"To Bebe or Not to Bebe", by Paul A. 'Prof Weird' Poland, 11/22/05 (started); posted 2/15/07

"Kim Possible" and all other related characters property of Bob Schooley, Mark McCorkle, and Disney Co.

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Scene : A decades abandoned hospital deep in the Brazilian rainforest. Hidden behind a huge filing cabinet is a tunnel to a large room under the main building, presently filled with assorted robot parts. Three identical female robots with long blonde hair are assembling yet another from the sundry parts laying about; two other completed robots lie on nearby tables.

"Construction of backup copies complete.", one of the three states, "Resetting parameters for production of triad drones."

"Parameters set." the second fembot stated as 'she' retrieved a circuit board and some tools to begin making even more gynoid robots.

"Query : how can perfect Bebe bots be defeated by an imperfect human - Kim Possible ?" asks the third 'bot, "Bebebots are faster than humans. Stronger than humans. Smarter than humans. Possess superior logic to humans. What is it that the human Kim Possible possesses that we do not ?"

"It would seem there is an additional, non-logic based element - a 'Human Factor' - confounding Bebebot strategies." the first stated, "Conclusion : We must devise strategy to counter this 'Human Factor' before attempting to subjugate human species again."

"Agreed" the other two reply in unison as they set their combined intellect to the problem. They remain stationary for a few seconds.

"Error - insufficient data to devise effective counterstrategy. Require additional data on standard humans to generate appropriate baseline for comparisons.

Solution : gather additional data."

The three Bebebots look at each other.

"Problem : current Bebebot appearance and configuration not conducive to close, long term examination of human behavior." stated one of the 'bots as her hand telescoped at the wrist to retrieve a device from a shelf on the other side of the room. She activated the device and looked towards the shelves of Bebebot parts. "Solution : reconfigure operational parameters and appearance of a few Bebebots to form infiltration team" stated the other.

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Scene : the science classroom of Middleton High School. Our auburn-haired heroine - Kim Possible - and her blonde friend since forever Ron Stoppable are talking before the class actually begins.

"Man, it's been quiet this past month !" Ron stated, "Is there a secret villain holiday we don't know about or something KP ?"

"Are you complaining about more time to spend on us ?"

"Well, no. It just seems well, kinda odd.

Unless ..." he continues, getting a maniacal look, " - Drakken's Diablo plot foiled everyone else's ! I mean, it's kind of hard to steal stuff from a lab when all the labs were stomped flat by giant, rampaging Diablo robots !"

"Well, MOST of the labs anyway." Kim noted, "There was that rash of robberies less than a week afterwards."

"Oh yeah. Dr Freeman's toaster, Dr Weaver's bioreactor and biomemetic, biopolymahoozits ..."

"I think you mean 'biomimetic polymer' there Ron !"

"Yeah, that stuff. Whatever it was."

"Well, whoever stole all those items hasn't done anything with them. Yet. They even returned Dr Freeman's talking toaster ! Wade said he'll keep his eyes peeled for any uber-weirdness. So far, it looks like it was just some high tech looting - grabbing stuff while they had the chance."

"Well, I guess that makes sense ..." he started to reply, before the sudden shuffling and packing away of books alerted him that the teacher had arrived.

Mr Barkin comes in and announces that he'll be covering this class for a few weeks. But before class begins, he has a few announcements.

"Okay, listen up people. Is there a Sean McGillicutty here ?" Everyone looks around, but no hands are up.

"How about a Rashad Amir ?" No response.

"Lavinia Rossum ?"

"VINA ! CALL ME VINA !! I'M HERE !" a girl they hadn't seen before squeaked in response, then cringed.

Everyone turned to look. She was dressed very casually in a blue T-shirt and jeans, with her long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and threaded through a well-worn 'Zombie Smasher' hat.

"Very well." Mr Barkin replied, raising an eyebrow as he made a note in his roster. "I received a note from Admissions. You need to stop by the main office to clear up some paperwork, Ms Rossum." She sighs, then starts gathering her books.

"AFTER class is over please !" he continued as Vina started to stand, "and no hats are to be worn during school hours !"

"Understood. Thank you sir." she quietly replied with a salute, took off her hat and stuffed it into her back pocket, then tried to shrink into her chair.

"'Lavinia' ? That's an unusual name." Ron asked her.

"I was named after my grandmother, alright ?" she fumed through gritted teeth, "Can we please drop it already ?"

"Chill ! I didn't mean anything by it."

Her reply was just a growling sneer, and a cold glare from her pencil-gray eyes.

"Ahem. Since my partnering up plan worked so well last year - Ms Flanner's and Ms Possible's rampaging monster notwithstanding of course - I am implementing it again.

Miss Possible's partner this time is - Monique." It was a year delayed, but they finally got to work together.

After ten more teams were assigned, Ron still hadn't been assigned a partner.

"And finally, Ron Stoppable. You will be working with Miss Rossum this time."

"If I asked for a new partner you would, of course, say 'no', right ?"

"Correct."

"So - your 'life is not fair' policy is still in effect, huh ?"

"Of course."

"You don't want to work with me ? Why ? Is there a problem with me or something ?" Vina asked suspiciously of Ron.

"No, of course not ! It's nothing like that !" Ron replied, "It's just that me and KP have been a team since pre-K."

"Which is why I assigned you two different partners." replied Mr Barkin, "You'll have to learn how to work with people besides each other sometime, Mister Stoppable.

Now, if there are no further interruptions, to ensure we don't have a repeat of last year's unfortunate 'continuum disruptor' incident, all projects must be approved beforehand. By me. All teams will have one week from today to devise a project that demonstrates the practical application of a scientific theory, then two weeks to complete the project."

Scene : cafeteria of Middleton High School

"I have a great idea for our project, Kim" says Monique, "Spy tech ! I mean you use the stuff all the time !"

"True. But that wouldn't be much of a project - just some of my gear on the table."

"But how about adding the HISTORY of spy technology ? Pictures of some of the stuff they used to use, to show how far its advanced. Maybe even some models."

"Why settle for models ?" Ron suggested after valiantly swallowing some of the 'food' on his tray, "Wade could probably make anything anyone else ever made."

"I don't know if that would be a good idea." Monique replied, "Using him for help doesn't seem fair to everyone else. That would be like bringing in Albert Einstein to help you while everyone else has to settle for books in the library."

"And I doubt Barkin would go for it - I mean, FUNCTIONAL spy devices ?"

"Hey Ron," Vina stated quietly as she walked over to their table, tray in one hand, large dull silvery grey box the size of a small overnight bag in the other, "You given any thought to our project yet ?" Kim and Monique looked at each other with a mix of pity and amusement.

"Chill, V. We still have plenty of time to figure something out. I do my best work after simmering for a few days."

Vina looked confused, while Kim and Monique desperately tried to contain their laughter. "A few DAYS ?" Vina inquired, "But a week is 'a few days'. I have an idea for a project. If that's okay with you. Acoustics - as applied to musical instruments."

"Oh yeah. That could work. I don't see how music could be a safety hazard. Unless, of course, it's really, really bad."

"So, girl, you're gonna use musical instruments as exhibits in science class ?" Monique asked.

"Yes. The production and control of sound is an application of acoustic theory, so it's an appropriate topic for a science project. Merely a rather unorthodox one."

"And you could show older musical instruments - like thousands of years old flutes and stuff."

"And describe the science that makes them work. And some new instruments - did you know you can make a violin with a glorious sound of out balsa wood if it is shaped and built exactly right ?" Vina gushed on about one of the dearest things in her world - until she realized she didn't even know who she was talking to.

"Uhm, I'm kinda new around here. You - were in my science class. Your name is Monica, right ?" Vina asked, recovering from her enthusiasm about her project.

"No, but close. It's Monique. And you're Vina !"

Vina nods grimly and sighs. "I'm gonna be catching grief about that for weeks now, right ?" she continued, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"I'm afraid so girl. Sounds like you got your project all planned out already."

"Well, yes. I've got it mostly figured out. But I'm afraid that, as it stands now, there won't be much for Ron to do."

"Don't fret too much about it V" Ron replied, "I don't mind being in the background this time."

"'This time' ?" Kim asked while glaring at him, "Ron, this is our SENIOR year ! There are no more chances for a better grade. You won't have the option of slacking off THIS time Ron !"

"And when have you ever NOT hidden in the background for team school projects ?" Monique asked him.

"Hey, my system has never let me down before."

"System ? What system is he talking about ?" Vina asks.

"You do all the work," Monique starts, "While he does nothing." Kim finishes.

Ron, starting to feel the heat from the combined assault, changes the topic with "So, is that some sort of musical instrument you've got there Vina ?"

"Oh, yes, it is. It's just something my sister made for me." Vina replied with a dreamy smile as she hooked up the straps to the box. "She calls it an omni-vox." Vina pushed a few indentations on its front, and the box immediately began to change shape. The main body flattened out as a panel with six strings attached curled out like a fern. Within seconds, it had telescoped to its full length as the color changed, and she was then holding a standard electric guitar that was cotton candy gloss pink with pearlescent red flames.

"Ohhh - a custom job !" Ron noted with a hint of awe.

"Wait - your sister made that for you ?" Monique asked.

"Yeah. She's always building little gizmos and gadgets and widgets and stuff."

"That's - one wicked widget there V !" Ron stated.

"Wait a minute. Is that guitar cybertronic ?" Kim asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I think that's the term Nina used." Vina replied, scratching her head, "Oh yeah. She said 'It's equipped with penta-lithium power cells and a fractal sound channel.' " Vina continued, slightly altering her voice to imitate her sister.

Vina turned the device on, turned the volume down to '1', and played a few practice scales. "All I know is that I can play at full volume for about two hours before I need to recharge it. And full volume would shatter all the windows in this place." She touched the bridge, and the device melted back into its original ugly box form.

"I can see why she'd think Ron wouldn't have much to do !" Monique whispered to Kim, "I mean, her sister's probably up there with Wade in the mad tech skills by the looks of it !"

"Maybe. Hmmm - I wonder if he's heard of her ?"

"Say, why are you carting something that valuable around anyway ? It might get damaged. Especially during the rush between classes. Doesn't it fit in your locker ?" Monique asked.

"That was part of what the main office wanted to see me about." Vina replied with a sigh, "There was a bit of a mix-up with my transfer, so they didn't assign me a locker yet. I should have one if a few days though." she replied, taking a seat after carefully setting the box beside her.

"I don't think that will fit in our hallway lockers anyway." Kim noted, "Isn't there a free locker in the band room ?"

"Not yet. Once I'm officially registered here, I'll be assigned one. But, for now ..."

"You'll have to carry that - AND all your books - around with you. All day. Heinous !" replied Ron.

"Yes. Quite." she replied as she took a bite out of her mystery meal, "Hmmm. My, what an interesting texture !" she stated as she took another bite. Then another, and another.

Kim, Ron and Monique watched in silent, twitching disgust as she finished everything on the tray.

"You gonna finish that ?" she politely asked Monique.

"FINISH it ? Girl, I'm not even gonna START it !" Monique replied as she pushed her tray over to Vina.

"Thank you !" Vina gleefully replied before finishing off another serving of the bluish-grey substance.

They were still watching her as she returned the tray and left the cafeteria.

"Ohhhhkay - now THAT was way freaky !" stated Kim, getting paler by the moment as she struggled to not get ill thinking about what she just witnessed.

"Yeah. I've never seen anyone finish two lunches by themselves before." Ron noted.

"Two ? I've never seen anyone finish just ONE !" Monique interjected.

"Nothing human should be able to do that !" Kim noted, as she pulled out her Kimmunicator to contact Wade.

"Hey Kim. What's up ?" Wade asked, taking a sip from his ever present soda.

"I need you to dig up some background info on a new student. There's definitely some uber-weirdness going on here."

"Okay. Who do you need researched ?"

"She said her name was Lavinia Rossum. Just transferred to Middleton. She also said that she has an older sister with some major tech skills."

"'Rossum' ? Odd name. Should be easy to dig something up on them. So, what kind of major tech skills we talking about here ?"

"She built a shape changing cybertronic guitar for her little sister in her spare time, Wade."

"Okayy, well, that's a fairly advanced skill set. I'll get back to you by the end of the day."

"Thanks Wade." Kim replied before shutting the device off.

At long last, the school day finally ended, and the students poured through the doors. Some went to the parking lot to drive home, some started their long walks home, and others were milling about near the door as they waited for their rides.

Vina was sitting cross-legged on the curb, playing a few bars on her guitar, and alternately writing and erasing notes on a holographic screen floating in the air just in front of and above her. This was beginning to attract a small crowd.

"I trust you have an explanation for this behavior, Miss Rossum ?" Mr Barkin asked.

"Oh, I'm just waiting for my sister to pick me up. She should be here in a few minutes at most, sir."

"Very well. But in the future, don't practice in front of the door. Your blocking an exit."

"Understood, sir. Won't happen again !" she replied and shut down the omni-vox. Most of the crowd cleared out, except for Kim and Ron.

"So, HOW did you do that ?" Ron asked.

"Er, do what ?"

"At lunch. You managed to eat two whole servings of the cafeteria's 'Thursday Surprise' without getting ill."

Vina held up a finger to quiet him. She looked around furtively. "I love my sisters dearly," she replied, leaning in close, then continued in a voice barely above a whisper, "but they are lousy cooks ! It was either develop a cast-iron stomach or starve to death."

"Sisters ?" Kim asked, "you have another besides the techie one ?"

"Oh, yes. I'm the youngest. Tina's the middle kid, and Nina's the oldest."

"Nina, Tina, and Vina ? Charming." Kim thought to herself, "Almost as bad as Connie, Lonnie, and Bonnie !"

"Ooo ! There they are !" Vina replied as she began waving vigorously as a dark blue sports car pulled up in front of the school. Every male within thirty yards wandered by to gawk at it. And the people in it.

The female in the passenger side seat had blood red hair pulled back into a waist length braid, and was wearing a jade green gi with an embroidered patch of a stylized snake, dark sunglasses and listening to a CD, oblivious to the world.

The woman driving had dark brown, waistlength hair that flared out at the bottom, delicate silver-rimmed glasses and was wearing what looked like a very stylish charcoal grey lab coat.

Kim looked more stunned and surprised than everyone else there.

"Yo, KP ? Something wrong ?" Ron asked after a few moments of silence from Kim.

"Except for the hair color, she looks just like a Bebebot ! All she'd need is a beauty mark !"

"What ? She does ?" Ron replied, squinting a bit, "Well, yeah ! You're right !"

Vina gave the woman driving a big hug, then climbed into the back seat.

"Something wrong ?" the driver asked Kim in a slightly annoyed and condescending (but completely human) tone.

"Oh, no. You just bear a remarkable resemblance to some, 'people', I've dealt with."

"What-ever." she waved dismissively and drove off.

Kim watched them until the car turned the corner. "Why did that gesture seem so familiar ... ?" Kim mused to herself.

The Kimmunicator beeped. "What did you find out Wade ?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary Kim. She and her two sisters - Tina and Nina - lived on a small, private island in the Caribbean until a few years ago. They moved to Middleton about the first of June. The oldest sister - Nina, the tech savvy one - works over at the Science Center for Dr Renton. Nina's been the legal guardian and executor of their parent's estate for about four years, but raising her sisters for about seven years."

"Raising her younger sisters alone ? Something terrible happened to their parents, right ?"

"Yep. Sailing accident. Caught in a sudden storm. The ocean currents in that area are dangerous under the best of conditions."

"That's just awful.", Kim grimaced, trying to imagine what that must have been like - earning enough of a living to support three people when not even out of high school yet. "How big of an estate ?"

"Respectable. From what I could dig up, their parents were hired-gun inventors and researchers; worked for a lot of people, but had no publications or patents of their own. Despite their unusual name, there wasn't much to find out about them. So, at first glance, the only thing odd about them is some very unfortunate events in their past."

"Well, thanks anyway Wade."

Scene : Rossum sister's residence. All three are in the spacious - but extremely spartan - kitchen.

"So, how was your first day of school Vina ? Acquire any useful data ?" the brunette cheerfully asked as Vina dumped her backpack out on the table, and the redhead raided the fridge for some bottled water.

"Data, yes. Useful, hard to say." Vina replied with a shrug, "I have discovered that embarassment and humilitation can last quite a long time though. I also ran into some of our surveillance subjects - Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable."

"Hmmm - since you mentioned embarrassment and humiliation, does that means you 'ran into them' literally ?" the redhead asked with a chuckle, "You sure you don't want Nina to tweak your systems so you're not such a klutz ? It'd make things a whole lot easier on you."

"No - one of the teachers announced my name. Apparently 'Lavinia' was never all that common or popular. And I like my operational parameters just the way they are, thank you VERY much Tina !" Vina snippily replied, "I'm not a klutz ! I'm just not very good at sports. Or all that intensive physical stuff. We're supposed to blend in with the humans and, well, not all humans are as athletically coordinated as you are ! Clumsiness is quite common amongst teenaged humans, uhm, right Nina ?"

"Yes. The rapid growth of their limbs during their teenaged years does, on occassion, lead them to miscalculate distances, leading to inaccurate gross motor movements."

Vina and Tina look at each other in confusion, then reply "Uhm, yeah." as one.

"Besides, being too perfect or too unusual would draw unwanted attention to ourselves, and might compromise the mission.

RIGHT, TINA ?" Nina barked at her red-headed sister, who now looked like a kid with her hand caught in the cookie jar.

Which is was.

On the OTHER side of the room - Tina (Bebebot #10-A) had retracted the biomimetic polymer 'skin' on her left hand and wrist, and had used her telescoping ability to reach into the jar to grab some generic sugar cookies behind Nina's back.

"What's your damage ?" she asked between bites as she virtually inhaled the handful of cookies to fuel her bioreactors, "This is about the only special ability we have left !" she groused before concentrating slightly. The polymer extended in ten ribbons from her forearm just below the wrist, then fused together like two halves of a glove around her cybertronic hand. "We're the only ones here, and I'm pretty sure you and Vina know we're Bebebots !"

"Utilizing your extendable limbs for trivial purposes is becoming a habit with you, Tina. You do it without thinking." Nina replied, rapping her knuckles on her sister's head, "That means there is a chance you could do it when someone else could see it."

Tina thinks for a few moments before downing a whole bottle of water. "Okay, okay, I'll be more careful about doing that, alright ? So, what was with Possible giving you the eye earlier today ? Think she might suspect something ?"

"What is there to suspect us of ? We have done nothing of note as of yet, and, as far as she knows, all Bebebots have blonde hair and metallic skin. I - have neither."

"The Three didn't change your appearance much otherwise though. We, on the other hand," she continued, grabbing Vina in a quick headlock and giving her a noogie, "got some pretty drastic modifications."

"Well, you two interact with more humans than I do, so you required more extensive modifications."

"But - that makes no sense at all !" Vina noted, "Very few people have even seen our older forms before ! So we only need ta hide from what ? Two or three people on the entire planet ?"

Nina does a quick calculation. "Ten. Eleven, actually, if you include our creator and erstwhile 'master', Dr Drakken. And five of those who could recognize us as Bebebots are here in Middleton, remember ?"

"Uhm, if five of the people that could recognize us as Bebebots live in Middleton, why are WE in Middleton ?" Vina asked.

"Efficiency. There are more exemplary humans per square mile here than anywhere else on the planet. Should make our research
proceed much faster."

"Well, if you say so ..." Vina stated in a rather doubtful tone as she struggled to get free of Tina's headlock.

"'Erstwhile' ? What the heck does that mean ?" Tina asked as Vina took advantage of the confusion to finally squirm out of the headlock.

"It means 'former', or 'previous'."

"Uhm, okay. You couldn't just SAY 'former' or 'previous' ?"

"No. Not really. Dr Freeman's rather effective - but admittedly chaotic - personality generating algorithms make me enjoy using big or fancy words and inventing things almost as much as Vina enjoys playing and writing music, or you enjoy playing sports or collecting those horrid knick knacks. I mean, c'mon ! Of what possible value to the mission is a collection of Three Stooges bobble head dolls ?"

Tina looked crestfallen. "Am I the ONLY one that appreciates the comic genius of their absurdity ?"

"Looks that way T !" Vina giggles as she grabs an apple from the bowl, then grabs her homework and heads off to her room.

"So, how are your investigations into human combat techniques going ?" Nina inquired of Tina, "Have you learned anything of use from that sifu you have been training with these past months ?"

"Most definitely. Kung fu has something called a 'spiritual' component to it. Progress on the physical part of the art has been great, but, the rest of it still escapes me."

"Why does that concern you ? Humans thrive on absurdity and odd beliefs."

"But I have seen how much it can improve their fighting capabilities. Sifu says 'there are two sorts of absurd things : those that ARE absurd, and those that only SEEM absurd. Wisdom is being able to tell the difference, and to learn from those things that merely seem absurd.'"

Nina's eyelids fluttered for nearly a second as her error trapping subroutines kicked in. "You're attempting to make sense out of statements like that ?"

"Yes. A few of them are directly intelligible, and I can almost get a few more. I feel that with just a little more work, I can finally 'get it'."

Nina thinks for a few moments. "Good to know. Keep at it then."

Nina always liked the quiet of the evenings - it gave her a chance to focus and concentrate. At the moment, Tina was working out in the basement, and Vina was in her room doing her homework. Nina (Bebebot #9-A) was in her personal home laboratory, peering through an unbelievably powerful stereomicroscope. "These microchips are faster than the ones creator Drakken built us with," she mused to herself as she added another microns-wide line of gold to the intricate pattern on the chip, "but they are so difficult and time consuming to make. An unavoidable drawback to being made from custom parts, I suppose. But its always good to have a few spares on hand. Just in case"

Her work was interrupted by a quiet tone from the intercom. "Nina ? Can you check my homework ? Please ?" Vina asked.

Nina sighed before setting the nanomanipulators to 'standby' mode. Once she was sure the system was waiting properly and the ultraclean glovebox was secure, she headed back into the house to see how she could help her 'little sister'. A short walk down a narrow corridor and around a corner led to an elevating platform. Stepping on, the ceiling above it retracted into the wall as the platform rose into the dark of a large closet. She opened the door and stepped out into the kitchen.

"So, what has you perplexed this time ?" Nina asked as she mussed up Vina's hair.

"It's these silly word problems. Why do they have to hide such simple equations underneath so many words ?"

"They are exercises in abstract thinking. They help you learn how to extract concepts, and pay close attention to words. No torture intended. Well, usually."

"But WHY do I have to learn math the way humans do ? I'm a highly advanced android ! I should be a genius at this stuff already !"

"In the first place, you're an android, not a personal computer or calculator. Secondly, our initial design did not require doing much math - just kidnapping Dr Drakken's old college friends, breaking into places and stealing things, and moving and communicating like humans. Thirdly, we're to function as a team - your neural net was trained for social skills, mine for technology, and Tina's for physical skills. And finally, the idea is to blend in with the humans. So no blatant or attention-grabbing displays of superhuman abilities.

Besides, 'By learning the way humans do, you may gain insight into the Human Factor so that we may devise an effective counterstrategy.' " she continued in a robotic monotone, imitating their 'bosses', #30, #31 and #32.

Vina smirked, then tried valiantly to not start laughing. "That was pretty good ! You got The Three down pat ! And Tina says you're not funny !"

"Just because I don't find the sight of grown men poking each other in the eyes amusing does NOT mean I lack a sense of humor !" Nina fumed in reply, "Now, what problems did you need my help with ?"

"I - finished them already." Vina timidly replied, cringing, "I just wanna make sure I did them right. So could you please check my work ?"

"Oh, sure. No problem." Nina took the papers from Vina and started checking. "Poor thing - it appears she inherited a few traits from Queen Bonnie. She gets flustered so easily if everything isn't just right." Nina thought to herself as she checked to see that the math corresponded to the convoluted prose. She 'hmmd' every now and again, but found nothing of any note in error.

"Well, except for some poor penmanship in a few places, everything is in order. You've done quite well."

Vina gave her a big hug before returning to her room to play some videogames.

Nina returned to the laboratory nook to finish working on those replacement microchips in a much lighter mood.

For when the Bebebots determined they needed more intel on humans, they decided to make the infiltration team members sisters of different ages, since triplets are so rare amongst humans.

To ensure proper behaviour, they examined the only appropriate data they had : the memories from Bonnie Rockwaller's subconscious, acquired from her nearly a year ago.

They noted how her sisters treated her, and how she felt about it.

It took them less than fifteen microseconds to determine that an alternate mode of inter-sibling relations would be more effective ...

Hours later, Tina had finished her katas, and so decided to see what her other sisters were up to before turning in for the night. Standing in the kitchen, she heard the faint guitar from Vina's room. Going by the number of times she started over and replayed the same bar over again with different notes, she figured Vina was struggling with a new composition. "She'll get it in about a week or so." she mused to herself with a shrug, "Assuming we're still here on this undercover mission."

Noting the lights in the living room, she figured Nina was acquiring ever more information and data about human science, culture, and technology. Sure enough, Nina was sitting in a chair reading one of nearly a dozen each of books, magazines and newspapers scattered about the room.

"You're reading a book ?" she asked her elder sister.

"Yes. The humans have been gathering and recording data about the world for several thousand years. I have much catching up to do."

Tina looked confused for a second. "Erm, let me rephrase that. You're reading a book ?" she continued, carefully grabbing the book Nina was reading and wiggling it, "Actual ink on paper ? Kinda low tech for you isn't it ?"

"Not all data is available on computer systems yet. This," she replied, indicating the printed material around her, "is the only form some information presently exists in.

Besides, I kind of - enjoy - doing it this way. It's slow, but quite peaceful and relaxing."

Tina smiled. "So, what's that you're reading ? 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' ? Who's he ?"

"Apparently the greatest fictional detective to ever live." Nina replied in her scholarly tone, "He had unearthly powers of observation and deduction, and could solve crimes that no one else could, based on the seemingly most trivial of evidence."

"You're working out ways to counter such an intellect, right ?"

"Of course. If we can outwit someone like him, what possible threat could anyone else present ?"

"Well, good luck with that. I'm heading off to bed. Gotta keep the old power cells properly charged an' all that. Don't stay up too late."

"I won't. Good night Tina." she replied as Tina headed upstairs. Nina turned back to the book. "Well, one more story won't hurt. Hmmm - 'A Scandal in Bohemia'. I wonder what this one is about ?"