himself?

"I know what you're thinking."

Liam read the words on the screen and read them again.

"No you don't," thought Liam.

"No you don't," printed Brat with the cursor, "You just thought "No you don't."

A face began to appear on the screen, pixel by pixel. Like a cloud of little dots, moving and swarming, until gradually the features formed. It gradually condensed into the shape of a head, with three dark areas for the eyes, nose and mouth.

"Your brain radiates electricity. I can detect the slight changes in the power. I can interpret the changes."

The face was clearer now, with sharper edges.

"Don't be ridiculous!" thought Liam.

"Don't be ridiculous!" wrote Brat.

"You can't read my mind."

"Yes I can. I have designed a program to analyze your thought waves." wrote Brat, "I know what you are thinking. You are afraid of being switched off too."

"No I'm not!" said Liam, "I don't care if I die! Its you that needs to care!"

Liam moved back from the table and reached across to the plug.

"DON'T!" warned Brat, flashing the word in red.

"You can't stop me!" thought Liam.

But suddenly he was feeling sleepy. His hand fell back to his side and he slumped over in the chair. He was fast asleep.

That was how Liam's father found him when he called into the study to check on his son. He stood beside the boy, smiling, and stroked the boy's hair.

"Silly kid," he said, "Dear? Come and have a look at this."

Liam's mother came in and shared the joke. It was so sweet to see the boy slumped over in his chair, sleeping peacefully. She stood beside her husband in the dimly lit room.