"Wow, you really did it!"
"I said I would, didn't I?"
"Well, yes..."
"Then why are you so surprised?"
"Oh, I figured something of a higher priority would come along and you'd do that, then you'd be busy and forget about it, so I just assumed it wouldn't happen for, like, three or four months so I wouldn't give you a reason to be mad at me for being frustrated that you didn't do it when you said you would!" -- Anon Guest
The human twisted their rubbery face around and scratched at themself. "So... you were getting pre-emptively mad because you were expecting me to fail?"
"No, that's not quite what I was aiming for, I mean..." Grex flailed around as if trying to swat the correct words out of the air. "You have said yourself that you are easily distracted. As -er- the kitten under a disc-go ball?"
"Near enough. Yeah," Human Tin agreed. "I did say that. And I am. But... this is you asking," they said, as if that explained everything when it clearly did not.
"I have asked you to do things before that you forgot, or thought you did but didn't. Or otherwise became distracted from performing. I do not understand the difference here and now."
Human Tin uncoupled their data reader from their holding vambrace. Tapped a few icons and showed off an app. It featured an anthropomorphic clock with an annoying smile. "This is Remind-all. I tell it things to remember to do and it pesters me until I actually do them. It can check with the reader sensors and the ship sensors and everything. It won't let me cheat. It never lets me forget."
Grex stared in horror. "This is almost prisoner levels of monitoring power. Why did you permit this into your life voluntarily?" It was, to use a Human saying, downright Orwellian.
"Yeah, I turned off all the data sharing and have to sit through an advertisement every three days, but it's fine. It does what I want and my mate Baz is cracking the code to get a true version."
Grex didn't ask questions. All Humans had a mate named Baz, somewhere in the galactic wainscotting. If the Human was named Baz, they had a mate named Leb. "And your mate Baz is certain this won't invade the ship's Operating System and cause major flaws?"
"It's locked from sensitive content, yeah."
Right. Grex made note to warn the ships' coders. Just in case. Back to the initial point. "Why allow yourself to be monitored this intimately, invasively, and tasked this thoroughly?"
"Oh that's easy," said Human Tin. "You're worth getting annoyed for."
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Aleutie]
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