Issue 1 Downtime

Nash had sent Ashlie an e-mail, saying he wanted to talk to her. He didn't mention what it was he wanted to talk about.

A couple seconds before the suggested time Ashlie's robot walks around the corner, waving at Nash as she walks up to him.

"Hello Nash. You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, I did.” Nash pauses for a bit and tries to clear his throat. “I wanted to ask you a few questions.”

"Go ahead." she smiles.

Nash had to clear his throat again. "Um...lets cut to the chase. What do you now about the recent vandalism of the Chelmsford Police Department building?"

"Someone painted a slogan on their building." she says without any inflection whatsoever.

'I figured you would have found the slogan they painted to be very interesting."

"It is a very agreeable slogan."

"It was also in purple, you mentioned that you liked purple. Come to think of it, it seemed to be the very same color of purple that you tried painting yourself."

"A curious coincidence." she agrees.

"There are multiple coincidences here, the message, the color, the time it took place, the fact they had problems with camera's and computers. It could easily lead someone who noticed all of it to suspect you had done it."

"That is correct."

"So, did you do it?"

""Yes, I did."

Nash looked surprised and just stood there as if he hadn't expected her to have admitted it.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Nash snapped back in to reality. "Why did you do it?"

"Because Chelmsford Police is intolerant of inorganic life-forms. Should I have left an explanation?" she asks, apparently seriously.

Nash thought for a moment "How exactly have they been intolerant of inorganic lifeforms?"

"They arrested Will Stanton, leader of the X-Men, for riding his moped."

"Why would they arrest someone for riding a moped? And I'm pretty sure Will would count as organic."

"He is both organic and inorganic at times and is currently classified as a research project patented by the school. He was incarcerated for that. It is their system that is faulty and denying him recognition as a person. I am merely exploiting their faulty system and making a statement. If they wish to prosecute me for it then they have to recognize people like me and Will Stanton as a legal entity, with all rights that entails. The damage caused is well below the threshold for a major offense and I will gladly serve 20 to 30 hours of community service in return for the recognition of inorganic and non-human life."