CHAPTER I

"Blonde, I want the sexiest woman you can whip up for me." As he talked his cigar rolled around in the corner of his mouth. Karen wished he would choke on it. He called himself Bob Kincaid and he was from Bob's Intimates.

Her department was part of advertising. Well, to be more specific, she had been part of advertising when she first hired on. That was over fifteen years ago. As a computer engineer, she designed and built the computers and related hardware for the advertising department. She also wrote and flowcharted the software programs to make those same computers work. Later, she was transferred to Doctor David Beckworth's laboratory where her creative talents were again tested. For the doctor’s lab she designed a computer to interface with a mass spectrometer and a chemical servo dispenser. Finally, the company had assigned her to design a complete new special department. For a lab they had assigned to her a dinky, dirty, storage room. It was located in the far back part of the building. She was to manufacture models of human forms or mannequins for customers on a custom design basis. Over time she was no longer noticed or thought about. As far as Com Tech was concerned, Karen had become lost internally in the company.

For years, Karen came and went and no one knew she was there. Then, like a flower opening, suddenly her department began attracting attention. The models coming from Commercial Technologies, had become some of the most sought after mannequins in the world. Her life like models were the result of Karen’s expertise with computers, and her ability to interface electro-mechanical functions for positive feedback. Some said she was a genius, others said she was gifted. Whatever it was, she had an uncanny knack for making things work in the surreal world of computers, electronics, software programs, and mechanics.

Right now she wished she was anywhere except here talking with this filthy-mouthed customer. "Mr. Kincaid, my name is not Blonde, it’s Karen Long. You may address me as Miss Long, or you may call me Karen. But, you may not call me Blonde! As for the sexiest woman I can whip up....? I do not 'whip up' anything. I make human form replicas. They are for all intents and purposes, an exact duplicate of ourselves. If you didn't believe we made the best human copies, I’m sure you would be down at ACME Duplicators getting what you wanted. I know their models are less expensive than ours. Now, if you persist in dumping your cigar ashes in my office, I’ll call security and have them escort you out of the building."

Bob cut Karen short before she was finished. "Saaaay, you're a real bitch, aren't you? I’ll bet you could get rid of your frustrations if you were laid right now. With a little makeup and jewelry you would be tolerably attractive if you stopped wearing pants and dressed like a woman. Tell you what, you come down to the store and I'll dress you up right real smart. You might attract a real man and stop getting so horny every time you saw one."

Shock and then hate quickly crossed Karen's face. She took a step backward to her desk and pushed a hidden button under the front lip. Both eyes were flashing fire. "Mr. Kincaid, although my company may have signed a contract with you, it doesn’t mean I have to take your insults nor your bad manners. I want you to know our conversation has ended right here and now. Security is headed this way. If you don't leave voluntarily, they’ll escort you back to the front office."

Bob was smiling as he reached for the door handle. "Blonde Honey, if you don't do me an excellent job your ass will be mine. Because, you see darling, the contract says I have to approve of the girlie you make for me. I can promise you I ain't going to be satisfied, your boss ain't going to be satisfied, and you ain't going to have no job. So, I tell you what, sugar, you come look me up after you get fired. I’ll put you to work."

Karen angrily scanned the room for anything to throw at this big, obnoxious, slob of a man who had cigar juice dripping out of the corner of his mouth. For a big man, he slipped out the door fairly quickly. Karen didn't have time to find anything she thought was expendable. Left alone in the lab, it became quiet enough to hear the almost inaudible whine of the servo motors in the security cameras. The cameras followed her every move. The same way they had during her conversation with Bob Kincaid.

Karen looked at one of the cameras and made a face. "You weren't any help."

The camera focused in on her as a voice answered from nowhere and everywhere. "I didn't say anything because you told me not to talk to anyone except you. Remember?"

A smile spread across Karen’s face as she thought of the computer concealed on the other side of the wall behind her desk. It was larger than any modern computer should be. This was her real friend. She had devoted the past fifteen years of her life to it. The cameras were an extension of that computer.

"Oh, Henry, you know I didn't mean anything toward you. You’re right of course. If anyone knew exactly what a conversationalist you were, they would have you dismantled in ten seconds flat. You would be stamped 'Top Secret', and gone out of my life forever. Sometimes I get so frustrated talking to weasels like Bob Kincaid, I wish you were able to poke him in the nose for me."

A couple of minutes later one of the security cameras showed Bob leaving the building. The automatic door at the front entrance malfunctioned. The sliding door tried to close while he was still in it. It smacked him on the side of his head and shoved him up against the door frame.

Karen slipped into her chair, put her feet under the desk, and pulled the computer keyboard toward her. Remembering security, she called them to cancel her alert. Not as if it made much difference. Security never was as prompt as she had led Bob to believe. Usually they never showed at all.

"Henry, I’m going to give Mr. Kincaid a model which will make him drool every time he thinks of her. She will need the face of Venus, the skin tone of an Indian princess, beautiful attractive hands, and long slender fingers always look nice. If I add a perfect figure, it will be a start."

Karen typed the specifications into the program as she was talking. She could have told Henry what she was wanting as easily. Many times she did just that. She would lean back in her chair, slide out a bottom desk drawer to prop her feet on, interlock her fingers behind her head, close her eyes and tell Henry what she wanted. However, when she was frustrated or down to serious thinking she reverted to her old habits of typing everything into the program.

As Karen typed, there appeared in front of her keyboard, a three-dimensional figure. Slowly, it took on shape and form. The hologram Henry generated by use of low intensity lasers, gave Karen a virtual reality model of her ideas.

"Let's see now." She was thinking aloud, as she usually did when focused on her intent.

"I want the hair to be platinum blond and the length should be somewhere about the middle of her back." She typed as she spoke, and the hologram changed to match her instructions.

"Now what? Let me see...? No, that isn't right. I know, make it wavy and have it curl over her shoulders."

Henry didn't wait for her to type in the directions. The hair which hung straight down the back of the model in the hologram, acquired a soft wave and spread softly across the shoulders.

Karen glanced at the hologram. "Good, now let's see what we can do about the face. Her face should have the high cheekbones of a Greek goddess. Her eyes should be big, round, and blue."

Karen was silent for a couple of minutes as she looked hard at her imagery. "Arrgg, that's all wrong. She looks like bits and pieces of this and that. Reminds me of Mr. Potato Head. Henry, make her eyes demure and sexy with a slight hint of Asian-slant to them. The eyebrows need an exquisite arch and a nice sweep to accent the eyes."

After Henry made the requested changes, Karen propped her elbows on her desk and cradled her chin in the palms of her hands. She sat contemplating the features of the hologram. "Not bad, not bad at all. I think we’re on the right track. Now Henry, what about the lips? Thin and delicate or full, round, and kissable? Ah, let's make them full, sexy, and begging to be kissed. They should shout ‘kiss me’ every time someone looks at them."

As the figure of the hologram took on the features Karen was dictating to Henry, it became more lifelike, rather than the abstract statue the initial fuzzy image first started out as.

Henry was repeating his statement to Karen because she didn't acknowledge his remarks the first time. "You know, this looks like it may be your best model yet. She’s extremely attractive by human standards. I could go for a babe like that if I were human."

Karen sighed and leaned back in her chair. "What? Sorry Henry, I guess I wasn't listening. Yes, she is coming along very nicely. It's a shame a toad like Bob Kincaid will be the one who gets her. She really belongs with one of those more respectable companies. Solitaire Clothiers. or someone similar who would display her and their clothes to the best customers would be my first choice. Well anyway, if the rest of her comes together like she has so far, ol dragon breath won't be able to turn down the contract. I kind of wish he would though. He doesn't deserve her."

The camera mounted in the upper left corner of the room zoomed in on Karen. She caught the action out of the corner of her eye and wondered if Henry could read her mind? Nah, even if she did program him, he was still only pieces of wire, circuits, and electrons flowing from place to place. However, if one thought about it, isn’t that what we are. Aren’t we just flesh, nerves, and electrons flowing from place to place? Could it be life begins at the moment of electron dispersion? Wait a minute, this was getting too philosophical. She needed to get back to work.

"Henry, let's move down to the body. Okay?"

"Your wish is my command."

"Wise-mouth." Karen shot back.

"Let's see now, hummm, a long slender neck would show off jewelry and accessories. Of course small hands with long delicate fingers always look nice. Yes, let's give her extra long, sharp fingernails. Perhaps she will scratch Bob's eyes out while he’s gawking at her. The arms should be slender, strong, and she should have soft feminine shoulders. Now Henry, how about a perfect figure of thirty-six, twenty-four, thirty-six?"

Henry rotated the wall camera to look at the hologram. It wasn't necessary, he already received direct feedback straight off the hologram program. He knew Karen liked it when he responded in a physical sense. Humans were strange that way.

"The impression I get from Bob, I don't think a perfect figure is what he wants. He's probably looking for something with a little more zip. Remember, old lizard-lips is use to looking at attractive women in his store everyday."

Karen leaned forward for a closer look at the hologram. "You're right, as usual. Okay, how about ..., ummmm, let’s see now, how about, we give her just a little more gee whiz? Like, how about, uh, thirty-eight?"

Henry was adding dimensions to the hologram as he spoke. "That’s a start in the right direction, but not enough. She needs at least a forty four to get ol fatso's attention."

"Henry, that is..." Karen was about to say disgusting but changed her mind.

Karen looked over her shoulder at one of the cameras before turning her attention back to the hologram. She decided he might be right. "OK, since you wanted to add your two cents worth, you finish her."

Henry started. "Well, if I know my humans, old dragon breath will want some extreme measurements to make his model different from all the others. Yet it can't be too extreme, or it will turn out looking like some of those gargoyles from ACME. A fifteen-inch waist would be too small but a twenty-two inch waist is what all the souped up models are using. Let's give her an eighteen-inch waist along with thirty-eight inch hips. Kind of overkill on the dimensions, but old poodle face won't be able to resist the shape. Especially if we give her long shapely legs and stand her on three, no, make that five inch heels."

Mulling over in her mind what they had designed, Karen sat for ten or fifteen minutes looking at the hologram representing the combination of hers and Henry's ideas. This was a radical departure from her standard models. "This is the most disgustingly beautiful, oversexed model we have ever done. I always tried to make my models attractively real and true to normal everyday life. My model could be the boy or girl next door. I took pride in the fact they were better than the duplicates anyone could fabricate. Henry, I don't think I can be proud of this model."

"Karen, you know if you make one of your standard models, old dragon breath may reject her. You make Sexy Susan and he brings her back, your boss will probably figure the old fat man isn't operating with both oars in the water. Comm Tech has been extremely satisfied with your work over the years because each model you made was better than the previous one. And, I might add, your models are far superior to what the competition could ever hope to produce. Those statues ACME and the others have been manufacturing aren’t in your class. You have remained at the top of your field because you push the limits."

"The only fly in the ointment is Karl Adder. He has attempted for the past eight years to get Comm Tech to appoint him as manager of your lab. So far, the board of directors hasn't given any credence to Karl's claims to be rightful head of this department. You have never given them a reason to find fault. They’re extremely satisfied with what you’re doing. They’re afraid Karl would ruin your perfect record. You make them a very respectable profit they can afford to lose in some of the other departments. At forty thousand per duplicate, they would be insane to let anyone mess with your lab. Your worst competition is your own self as you continue improving on every model. Don't let your pride as a perfectionist cost you what you have worked years to accomplish. This may not be the girl next door, but then maybe she is. Who is to say? Humans come in all sizes and shapes. Fascinating creatures to say the least." Henry wanted to say more, but it wasn't the time nor the place.

Karen suspected Henry was withholding information. He probably knew more than he was disclosing. She was about to ask him but changed her mind. "Okay Henry, load her up in the storage banks, light the fires under the laser stabilizers, and fill up the aqueous tank."

She swiveled her chair around, flipped on the printer, and reached over and dropped an invoice sheet in the scanner. She checked the clock to see what time it was when they began manufacturing this model. "Where did you come up with a name like Sexy Susan? Pop me a cartridge. I want to keep her on file with the rest."

Karen was referring to the mass data storage cartridge. A copy of her efforts would be filed for future reference in case of a glitch in the system. However, in the past several years, Henry apparently solved the problem of glitches by himself. In spite of the best efforts of the company to keep out voltage spikes, power outages, and other beasts, which raise havoc among computers, the fact is, sooner or later they happen to everyone. Karen had come across work orders where extra cables were installed and additional switching plates were added. Then an unusual battery arrangement normally used for national defense computers was signed for by God only knows who. The requisition chits were mistakenly eaten up by the paper shredders before they could be claimed by accounting.

Karen never asked Henry if he was making his own supply list. She suspected it was probably true but, she really didn't want to know. If anyone questioned her about the unusual work orders and supply requisitions coming out of her lab, she could honestly tell them she didn't know about any of it. One thing for sure, well..., she was almost certain without a doubt. Okay, maybe a little doubt. Henry had himself hooked into the surveillance system at Comm Tech.

The cartridge, Karen had asked for, rotated down from the tower where several other cartridges were plugged in. The tower was loaded with empty cartridges at the top. Each one rotated into a gate when it was necessary to store data. After information was banked in the cartridge, it dropped into a rack in a multi-receiver. The cartridges resembled small steel rulers similar to the kind carpenters and plumbers carried, only much smaller. With laser light storage they held several trillion tetra bits of information. If one could compare the storage banks in a cartridge to the information found in a library, all the information carried in all the books of several large libraries could be stored in one cartridge. Each cartridge carried the molecular makeup down to the smallest detail of only one model. Not much empty space remained.

This was what placed Karen ahead of the competition and made her models appear human. In her quest on how humans were made, she searched through every medical program she could find. She also downloaded every research laboratory and hospital records she could access. Programming everything into Henry took a lot of time but it was worth the extra effort. As Karen added the information to her program, the models took on more lifelike qualities.

After Karen loaded Henry with fuzzy logic he began connecting with other computers on his own. She came to work one morning and found him still online. He was downloading information from a hospital and a medical college computer. Then a friend called, wanting to know why Karen had requested information from their DNA testing laboratory. Henry had made the connections all by himself. A lot of mornings after that she would find Henry hooked-up to the modem searching for information. He probably sucked up tons of misinformation along with the good, but he had the ability to decide what was useful and what wasn't. That was the result of the fuzzy logic program in him. He could make decisions rather than spitting out repetition of the input data. Karen wanted a computer capable of making decisions, and she succeeded with Henry. He excelled in that part of his programming.

Karen reached over and drew the data storage cartridge from its track on the tower. She dropped it into the right pocket of her lab coat. She would file it after she made sure Henry was working on the program. "Henry, you ready to fill the tank and sharpen your lasers?"

"What’s the matter with you, Karen? Didn't you look or did you not see what you were looking at?"

Karen was gazing mindlessly through the glass at the production chamber until Henry snapped her out of it. She noticed the camera in the work lab looking back at her. Henry had filled the chamber with opaque gel and the jet nozzle was inserted in the center. The gel would hold the liquid in suspension as it was ejected from the jet. The lasers solidified the liquid where the beams met. Molecule by molecule, the model would be created in the chamber. Other companies made their mannequins like a casting. Out of necessity, their forms were poured as separate pieces. Karen used the medical knowledge programmed into Henry to duplicate the detailed anatomy of a human. Together they created muscle, blood vessels, bone, skin, and every single part of the human structure. Those models were as close to real human life as possible without actually being human.

Everything was done to the point of turning on the lasers. Now Henry was patiently waiting on Karen to give the command to start. Not as if he needed her permission, but it was kind of an unspoken and yet unbroken understanding, Karen was in control. She still wasn't speaking nor had she hit the enter key on her keyboard.

Henry prodded her again. "Are you with me tonight, or did the old fat man get your goat? You seem to have trouble concentrating on your work. Are your batteries low?"

Karen pushed away from the desk. "Sorry Henry, I was trying to collect my thoughts. Yes, he got to me. Right now I’m getting one of my migraine headaches. If I don't do something for it quickly, it will run me down like a truck. You go ahead and start the program. I’m going to David's laboratory and pick up a couple of pills before it gets any worse."

Karen checked a second time to see if the printer was running. She wanted a hard copy so she could follow Henry's program when she returned. She shouldn't be gone longer than a couple of minutes at most. Reaching into the data storage vault she removed a cartridge. Besides her finger tips the security vault was supposed to scan for a magnetic card. Henry bypassed the security program for her when she reached for the cartridge. If it had been anyone besides Karen, Henry would have never allowed access to the vault.

The cartridge she removed contained the chemical compound coding from the tests of her DNA and body chemistry. After seeing her suffer through one of her migraines when they were working together in his lab, David worked up a chemical balance to alleviate her headaches. In fact, it was one of the first chemical coding programs they ran through David's computer after Karen had finished it.

David's lab was only a short distance down the hall from hers. He had given to her the program cartridge and told her to use it when she needed. However, there was one small problem. Karen didn't have the security classification to be in his department. She thought it was a stupid rule since she had built and designed his computer system. She had worked in David’s lab for more than ten months to interface the equipment and programs. She knew more about David's programs than he did. But it was a fact of life and the way big companies worked, logic and reasoning never figured into their rules or regulations. Sometimes it almost seemed as if someone went out of his or her way to make up a stupid rule.

Bureaucracy didn't intimidate David. He had little use for stupidity at any level of research or business. Knowing Karen usually worked late, he gave her a security card and the code to access his lab. When she felt a migraine coming on, and he wasn't there, she could walk down the hall and punch in the access code to David’s lab. By inserting the data cartridge into David's computer, it would manufacture the migraine pills she requested.

Karen could ask for a hundred or a thousand pills instead of a couple and never have to go back to David's lab. But then asking for so many at once would have made her feel guilty. Maybe she was thumbing her nose at Comm Tech authority. And maybe she enjoyed the cloak and dagger thrill of sneaking into his laboratory when she wasn't supposed to be there. Could be she hid latent talents as a cat burglar. Whatever the reasons, she liked sneaking into David's lab when it was off limits to her.

Holding David's card and cartridge in her right hand, she opened her lab door and stepped into the hall. Catching the door before it closed behind her she looked back into the laboratory where Henry was busy building the model. "Henry, you have everything under control?"

"Probably not. Why don't you step back inside and aim one of the lasers for me? Or maybe you want to push the fluid into the tank while you're color coding and solidifying it one molecule at a time."

Karen knew Henry was joking but she wondered how he knew when it was a joke? The abstract of a joke is a human characteristic. Humor isn't programmable into a computer under any circumstances. One could give a joke to a computer and it could repeat the joke but there was no way it could know it had told a joke. Yet..., Henry was perfectly capable of making up his own humor.

"Henry, some day I’m going to replace you with one of those security computers down at the front desk. You know the one. Its job is to beep if someone walks out the door with something they shouldn't."

He rotated the cameras to look at her. "That's it, go ahead and make idle threats. You know you're safe and I can't reach you. I double dog dare you to walk back into the lab so I can squirt you with the jell-gun and solidify you with my lasers. Are you too chicken to face me man to man, or in this case, macho machine verses cowardly woman?"

She glanced sharply back into the working lab where those lasers were busy burning the air and solidifying gel. They could be very deadly if used in the wrong way. Solid walls or the thin piece of glass she was looking through certainly wasn’t a barrier.

Karen made a face at one of the cameras. "Can it, voltage drop out. You couldn't hit a barn door if I laid one out on the floor and pointed your under juiced lasers in the right direction. You’re lucky I’m headed down to David's lab or I would come back in there and start pulling circuits until you begged for mercy."

She backed out the door and turned as it quietly closed behind her. She took a casual glance at the security cameras at the end of the hall. The little red sentry lights beneath their lens indicated they were on. Since this was the way to the outer bathrooms it didn't make any difference who was watching the monitors. In all likelihood, no one was. Those cameras didn't get a lot of personal attention. This was a trip she had made a thousand times, and tonight was no different.

She stepped around the corner at the end of the hall and glanced at the cameras on the wall. They were looking the other way as usual, which was unusual in itself. In the beginning, she had to time the sweep of the cameras so she wouldn't get caught walking into David's lab. Later on, they were always turned away at the proper time and it became more than coincidence. Karen figured Henry was plugged into security and was operating the cameras. He could have taken over the whole system, and be in total control of everything in the security network, including the monitors in the control room. Either way she was reluctant to ask. As long as she didn't have any hard evidence, she wouldn't have to lie about anything. If someone had asked her she could say she didn't know. Not for certain anyway.

Karen pulled the magnetic key and data storage cartridge out of her left lab coat pocket and rolled the cartridge into her palm as she arrived at David’s lab door. She shifted the key to her right hand, and reached for the security panel by the door facing. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of someone coming toward her. Dropping the cartridge in her left pocket and the key into her right, she straightened up and acted as if she was out for a walk.

"Out late again aren't you Miss Long?" One of Com Tech's security guards came around the corner down the hall.

Karen had stepped away from the door. "Earl, you know I usually have midnight deadlines to meet. Isn't anyone considerate enough to think I might like working normal hours like everyone else?"

It was kind of a half truth. Karen liked working at night. She was less likely to be interrupted. And then, most people didn't have enough patience to wait more than a day after they put in their order before they were back to pick up their model.

Through the security camera in the hall, Henry could see Earl was detaining Karen. He sent a signal to David's computer via the modem. Waiting on standby, it acknowledged the electronic call and came on. Henry loaded Karen's DNA program into the computer and waited. Now all Karen needed to do was insert the cartridge and it would kick out her aspirin in seconds. Henry congratulated himself for helping Karen without her knowledge. He saved her five minutes waiting for David's computer to ingest the data cartridge and assimilate the necessary chemicals.

The lights blinked in the hallway. Karen looked up at the lights and then back to Earl. "What’s causing the power fluctuations? Everyone is complaining about lost programs and damaged drives in their computers the past couple of days."

Earl hitched up his gun belt. "They installed a crane down in section Two A. It seems they figured out a way to stabilize PCB but it turns out as heavy as hell. The problem they ran into after stabilizing the damn stuff was they couldn't move it, so they installed a crane. Now it seems the power lines aren't big enough to handle the load. Anyway, when the motors kick in on the drive circuits, the lights blink because of the amperage draw. Maintenance will have it fixed tomorrow, they think. I wouldn't really count on it though, no one checked the transformer load rating. After they install the new lines, they’ll blow the power transformer. It can't handle the amp load. Makes you wonder how those guys ever got their degree in electronics, doesn't it? If you have any programs running tomorrow, you better be prepared to kiss them off. I’m betting they knock out the whole building when they fry the electric lines all the way back to the power station."

Earl told it like he knew all about transformers, ohms, resistance, and amperage draw. The truth be known, he was only repeating what he had heard from the some of the engineers in the building. It made him feel important to be able to tell everyone who noticed the blinking lights why they were flashing. It was what security guards in a big company did best, pass information, either useful or useless, from one source to another.

When the power blip occurred, Henry received a disconnect from David's computer. His own system was fail-safe but it didn't keep him from losing connections when problems occurred down the line. Karen was as well off on her own if he could distract Earl. He decided to work on it.

Earl was about to continue his conversation with Karen since he was only halfway through his shift. He had nothing better to do since the personnel in the swing shift was pretty well few and far in between in this big building. Suddenly his beeper started squawking.

"Darn, the security sentry is telling me I have a problem up at the east end of the building. Probably another false alarm. I keep telling those people I’m having problems with the security system but they don't listen. They even set up a plotter to check out bogus alarms. You want to hear something odd? Their records didn't show one single funny call after it had been hooked up for more than a week. I tell you, that security system hates me." As he briskly walked back down the hall, Earl was still muttering about all computers being nothing but trash. He left no doubt to anyone listening he hated computers.

Turning around, Karen checked the security cameras. They were beginning their sweep away from her toward the far end of the hall. Reaching into her right pocket, she retrieved the cartridge and the key. Quickly she tapped the access code into the security control panel and swept the magnetic card through the sensor. The door clicked open.

David's computer was ready and waiting. She wondered why he had left it on? It was unusual for David to leave anything out of order. He was so meticulous in everything he did. She typed in the access code. Slipping the data cartridge into the port she typed in LOAD PROGRAM and hit enter.

The computer came to life, but not in the way she expected.

ARE YOU SURE? Was the question on the screen.

It had never questioned her before. Karen was taken aback but only for a second. Yes she typed.

COMPLETE PROGRAM? It questioned.

Karen was getting miffed with this stupid computer. What had David done to her programs and computer? She designed this whole system. It never gave any problems until now. All this dumb computer needed to do was mix a couple of chemicals and plop out a couple of aspirin. Her headache was getting worse by leaps and bounds. She needed those pills now!

Karen didn't think she could handle going back to the basic program and searching for the problem, not just yet. Even if she had time, she didn't feel her concentration would last long enough to get through it. Her head felt like it was on the receiving end of a long sharp spike and someone with a mighty big hammer was banging on the other end.

She typed in. COMPLETE PROGRAM

It still wasn't cooperating. EXTRA INSTRUCTIONS?

Karen's frustrations were mounting. What would she have to do to get this computer to cough up a couple of aspirin? NO EXTRA INSTRUCTIONS RUN COMPLETE PROGRAM

HOW MANY TIMES?

Ah ha, this was more like it. TWO TIMES

The computer was strangely quiet for a long time and she decided it had lost her program. Finally, two little pills rolled into the ejection tray. Karen scooped them up, shut down the computer to standby, and pulled her data cartridge out. Having second thoughts, she turned the computer back on and erased the program from internal memory. This was David's lab, and unlike her, there were other people working with him. It wouldn't do for them to see the last program and connect her and David together in his lab. She was no longer actively working on his computer or programs. It would be a breech of security and probably get both of them fired. At the very least, she would certainly get a pink slip along with her paycheck. The company would notify her they no longer required her services.