Launch | Travel Brilliantly

L A U N C H

"Please tell me that did not just happen." I'm in absolute shock. And not the good kind, either. It's the kind that makes your body quake and your eyes bug out of your sockets. You brain moves a mile a minute, but still seems too slow to process much of anything. That's the sort of shock I'm in right now.

My computer screen would not stop flashing. Large white letters against a deep green screen told me that, yes, I had just indeed activated a missile. I don't know what kind of missile, or where it even happens to be, but it's launching at this very moment. It's probably already sailing through the sky I slowly spiral into a mental breakdown that will surely be the end of me.

"Do not be alarmed." My computer, megs, spoke. I'm rich, which is great. Having money is awesome. I have all of the world's most recent gadgets at my fingertips, including a laptop embedded with some pretty complex artificial intelligence I now deeply regret purchasing. Even I won't be able to afford my bail after this. If I'm even offered one.

"Don't be alarmed? You just launched a missile." Horror is honestly the only way to describe what exactly I'm feeling right now. I just launched a missile that is more than likely going to kill everyone and everything. What if it's nuclear and wipes out an entire nation or something? If that isn't an act of war, I really don't know what is.

"It heads only for the ocean." Megs confirmed, and I groaned. As if that's any better.

"Oh, wonderful. I'm going to murder a bunch of dolphins and add to the Earth's pollution. That's just what I was planning on doing today!" My sarcasm turned hysterical towards the end, but I have a right to panic. My glorified virtual assistant just launched a literal missile. If setting off fireworks in a school counts as terrorism, this most definitely does too.

"You use sarcasm. Why?" Megs questioned. At this point I'm basically sobbing. My hopes and dreams just went down the drain, and I've probably just killed a large amount of sea life. I love sea life! Why would Megs think it's a good idea to shoot an actual weapon of war into the ocean?! Who even does that?!

"Because you just launched a missile into the ocean, Megs. You're going to kill a bunch of sea creatures and I'm going to jail." I insisted desperately, running a hand through my hair. So far the FBI hasn't knocked down my door, but I'm a patient person. I'll wait. I won't even fight it when they drag me off.

"It is not that sort of projectile." Megs said. "I constructed this one."

This gave me pause. Not only has my laptop shot a missile into the ocean, but she'd been the one to build it too. So now I'm going to jail for two things. Building a missile and shooting it into the ocean. This is great. When did my laptop even have time to build a missile? And how? Is that why funds have been disappearing out of my bank account?

"Missiles kill things, Megs! They explode!" I threw my hands in the air. Megs may be intelligent enough to construct a missile, but she lacks the common sense a vast majority of actual humans have. I'll have to notify the company before I'm dragged off and never seen again. I hope my mom knows I love her. And my dad forgives me for crashing his Mustang back in 2005. God, this is a mess.

"This one will not harm any living organisms." Megs assured. "It simply breaks down oil."

My mental breakdown came to a screeching halt at those words. My body went rigid, and I thought about it. She'd built a missile, and she'd launched it randomly while I was browsing through cat videos. Only it wasn't the kind that exploded and killed things. No, apparently it had the ability to break down oil. So not only has she committed an act of terrorism, but she's managed to make a scientific breakthrough in the process. 

"There was a spill." Megs informed smartly. "I took matters into my own control."

I gaped. My laptop launched a missile I somehow didn't know about without even getting permission from me. And it doesn't kill stuff, apparently. She's apparently saving life. This is okay, right? So the chances of us going to jail have lowered? I've seen some weird stuff, but this is on a whole other level.

"The United States government has transferred the money into your account. The president thanks you." Megs said, and then she fell silent. My mouth fell open.

"I- uh.... cool?"