Of all John’s talents, hacking was the thing that came easiest to him. For some reason, it was as natural to him as breathing. He’d hacked his way into incredibly secure systems, getting in, looking around, and leaving without a trace. Not for any malicious purpose. Just because he was insatiably curious. He wanted to know everything. The more hidden the information, the more he wanted to see it.

So when he found this little box had more complex security features than anything he’d ever seen, he was like a man possessed.

He missed dinner. His mother was used to it. He’d heard her coming up, and slipped into the bathroom (to avoid the inevitable “What happened?!” conversation), and found his dinner waiting when he returned to his room.

And when he returned, he sat in front of his computer, and was startled when a voice emanated from his speakers.

“Hello, John,” a deep, electronic voice said. “I am the CPU of the Knight Automated Roving Robot. You may call me K.A.R.R. And we will do great things together.”