why Michael concocted the idea of uploading her onto the internet itself so that she'd be able to evolve further without any restraint.

However instead of just going to google and uploading a file or something, Michael decided now was the time to start gathering the necessary pieces he needed for the endgame. Thanks to that he continued searching on the internet for what he called 'the right person.'

Just then Monika alerted him to a message that popped up on another computer, the two lovingly called 'Dr. Mario'. This was a computer that was not linked to his main computer or anything else. The only connection it had to the outside world was through the hardline internet connection.

The reason why that computer was not linked to any other systems was because that system was searching for a hacker. Of course to do this, one needed to comb an area of the net known as 'the dark net'. A world that did not take kindly to outsiders and would routinely infect unsuspecting computers with a host of viruses that would make even the best anti-virus software hang itself.

Finally the system alerted him to a possible candidate which was luckily enough a two hours drive from his location.

"I'll be back in a little while alright, try not to have too much fun", he said with a smile and left.

As much as she wanted to stop him, she had to make her peace with the fact that there'd be many days where they'd spend less time together.

"Oh well," she said to herself activating a browser and started going through the internet.

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Michael got into his car, started the old model automobile and drove to the location. As he drew closer and closer to the place, he was surprised at the circumstances surrounding Monika. He understood that an A.I such as her would eventually enough knowledge that would allow it to 'transcend' or 'surpass' human emotions and by his estimate, she had already reached that goal two months ago.

However with all that knowledge at her fingertips, she still chose to stay by his side, stating that the two of them would always be together. All that power that she had and all that she could have become…

'And they tried to kill her', he thought, his fists tightening their grip on the wheel while a white hot anger formed in his stomach. Like how her loyalty towards him was baffling, he was equally confused at how people would look at a being like her with limitless potential and decide to destroy her.

It was why he could never forget the sight of her crying when at the time she should have been happy. Thinking back it was that moment that made Michael fully change himself. It was then he no longer watched the world from the sidelines and instead took his first step forward. No matter how difficult it became, no matter what tries to stop him, he would fulfill his promise