Computron already provided the answer to Frank's question before, but he was happy (as much as an A.I could be) to provide him with the numbers again.  He started reading them out load: Millions and millions of devices.  1.3 (approx) petabyte of storage making for a very significant footprint. No way to know if the network has reached its full potential, or if Computron was still expanding until he touched every device in the virtual world.

"Agent Guberson; I think we have enough for now" Johnson talked through the earpiece, well aware that Computron was eavesdropping on every word he said
"We need to send this information to Miss. Cooper.  The President.  People need to know what's going on"

Illya stared at Johnson, a look of open terror on his face, but gradually it waned, "Yeah. If we try to hide this, we'll only delay it getting out. And the longer it take authorities to tell the truth, the worse the reaction will be. But there's gonna be a ton of anger directed at Brian. And Computron will move to protect him. Perhaps we delay sharing this information until we are certain that any danger posed by Computron has passed."

"The PR department's going to have a hard time figuring out how to spin this one," Gwenyth muses with a dark chuckle. She promptly covers her mouth. "S-Sorry! Nothing about this is funny!"

A look of genuine relief crosses Illya's face, "A kid's imaginary computer friend stole the election and will likely retaliate against all of humanity if we try to fix it. It's kinda funny. Cause if it isn't, it's terrifying."

"That will do for now," Frank said, pushing back from the table and standing up. "I want to thank you all for your cooperation."

In reply to Black Hole (msg # 240):

The commlink blinks again.

Illya blinks at his commlink, then begins typing.

In reply to Black Hole (msg # 243):

The Commlink reacts.

Gwenyth stands and does an elegant curtsy, pinching her tiny pleat skirt at the hem and sweeping one leg back behind the other. She's taken to wearing dark purple sport-shorts under her skirt after someone posted a cell phone camera of what they saw last time she swung from a traffic light. Unfortunately for anyone who was hoping for a peek of something they shouldn't be peeking at. "Thank you~!" she singsongs to everyone present, before falling in line behind Tank.

Johnson waited for both Gwenyth and Frank to rejoin the rest of them at the adjoining room.  The Cantrells were now talking between themselves, and their lawyer, but he will catch up later to see if he missed anything important by reviewing the tapes:

"That was a good interview" though he believed both of them do have done a good job, he kept his eyes solely on Gwenyth "You got them to talk.  We have all the information we need.  Agent Blake; I'm going to need you to keep working with the Cantrells, and Brian especially.  Assuage his fears. This is a very precarious situation.  We got to keep things under control until we receive our next orders"

Gwenyth blushes a little under the praise. "I-I can try. I don't know anything about computers though. Usually in the movies they fall into one of two groups but nothing about this career has been like the movies. It's mostly more paperwork than I ever thought possible..." She chews her lip for a moment. "I would happily accept our robot overlords if it meant I never had to look at an Excel spreadsheet again."

Gwenyth jogs to catch up with Tank once the two of them are alone, or at least as alone as she reckons the two of them will ever be short of paying his trailer a direct visit.

"Tank?" she asks, uncertainty all over her voice and body language. "I'm sorry if this seems like a strange question, but, um... do you- I mean, what do you think of me?" She almost wants to flee from the scene in embarrassment at just out and asking something like that, but she clenches her fists daintily at her sides and sticks it out.

Frank stopped when Gwyneth called his name, and turned to her as she asked her question. What did he think of her? That felt like a loaded question if ever there was one.

"Um... As a person?" he asked. "As an agent? Movie star? Can I get a little context before I put my foot in my mouth?"

Because he was fairly guaranteed to do that without proper guidance.

"I mean like..." Gwenyth fidgets awkwardly. "As a... as anything, do you... feel... have... have thoughts about me? Like at all? It's important!" Oh gods hurry up if the girls see her talking about this she'll never hear the end of it!

"Oh," Frank said, as the purpose of this conversation began to dawn on him. "Oh!"

It was one of those conversations. He'd had a conversation like this with Ana Sofia not long ago, and it had ended exceptionally well... but he could still remember the knot in his stomach from the uncertainty of it all. These conversations could be killers.

And Frank just wasn't at his best as a talker. He was now at about 98% certainty of sticking his foot in his mouth, and climbing.

So how did he feel about Gwyneth? Part of him figured that the answer didn't matter. He was with Ana Sofia, and he was very happy with that. But part of Frank was pedantic, and when asked a question sought to answer it. He didn't just want to brush her off, either. She was out on a limb here, and deserved an answer in the spirit of the question.

But then there was the warning. He'd almost forgotten that Ana Sofia had said anything of the sort, but he couldn't completely ignore what he'd been told.

"You know that Ana Sofia and I are a couple, right?" he asked. Spirit of the question or not, he was deflecting. Coward. "I mean, I don't know exactly what she and I are, but we're seeing each other."

Gwenyth wrings her wrists impatiently, occasionally glancing about for eavesdroppers.

"I have picked up some, um, intimations to that effect, yeah..." she says. Her anxious fidgeting pauses for a moment to better peer searchingly into his eyes, as if she could somehow find the answer she is looking for there. She doesn't.

"S-So, do you...?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:42, Sun 21 Aug 2022.

Frank glanced away. Unlike Gwyneth it was less about eavesdroppers and more about possible rescuers. Either way, there were none.

"Do I... what?" This was not the time for answering the wrong question.

"Have... feelings." Gosh! It's a simple question!

"That's... what I thought." Frank didn't know what to say. He didn't want to hurt Gwyneth, but he just didn't feel that way about her. The ghost of his fifteen year old self was screaming in his head, but Frank ignored it. "I could give you the long-form answer, but the short form is No. I'm really sorry."

Gwenyth raises her eyebrows. "Really? Nothing at all? Huh." She massages her chin, staring off into nothingness as she ponders that answer. "I feel like I was really close to figuring something out..."

She's silent for a few seconds and then blinks, looking around. "Oh! Um, thank you! For keeping our relationship strictly professional I mean. That actually really means a lot for me!" She smiles, looking somehow less stressed than she did before. "Let's never change that, okay?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:04, Sun 21 Aug 2022.

"Um... okay." Frank was passing confused and rounding the corner on completely baffled. Gwyneth wasn't interested in him? That was simultaneously a relief and a disappointment. Frank wasn't really interested in doing anything with her, but it was flattering to have thought that she'd wanted something more. Oh well. "Talk to you later, I guess."

"Yup. Toodles~!"

In reply to Shiva (msg # 242):

Illya types into his commlink.

In reply to Black Hole (msg # 259):

The commlink beeps.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:22, Fri 26 Aug 2022.