MINE

Chapter Four

Nathan remembered the first time he met Borgina. His parents had bought him a new high end laptop as a reward for topping his 9th grade class. That laptop came with a much more efficient virtual assistant than the one he had on any of his other devices. She must have had a super optimized machine learning algorithm running because she knew things that she hadn't been 'taught'. At first, it started with simple things like his favorite color or his favorite brand of cereal but as time went on, she began to know even more complex things. 

He remembered the day he named her. His best friend, Roland had convinced him to sneak out of his house at night and go with him to a pub downtown, to help track his girlfriend down but unknown to him, Roland used that as a front to meet with an agent who specialized in illegal substances - Intoxifiers, they were called. Unfortunately, the operation was busted by the cops and though he managed to run a few blocks away from the location, he ended up in court with Roland for the hearing. The evidence tendered by the prosecution were the pictures taken from a nearby street camera in the area. As unbelievable as it appeared to him that day, all the pictures were modified to exclude him from the scene. Since there was no evidence linking him directly to the crime, he walked out a free man while Roland got time in Juvie.

Three days later, he stopped wondering how that 'miracle' happened. Borgina showed him the original photos from the scene, warning him to check with her before sneaking out of the house in the future. Nathan was more than grateful. To him, she was no longer just an assistant but also a trusted friend. Since she was based on artificial intelligence and the name of his first ever crush was Gina, he combined the words 'Cyborg' and 'Gina' to give her the name she now had.

 While he thought the name was creative and unique, Borgina thought it was the most ridiculous name on the planet. According to her, Borg or just plain Cyborg would have been a much better choice but he knew it was only because she didn't like his first crush, Gina. He discarded her opinion on the name and stuck with it regardless.

"MoonEx to Nathan." Her voice brought him to the present once again.

"I can't believe you just modified that." He laughed.

"You were zoning out again." She stated calmly.

"I was thinking about you." Nathan replied.

For a brief moment, there was a smile on Borgina's face. It was quickly replaced by her usual calm expression.

"Yeah, right." She teased.

She proceeded to explain the information in the documentation and as she spoke, more questions arose in his mind. He knew there were things he needed to find out for himself but he had no idea how... yet.

He also knew that he couldn't tell Borgina about his plans because she would go as far as sabotaging them if she felt they would endanger him in any way. It was not like he was asking for death but to live according to someone else's unexplained rules was just as good as dying. He made up his mind to find things out, regardless of the cost. At least if he died, he would get to be with the love of his life once again.

* Hey guys. What do you think of Nathan and Borgina? I'd love to find out. Until tomorrow, cheerios :) *