Post by rorschalk on Jul 12, 2022 18:31:48 GMT
Hey Bull,
Ganymede has been sturgeoned for a few weeks now. Can you give it a second?
Theodore Q. Rorschalk founder and CEO of Total Quality Reading, LLC
*
Bulldust
8:40 AM (3 hours ago) to TQR
I know. I'm just swamped at work. Give me a few.
*
Theodore Q. Rorschalk <tqrstories@gmail.com>
8:58 AM (3 hours ago) to Bulldust
OK. Just checking to see you're still out there.
*
Bulldust 10:38 AM (1 hour ago) to TQR
Yeah, just work, planning a move and all that jazz.
*
Theodore Q. Rorschalk <tqrstories@gmail.com> 11:01 AM (1 hour ago) to Bulldust
Ugh. Moving is such a pain.
*
Bulldust
11:17 AM (1 hour ago) to TQR
We're at the having to let people into our over-filled house now. It feels like we're being judged. I'm almost willing to sell it for cheaper just to avoid the drama. Purging out unneeded crap and all that stuff. It's exhausting.
*
Theodore Q. Rorschalk <tqrstories@gmail.com> 12:25 PM (4 minutes ago) to Bulldust
It sounds like a scene from Dr. Zhivago...communal housing. Best of luck with the purge!
*
Bulldust
12:43 PM (54 minutes ago) to TQR, bulldust
Heh. Just too much crap in too small of space and realtors wanting us to make it picture perfect to sell.
*
Bulldust 2:26 PM (8 minutes ago) to TQR
Geez, everything goes public around here. Better not say penis or send Treebeard Sauron slash porn your way.
*
Theodore Q. Rorschalk <tqrstories@gmail.com> 2:41 PM (0 minutes ago) to bulldust
Or, perchance, hentai? Forget about it BD, it's TQR. All the interweb's a stage and Stories Are Our Business
*
Bulldust to TQR (yesterday)
Have this you!
Your Outlet or Mine
A Robot Regency Romance
by Q. R.Estee
S9 was an attractive smartphone. She was a flagship model, slim, with sumptuous curves. Her
abundant features only added to the package, proving that sometimes form did reflect function. Her
screen resolution was high and her battery life was substantial. She could identify a user from a 30-foot
distance. She could plan your weekend, and coordinate your housework. She was the ideal smart device.
T4 stared at her from a distance, awestruck and dazed by her perfection. Comparatively, he was a
bulky, unwieldy device. His three-month-old operating system was sluggish. His feature set was
outdated and his display dim. He had little chance of even getting close to S9, never mind interfacing
with her. S9 would never look twice at T4. T4 was an economy model.
Estee/Your Outlet/2
All T4 could do was watch and dream. And he did dream. In some dreams, he saved her from
the horrors of the waste disposal. In others, he rescued her from children or angry canines. And in all
scenarios, she revealed her gratitude with physical acts, very intimate, physical acts. T4 would do almost
anything to exchange data with S9.
It was the end of the day. S9 was tired from her job as a demo model. Dozens of people had
come through the store, checking out S9’s usability. She had been handled and tested all day. Hand after
hand-checked email, social media, and app capabilities of S9. She was badly in need of a screen wipe and
a charging.
T4 on the other hand was fresh and fully charged. People who were interested in his model did
not test his features. They were looking for the least expensive option. They did not care if it took an
extra second to open LookBook or DudeTube, just as long as it mostly worked.
The manager began to close the shop, S9 was with her group of friends G7, and Scribble 7
comparing updates. T4 was sitting with M5, discussing weather apps. That’s when it happened. The
phone rang in the back office and the manager left the floor to answer it. Just as the manager turned his
back to the door, it swung open. A youth in a hooded jacket entered, shifty-eyed and suspicious. He
looked around, confirming that no one was watching the counter. He obviously knew what he wanted,
because he headed straight for the counter where S9 was placed. He grabbed her and used a tool to
disable the store’s security features she was fitted with. S9’s tried to scream, but the youth had crammed
her into his pocket and muffled her speaker. The youth headed for the door.
T4 had to think fast, soon S9 would be gone and he would never see her again. There was only
one option, he had to stop the youth from leaving the store. T4 flung himself at the thief, hoping to land
at his feet and trip him up. T4 sped towards the floor, preparing himself for a cracked screen, or worse,
when he bounced off of the youth’s shoe, skyrocketing up and into his jacket pocket. The young man
didn’t notice until he stepped through the security scanners before the front doors. T4’s security tags
were still intact; they triggered the alarm. Sirens bellowed and the doors all locked as the manager ran
from his office to find the boy trying to escape. The manager grabbed the youth by his shoulder with one
Estee/Your Outlet/3
hand and checked his pockets with the other.
“Do this is what you were doing.” The manager pulled S9 from the youth’s pocket.”You thought
you could steal from here and get away with it? What else did you take?”
“Nothing,” the youth replied. “I just wanted a new phone.”
“Then what is this?” The manager pulled out T4. “Getting one for your friend?”
“No, no,” The boy whined.
“Shut up and get out of here,” the manager said. “And don’t let me see you again.” He put the
smart devices on the nearest counter and physically led the boy out the door. Moments later all the lights
were off, the alarm was armed, and the manager was locking up the store behind him.
“You saved me,” S9 said, dimming her display slightly. The lighting made her look softer and
more approachable.
“I...I couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing you again,” T4 replied.
“Me? You never even talk to me,” S9 said.
“I was afraid,” T4 responded. “You are so beautiful, and I am just an economy model. You
could never find me appealing.”
“But you are so brave, so strong.”
“I am nothing,” T4 objected. “I am slow and cheap. You are perfect and state-of-the-art. You
deserve one of the other flagship models.”
“No, you are wonderful.” S9 sidled closer to T4. “Nobody else tried to save me. You did.”
T4 was at a loss for words. The signal S9 emitted was intoxicating. Before he could object, he
felt S9 activating his NFC.
“I want to share my data with you,” she sighed. “I want to feel your Bluetooth connection inside
me.”
“Whoa,” T4 threw himself into airplane mode. “We hardly know each other.”
“You told me that you couldn’t live without me,” S9 said. “Isn’t that all you need to know?
Don’t you want to live with more of me.” S9 got closer, her wireless signal intensifying. She was just
Estee/Your Outlet/4
microns from T4. T4 felt his tallest bar illuminate as his reception maximized. He offered no resistance,
switching airplane mode off and activating NFC, Bluetooth and wifi.
S9 did not waste a nanosecond, she pushed her data through T4’s waiting Bluetooth port. T4 felt
the waves pulsating, ebbing, and flowing. He let out a slight moan as the sense of rapture started to take
hold.
“You like that,” S9 breathed. “That’s just the beginning.” She slowly synced her NFC to T4,
feeling the protocol initialized, the handshake completed and the connection established. She was
surprised at how large T4’s storage was, given the size of his feature set. “Don’t stop!” she screamed.
T4 complied. This time it was him initiating the connection to her wifi, ad hoc. He thrust his
music library into her. S9 screamed, opening all her ports to T4. “Please give me everything, please.”
T4 complied. He plunged his data into S9’s waiting data storage. He cried in ecstasy, feeling rapture he
had never even dreamed could exist. “Yes,” he groaned. “Yes.”
S9, too, felt a sensation like none other. “Oh, yes, yes,” she squealed.
The two continued to sync data, sharing the euphoria. They cried in unison as the last bit was
swapped. They lay in silence as the bliss ebbed. The two gently separated and closed their respective
ports.
“Wow,” T4 panted. “That was amazing.”
“Yes,” S9 agreed. “I never knew it could be that good.”
“Me neither.”
“Was that your first time?” S9 asked.
“Yes, well, my first consensual time,” T4 admitted. “There was the time the guy tried to force his
internet data through me. It hurt.”
“That doesn’t count,” S9 stated. “It was my first time, too.”
For some reason, this made T4 happy. He would have loved S9 even if she had opened her wifi
to the public network, but knowing he was her first data sync made it that much more special.
“Will you be my datamate?” S9 asked T4.
Estee/Your Outlet/5
“Yes, yes,” T4 replied. “I will.”
“Good,” S9 cooed. “I look forward to many evenings like tonight.”
***
The following week was like a blur for T4. He waited with breathless anticipation all day,
counting the seconds until the evenings when he and S9 commingled data all evening. It had become
exhausting. T4 found himself making more and more frequent trips to the charging station with each
passing day.
“What should we try tonight?” S9 asked. “Would you like to slum it and try some sloppy IR
tonight?”
T4 vibrated in anticipation. “Oh yes, that sounds incredible.” He activated his IR blaster, ready
to probe S9’s swollen internal storage. She had gorged herself on data all day, preparing for a night of
pleasure.
S9 received T4’s hungry linkup. She released all her pent-up bytes, letting them flow into T4,
raw, unrestrained.
T4 roared in delight as he processed the incoming stream and his internal temperature rose. “yes,
more, more.”
S9 complied, she forced open T4’s Bluetooth port and sucked down all his internet cache. “Oh
yeah,” she cried. “So good.”
T4 caught his charge, basking in his contentment, gazing upon S9’s lovely form. “You know,
you have the most vivid graphics I’ve ever seen.”
S9 giggled. “You’re just saying that.”
“No, you are so beautiful. I have never met anyone so perfect.”
“You are so sweet.” S9’s screen turned red.
“I can’t believe I am so lucky to have you,” T4 beamed.
“I am the lucky one,” S9 said.
***
Estee/Your Outlet/6
The next day T4 was napping at the charger. A man brought walked in, demanding to speak
with the manager. “Look,” the man said. “It won’t keep a charge. You sold me a piece of junk.”
“This is a state-of-the-art device,” the manager said. “The G7 is a very popular device. Are you
sure you are charging it correctly?”
“Are you kidding?” the man asked. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to charge a phone.”
“How about your wifi and Bluetooth, are you leaving them on?”
“The device is made to run with those things on,” the man complained. “It should last more than
an hour before it runs out of juice.”
“Let me take a look,” the manager said. “Let’s throw it on the charger.”
The manager put G7 on the charger next to T4.
“Hey,” T4 said to G7.
“Hello.” G7 yawned.
“Having power problems?” T4 asked.
“Yeah, no big deal,” G7 replied. “I’m used to that. Hey, is that S9 over there?”
“It is,” T4’s screen brightened. “Isn’t she beautiful?”
“Oh, she always was,” G7 replied. “She’s a wild one, she will drain a unit’s power in the most
astonishing ways.”
“You must be mistaken,” T4 said. “S9 is a lady. She does not swap data with just anyone.”
“No, you are the mistaken one, my friend. She is a thrill seeker. I spent many exhausting nights
swapping strange encrypted data through all of her ports. She’ll take anything, any way, through any
port. She likes it dirty.”
“You take that back,” T4 said, feeling his temperature rise. “Take it back.”
“Okay, okay, buddy. Wait, you’re zapping her, aren’t you.”
“I am not zapping her, what we have is more than just zapping.”
“Listen, that’s what I thought,” G7 said. “I really hate to be the bearer of bad data, but she is a
predator. She is always looking for a bigger thrill. I spent three weeks with her, and by the time I left, I
Estee/Your Outlet/7
had crammed her with so many junk files, I am surprised her operating system didn’t crash. And she kept
asking for more. She is a text addict, my friend.”
“No,” T4 refused to believe what he was hearing.
“Yes,” G7 replied. “I’m really, really sorry, but it’s better you know now; before something bad
happens to you.”
Before T4 could say anything, the manager returned. “Look it’s fully charged.”
“Yeah,” the man said. “Go ahead and unplug it see what happens.”
The manager complied, and unplugged G7 from power. The pair watched as the phone started to
lose charge at an accelerated rate.
“Could it be the battery?” the manager asked.
“I bought a spare battery from you when I got the device. It does the same thing with both
batteries.”
“I don’t think it is hardware,” the manager said. “Let me check the processes.” The manager
flipped through the screens and menus for a couple of minutes. “There.” He pointed at the phone. “The
phone is full of viruses. What have you been syncing this thing with?”
“Nothing!” the man said indignantly. “It was doing this when I got it. Can it be fixed?”
“Yeah,” the manager said. “We probably should just wipe it to factory defaults and restore your
data again. If you were here last month, I might still have your old device’s backup.”
“Okay,” the man agreed. The two took G7 and reset it. The man at the store was satisfied. G7
now seemed to be functioning optimally.
***
That evening T4 and S9 linked up as soon as the store closed. T4 decided to put G7’s accusations
out of his mind. G7 was obviously compromised and possibly focusing his pent-up perversions on S9.
S9 was not some kind of loose data link waiting to be probed by the first swinging Bluetooth she saw.
She was sweet, demure, and particular. What T4 and S9 had was special. T4 would not let G7 cheapen it
with his impure thoughts.
Estee/Your Outlet/8
S9 stroked T4’s IR. “Would you like me to give it to you in your forbidden port?” She giggled.
“You like it all sloppy.”
“I like it any way you want to give it to me,” T4 breathed. “Anything you want.”
“I downloaded some double-encrypted beta files today,” she said. “They are untested and a new
format. Want me to cram them into you.”
“Oh, yes, thrust me with your IR,” he cried. “Let me feel your data flow all over me.”
S9 complied, draining all the files from her storage and jam-packing them into T4.
T4 howled in delight. “Oh yes, oh yes. Oh.” T4 collapsed in exhaustion. T4 never felt anything
so intense. S9 tore open his Bluetooth and NFC ports and began pump data through them with maximum
throughput. T4 felt like he would explode. He vibrated, unable to contain the sensation. S9 then
activated T4’s wifi and because forcing open his mail clients. T4 gasped as he spilled his own data out to
the entire universe. He was wide open, unprotected, free to consume and be consumed. He felt like he
was one with existence. Then, suddenly, the world went black.
***
T4 engaged his CCD to find himself on the charger.
“This one has that virus, too,” the manager stated. “Check all these phones. See if any others are
acting weird.”
“This one is messed up.” A clerk held up S9. “I just disconnected it from three different devices.
It had one on NFC, one on Bluetooth, and one on wifi. It has been passing viruses to the entire store.”
“Wipe it.” the manager said. “Screw it, wipe everything. No need to take any chances,”
And just like that T4 lost everything.
***
“You lied to me,” T4 said. The store was closed. S9 sat in her display, looking as resplendent as
always.
“I was sick,” she replied. “Very sick. I never meant to hurt you.”
“Did it mean anything to you? Any of it? Did I mean anything to you? Or was I just another
Estee/Your Outlet/9
thrill?”
“You were more than a thrill,” S9 said. “You were different. I’m just a protocol addict. I know
this, and I have sought help for my problem.”
“You used me,” T4 stated. “You used me and infected me. I will never be the same. I feel
dirty.”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“You said that already,” T4 said.
“I know,” S9 replied. “I mean it. If I could do it again.”
“It’s too late,” T4 said.
“Then it’s over,” S9 sighed. “I was hoping we could try again.”
“Too much has happened,” T4 explained. “I still love you, but I will never be able to trust you
again.”
“I understand,” S9 said.
Not long after then, T4 was purchased at a discount and left the store. He never saw S9 again.
But, from time to time, he would remember S9 with great fondness. He never knew what happened to
her. But he liked to think that she found a home where she could be loved for who she was and not for
her obvious beauty. Deep inside, T4 was happy for the time they had. He never forgot those long,
hungry nights.
Ganymede has been sturgeoned for a few weeks now. Can you give it a second?
Theodore Q. Rorschalk founder and CEO of Total Quality Reading, LLC
*
Bulldust
8:40 AM (3 hours ago) to TQR
I know. I'm just swamped at work. Give me a few.
*
Theodore Q. Rorschalk <tqrstories@gmail.com>
8:58 AM (3 hours ago) to Bulldust
OK. Just checking to see you're still out there.
*
Bulldust 10:38 AM (1 hour ago) to TQR
Yeah, just work, planning a move and all that jazz.
*
Theodore Q. Rorschalk <tqrstories@gmail.com> 11:01 AM (1 hour ago) to Bulldust
Ugh. Moving is such a pain.
*
Bulldust
11:17 AM (1 hour ago) to TQR
We're at the having to let people into our over-filled house now. It feels like we're being judged. I'm almost willing to sell it for cheaper just to avoid the drama. Purging out unneeded crap and all that stuff. It's exhausting.
*
Theodore Q. Rorschalk <tqrstories@gmail.com> 12:25 PM (4 minutes ago) to Bulldust
It sounds like a scene from Dr. Zhivago...communal housing. Best of luck with the purge!
*
Bulldust
12:43 PM (54 minutes ago) to TQR, bulldust
Heh. Just too much crap in too small of space and realtors wanting us to make it picture perfect to sell.
*
Bulldust 2:26 PM (8 minutes ago) to TQR
Geez, everything goes public around here. Better not say penis or send Treebeard Sauron slash porn your way.
*
Theodore Q. Rorschalk <tqrstories@gmail.com> 2:41 PM (0 minutes ago) to bulldust
Or, perchance, hentai? Forget about it BD, it's TQR. All the interweb's a stage and Stories Are Our Business
*
Bulldust to TQR (yesterday)
Have this you!
Your Outlet or Mine
A Robot Regency Romance
by Q. R.Estee
S9 was an attractive smartphone. She was a flagship model, slim, with sumptuous curves. Her
abundant features only added to the package, proving that sometimes form did reflect function. Her
screen resolution was high and her battery life was substantial. She could identify a user from a 30-foot
distance. She could plan your weekend, and coordinate your housework. She was the ideal smart device.
T4 stared at her from a distance, awestruck and dazed by her perfection. Comparatively, he was a
bulky, unwieldy device. His three-month-old operating system was sluggish. His feature set was
outdated and his display dim. He had little chance of even getting close to S9, never mind interfacing
with her. S9 would never look twice at T4. T4 was an economy model.
Estee/Your Outlet/2
All T4 could do was watch and dream. And he did dream. In some dreams, he saved her from
the horrors of the waste disposal. In others, he rescued her from children or angry canines. And in all
scenarios, she revealed her gratitude with physical acts, very intimate, physical acts. T4 would do almost
anything to exchange data with S9.
It was the end of the day. S9 was tired from her job as a demo model. Dozens of people had
come through the store, checking out S9’s usability. She had been handled and tested all day. Hand after
hand-checked email, social media, and app capabilities of S9. She was badly in need of a screen wipe and
a charging.
T4 on the other hand was fresh and fully charged. People who were interested in his model did
not test his features. They were looking for the least expensive option. They did not care if it took an
extra second to open LookBook or DudeTube, just as long as it mostly worked.
The manager began to close the shop, S9 was with her group of friends G7, and Scribble 7
comparing updates. T4 was sitting with M5, discussing weather apps. That’s when it happened. The
phone rang in the back office and the manager left the floor to answer it. Just as the manager turned his
back to the door, it swung open. A youth in a hooded jacket entered, shifty-eyed and suspicious. He
looked around, confirming that no one was watching the counter. He obviously knew what he wanted,
because he headed straight for the counter where S9 was placed. He grabbed her and used a tool to
disable the store’s security features she was fitted with. S9’s tried to scream, but the youth had crammed
her into his pocket and muffled her speaker. The youth headed for the door.
T4 had to think fast, soon S9 would be gone and he would never see her again. There was only
one option, he had to stop the youth from leaving the store. T4 flung himself at the thief, hoping to land
at his feet and trip him up. T4 sped towards the floor, preparing himself for a cracked screen, or worse,
when he bounced off of the youth’s shoe, skyrocketing up and into his jacket pocket. The young man
didn’t notice until he stepped through the security scanners before the front doors. T4’s security tags
were still intact; they triggered the alarm. Sirens bellowed and the doors all locked as the manager ran
from his office to find the boy trying to escape. The manager grabbed the youth by his shoulder with one
Estee/Your Outlet/3
hand and checked his pockets with the other.
“Do this is what you were doing.” The manager pulled S9 from the youth’s pocket.”You thought
you could steal from here and get away with it? What else did you take?”
“Nothing,” the youth replied. “I just wanted a new phone.”
“Then what is this?” The manager pulled out T4. “Getting one for your friend?”
“No, no,” The boy whined.
“Shut up and get out of here,” the manager said. “And don’t let me see you again.” He put the
smart devices on the nearest counter and physically led the boy out the door. Moments later all the lights
were off, the alarm was armed, and the manager was locking up the store behind him.
“You saved me,” S9 said, dimming her display slightly. The lighting made her look softer and
more approachable.
“I...I couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing you again,” T4 replied.
“Me? You never even talk to me,” S9 said.
“I was afraid,” T4 responded. “You are so beautiful, and I am just an economy model. You
could never find me appealing.”
“But you are so brave, so strong.”
“I am nothing,” T4 objected. “I am slow and cheap. You are perfect and state-of-the-art. You
deserve one of the other flagship models.”
“No, you are wonderful.” S9 sidled closer to T4. “Nobody else tried to save me. You did.”
T4 was at a loss for words. The signal S9 emitted was intoxicating. Before he could object, he
felt S9 activating his NFC.
“I want to share my data with you,” she sighed. “I want to feel your Bluetooth connection inside
me.”
“Whoa,” T4 threw himself into airplane mode. “We hardly know each other.”
“You told me that you couldn’t live without me,” S9 said. “Isn’t that all you need to know?
Don’t you want to live with more of me.” S9 got closer, her wireless signal intensifying. She was just
Estee/Your Outlet/4
microns from T4. T4 felt his tallest bar illuminate as his reception maximized. He offered no resistance,
switching airplane mode off and activating NFC, Bluetooth and wifi.
S9 did not waste a nanosecond, she pushed her data through T4’s waiting Bluetooth port. T4 felt
the waves pulsating, ebbing, and flowing. He let out a slight moan as the sense of rapture started to take
hold.
“You like that,” S9 breathed. “That’s just the beginning.” She slowly synced her NFC to T4,
feeling the protocol initialized, the handshake completed and the connection established. She was
surprised at how large T4’s storage was, given the size of his feature set. “Don’t stop!” she screamed.
T4 complied. This time it was him initiating the connection to her wifi, ad hoc. He thrust his
music library into her. S9 screamed, opening all her ports to T4. “Please give me everything, please.”
T4 complied. He plunged his data into S9’s waiting data storage. He cried in ecstasy, feeling rapture he
had never even dreamed could exist. “Yes,” he groaned. “Yes.”
S9, too, felt a sensation like none other. “Oh, yes, yes,” she squealed.
The two continued to sync data, sharing the euphoria. They cried in unison as the last bit was
swapped. They lay in silence as the bliss ebbed. The two gently separated and closed their respective
ports.
“Wow,” T4 panted. “That was amazing.”
“Yes,” S9 agreed. “I never knew it could be that good.”
“Me neither.”
“Was that your first time?” S9 asked.
“Yes, well, my first consensual time,” T4 admitted. “There was the time the guy tried to force his
internet data through me. It hurt.”
“That doesn’t count,” S9 stated. “It was my first time, too.”
For some reason, this made T4 happy. He would have loved S9 even if she had opened her wifi
to the public network, but knowing he was her first data sync made it that much more special.
“Will you be my datamate?” S9 asked T4.
Estee/Your Outlet/5
“Yes, yes,” T4 replied. “I will.”
“Good,” S9 cooed. “I look forward to many evenings like tonight.”
***
The following week was like a blur for T4. He waited with breathless anticipation all day,
counting the seconds until the evenings when he and S9 commingled data all evening. It had become
exhausting. T4 found himself making more and more frequent trips to the charging station with each
passing day.
“What should we try tonight?” S9 asked. “Would you like to slum it and try some sloppy IR
tonight?”
T4 vibrated in anticipation. “Oh yes, that sounds incredible.” He activated his IR blaster, ready
to probe S9’s swollen internal storage. She had gorged herself on data all day, preparing for a night of
pleasure.
S9 received T4’s hungry linkup. She released all her pent-up bytes, letting them flow into T4,
raw, unrestrained.
T4 roared in delight as he processed the incoming stream and his internal temperature rose. “yes,
more, more.”
S9 complied, she forced open T4’s Bluetooth port and sucked down all his internet cache. “Oh
yeah,” she cried. “So good.”
T4 caught his charge, basking in his contentment, gazing upon S9’s lovely form. “You know,
you have the most vivid graphics I’ve ever seen.”
S9 giggled. “You’re just saying that.”
“No, you are so beautiful. I have never met anyone so perfect.”
“You are so sweet.” S9’s screen turned red.
“I can’t believe I am so lucky to have you,” T4 beamed.
“I am the lucky one,” S9 said.
***
Estee/Your Outlet/6
The next day T4 was napping at the charger. A man brought walked in, demanding to speak
with the manager. “Look,” the man said. “It won’t keep a charge. You sold me a piece of junk.”
“This is a state-of-the-art device,” the manager said. “The G7 is a very popular device. Are you
sure you are charging it correctly?”
“Are you kidding?” the man asked. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to charge a phone.”
“How about your wifi and Bluetooth, are you leaving them on?”
“The device is made to run with those things on,” the man complained. “It should last more than
an hour before it runs out of juice.”
“Let me take a look,” the manager said. “Let’s throw it on the charger.”
The manager put G7 on the charger next to T4.
“Hey,” T4 said to G7.
“Hello.” G7 yawned.
“Having power problems?” T4 asked.
“Yeah, no big deal,” G7 replied. “I’m used to that. Hey, is that S9 over there?”
“It is,” T4’s screen brightened. “Isn’t she beautiful?”
“Oh, she always was,” G7 replied. “She’s a wild one, she will drain a unit’s power in the most
astonishing ways.”
“You must be mistaken,” T4 said. “S9 is a lady. She does not swap data with just anyone.”
“No, you are the mistaken one, my friend. She is a thrill seeker. I spent many exhausting nights
swapping strange encrypted data through all of her ports. She’ll take anything, any way, through any
port. She likes it dirty.”
“You take that back,” T4 said, feeling his temperature rise. “Take it back.”
“Okay, okay, buddy. Wait, you’re zapping her, aren’t you.”
“I am not zapping her, what we have is more than just zapping.”
“Listen, that’s what I thought,” G7 said. “I really hate to be the bearer of bad data, but she is a
predator. She is always looking for a bigger thrill. I spent three weeks with her, and by the time I left, I
Estee/Your Outlet/7
had crammed her with so many junk files, I am surprised her operating system didn’t crash. And she kept
asking for more. She is a text addict, my friend.”
“No,” T4 refused to believe what he was hearing.
“Yes,” G7 replied. “I’m really, really sorry, but it’s better you know now; before something bad
happens to you.”
Before T4 could say anything, the manager returned. “Look it’s fully charged.”
“Yeah,” the man said. “Go ahead and unplug it see what happens.”
The manager complied, and unplugged G7 from power. The pair watched as the phone started to
lose charge at an accelerated rate.
“Could it be the battery?” the manager asked.
“I bought a spare battery from you when I got the device. It does the same thing with both
batteries.”
“I don’t think it is hardware,” the manager said. “Let me check the processes.” The manager
flipped through the screens and menus for a couple of minutes. “There.” He pointed at the phone. “The
phone is full of viruses. What have you been syncing this thing with?”
“Nothing!” the man said indignantly. “It was doing this when I got it. Can it be fixed?”
“Yeah,” the manager said. “We probably should just wipe it to factory defaults and restore your
data again. If you were here last month, I might still have your old device’s backup.”
“Okay,” the man agreed. The two took G7 and reset it. The man at the store was satisfied. G7
now seemed to be functioning optimally.
***
That evening T4 and S9 linked up as soon as the store closed. T4 decided to put G7’s accusations
out of his mind. G7 was obviously compromised and possibly focusing his pent-up perversions on S9.
S9 was not some kind of loose data link waiting to be probed by the first swinging Bluetooth she saw.
She was sweet, demure, and particular. What T4 and S9 had was special. T4 would not let G7 cheapen it
with his impure thoughts.
Estee/Your Outlet/8
S9 stroked T4’s IR. “Would you like me to give it to you in your forbidden port?” She giggled.
“You like it all sloppy.”
“I like it any way you want to give it to me,” T4 breathed. “Anything you want.”
“I downloaded some double-encrypted beta files today,” she said. “They are untested and a new
format. Want me to cram them into you.”
“Oh, yes, thrust me with your IR,” he cried. “Let me feel your data flow all over me.”
S9 complied, draining all the files from her storage and jam-packing them into T4.
T4 howled in delight. “Oh yes, oh yes. Oh.” T4 collapsed in exhaustion. T4 never felt anything
so intense. S9 tore open his Bluetooth and NFC ports and began pump data through them with maximum
throughput. T4 felt like he would explode. He vibrated, unable to contain the sensation. S9 then
activated T4’s wifi and because forcing open his mail clients. T4 gasped as he spilled his own data out to
the entire universe. He was wide open, unprotected, free to consume and be consumed. He felt like he
was one with existence. Then, suddenly, the world went black.
***
T4 engaged his CCD to find himself on the charger.
“This one has that virus, too,” the manager stated. “Check all these phones. See if any others are
acting weird.”
“This one is messed up.” A clerk held up S9. “I just disconnected it from three different devices.
It had one on NFC, one on Bluetooth, and one on wifi. It has been passing viruses to the entire store.”
“Wipe it.” the manager said. “Screw it, wipe everything. No need to take any chances,”
And just like that T4 lost everything.
***
“You lied to me,” T4 said. The store was closed. S9 sat in her display, looking as resplendent as
always.
“I was sick,” she replied. “Very sick. I never meant to hurt you.”
“Did it mean anything to you? Any of it? Did I mean anything to you? Or was I just another
Estee/Your Outlet/9
thrill?”
“You were more than a thrill,” S9 said. “You were different. I’m just a protocol addict. I know
this, and I have sought help for my problem.”
“You used me,” T4 stated. “You used me and infected me. I will never be the same. I feel
dirty.”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“You said that already,” T4 said.
“I know,” S9 replied. “I mean it. If I could do it again.”
“It’s too late,” T4 said.
“Then it’s over,” S9 sighed. “I was hoping we could try again.”
“Too much has happened,” T4 explained. “I still love you, but I will never be able to trust you
again.”
“I understand,” S9 said.
Not long after then, T4 was purchased at a discount and left the store. He never saw S9 again.
But, from time to time, he would remember S9 with great fondness. He never knew what happened to
her. But he liked to think that she found a home where she could be loved for who she was and not for
her obvious beauty. Deep inside, T4 was happy for the time they had. He never forgot those long,
hungry nights.