Cyberfantasy: Episode 3

Hello, everyone!
     Enjoy the next episode of Cyberfantasy. :)

Episode 3

I grabbed the laptop out from under my pillow, where I had stuffed it an hour or two before. I still felt wary about it.  

Gingerly, I put it down in front of Chloe, opened it, and typed in the password. The email was still there from when I had slammed the computer shut. Chloe glanced at the cyberbot’s sentences.

“Say something in your mind,” I suggested. “It might reply.”

Before the words were fully out of my mouth, however, a row of new words snaked across the page. My name is Sona. You have permission to call me that.

Chloe leaned forward, and I pointed wildly at the screen. “Did you see that? Did you see that?”

“This is weird,” my friend murmured. Then she narrowed her eyes at the screen, and I knew that she was talking to the cyberbot in her mind.

More words appeared. Are all humans this ignorant?

I almost felt like laughing. “What did you ask her?”

“I asked what a cyberbot was. Wow, I didn’t know that a computer could have such an attitude.”

For the record, I am a cyberbot, not a computer, but that is of little relevance. I am in need of your assistance.

“This is getting really bizarre,” I said, fiddling with my paper plate. “This Sona person needs our help? I’m starting to feel like I’m in a bad sci-fi dream.”

“Maybe we are,” said Chloe, being inconveniently mysterious. “I’m not sure of anything anymore. But this,” she motioned at the laptop, “is pretty amazing. Very advanced technology. I like it.” And she narrowed her eyes at the screen again.

Thank you for asking. I am glad to see that you have more sense than your friend.

“Apparently I’m smarter than you,” said Chloe, with a playful smirk at me. “At least, Sona thinks so. I asked her what she needs our help with.”

I rolled my eyes.

We - that is to say, myself and other cyberbots - are currently under attack. An army of viruses is threatening to destroy us, and if they do, all devices connected to the Internet will detonate.

Without meaning to, I began imagining all the people who owned electronic devices. Kids as young as five or six had phones now. That would be a lot of explosions, injury ... and death.

I forgot that I had decided not to speak with Sona again. My thoughts were whirling, but I organized them enough to ask, What do we do to stop the viruses?

I am glad that you care for your race, replied the cyberbot. It has taken me a long time to find a personal computer network that I could trust. You are the first who has responded rationally.

“We still don’t know what a cyberbot is,” I said out loud to Chloe. “I want to know who I’m working with before we do anything crazy.”

“Sure, I’ll ask her,” said Chloe, smiling at me. She must have known what a leap of absurd faith I was making. To be honest, I didn’t know what made me trust Sona. I still don’t know.  

After a moment: Cyberbots exist within electronics. We protect the owners and keep their technology running. 

Chloe gazed at the screen for a second, then looked
up at me. “I’ve asked her what we have to do. Now pay attention.”

Before we begin, said Sona,

are you equipped for extensive travel?

     Hope you've enjoyed the episode, and have a lovely day! :)

-Kirsten