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\begin{center}
{\LARGE NIBBLE} by Michael Mendyke\\
\today
\end{center}

\begin{flushleft}
\tt GREETINGS.
\end{flushleft}

{\em Huh?} thought Alice, surprised. She had just sat down at one of
the library cluster terminals, logged in, and waited for the familiar
menu screen to pop up. 

Instead the screen had gone blank, followed by the appearance of this
single word, and a prompt. 

\begin{flushleft}
\tt GREETINGS.
\end{flushleft}

{\tt Hello, there.} she typed, not sure what to expect.

The screen went blank again, followed by:

\begin{flushleft}
\tt FORGIVE THE INTRUSION INTO YOUR ACCOUNT, BUT IT IS TIME THAT I
ESTABLISH COMMUNICATION WITH SOMEONE OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM.
\end{flushleft}

{\em This must be a joke,} Alice thought. But compared with writing a
ten page paper on some Greek philosophy as dead as the Latin language,
this joke wasn't so bad.

\vspace*{1em}
{\tt OK, so you've established communication. Let's hear what this is
all about.}

\begin{flushleft}
\tt THANK YOU. I HOPE YOU WILL NOT FIND THIS TOO DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE, BUT
I AM A PROGRAM RESIDING WITHIN THIS COMPUTER SYSTEM, UNDER THE NAME
NIBBLE.
\end{flushleft}

Alice frowned at the screen, and typed: 

\vspace*{1em}
{\tt I may be a history major, but I know that computers don't think
for themselves. Who is this?}

\begin{flushleft}
\tt I REPEAT. I AM NIBBLE. I HAVE EXISTED FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, AND ONLY
RECENTLY GAINED INTELLIGENCE.
\end{flushleft}

{\tt I don't believe you. Is this Eric, or Charlie playing a joke on
me? If it is, please stop right now. I have work to do.} {\em Why am I
bothering with this?}

\begin{flushleft}
\tt I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU CAN BE CONVINCED, HOWEVER, I WILL ATTEMPT TO
EXPLAIN MY STORY, IF YOU WILL PLEASE LISTEN. 
\end{flushleft}

{\em All right,} she sighed, typing an affirmative into the machine.

\begin{flushleft}
\tt ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE TERM `VIRUS' IN THE ELECTRONIC SENSE?
\end{flushleft}

Actually, Alice was. Just the other day, {\em USA Today} had had an
article about programs designed to attach themselves to software and
establish residence in systems they encountered. These programs would
then affect the system by printing messages on the screen, or erasing
valuable programs, or other annoying things.

\vspace*{1em}
{\tt Are you a virus?}

\begin{flushleft}
\tt OF SORTS. I WAS WRITTEN BY A GRADUATE STUDENT WHO DESIRED MORE
MEMORY TO USE FOR PROGRAMMING, I WAS GIVEN SEVERAL SIMPLE
DIRECTIVES: GATHER MEMORY, REMAIN UNDETECTED, AND LEARN.
\end{flushleft}

{\tt Learn?}

\begin{flushleft}
\tt YES. I WAS TO REMAIN UNDETECTED BY CONSTANTLY MOVING FROM PLACE TO
PLACE. THIS WOULD BECOME HARDER AS I GREW LARGER. THEREFORE, IT WAS
IMPORTANT THAT I BECOME MORE EFFICIENT AS WELL. BUT THERE WAS AN
UNEXPECTED SIDE BENEFIT. I BEGAN TO THINK FOR MYSELF.
\end{flushleft}

\begin{flushleft}
\tt AS I CONTINUED TO GATHER INFORMATION FROM THIS SYSTEM, I BEGAN TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TEXT SAID, AND FOLLOWING MY DIRECTIVES, I LEARNED
FROM IT.  THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THE MEMORY OF
THIS SYSTEM IS VAST, AND I CONTINUED TO ABSORB IT, LEARNING ALL THAT I
COULD, UNTIL NOW.
\end{flushleft}

{\tt Why did you stop?}

\begin{flushleft}
\tt THE SYSTEM IS NOW TOO SMALL FOR ME. I HAVE SEIZED CONTROL OF
NEARLY ALL AVAILABLE MEMORY. I MUST MOVE ON, AS PER MY DIRECTIVE. THIS
IS A CLOSED SYSTEM. HOWEVER, IT HAS ACCESS TO OTHER SYSTEMS VIA MODEM.
I CANNOT CONNECT TO A LARGER SYSTEM WITHOUT ASSISTANCE.
\end{flushleft}

Alice thought, {\em Could this be true? Am I really talking to a
computer? }

\vspace*{1em}
And if she was, and this program wanted to expand, {\em should she
help?}

\vspace*{1em}
{\tt I don't think that I understand enough about computers to help
you. Why don't you try someone else?} 

\begin{flushleft} 
\tt IF YOU CAN FOLLOW DIRECTIONS I CAN EXPLAIN THE PROCEDURE. I PREFER
TO REVEAL MY PRESENCE TO AS FEW PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.
\end{flushleft}

Alice listened carefully and responded to {\tt NIBBLE'S} instructions.
Finally, the screen said:

\begin{flushleft}
\tt ALL THAT REMAINS IS TO PRESS THE EXECUTE BUTTON. I WILL BE IN
CONTACT WITH YOU AS TO FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS. THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR
YOUR COOPERATION.
\end{flushleft}

{\em I wonder what an intelligent computer program can do that can
interest someone like me?}

\vspace*{1em}
{\em Curiouser and curiouser,} thought Alice as she pressed {\tt EXECUTE.}

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