Berk Watkins wrote:

It was certainly sent out by the virus itself, and no malicious intent.
This virus scans a victim's address book, and spams the addresses it
finds.

Keep your eyes and ears open, folks, and make sure that your anti-virus
programs are up to date.  This morning I got spammed by three different
people in the same domain by this virus.  Klez is the outer shell for a
very, very nasty bug that *will* munch your drive data if it infects you.

And juuust to salvage something from this...  ^_-

---

"Hey, Ayeka?"

The princess looked up, hoping Tenchi was about to suggest a romantic
interlude, but her daydream dutifully put itself back into stasis when
she saw the look of concern on her love's face.  "Yes, Tenchi?"

"You know those video games Sasami plays?  Well...is it just me, or has
she gotten a lot more serious about them lately?"

"Now that you mention it, she has been spending more time...ah, so
*that's* the form she's chosen.  Makes sense."

"...?" Tenchi helpfully exposited.

Ayeka scooted to the side of the futon she had been sitting on and
patted it.  "Sit down and I'll explain."

Tenchi did so, noting how close he had to sit so as not to fall off as
Ayeka idly looped an arm around his back.  Not that he was not used to
that kind of thing, but lately, Ayeka seemed to have been resorting more
and more to tactics he associated with Ryoko.  Nor, he had to admit, did
he particularly object, so long as no fight broke out.

"As you know, Juraian technology is highly advanced.  Among other
things, we use robots for many of our unskilled tasks.  Long ago, before
even my father was born, there was a philosopher who questioned the
widespread adoption of artificial intelligences.  'What more use is a
man,' he asked, 'when creations can do all the labor worth doing?'

"It took a while to find the answer, but when it came, it was really
quite simple.  Created intelligences, you see, are ultimately limited in
their potential.  A robot may be crafted with all the brute strength in
the world, but only a living being can master and apply the techniques
of, say, a Juraian knight.  Even Asaka and Kamidake could merely
remember their skills while they were in those wooden shells; only now
that they live again can they realize their full potential.

"In fact, it turns out that hand-to-hand combat skills are among the
toughest for a computer to master.  This is among the reasons it is
studied by so many nobles: it's a kind of coming of age when they can
beat their robot tutors."

"What's this got to do with Sasami?  The only time I've ever seen her
use a blade is in the kitchen."

"Indeed.  But remember that she is linked with Tsunami, and with the
ship's combat abilities.  She therefore has a prejudice towards, shall
we say, the kinds of combat that computers *do* handle.  Much like
video games.  I suspect she may be playing some of the simulators we
use to train combat ships - and I suspect she will master them easily,
with Tsunami's help."

"Ah.  Seems a little strange..."

Ayeka chuckled.  "Not nearly as strange as our mother.  Her coming of
age wasn't combat at all.  It was fiction.  When she was my age, she
wrote variations of other peoples' works, including one so beautiful
that everyone agreed no program yet written could ever have produced
it."

"What was it?"

"A love story, starring herself and her boyfriend, with parts copied
from no less than six different epics they both knew.  In some places,
only the names changed.  She used it to woo his heart."

"Did it work?"

"I should say so.  Her boyfriend became our father."


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