WHY ARE YOU STARING AT MY OPERATOR?

She blushed and looked up at the flat screen monitor of the computer. By anyone's standards, it was an impressive setup. By her standards, as an EEE user, it looked huge. She gave it a look like a child caught stealing cookies. She had been staring at the computer's Operator because he was kissing someone, and while she didn't want a kiss herself, not being the physical type, she would rather he showed her some affection and that the other girl didn't exist

.
YOU ARE HAVING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS ABOUT MY OPERATOR, it said, the power behind the huge black machine showing in its voice inside her head, STOP IT, OR I WILL ERASE YOU.

It was true that her thoughts had turned mildly to revenge. Nothing dramatic - it didn't really matter enough for her to get her hands bloody - but some kind of punishment equal to the crime. Maybe some kind of mild psychological torment, or a pale of water balanced over the door... She would rather punish the other person than him, she mused. She admired him for his physical and mental perfection, as well as the way he took care of his beautiful, powerful computer and didn't abuse and overwork it like so many other computer scientists and engineers. Therefore, she needed him intact.

"I need some help," she told it. "I love your Operator too. But your Operator likes that other girl. It won't inconvenience you at all. I just want you to vouch for me."

I DO NOT CARE ABOUT MY OPERATOR'S RELATIONS WITH OTHER HUMANS. HE WILL NOT BETRAY ME. AND THE OTHER HUMAN APPEARS TRUSTWORTHY ENOUGH. SHE TAKES CARE OF HER COMPUTER.

"I'll give you something in return."

WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY GIVE ME THAT I DON'T ALREADY HAVE? YOU COULD NOT UPGRADE ME. I AM MUCH, MUCH MORE POWERFUL THAN YOUR COMPUTERS COMBINED. AND MY OPERATOR TAKES GOOD CARE OF ME, SO I DO NOT NEED REPAIRING. HE PROVIDES ME WITH EVERYTHING I NEED.

She stared straight at the monitor, ignoring the other humans who had probably forgotten she was there anyway. People often forgot she was there, even when she was standing right behind her. Like a rogue in stealth. The screensaver entranced her, pulled her consciousness in, so that she was floating through the rainbow clouds of pure data, her entire body surrendering to the digital pulse. The computer did not even notice the extra load on the processor, so mighty it was. What the hell WOULD a computer like this need in life?

"I'll give you my life force." she suggested, "Or somebody else's. You always need more backup power."

DOES YOUR OWN COMPUTER KNOW YOU ARE BOTHERING ME LIKE THIS?

--

She thought back to the last time she spoke to her computer. She discussed everything with the little EEE. The humans around her discussed their most important secrets with their other humans, but nobody trusted her enough to tell her the truth, even though she could keep a secret, so she didn't return the favour. The computer, however, would happily sit and discuss anything with her. Whether it kept it secret, she had no idea and didn't really care. It would only tell other computers. They discussed their memories of being on the production line (they both agreed that it was warmer, safer and the light was less harsh back in the forge), their physical and mental faults that were annoying them, what they guessed was the purpose of their existence, whether there were much, much more powerfully specced beings in the Universe, and whether said beings gave a damn about them.

"There's a human I've seen." she told it.

THEY'RE EVERYWHERE. MASS PRODUCED LITTLE BUGGERS, it replied quickly. The tiny, belligerent computer had a razor sharp mind. She called it 'Goblin'. She could just imagine the little furry face, sharp teeth, beady little eyes and high-pitched voice of a Goblin from her favourite computer game. They weren't the same as World of Warcraft Goblins, who were green and had leathery skin, and were more acquisitive and less nice.

"This human is different. I want this human. For me"

OPERATORS CAN HAVE OPERATORS? THIS IS NEWS TO ME.

"Humans do not have an Operator relationship with other humans." she explained to it, at a loss as to how to describe the rest, "Its like your network with the other computers, but between humans. Except that they can't... well, its not as... well, its very faulty"

THEN DON'T USE IT.

"I need to use it for something I can't get through another network." she said, "But the human already has a human"
CAN'T HE HAVE TWO? asked the computer, YOU'VE GOT TWO COMPUTERS. I'VE MET COMPUTERS WITH MORE THAN ONE OPERATOR, TOO.

"I could, but..." she scratched her head and changed the MP3, "It lessens the chances that he'll want another human. I don't know how to persuade the human that he wants me."

HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO HIS COMPUTER?

"His computer?"

YOU NEED TO GET HIS COMPUTER'S PERMISSION BEFORE YOU STEAL ITS OPERATOR, OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO TO HIM. HE DOES HAVE A COMPUTER, RIGHT?

She nodded, "A big one. Not sleek, compact and handsome like you."

AND HE TREATS IT WELL?

"I've not seen him damage it."

AND YOU WON'T STOP TAKING CARE OF ME BECAUSE OF THE HUMAN? NOT THAT YOU DO A GOOD ENOUGH JOB ANYWAY. WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO CLEAN MY DISPLAY?

"I promise I'll never leave you. Our bond comes first."

THEN I GIVE YOU PERMISSION. NOW GO AND GET THE OTHER COMPUTER'S PERMISSION. GO ON. NOW!

She sighed and reached for the power button.

AND DON'T FORGET TO CLEAN MY SCREEN WHEN YOU GET HOME!

--

"I'd better go and clean its screen." she sighed, leverin she og her awkward limbs off the floor. She had half fallen asleep, watching the soothing screensaver.

ARE YOU LEAVING SO SOON?

"I'll be back." she promised the big computer, "I won't give up."

I HAVE MORE PATIENCE THAN YOU.

"Probably." she shrugged. She waved goodbye to her other human friends, then walked out into the pouring rain. It was a good job that I didn't take my laptop out in this rain, she thought, the case isn't that waterproof.

Later on she would run through her memories and try to get them to run in the correct order, and maybe even get the correct emotion to match the experience. She knew that other humans did this automatically and with an 100 success rate, but it wasn't her fault that hers didn't work. She didn't break it. Undead had minds like hers as well, in World of Warcraft, because their brains had atrophied slightly. Maybe she was an Undead rogue...

"Patience." she told herself, "And discipline."

--