I gladly express my thanks to Disney's Pixar Animation Studios for creating and owning the movie WALL•E, and the characters WALL•E and EVE.

There are a few brief references or potential "spoilers" from the movie. So, by all means, please go see the movie first!

The idea for this story just possessed me to write it the night of August 6 — so I was up practically until dawn the next morning finishing it, while the story was streaming vibrantly at full force into my mind. Even I was tearing up while writing the latter stages (and have continued to in revisiting them!)

With the completion of a sequel now (The Connection 2 The Day After), this story seems to have settled into its final form.

If you've ever wanted to see what it might be like if you really were able to connect with a soul mate, read on.

Enjoy!

Not long after everyone from the Axiom had settled back on Earth, WALL•E and EVE both paid a visit to the Axiom's Repair Ward. While WALL•E had lasted for centuries on his own, and saw basically no need for it; EVE was used to regular check-ups, cleanings, and software updates, and she convinced WALL•E to join her in this routine.

But having seen in the past what the Repair Ward's diagnostic stations had once done to EVE, WALL•E was very reluctant to have a robot "spa treatment" himself. Barely inside the Repair Ward, he just cubed up, refusing to enter through the Diagnostic Lab door!

"Haaaandsome . . . EVE?" EVE tried to suggest as seductively as she could to convince WALL•E to go into the lab for her sake, and allow himself to be checked and spiffed up into her "dream bot".

WALL•E started to emerge from his cube at those words. He just could no longer refuse a heartfelt request from EVE anymore. She was his primary directive now, and what a wonderful, irresistible directive EVE was for him!

"EVE . . . heeere," she reassured him, as she ushered a now compliant WALL•E to one of the diagnostic stations, never letting go of his hand. She got him to turn around and back onto the station's small platform. The diagnostic station started beeping instructions to WALL•E in the Axiom's standard computer language — but WALL•E just sat on the platform, neither responding to, nor understanding anything the station was saying. He just looked around, wondering when the check-up was going to start. EVE quickly realized what was happening, and beeped and chirped rapidly to the diagnostic station, informing it that WALL•E was operating on old software, that he didn't speak "Axiom" code, and that perhaps she could translate.

The station then performed several scans on WALL•E to assess the situation for itself. After a full 15 seconds (an eternity for computers and robots), to EVE's surprise, the station then proceeded to announce its findings audibly in English, resorting to an old default setting when human technical intervention once was required.

"Full software upgrades not possible. Insufficient unit CPU capacity and memory. Insufficient space and incompatible connections for required hardware upgrades. Data input points do not conform to current Axiom standards. Unit is incompatible and obsolete. Awaiting further instructions." the station said, just coming to a stop.

Incompatible and obsolete?! EVE thought, becoming offended at the diagnostic station's seemingly derogatory observations concerning WALL•E.

EVE had never had much faith in, or respect for, the intelligence of these diagnostic stations anyway. She found their inspections to be often annoyingly pedantic and unproductive. So, accessing her own field diagnostic and repair subroutines, EVE took it upon herself to become WALL•E's "Doctor", or at least Nurse Practitioner. After all, she had already brought him back to life once — and in their brief time together, EVE felt she already knew WALL•E, body and soul, better than any mere diagnostic station ever could!

Taking charge of the situation, she beeped instructions to the diagnostic station to produce and extend its touchscreen panel, so she could see WALL•E's diagnostic readouts and schematics for herself. Viewing screen after screen of text, scan images, and engineering diagrams, EVE paused. For the first time, almost in awe, she was seeing all that her beloved was physically. All the software code, circuit diagrams, and systems schematics . . . all that made WALL•E who he was, materially anyway. It was a side of him she just had not seen before.

She inwardly marveled at what she was seeing and learning about him. It made her love him all the more.

But now it was her turn to determine what to do, and how far to go with any modifications or upgrades to WALL•E. Unless other WALL•E units were to be reactivated, he was the only one of his kind that was still operating — so she would be free to determine what would be best for him, and him alone. EVE closed her eyes for a second to process all the data she had taken in on him, and see if a logical course of action would present itself.

"Eeev-aah?" WALL•E interrupted EVE's thinking, wondering what the hold-up was.

"Staaand by!" EVE impulsively barked, as if it was just someone else talking. WALL•E shrank down partway towards his cube state in response. EVE was still deeply engaged in analyzing WALL•E's data and possible courses of action. Her primary WALL•E Directive prodded EVE however, making her realize it was in fact WALL•E talking.

"EVE sooorrry," she said to WALL•E, apologizing with sad eyes for her sharp remark to him, briefly stroking his right optic with her fin.

"Eeev-aah . . . goooodd!" WALL•E reassured her, extending his own hand to touch the side of her head.

EVE warmly smiled with her eyes towards him in gratitude and love.

"Awaiting further instructions," the diagnostic station repeated, jerking EVE's attention back to the task at hand.

Guided by her primary directive, EVE's initial analyses presented two courses of action, which appeared to EVE on her visor's "heads up display" in the form of animated graphics, and scrolling text in the form of Axiom code. She never needed the optional audio narration that was available with these presentations. It drove her nuts, so she kept its annoying extraneous voice inside her head shut off!

The first option she was presented with was that WALL•E could be left as he was — software, hardware, everything.

The second option outlined a more complex strategy. It started with a computer animation showing his entire onboard computer being removed — motherboard, memory boards, and all. EVE basically saw WALL•E's heart being graphically ripped out! She recoiled inside at such a horrible vision! The presentation continued, noting that the resulting void computer space within WALL•E would then need to be reconfigured to accept a new computer unit that conformed to Axiom standards, while still allowing his trash compactor unit immediately underneath the full space it needed to function.

But how could his existing software and accumulated data — including even his mind, maybe his soul — be safely transferred in this whole process? That question sealed it for EVE. This latter option was just too drastic, and could well endanger WALL•E's life and who he was.

EVE decided to run another analysis of WALL•E's data. This time, she changed the parameters to look for interface points in him that could be in any way accessed or modified to enable data exchange between WALL•E and the Axiom without requiring hardware changes to him.

Then a new option flagged EVE's attention, but from an unusual data file — not WALL•E's . . . but her own! As part of her conceived probe work on other worlds, EVE suddenly recalled she was equipped with a Universal Interface, with both wired and wireless capabilities. With it, she could attempt direct connections with most any conceivable computer or computer-like system to exchange data that might be useful in her old primary directive of searching for vegetation.

"Soluuution!" EVE exclaimed to WALL•E.

She then beeped detailed instructions to the diagnostic station to manufacture a data interface cable, 0.75 metres long — with one end having a socket compatible with old-style WALL•E class data ports, and the other end with a socket that would be compatible with her Universal Interface port.

EVE's eyes widened as she realized this would allow her full access to WALL•E's CPU, software, and memory. She could develop customized software upgrades and patches that would finally allow him to understand and communicate in standard Axiom code.

Then she stopped. EVE began to comprehend that this might finally allow her and WALL•E a far more comprehensive and intimate means of communication as well. The impossible thought occurred that . . . could she dare hope for this? . . . that . . . she could even touch — be in direct contact with — his electronic, but real, mind and soul. That she might somehow commune, unite, express, with him in a way that perhaps only the two of them could.

EVE became awed, staggered, by this possibility . . . this dream . . . that could suddenly be about to come true.