After pushing the red tape halfway into the VCR, Taro sat down at his kitchen table and sighed. The empty red tape case sat next to two remote controls; one for the TV and one for the VCR. Both devices were currently powered off.

He looked down at the plastic red box and the warning scratched into it: "DO NOT VIEW THIS TAPE!" it said. Taro shook his head. Then he read the next line. "If you view this tape, a girl with a really big knife may come out of the TV set and kill you!"

"Ain't that the truth, huh Leto?" he asked out loud. He made a pillow with his arms next to the three objects and rested his head down on top of it.

"I acted in self-defense."

Taro's head shot up. Ryoko Asakura was sitting across from him at the table wearing her jeans and chartreuse blouse.

"How did you..." Taro didn't finish the sentence. He just looked at the girl with wide, frightened eyes. Then he looked down at the remote controls.

Ryoko picked up the red box. "I don't need this anymore."

Taro's expression changed from shocked to angry. "What did you do, Ryoko?!" he shouted. "Why did you try to kill him?"

Taro froze when Ryoko looked back at him with cold emotionless eyes. "I did not try to kill him. If I had tried to kill him, he would be dead."

Taro sat back and crossed his arms. "Okay. What happened?"

"After you locked the front door and walked away, the drug addict -"

"You mean Lito."

"Yes. Lito broke into your home through the damaged side door. He came directly up here with a three foot length of pipe. I was his first target."

"Wait. Did he see you? Or your image on the TV?"

"My image."

"But the TV and VCR were off. I know I left them that way."

"I used my reserve; first to maintain the television image and then to sustain my three-dimensional form."

"How could you do that?" Taro asked. "I know you're barely able to make it across the room with the television on."

"I took a calculated risk."

"I don't think I'm fully understanding all of this, Ryoko. In fact, I'm not getting this at all." Taro ran his hands over his eyes and looked intently at the beautiful girl sitting across from him. "Tell me... honestly. What are you?"

Ryoko's expression did not change as she answered... "I am a survivor."

Taro surprised himself when his face broke out in a smile. Then he nodded. "What happened next?"

"I asked him to leave or face consequences. He did not heed my warning."

"Because it looked like it was coming from a video image."

"I believe that's true. My warning made him very angry. He came at me with the pipe."

"Then you went 3-D on him? With my steak knife?"

"Yes. Although I miscalculated at first."

"How do you mean?"

"He was able to hit me pretty hard."

Taro's eyes widened with concern. "Were you hurt?"

"I'm fine. Though the jolt wiped out my reserves. I had a choice to make. Attempt an early data center breach... or revert back to beginnings."

"Data center breach? You mean those computers in the building next door?"

"Yes. The data center was my goal; it's the reason I had you bring me here. I wished to be more fully formed before I attempted the breach of their firewalls. Human technology has improved a lot when it comes to firewall security the past few years and I hate to take unnecessary risks."

"But you went for it?"

"Yes. Their firewall security turned out to be trivial."

Taro shook his head in awe. "Maybe you're just really good… at whatever it is you do."

Ryoko acknowledged his response with a small modest shrug of her shoulders.

The image of Lito Kamata lying on the sidewalk flashed before Taro's eyes. "So you left him. Lying in a pool of blood in front of my television."

"After I returned, I cleaned up everything. The pipe, the blood… the knife. And I moved him outside, near the door."

"But you left. For the data center. How long were you gone? How long was Lito left alone?"

"Roughly 271 milliseconds. I contacted the authorities anonymously as soon as I returned."

Taro chuckled. Then he looked over at the TV and the VCR. "So now you don't need the tape anymore?"

"Nope. I've upgraded my digs."

Taro looked down at the red tape case and read the warning to himself again. "Look Ryoko. You've got to understand that this is all a bit crazy for me. It's barely within my ability to comprehend. But I do accept it because I can see that you're sitting here with me. And I feel like I know you."

Ryoko nodded. "I understand."

"But there's something that I have to ask."

"I'll answer any question you ask. It's the least I can do for you now."

Taro leveled his gaze into Ryoko's eyes. "Did you murder the plumber?"

Ryoko considered her reply. "No."

"So it was a suicide?"

Ryoko paused for several seconds before answering. "Murder is defined as the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. I did not murder that man."

Taro held up the box. "Look at this warning. How can I believe what you're saying is true? How can I trust you?"

Ryoko pointed her finger at the box. "Ask her."

"Ask who?"

"The girl who wrote that. When we met, her name tag identified her as Rena, a waitress at the Kahachi Restaurant. It's located one mile west of the Sky Tower Cabins taking the main road. If you want to know what happened, talk to her."

Taro nodded.

Ryoko stood up and walked toward the television set. It turned on by itself as she approached. She bent forward and inserted something into the side of the television. Taro recognized it as a USB Memory Thumb Drive.

"RECOGNIZING USB DEVICE," the screen said. Then below those words. "128 GB Drive Ready to Access."

Ryoko turned. "Please have tea with me after you've spoken to Rena and I'll answer any other questions you have."

The image of Ryoko's bedroom flashed up onto the screen. However now it was presented with much greater detail - and her room had several open windows through which sunlight streamed inside.

Ryoko dove into the screen an instant before it went blank.