"So…" Cadet Valence said, in a tone that was deceptively casual. "Did you go down with her?"

            To say the question took me by surprise would be an understatement. My notes, which I had picked up, clattered to the floor as I stared at the boy, who was smirking in a most obnoxious fashion. The other three boys that had stayed-  Chainik, Jolix, and Mel - were watching avidly, and, I saw, quite prepared to let Mr. Valence take the fall for this little stunt – whether or not he was actually behind it. My mouth snapped shut abruptly, and I took a step towards the golden-haired cadet.

            "I beg your pardon?" Control. I wasn't sure what they were trying to get at here, but I'd give the boy one chance to dig himself out of the hole he dug himself into.  And only one.

            "The chaos virus, what's her name. Hexadecimal. Were you two an item, or what?"

            I blinked, and then blinked again. "Uh…" I said, mind racing to construct a coherent answer. Why did they have to bring my sister into it? I'd already waited too long, as the grins on the students' faces were attesting. And Cadet Jolix had asked earlier to record the lecture – split!

            Truth couldn't hurt. "No." Other than the one time we merged with the web-creature, but I wasn't going to blow my cover on their stupid prank.

            "Apparently you weren't watching the same vids of Daemon rising that I was, then." Valence grinned at me cheekily. I honestly had not expected this tack – what was he trying to prove? The fact that he was in this class in the first place indicated some problem with authority, but this level of immaturity should have gotten him kicked out of the Academy long ago. 

            "To answer your patently absurd question…" I started, then winced internally. That wasn't a Bob phrase at all, and it sounded really weird spoken with his voice. "No. I did not have a 'relationship' with Hexadecimal. We were not an 'item', or whatever the latest slang is. Before you get it in your fool head to ask, I did not engage in software exchange with her, or compromise my protocol. The last memory I have of her is her rather rudely assisting her brother in trapping me in the Web. Does that answer your question, Cadet?"

            "So you are the copy. I was wondering...how did that little mix-up resolve, anyway?"

            I stared at him, aghast. I knew that copying was a very sensitive subject among sprites, and to bring it up like that in such a setting…even the other sprites in the room looked appalled. "Are you –trying- to get expelled, Cadet?"

            "Of course not." Valence smiled insincerely, and I entertained thoughts of physically hurting him. "I was just wondering what you thought of the handling of the Daemon infection – given the course title is 'New Approaches to Viral Dataforms', and you're allegedly the expert on the subject, who better than you to critique the 'approaches' used there?" The innuendo was still clearly obvious in his tone, and I scowled.

            "Get out." I said quietly.

            "A sensitive subject?"

            "Get OUT!" I snarled, and the remaining students jumped. Valence blinked at me, and then swiftly made his exit. I turned to look at the remaining students, who were gathering up their own stuff.

            "And just where do you think you're going?" I asked, control firmly reestablished. The other cadets looked at me nervously. I smiled thinly.

            "I wasn't compiled this second," I said quietly. "I know exactly what happened here, and I'm fairly sure the original idea for that little prank originated in this group. Now, do any of you have anything to say for yourselves before I have a long chat with the Prime Guardian about disciplinary options?"

            Shifty faces all around. I sighed, and then suddenly barked "Cadet Chainik!"

            The look on his face was priceless. "I didn't mean it!" He paused "I mean…uh…"

            "Do go on." I smiled. He made a nervous sound in the back of his throat.

            "I thought it would be kinda…I mean, there's all sorts of speculation anyway…I thought we could get a real answer, you know. Something we can tell our friends. Cause people are fairly sure that virus didn't off and save the net out of the goodness of her heart, you know…"

            I blinked at him. "Well. It's a bit of a complicated situation, frankly. I don't know half of it myself – because I wasn't there. But if you really want to know…"

            Relieved smiles all around. My face twitched into a smirk. "It'd be a good idea for you to listen, certainly – I'm expecting a paper from all of you at the end of the cycle. So…ah…do take notes?"     

            I picked up my own notes and returned to the podium. "I'm approaching this from three angles – symbolism, function, and self-interest. These are what drive most viruses, and they apply here as anywhere. This isn't some sort of miracle for a virus to behave this way...I'm going to demonstrate that it makes perfect sense. Or at least reasonable sense. I can't claim to understand all of it, of course."

            "My personal experiences with Hexadecimal are of the pre-fragmented state, in which she nearly destroyed the city of Mainframe several times on various whims. Chaos viruses are very dangerous. That cannot be stressed enough."

            "As for her little…thing for me – I think it was a minor factor. I was aware of it – I don't pretend to know the cause and certainly I never gave her reason to believe it was reciprocal. It was, to be honest, very creepy. From what I've heard, the…other Bob, managed to defragment her somehow after she had a near-deletion experience that she only survived because of her brother's plans requiring her functional. Viruses do acknowledge…debts, sort of – if another being has demonstrated personal power over them, their ego more or less demands that the scale be balanced." An awkward way to put it, but accurate. To a point. "I think the three points I raised earlier have far more to do with her actions. Symbolically, the other Bob was sought after by the most powerful virus in the Net. In the unconscious viral games of prestige, that made him quite a valuable playing piece. The entire invasion of Mainframe and defeat of Daemon can be seen as a power game between Hex and the supervirus – a dangerous game indeed. We-when Viruses play, they play for high stakes indeed. And letting someone else win is anathema to a virus. Simply to sit back and do –nothing- while the game was won once and for all is not something any virus would do – it's not anything specific to Hex. A virus believes that the Net is woven around their  function- the dispersal of their code is key, and self-interest for them takes on new dimensions. Self-destructing is a valid viral approach to defeat – especially if they can take their enemies out with them. In going through that portal, Hex won the game of status – she dispersed her code throughout the entire net, foiled her enemy's function, made a place for herself in history, and managed to show up her brother, all in one action. That's more than most viruses can brag of in a lifetime..." I was not bitter. Well, maybe a tad.

"Function. Function is a major thing- if you understand a virus's function fully you know the rules that govern its behavior. Often times these appear almost nonsensical,  but if you know the rules, playing viruses off against each other allows you to gather strength in your own right. They're playing the game right back at you at the same time, of course – the Guardian protocol is quite inflexible in places and this has and will be exploited by viruses into the conceivable future. Know your limitations and cover them as best you can. In Hex's case, her function was chaotic, to say the least – though she never stated her function, it can be inferred from her actions. Daemon wanted to impose the ultimate order on the Net – Hex found that anathema. And also…this one is a bit of a stretch, mind…I've found that hatred can find a reason for everything. It is infinitely self-rationalizing, and it makes its own order. Love…well…love doesn't need a reason. It's inherently chaotic in and of itself…and maybe falling in love was the ultimate expression of Hex's purpose. Maybe."

"I'm not going to tell you my conclusions, because, frankly, it's up to you to make your own conclusions here. I'm expecting an original 56k .txt from each of you by the end of the cycle, with supporting video evidence if you can. But…ah…keep it tasteful?"

Needless to say, it was with considerable relief that I watched the class finally file out glumly. Now, to business….