Effie sighed as she thought about her dinner experience. The parents were clearly worried about Mikey's brother and sister. Their dinner got cold and was quietly disposed of. It looked like they cared a lot about each other, and for some reason ... that touched the little digital fairy. She wondered of her parents... her own family. Did she have any siblings? Was there anyone to care about? Were they seeking her, or maybe... nobody knew she ever existed. She didn't know.
She had experimented more with her new... 'existence'. After a great deal of testing she was fairly sure that she could see things Mikey did not or could not remember. Then again as a robot, Mikey would have a 'perfect' memory in her subconscious. She had to test this theory further to be absolutely sure. Solid things felt solid.. she could touch things, but she could not exert any force of her own on objects, which was... quite frightening. Doors would be solid and immovable. She didn't want to chance what would happen if something actually fell on top of her, even if it were something as simple as a sheet of paper.
She had learned however, that water was a 'bad' thing. During the dinner she saw a cup of water, probably for the father. She was curious to know what would happen if she touched it. She strained upwards barely able to reach the top with a jump. She did her best to ignore the cold and very distracting feeling of the glass on her chest. once up and Kneeling carefully, She submerged her hand, and it felt... wet. Excited at learning this she put her hand further in, up to her shoulder when she started to feel queasy. The error exclamation mark that was part of her dress started to blink in a soft yellow light. Tendrils of sparks cascaded on the submerged arm, as it became distorted under water. She quickly pulled it out fearing permanent damage, but it seemed to be okay... though it felt numb. And still wet despite not seeing any water or ripples in the cup.
She fanned her arm quickly and rapidly it dried going back to 'normal'
Mikey giggled at Effie's antics to the confusion of her parents and Becka. She just said she thought of something funny. For some reason everyone then started laughing even though there was nothing to really laugh about.
It certainly eased the tension.
Becka had gone to bed early claiming she was now very tired. The girl seemed excited about that doll she carried. Still Effie was very curious about her. The Doll was very pretty... and the same size as the digital fairy. For some reason that made her blush as she tried not to look at the doll in the eyes. They almost felt like they were following her.
"Who is she?" She asked Mikey, she had not yet mastered how to text send- or even if it was possible for her.
Becka she answered. She used to be Biff- another guy. the robot girl text sent her friend.
"She's a friend of yours now?"
well- she used to be a lot older too. So we don't have much to talk 'bout Mikey shrugged.
Effie paused. She knew she used to be older too.. did Mikey know that? She looked down at her body, which seemed to be a teenager. Sixteen maybe? She wasn't good at guessing these things. Maybe she best not say anything. She didn't want to lose the only friend she had in this mixed up world. Even if it was just a kid.
She looked back to the little girl and the pretty doll she had. "Why's she playing with dolls then?"
Mickey shrugged. Dunno. It was a good question.. The sun really made her go funny The robot girl said, the text message unable to convey the sadness yet still Effie felt it all the same.
That sunlight... Effie wondered if there were any guys left in the world under this new sun. Looking at the smiling little girl with the doll. she swallowed worried. Was she looking at what will happen to her own mind someday? She didn't want to become a girl. She was quite happy with who she was originally.
"Mickey? What would happen if we go under the sun again?"
Nothing. It doesn't do stuff to you twice. At least it hasn't to anyone so far. The Robot girl replied. We're the only ones able to do stuff in the day. Normal humans only go out at night now.
There went another hope for Effie... She was almost willing to take the chance to return to 'something' a little more... like her old self. Still, the fact that she was a digital creature meant that change for her was at least possible. Unlike those in the real world who were definitely stuck. It might take time to work out her own code but it 'is' possible.
At the end of dinner Mikey went back to her room, carrying Effie on her shoulder.
"Your...very lucky." Effie said. "Your parents love you a lot"
Mikey smiled. "Don't all Mum and Dads?"
Effie looked down slightly "I... I can't... remember."
Mikeys mother came to tuck her daughter to bed. "Goodnight sweetie.." She smiled to her. "Have pleasant dreams. Don't worry about Jon. I'm sure we will see them all tomorrow..."
"Thanks" the robot girl smiled back resting in her nightie, looking up at the ceiling. Effie crawled onto the pillow, and managed to make a jump for the desk. She sat on the edge swinging her legs, rubbing her dainty hands as she watched her host go offline. Hm... what would happen to her now?
Time passed...
Effie waited.
She expected to fade away, or go inside Mikey's head... or something. Instead she was still sitting there on the kids desk, still wearing the same clothing.
After about ten minutes she decided to stand up. She looked around.. and realised something.
She felt hungry.
"Oh..'kay..." She ignored the feeling given there was no food. With Mikey offline and she not being sleepy she felt bored though... and when she felt bored, she went on the internet. She looked at Mikey's computer.. and smiled a bit. Maybe she could catch up with everything that's happened to the world with it. It looked like it was left on...
She tried to press a key on the keyboard by standing on it... but it wouldn't budge. "Oh come on..." She whispered not wanting to wake up Mikey. She tried to move the mouse, straining her entire body against it.. but it didn't even move an inch. Angrily she hit the screen- and stumbled inside it.
"What the..." Effie looked with amazement. She was now inside the computer screen. She looked up and could see the icons. Looking back she could still see the room she had just jumped from. Putting her arm out she realised she could step inside and out... This was.. amazing.
She became aware of something following her.. it was the pointer!
She felt a little giddy now at how silly this whole thing was. She was now inside the computer. But this was nothing like before. She wasn't disembodied.. she still had the form she gained at the start of this madness.. and might always will have- she reminded herself. She moved her finger... and the arrow responded quite happily.
"Now we're getting somewhere" She said, her voice being echoed onto the speakers. she bit her lip trying to keep her voice down.
She opened a browser, and the page appeared before her... it was a little high though, so she climbed up- first onto the task bar, then using the icons as a set of stairs stumbling a bit. The environment was 'mostly' 3d to her.. but she guessed it was closer to two dimensional. Maybe two and a half? It was best not to think about it too much.
Finally at a safe vantage she started to read the news. It seems the whole world had gone absolutely nuts... Some countries had marshal law imposed. There was a lot of fighting, but it seemed by and large the world was trying to get back to some kind of 'normalcy'. Scientists were studying the effect of the sun, and many had succumbed to strange changes even worse then the ones she's heard of so far. She was intrigued by the experiments with polarised sunlight... but the results of that experiment had been classified.
She got a chance to look at some of the technical pages. She browsed at emergence curiously... but the technical information made her head spin. She went to a few other sites she remembered of her former life. She browsed these forums anonymously. Some people were interested in the challenge of hacking an actual AI. There were a few theories on how it might be done, and some people had already written code that would at the very least 'influence' an unprotected AI- as well as how to try and circumvent the protection emergence was providing. There was a prize for whoever actually hacked- No.. She wasn't that sort of person... was she?
She closed the browser window going back to news in disgust with herself.
She browsed news after news, as sites slowly came back online. Effie was quietly surprised it hadn't gone a lot worse... She turned up a page on psychologists who expressed some surprise that the suicide rate of various countries had not changed at all. It was mind boggling to her.
Life carries on... she thought to herself taking a bite- "Uh... " She realised she was snacking on the 'my computer' icon. She bit her lip and quietly put it back... teeth marks evident on it. Maybe.. it will go back to normal after the computer was restarted. Out of habit and curiosity she searched out news of her former name, shadow666... and became quite sad at the things said about her. These people only knew her from the internet.. It.. wasn't her though. Not her RL... in RL she was... she was... she was Effie.
She yawned feeling somewhat sleepy now... this screen seemed a nice place to rest.
She went to the task bar, pulling up a window, then distorting by grabbing it like a long blanket. she pulled it down to the task bar, wrapping herself in it. She disabled the modem just in case as well... goodness knows what else might decide to sleep here.
She kept an ear and eye open for her host... her thoughts though still drifting to Becka and the eyes of that doll.
