The screen winked repeatedly at him while he sat there, shaking his leg nervously, waiting, as it blinked on and off. He turned in his chair, half holding his breath, drumming his fingers on the armrests. A flash from the screen caught the corner of his eye, and he swung back round.

SUE WANTS TO HAVE A CONVERSATION.

There was a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Clutching his hair, he shut his eyes and took a series of deep breaths, trying not to panic. When he looked up, the words were still there, implacable, unchanging.

SUE WANTS TO HAVE A CONVERSATION.

He decided to panic. Swivelling round and round in his chair, so quickly that he began to feel giddy and had to stop, he barked out a series of commands. ‘Update status!’

‘Show Department alerts!’

‘Profile page!’

It was useless. Each time he spoke, the screen flickered for a bit, as if straining to obey him, and then returned, inevitably it seemed, to the now-familiar, dreaded sentence.

SUE WANTS TO HAVE A CONVERSATION.

He bent over, fighting the dizziness, feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand up. His fists were clenched so tight that the nails were digging into his palms. This isn’t possible, he thought frantically, this isn’t possible! The screen was matched to his bio-rhythms, programmed to respond only to his commands. There was no way Sue, whoever she was, could override them. Except that she was doing so, and there was seemingly nothing he could do about it. He heard a voice, distant-sounding and small, and realized that it was his.

‘OK.’

Yet again, the screen flickered. Albert watched it intently; hoping, praying, that this was all some system glitch and they wouldn’t be able to connect.

CONNECTION OBTAINED.

He held his breath, suddenly keen to see his tormentor. Although intimidated, he was also intrigued. He could tell that she possessed a level of technical know-how he’d never even imagined could exist—she had made his, imagine that, his, screen obey her, but would she be old? Young? What would she look like, this Sue? And, above all, what did she want with him?

The screen flashed and he stared expectantly as it faded, eager to see the face that would appear. Except that there was none. Nothing but a blank screen. As he watched, puzzled, cocking his head slightly to one side, words formed. Words his screen was producing, at her command.

HELLO, ALBERT.

‘Who are you?’ His voice was shaking. He took a deep breath, for what felt like the thousandth time since the morning. He had to appear strong, like someone who could not be bullied. He repeated himself, louder this time.

‘Who are you?’

THE QUESTION IS UNNECESSARY. I AM SUE.

‘Yes, but who are you?’

I AM UNABLE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.

So she wouldn’t tell him. No surprise, considering she had kept her face hidden. ‘What do you want?’