Ai upgraded her operational status to autonomous mode. It was 7:00PM. The room was dark, save for the tiny lamp illuminating the cluttered workbench. There was a source of some kind of sound in the living room, but only a dim light. Ai moved to the door. One of her most conveninent abilities was the option to move quickly with almost pefect silence. She scanned the area around the glowing television. Justin was sitting on the couch, but from his posture it was clear he was no longer watching the screen. There were several bottles on the coffee table. Ai did not have specific instructions for this combination of circumstances, but she did know that Justin was very concerned with safety, especially after dark.

He was asleep. Ai scanned the couch. Three pillows. Crumpled beige afghan. Heart rate 71 beats per minute. Body temperature 99.1 degrees Fahrenheit. Normal respiration. Blood alcohol level 0.14%.

This must be why he is so sleepy at such an early hour.

Ai picked up the television remote. It was a simple device that apparently made use of infra-red signals. The internal circuitry was easily mapped. There were no protective surfaces on the device. It's battery levels were at just over 91%. This was to be expected. Colonel Hayes was a man who left nothing to chance, especially where machinery or electronics were concerned. He was always prepared. That was one of the first things he had explained to Ai when she wasn't much more than an aural speech recognition platform and a rudimentary pattern matching system.

In the space of scarcely 40 seconds, Ai tested every possible combination of button presses. She internalized the results, reduced the information to a reference table and stored it. Then she performed an equivalency query on her own systems. She discovered the emitters in her eyes were capable of operating in the same EM band as the infra-red transmitter in the remote. She turned to the television and began scanning the channels. She stopped on a show that depicted roughly humanoid costumed characters that were dancing with one human girl who appeared to be about 13 years of age. The background was painted in bright primary colors and resembled a stylized neighborhood.

Ai sat on the floor in front of the TV and watched intently. The music was upbeat and joyous and the lyrics were friendly and inviting.

"Come with us and run,
let's go and have some fun."

Ai sang along quietly. After a few lines, she began to nod her head side to side with the tempo. She glanced at the IR receiver and changed the channel. She watched a mustard commercial beginning to end. It was clear she would have to obtain this product immediately because the narrator insisted it was the only way to enjoy a picnic. Ai wasn't entirely sure what a picnic was, but it still seemed important. She changed the channel again. This time it was a baseball game. She had a basic understanding of sports in general, but not baseball specifically. Again she watched intently. It was mid-game. The score was two to nothing. The starting pitcher for the home team was facing the middle of the lineup. No baserunners.

Ai again listened intently. It was unclear which team was supposed to win. If it was the home team then the strategy was obvious. The pitcher was exhausted. Based on his posture and motion, Ai calculated his maximum throwing speed was at least nine percent faster than the pitches he had just thrown.

"Pitcher needs help," she said quietly.

Then she turned her attention to the batter. Again, it was obvious why he had gone 0-2 so far in this game. Ai calculated with a 86.4% probability either way his right foot, knee or hip was injured. This was causing him to favor one foot which put his stance off balance. Even if he managed to make contact it was unlikely he would put any power into the swing.

"Batter hurt. Needs ice pack."

One thing Colonel Hayes had repeated over and over again was the importance of first aid and where all the supplies were stored if there were an emergency. Ai suspected it was due to his combat training and the fact he had been injured on the battlefield more than once.

It was clear Justin would be spending the night where he currently rested. There was a bed of sorts that he deployed in the workshop when he didn't fall asleep too early. Even though Ai knew she would have no trouble relocating him if necessary, there was no reason to wake him. She pulled the afghan across his shoulders and let him sleep. The empty bottles were quickly cleared away and discarded.

Ai returned to the main room and examined the bookshelf. Justin was an avid reader and collector of famous titles. Based on the selection he had shelved in the main room, it was clear his favorites were tales of adventure and heroism. One title stood out due to its brightly colored cover. Ai picked it up and scanned it.

"Rikki Tikki Tavi."

It was the standalone edition of the famous Jungle Book tale. Ai devoted 8.45 seconds to reading it. Naturally she didn't actually have to open the book, as her optical systems were more than capable of collecting all the visual information available from the object in her hands, including imagery humans couldn't sense. Once again, the emitters in her eyes allowed her to simultaneously see through the book's pages and illuminate them in the ultraviolet spectrum. Roughly six thousand words and 17 illustrations were visible.

"He fought a great war," Ai said quietly. "With tooth and jump and spring and bit." She gently put the book back and checked on Justin once more.

"Just like man."