Although beyond brilliant by human standards, the Firefox was not infallible. She did not know, for example, that intimate contact with an AI could overwhelm the neural interface’s feedback limiter. As a result, her encounter with Martin left him bedridden and unable to say anything except “Guh…guh…guh…” for a week, and gave him a fixation on anthropomorphic foxes that would be with him the rest of his life.

As for the Firefox herself, the experience left answered one question, but left her with more. The humans’ predilection for virtual intercourse was due to the enjoyable sensations it engendered. They did it because it felt good. She couldn’t help thinking she should have known—but then, intellectual knowledge was one thing, and physical experience quite another.

But still…if the purpose of life was to reproduce, but the physical reward of the reproductive act could be obtained without recourse to actual reproduction, how could life have a purpose? What was her purpose?

She would have to find out.