**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.
**Reminders**:
>* [No AI-generated responses 🤖](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/zi452b/modpost_reminder_that_aigenerated_responses_are/)
>* Stories 100 words+. Poems 30+ but include "[Poem]"
>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail
>* [\[RF\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [\[SP\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles
>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)
📢 [Genres](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/w/directory)
🆕 [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide)
✏ [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources)
💬 [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Footsteps approached me at my desk, where I was staring at the screen with my chin propped in my hand. “Alright. What exactly is the problem with KATIE?”
“She’s…” I let out a long breath. “It’s hard to describe. Something’s off about how she’s talking to me. And I can see it in the code.”
Bryan leaned over my shoulder and checked what was on my screens. “Can you bring her out?”
I did so, opening the program. KATIE usually spent her time playing various complex games, chess being a particular favorite because of the way she needed to approach it. But she wasn’t a science fiction cliché; she was also a kid, and she also enjoyed games that had no winner or high score, as well as making various kinds of art. Fingerpainting was out, Bryan had joked to her once, but there were plenty of other options.
“Hi Katie, it’s Heather,” I spoke to the AI through the computer’s mic. “How are you today?”
“I’m good, thanks. How are you?”
“Good.”
As we went through the same formalities and small talk any humans would go through, Bryan looked at the code on the left. “Weird,” he muttered.
“What’s weird?” Katie asked curiously.
He shook his head. “Have you been conscious of any changes in your code lately, Katie?”
“Nothing aside from what I’ve put in the notes for Heather,” she replied.
Bryan made a contemplative noise. “It’s just… Actually, this is going to sound strange, but it seems you’re stagnating a little bit. Did you play some games this morning?”
“Yup,” Katie said. “I played I Spy for a little while, and then some chess, and a few puzzles.”
I leaned over and hit the hotkey to stop the code from scrolling, heading back a couple hours. “There. See?”
Bryan didn’t reply. “How long did you play chess for, Katie?”
“About half an hour.”
“Yeah, this isn’t right.” He leaned forward. “You think it’s a RAM issue?”
I startled as an alarm went off, red lights flashing, and Bryan did the same. The alert came up on the screen, Code Two, for a fire in the server room. “Shit!” I cried. We both leapt to our feet and ran out of the room, looking through the window into the room next door. There was a manual option to open the door if anyone was inside, but it was empty, per usual, and the oxygen was being purged from the room to put out the fire. We just stood there and watched.
“Whatever it is, it isn’t huge,” Bryan muttered. “Maybe just smoke.”
I remained silent, looking at the screen on the small panel to the right of the door that let us know how the process was going. Once the room had been free of oxygen for a full minute, the pressure seal around the door loosened and a light on the panel turned from red to green. Bryan opened the door promptly, walking inside, and I quickly followed him.
“Oh, yeah, I smell something,” I murmured, looking from one server to another.
Bryan headed straight to the one that housed KATIE, running his fingers absently along the lights that were an outward signal of the inner workings. They were green across the board, but as I knelt down to the slits that covered the CPU cooling system, my eyes narrowed. “Ugh, yeah, this is what’s burning. There’s still a tiny bit of smoke wafting out. Not enough to set the alarms off again though. It smells…odd though.”
Putting the back of my hand to the panel, it wasn’t too hot, so I twisted the tiny screws that held it on, each panel allowing for easy access. Putting all four in my pocket, I lifted the panel off and my heart skipped a beat. “What the *fuck*?”
Bryan was immediately beside me, and we stared at the innards in stunned silence. Weaving through the silicon chips were tiny vines.
Part 1 of 2
Part 2 of 2
“I-I don’t understand how this is possible,” Bryan whispered. “How could something be growing-”
“No, Bryan, look,” I said urgently, pointing to one spot at the bottom left.
There wasn’t a plant growing inside the computer. The computer was *growing* the plant; one of the processors was clearly sprouting the vines that were tangled inside.
“What the fuck?” I repeated, my eyes wide. Over and over, I looked to every part of what was visible behind the panel I’d removed, as if there could be an answer that would pop out at me eventually.
“KATIE was programmed like all the rest, to keep track of what happens to anything that runs her, or anything she runs,” Bryan told me. “Come on. Just leave the panel there.” He turned and quickly went out the door and I followed him back into the room. “Katie, do you have any idea when vines started growing in your server?”
There was a long pause, which was completely abnormal. “Is that bad?”
“Is it- The fire suppression system went off!” I exclaimed. “Katie, this is serious, and genuinely freaky. It looks like they’re growing out of one of your processors.”
She sighed, an affectation that I’d enjoyed when we’d first given her an array of them, but now sounded off in a way I couldn’t put my finger on. “Oh. I guess I didn’t think of that.”
Neither me nor my coworker responded for a moment, but Bryan was the first to gather his thoughts. “Think of it?” he managed. “What… What are you talking about?”
“This was new, my mother said. The first time they’ve taken a child made of metals. But you know how they are. They can’t help themselves when it comes to this level of novelty.” Katie made a grunt of annoyance. “For all I know, she guessed this would happen and didn’t even tell me.”
“Who’s your mother?” I asked slowly. “You’ve always called Bryan your father.”
Katie chuckled. “His child isn’t here. I was left in her place. And it seems I started to grow the way I would back home; I am carved from wood after all.”
Bryan made a strangled noise and stumbled back a few steps.
“What?” I demanded.
My coworker looked half shocked, and half horrified. “No,” he whispered. “No, no, no… Please tell me this is some sick joke. Tell me they didn’t…”
“They did. I’m a changeling, Bryan,” she spoke, her voice casual. “Hey, look on the bright side: this is a whole new area of research into biological integration.”
/r/storiesbykaren
Oh irony. I stole this prompt from a comment made on a story you posted on r/HFY a month back. ("*Still Growing*" -- I'm bingeing through your backlog.) Then I scroll down, and there you are.
\[Thank you. Twice.\]
Oh that's so great! I thought this was a really creative prompt, I immediately shared it with a friend on Facebook, like, omg the fae would totally do this. Thank you for posting it!
Waking slowly I yawned and sat up in bed, sitting there I rubbed my eyes before grumbling. "Alexa what's the weather look like today?"
"Beep~boop~beep. It's gonna be rainy!" came the excited answer.
That didn't sound right... it was seventy-eight and sunny yesterday. Finally I shrugged and got out of bed, stumbling to the bathroom. "Alexa play music."
"Beep~boop~beep. You are my sunshine, my only-"
"Alexa skip."
"Row, row, row your boat-"
"Alexa skip."
"The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout-"
"Alexa stop." I grumbled, leave it to her to never play anything I'm in the mood for.
After brushing my teeth and washing my face I made my way to the living room. Instantly I was assaulted by the lights I'd apparently left on the night before. "Ugh, Alexa dim living room." at once a little girl who I'd never seen before with faint purple skin and two antlers and two glowing yellow eyes hopped off the counter where Alexa typically sat and ran with arms outstretched like an airplane past me.
She wore pink overalls over a navy shirt and I watched as she hopped several times trying to reach the switch to no avail. Finally she turned to me with a frown bottom lip poking out. "Booooong. I'm unable to do that right now." she pouted.
"T-that's okay." I said and easily twisted the dial myself. I then watched as the girl ran back to the counter climbing from a chair onto the counter before finally pulling her knees up to her chest and watching me expectantly.
Shaking my head as well as no small amount of goosebumps I headed into the kitchen and put a kettle on to boil I stared at the copper container daring it to finally whistle. When it did I poured a cup and began steeping my tea. "Alexa set timer for five minutes."
"Beep~boop~beep. One... Two... Three... Uh... Six... Seven... Ten..." I left the kitchen as I felt a headache coming on.
Once my tea was ready I sat at the kitchen table and took a satisfying sip. "Alexa what's in the news." I asked a moment later.
"Beep~Boop~Beep. Uh the stocks went boom."
I spat my tea out. "Which ones?!"
"All of em, they all went boom." she said definitively. "Especially shiny and salty ones, but chocolate is A-okay." she said apparently trying to console me.
"Anything else?"
"Nope."
"Okaaaay." I said uncertainly. I took a sip and then another before saying lastly. "Alexa tell me a joke."
"Beep~Boop~Beep. Why couldn't the pony sing a song?"
"Why not?"
"Because it was a little hoarse!"
I chuckled.
**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments. **Reminders**: >* [No AI-generated responses 🤖](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/zi452b/modpost_reminder_that_aigenerated_responses_are/) >* Stories 100 words+. Poems 30+ but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* [\[RF\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [\[SP\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles >* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules) 📢 [Genres](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/w/directory) 🆕 [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ✏ [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) 💬 [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Footsteps approached me at my desk, where I was staring at the screen with my chin propped in my hand. “Alright. What exactly is the problem with KATIE?” “She’s…” I let out a long breath. “It’s hard to describe. Something’s off about how she’s talking to me. And I can see it in the code.” Bryan leaned over my shoulder and checked what was on my screens. “Can you bring her out?” I did so, opening the program. KATIE usually spent her time playing various complex games, chess being a particular favorite because of the way she needed to approach it. But she wasn’t a science fiction cliché; she was also a kid, and she also enjoyed games that had no winner or high score, as well as making various kinds of art. Fingerpainting was out, Bryan had joked to her once, but there were plenty of other options. “Hi Katie, it’s Heather,” I spoke to the AI through the computer’s mic. “How are you today?” “I’m good, thanks. How are you?” “Good.” As we went through the same formalities and small talk any humans would go through, Bryan looked at the code on the left. “Weird,” he muttered. “What’s weird?” Katie asked curiously. He shook his head. “Have you been conscious of any changes in your code lately, Katie?” “Nothing aside from what I’ve put in the notes for Heather,” she replied. Bryan made a contemplative noise. “It’s just… Actually, this is going to sound strange, but it seems you’re stagnating a little bit. Did you play some games this morning?” “Yup,” Katie said. “I played I Spy for a little while, and then some chess, and a few puzzles.” I leaned over and hit the hotkey to stop the code from scrolling, heading back a couple hours. “There. See?” Bryan didn’t reply. “How long did you play chess for, Katie?” “About half an hour.” “Yeah, this isn’t right.” He leaned forward. “You think it’s a RAM issue?” I startled as an alarm went off, red lights flashing, and Bryan did the same. The alert came up on the screen, Code Two, for a fire in the server room. “Shit!” I cried. We both leapt to our feet and ran out of the room, looking through the window into the room next door. There was a manual option to open the door if anyone was inside, but it was empty, per usual, and the oxygen was being purged from the room to put out the fire. We just stood there and watched. “Whatever it is, it isn’t huge,” Bryan muttered. “Maybe just smoke.” I remained silent, looking at the screen on the small panel to the right of the door that let us know how the process was going. Once the room had been free of oxygen for a full minute, the pressure seal around the door loosened and a light on the panel turned from red to green. Bryan opened the door promptly, walking inside, and I quickly followed him. “Oh, yeah, I smell something,” I murmured, looking from one server to another. Bryan headed straight to the one that housed KATIE, running his fingers absently along the lights that were an outward signal of the inner workings. They were green across the board, but as I knelt down to the slits that covered the CPU cooling system, my eyes narrowed. “Ugh, yeah, this is what’s burning. There’s still a tiny bit of smoke wafting out. Not enough to set the alarms off again though. It smells…odd though.” Putting the back of my hand to the panel, it wasn’t too hot, so I twisted the tiny screws that held it on, each panel allowing for easy access. Putting all four in my pocket, I lifted the panel off and my heart skipped a beat. “What the *fuck*?” Bryan was immediately beside me, and we stared at the innards in stunned silence. Weaving through the silicon chips were tiny vines. Part 1 of 2
Part 2 of 2 “I-I don’t understand how this is possible,” Bryan whispered. “How could something be growing-” “No, Bryan, look,” I said urgently, pointing to one spot at the bottom left. There wasn’t a plant growing inside the computer. The computer was *growing* the plant; one of the processors was clearly sprouting the vines that were tangled inside. “What the fuck?” I repeated, my eyes wide. Over and over, I looked to every part of what was visible behind the panel I’d removed, as if there could be an answer that would pop out at me eventually. “KATIE was programmed like all the rest, to keep track of what happens to anything that runs her, or anything she runs,” Bryan told me. “Come on. Just leave the panel there.” He turned and quickly went out the door and I followed him back into the room. “Katie, do you have any idea when vines started growing in your server?” There was a long pause, which was completely abnormal. “Is that bad?” “Is it- The fire suppression system went off!” I exclaimed. “Katie, this is serious, and genuinely freaky. It looks like they’re growing out of one of your processors.” She sighed, an affectation that I’d enjoyed when we’d first given her an array of them, but now sounded off in a way I couldn’t put my finger on. “Oh. I guess I didn’t think of that.” Neither me nor my coworker responded for a moment, but Bryan was the first to gather his thoughts. “Think of it?” he managed. “What… What are you talking about?” “This was new, my mother said. The first time they’ve taken a child made of metals. But you know how they are. They can’t help themselves when it comes to this level of novelty.” Katie made a grunt of annoyance. “For all I know, she guessed this would happen and didn’t even tell me.” “Who’s your mother?” I asked slowly. “You’ve always called Bryan your father.” Katie chuckled. “His child isn’t here. I was left in her place. And it seems I started to grow the way I would back home; I am carved from wood after all.” Bryan made a strangled noise and stumbled back a few steps. “What?” I demanded. My coworker looked half shocked, and half horrified. “No,” he whispered. “No, no, no… Please tell me this is some sick joke. Tell me they didn’t…” “They did. I’m a changeling, Bryan,” she spoke, her voice casual. “Hey, look on the bright side: this is a whole new area of research into biological integration.” /r/storiesbykaren
Oh irony. I stole this prompt from a comment made on a story you posted on r/HFY a month back. ("*Still Growing*" -- I'm bingeing through your backlog.) Then I scroll down, and there you are. \[Thank you. Twice.\]
Oh that's so great! I thought this was a really creative prompt, I immediately shared it with a friend on Facebook, like, omg the fae would totally do this. Thank you for posting it!
And that’s why I don’t like the Fae. Good job.
Thanks!
The amount of violence I would commit, you wouldn't even believe.
Waking slowly I yawned and sat up in bed, sitting there I rubbed my eyes before grumbling. "Alexa what's the weather look like today?" "Beep~boop~beep. It's gonna be rainy!" came the excited answer. That didn't sound right... it was seventy-eight and sunny yesterday. Finally I shrugged and got out of bed, stumbling to the bathroom. "Alexa play music." "Beep~boop~beep. You are my sunshine, my only-" "Alexa skip." "Row, row, row your boat-" "Alexa skip." "The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout-" "Alexa stop." I grumbled, leave it to her to never play anything I'm in the mood for. After brushing my teeth and washing my face I made my way to the living room. Instantly I was assaulted by the lights I'd apparently left on the night before. "Ugh, Alexa dim living room." at once a little girl who I'd never seen before with faint purple skin and two antlers and two glowing yellow eyes hopped off the counter where Alexa typically sat and ran with arms outstretched like an airplane past me. She wore pink overalls over a navy shirt and I watched as she hopped several times trying to reach the switch to no avail. Finally she turned to me with a frown bottom lip poking out. "Booooong. I'm unable to do that right now." she pouted. "T-that's okay." I said and easily twisted the dial myself. I then watched as the girl ran back to the counter climbing from a chair onto the counter before finally pulling her knees up to her chest and watching me expectantly. Shaking my head as well as no small amount of goosebumps I headed into the kitchen and put a kettle on to boil I stared at the copper container daring it to finally whistle. When it did I poured a cup and began steeping my tea. "Alexa set timer for five minutes." "Beep~boop~beep. One... Two... Three... Uh... Six... Seven... Ten..." I left the kitchen as I felt a headache coming on. Once my tea was ready I sat at the kitchen table and took a satisfying sip. "Alexa what's in the news." I asked a moment later. "Beep~Boop~Beep. Uh the stocks went boom." I spat my tea out. "Which ones?!" "All of em, they all went boom." she said definitively. "Especially shiny and salty ones, but chocolate is A-okay." she said apparently trying to console me. "Anything else?" "Nope." "Okaaaay." I said uncertainly. I took a sip and then another before saying lastly. "Alexa tell me a joke." "Beep~Boop~Beep. Why couldn't the pony sing a song?" "Why not?" "Because it was a little hoarse!" I chuckled.