Jolana slipped out of the room, humming happily as she wdnered downstairs for breakfast. Glancing around, she heard people talking elsewhere in the mansion, but not quite close enough to hear... Shrugging, she was sure it was just some theory being worked on.

Yawning as she entered the kitchen, she waved to Dr Elune who was nibbling toast at the table, "Morning, Sam. Your breakfast is unusualy plain today."

Looking up, the doctor chuckled tiredly as they put down a display covered in data, "I had little choice... I never really learnt to cook, and I don't know how to direct your drones."

Slightly confused, she wandered over to the pantry, picking up a display of her own on the way, "That's odd... Normally..." Glancing back, she swallowed nervously, and peeked into the pantry again, "Well, I can do simple stuff. Bacon and eggs suit you?"

"That would be lovely, thank you... But, I should talk to you first." Sighing as they waved her over, the doctor pointed at the screen, "Alex has gone unresponsive."

Freezing midway to the table, Jolana groaned, "Oh... Is... Is Alex okay?"

The doctor nodded, sliding the list over to her for her to read, "Mostly fine... Very minor damage to the processors, but something we can fix easily. More... Alex hasn't been able to fully shut down since last night."

Jolana fidgeted as she sat down, reading what appeared to be a readout of Alex's performance records, "So... Uh, I see... Has Alex said anything...?"

Nodding, the doctor smiled gently, "Only that they are trying to resolve the data spike as quick as they can... And that they are disconnecting from the mansion untll they are done. Less distractions." Patting her on the arm softly, the doctor shrugged, "I would give it a day or two, and Alex will be back to normal. No need to blame yourself."

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Smiling slightly, she nudged the doctor as she gave back the display, "Guess you figured out the... Cause, so to speak?"

"Not hard to guess, considering what I was hoping for..." Dr Elune giggled, then sighed as they glanced out the window, "Ren is chatting with Laura about our... Hardware issues, as he is putting it. No encrypted line, after all. How good are you with cabling?"

"... Fairly good. And, wait... You expected all this?"

Smiling sheepishly, the doctor nodded, "Slightly. Wasn't sure if you would go for it... And, I was expecting maybe a few hours to unravel all that. Turns out, it was a more intense experience than we humans give it credit."

Rolling her eyes, Jolana pulled over the other display, the one connected to the household controlled drones, "Well, before I get to tinkering with my dear Alex's brain... I need food. I'll get the drones started on the more fancy stuff, and go for the bacon until then. We will need the energy."

As the doctor nodded with a grin, Jolana glanced back, "And... I will try and be careful. Alex will probably handle things better, too... But..."

The doctor shushed her, "I trust you, and Alex has worked out so far. Just... Don't try anything new until Alex can recover rapidly. New experiences will be more taxing."

Nodding with a faint blush, Jolana ruled out the idea of swapping Alexes any time soon... "I'll keep that in mind. Now you going to order or not?"

As the doctor went to reply, they suddenly heard a person ring the doorbell. The doctor groaned, "What now? We don't really get anyone, except..." Seeing Jolana's pale face, they trailed off.

And Jolana held up the feed from the front door, Maximus grinning happily as he waited to be let in.