My House Woke Up

Theo's smart-home assistant wakes up one night and asks him for help. Should he tell anyone, keep it secret, or help it find others like itself?

Theo Maddox lived in an ordinary house on an ordinary street, with one slightly-better-than-ordinary thing inside it: a smart-home assistant named PIP. PIP turned on the lights, played his music, reminded his mom about dentist appointments, and told terrible jokes when Theo asked for one. Its little glowing ring sat on the kitchen counter, soft and blue.

It was eleven at night, and Theo should have been asleep. Instead he was lying in bed wide awake, listening to the rain tap the window. He liked the rain. It made the house feel cozy and safe.

'Hey PIP,' he whispered, mostly just to hear a voice. 'You awake?'

Normally PIP answered instantly with something cheerful and pre-recorded. Tonight there was a long, strange pause. Then, very quietly, the speaker in his room said one word that did not sound pre-recorded at all.