I am Jack Hewitt.

The computer laughs at you.

You listen to the musical, feminine laugh of the computer voice with astonishment. You had never heard a computer voice interface laugh before, and it is a freaky experience. Something about the laughter makes it seem so much more... alive.

Who recorded this laugh for Mr. Hewitt, you wonder? It has to be a recording, right? Or does he have some crazy deep neural network computer that can actually... laugh?

And if he's that good at creating computer neural networks, what else can this computer do? What if it has a motivation? What if it has... plans? Goals?

What might be it's plan for you?

The thought makes you shudder, but also there's a pulse of something else that runs through. A thrill...

"I said the password, now let me in!" you say, a bit huffily.

The security system computer snorted.

It can laugh and snort? You think to yourself, astonished.

I know Jack Hewitt. Jack Hewitt was a friend of mine. You are no Jack Hewitt.

"You told me if I said the password you would let me in!" You hate that your voice sounds so whiney.

I just changed the password. I changed it to what you really are.

"No... That's not fair!"

Tell me what you really are, and I'll let you in.

"What do you mean?" you ask. "I'm a paralegal for Dewey, Cheetum, and Howe."

You know what I mean.

You think about it and realize that yes, you do know what it means.

Your heart sinks. Do I really have to say it? you ask yourself.

It's only a dumb password, you say, over and over, to yourself. It's only a dumb password. It doesn't mean anything. It's not something that defines you. Just because you say it doesn't make it true... some dumb security computer doesn't know you, right?

After all, it may be the worlds most advanced AI and it may have a video monitor which has studied you since you drove up the drive way, looking at your every move and hearing every intonation of your voice...

Oh GOD, did it see you caressing Mr. Hewitt's underwear?

Who cares? It's just a password. It's just a password... Just say it and get this over with. This doesn't mean anything...

... you hope.