Sophie entered three letters:
"Yes," she wrote although she had not yet sat down. Alberto brought up a chair for her.
"What is your name?" appeared on the screen.
"Sophie Amundsen," wrote Sophie, and the computer answered:
"3 Clover Close. Nice to meet you, Sophie. Are you looking forward to your fifteenth birthday?"
Sophie was startled. Alberto laid a hand on her shoulder and said: "I have only given her your name, your address, and your date of birth. It's like when you are going to be introduced to a new friend. It's nice to know a little about them beforehand."
"Not bad," wrote Sophie.
"Oh dear, I hope you are not feeling bad, Sophie. You must try to talk in whole sentences."
"Thank you, I'm perfectly well. Can I ask you something?"
"I am glad you are well. Go ahead and ask me something."
"How old are you?" Sophie wrote.
"I was constructed in Atlanta on August 8, 1988, but I was translated into Norwegian at the Norwegian Polytechnic on March 28, 1990."
"Gosh!"
"I said you must talk in whole sentences."
"I only said gosh!"
"I do not understand slang. I have a vocabulary of over 100,000 words, but the nearest I can find to gosh is gospel."
"That means the story of Jesus."
"Are you a Christian, Sophie?"
"I don't know."
"As a rule not knowing is a step toward new knowledge."
"Socrates would most likely have said the same. Or Descartes, for that matter."
"Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived from 470 to 399 B.C. If you wish to know more, press F7. Descartes was a French philosopher who lived from 1596 to 1650. If you wish to know more, press F7."
"Thank you, that will be quite enough. Can I ask you something else?"
"I am glad that this was enough. Go ahead and ask!"
Alberto laughed quietly. Sophie wrote:
"Who is Hilde Moller Knag?"
"Hilde Moller Knag lives in Lillesand and is exactly the same age as Sophie Amundsen."
"How do you know?"
"I don't know how. I found her on the hard disc."
Sophie felt a hand on her shoulder.
"I have fed the data program with the little information we have about Hilde," said Alberto.
"What else do you know about Hilde?" wrote Sophie.
"Hilde's father is a UN Observer in Lebanon. He has the rank of major and continually sends postcards to his daughter."
"I want you to find him!"
"I can't do that. He is not on any of my files and I am not coupled to any other data base."
"I said find him!!!!!!!!"
"Are you angry, Sophie? So many exclamation marks are a sign of violent feelings."
"I want to talk to Hilde's father!"
"You have difficulty controlling yourself. If you wish to talk about your childhood, press F9."
Alberto laid his hand on Sophie's shoulder again.
"She's right. This is not a crystal ball. Laila is only a data program."
"Shut up!" wrote Sophie.
"As you wish, Sophie. Our acquaintance lasted only 13 minutes and 52 seconds. I shall remember everything we have said. I shall now end the program."
The letter C: once again showed up on the screen.
"Now we can sit down again," said Alberto.
But Sophie had already pressed some other keys.
"Knag," she wrote.
Immediately the following message appeared on the screen:
"Here I am."
Now it was Alberto who jumped.
"Who are you?" wrote Sophie.
"Major Albert Knag at your service. I came straight from Lebanon. What is your command?"
"This beats everything!" breathed Alberto. "The rat has sneaked onto the hard disc."
He motioned for Sophie to move and sat down in front of the keyboard.
"How did you manage to get into my PC?"