Page 16 - Nutshell 2
P. 16
The Watching Machine
It said, “Now I’d like to teach you how to waltz.”
“Why?” she asked. “So you can point out my faults?”
“Not at all,” came the calm synthesized answer;
“You see, no human is born a dancer.”
“And you were, I suppose!” Wanda was peeved.
“Yes. It’s just a program easily retrieved
From the millions with which I was loaded;
For me no dance is ever outmoded.”
Now she was irked with her watching machine.
“Mind over matter,” she said to its screen,
“If I don’t mind you, then you don’t matter.
Are my words to you just idle chatter?”
The watcher replied, with utter disdain,
“Say what you will, you’re the one who feels pain;
And you know I’m hard-wired not to enjoy
Anything like your most favorite toy.”
“Then how do you like this?” she demanded,
And what she did was quite underhanded:
A sudden sucker punch with her left fist;
The machine simply shifted—and she missed.
