Mirror

Chapter 1: Pi Squared

Now my co mates and my partners in exile,

Hath not old custom made this life more sweet

Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods

More free from peril than the curious court?

Here feel we but the penalty of Adam.

-As You Like It

Kyli tapped the pencil against the tip of her nose, like she always did when she was thinking. She could almost hear the gears in her head, whirring and creaking. Perhaps some new ones were needed.

She sighed and stood, then changed her mind and sat down on the hard metal chair. She was angry. She felt a little surprised by this outburst of emotion; her anger was rarely visible. After all, feelings could be contained, and Kyli was usually very good at keeping them just that way.

A lock of auburn hair fell into her eyes, but she didn't mind. This particular curl was always out of place. She brushed it slightly to the side to see better, then set the pencil down.

Kyli pulled a sheet of glass, bound in metal, towards her and spoke aloud to it.

"My answer: There is no answer; Pi is undefinable. Send code 4-1-3-89-84-2-Kyli."

"Message relayed." Returned the unit, speaking in Kyli's voice, the best thing she had for her purposes. "Stay tuned to 4-1-3-89-84-2-Kyli?"

"Affirmative. Hold connection until response is received."

"Code required to fulfill operation."

Kyli sighed and repeated the code, which was accepted.

There was a silence-filled pause, devoid of any whirring from the"Net-Hack", as it was known among the Onlies. Kyli had hacked into the Old Ones' network system to transmit and monitor communications nearly 5 weeks before.

Typical of the Old Ones, they did not confiscate the device once they discovered it, but allowed Kyli to keep it and continue development. It was in the early stages of perfection, if she did say so herself.

The current problem was voice analyzation. She couldn't get it to separate her voice waves for more than a millisecond, and therefore it couldn't scan them and verify identity. Kyli was tired of putting in her code.

"Voice link from the Old Ones has been activated. Authorize? "

"Affirmative. " And before the NH could request it, she rattled off, "Code 4-1-3-89-84-2-Kyli."

The voice of the youngest Old One rang through the room.

"Your assumption is correct, Kyli. Pi cannot be defined, so, accordingly--" The sentence ended abruptly.

"Voice link has been terminated," The NH proclaimed. "Network issues standard: 409. There may be a virus invasion within--"

Kyli hissed and grabbed the machine, slamming it into the desk. This NH unit wasn't important. She had dozens. She huffed, annoyed at her reasoning. It might be true, but she shouldn't go around breaking things. And yet, there was something satisfying about it. She stared down at the cracked screen and grinned to herself.

Snapping out of it, she gave another huff. Wondering why she was so emotional today, Kyli stormed out the door.