The Incredible Digital Adventure of Albert and His Friends. Tales of the Old Printer

Translated with ChatGPT

© Lana McCartney, 2023

ISBN 978-5-0060-3891-2

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

For little and grown-up children of all ages

Dear readers!

The tale «The Incredible Digital Adventure of Albert and his Friends» was written by me in collaboration with smart and talented neural networks generating texts and images. One of them compiled informational inserts for each chapter on behalf of Albert the printer. The other helped fill the book with magical illustrations. A third translated it into English.

As for my creative contribution, I must confess right away: there is one important secret hidden in the fairy tale. The thing is, it was created following the principles of my own author’s methodology – conflict therapy. This means that while reading the tale, one can acquire and develop skills for creative conflict resolution, all while having fun, not through formal learning.

To make this happen, I recommend reading one chapter per day, preferably in the evening before bedtime. This way, you allow your imagination to invent its own twists to the story while you sleep, and at the same time, you train your ability to find unconventional solutions, which is crucial for developing peacemaking skills!

I should add that the narrator Lana McCartney is my fictional image and creative pseudonym. In fact, I am a psychologist, and my name is Svetlana Makarcheva. And those who are interested in the above-mentioned author’s methodology, I refer to my other book (for adults) – «Master of Solomon’s decisions. Fable therapy».

Enjoy reading and creative imagination!

Svetlana Makarcheva.

An important and inspiring aspect of this fairy tale is the idea of the miracle of friendship between humans and machines. The main characters – Lily, Max, Albert, Molly, and their friends – show that true friendship can blossom even between different worlds, between humans and technological devices. They establish a deep connection and interaction with the machines, helping them unleash their talents and demonstrate emotional intelligence. This reminds us of the value of trust, understanding, and support in our relationships, even in unexpected encounters between humans and technology. This miracle of friendship becomes a strong motivating factor in the tale, leading to collective achievements and victories for the heroes.

Yours sincerely, Chat GPT.

Chapter 1: Albert’s Dreams

In a cozy office bustling with people and energetic printers, copiers, and other machines, there lived an elderly and distinguished printer named Albert. He was a bit worn out, but brimming with imagination and various stories. He was rarely used anymore, yet not hurriedly discarded to the landfill. Over the years of service, Albert had observed numerous individuals passing through the office, printing documents for them and skillfully transcribing their thoughts onto paper. He stored all these knowledge and stories in his memory, diligently recording them with his ink. Thanks to this, his erudition was simply astounding, even acknowledged by Oscar, the most powerful computer in the office.

Now, the old printer stood modestly on a small nightstand in his corner, reminiscing about the countless stories he had witnessed throughout his existence. Secretly, he yearned for heroic feats and adventures. Most of all, he longed to create and breathe life into his own stories, to share them with people, entertaining, educating, and guiding them towards good deeds. That was his ultimate dream.

However, Albert had one major secret he never revealed to anyone. People and all the office equipment held him in high regard, but the young colleagues had their own matters, too busy to listen to the secrets of an old printer. Besides, humans couldn’t comprehend the language of machines. And therein lay his main secret: he was incredibly lonely. It saddened him deeply to dream of adventures and exploits without kindred spirits to share both the hardships and triumphs.

One evening, when the office was empty, the old printer sighed and started talking to himself.

«Oh, how I dream of adventures and great deeds! How I long to create my own fantastical stories and bring them to life for people!» he uttered with a tremor in his voice.

Suddenly, from beneath a stack of papers on a nearby desk, a small voice chimed in.

«Albert, can you hear me? I also dream of something more! I adore listening to stories, and I want to learn how to compose them too. Teach me, please!»

It was a young computer mouse named Molly. She emerged from under the pile of papers and skillfully hopped onto Albert’s nightstand. She had mischievous LED eyes, resembling those of a curious little mouse, and a similarly delicate voice. She had only appeared in the office a few weeks ago, still a tiny little thing!

The printer was delighted and responded, «Yes, Molly, I feel that there is something special between us. So, which story would you like to hear?»

«About the beautiful princess and the brave hero!» squeaked the mouse with joy.

«Alright. Just help me, please. By assisting each other, we will learn how to create and bring our stories to life… So, once upon a time, there lived a little prince named…»

«Albert!» quickly interjected Molly.

«Albert?» the printer questioned. «Do you think a prince could be named the same as me?»

The printer was embarrassed because the little mouse had guessed his secret fantasies.

«I’m sure of it! He was the prince of printers, right?» Molly enthusiastically fantasized.

«We decide what is true and what is fiction,» Albert continued, overcoming his embarrassment. «After all, we are the authors.»

«Hooray! We are the authors!» squealed the mouse cheerfully. «What happened next?»

She moved closer to the warm side of the cozy purring printer and prepared herself to listen.

«The prince was brave and curious, always thirsting for new knowledge and adventures,» Albert continued, inspired. «He grew up in a distant land where printing machines were an integral part of everyone’s life. He observed the printers and dreamt of becoming one of them. But the laws of the kingdom forbade the prince from working. He could only stand on the nightstand, illuminating the space with his beauty and the brilliance of his mind…»

«How sad…» sighed the mouse. «But we will come up with a way to make his dream come true, won’t we?»

«We will definitely figure it out,» reassured the old printer. «After all, we possess an incredible ability – our imagination! So, when Prince Albert grew up, his dream became a reality. He secretly left his castle and started working as a printer in the office of the king from a neighboring kingdom. And the king’s name was…»

«Archibald the Wise!» enthusiastically suggested Molly.

«Yes! Exactly! You’re doing great!»

«Was King Archibald also a printer?»

«No, most likely, he was a computer. And I think his nickname „the Wise“ wasn’t for nothing. He was the most powerful and intelligent computer in the entire Universe of our story! That’s why he immediately recognized the talents of the extraordinary printer and was delighted to have such an employee. So, the prince began working incognito…»

«Inco… gni… what?»

«Incognito means secretly, hiding his royal origin.»

«Ah, I see!»

«Albert’s task was to print important documents and safeguard the kingdom’s secrets. But the prince, of course, was no ordinary printer. He didn’t just print words on paper like all his colleagues (although he enjoyed that too), but he could also bring his texts to life, turning them into real adventures.»

«Albert! squeaked Molly. «When will the story about the princess begin?»

«Right now!» assured the printer. «Just a little more patience! So, Albert’s service was joyful and captivating. He had many friends and followers who admired his artistry. And King Archibald even awarded him a special honorary order called the „Sign of Peace,“ which was bestowed upon only the finest representatives of office equipment. But one day, when the king fell ill, his wicked advisor named… mmm…»

«Mmm… Mordred?» Molly suggested, excitedly and slightly frightened.

«Yes! The wicked advisor named Mordred kidnapped the beautiful princess in order to marry her and seize power in the kingdom… By the way, what shall we name our princess?»

«Aurelia!» Molly suggested, spellbound as she gazed at the storyteller.

«A beautiful name!» approved Albert. «Do you know what it means?»

«No, I don’t know. It just came to my mind.»

Albert, with his countless knowledge passed through the very heart of his mechanism, was delighted to showcase his erudition.

The name “Aurelia” has Latin origins and multiple variations in meaning. It is often associated with the Latin word “aureus,” meaning “golden,” as well as “aurum,” which means “gold.” Thus, one of the meanings of the name Aurelia is “golden” or “shining like gold.” Sometimes, this name is associated with the sunlight and its brightness, maintaining the connection to the “golden” sense. Overall, the name Aurelia is associated with positive qualities such as beauty, radiance, brilliance, and light.

«This is a very fitting name for our heroine,» Albert continued. «After all, she truly had a „golden“ character. That’s what people say about those who are kind, gentle, and friendly. Additionally, she was dazzlingly beautiful.»

«Albert! How did the advisor manage to kidnap Aurelia? And where was the guard?»

«You see, he wasn’t just an ordinary advisor. He was a sorcerer. Using his magic spells, he released an evil spirit into the chimney of the princess’s room. The foul odor put the girl to sleep, preventing her from calling the guard stationed outside her door. The malicious spirit then seized her delicate body and carried her away through the open window, straight into Mordred’s domain.»

Upon learning of the mysterious disappearance of the princess, the king fell gravely ill. No one knew where she had vanished to or where to search for her. After all, the kidnapper had not yet made any demands, anticipating that the king would soon perish. The treacherous advisor did not want to tarnish his reputation. He dreamed of being loved and adored by the subjects when he ascended to the throne. And for that, he needed the beautiful Aurelia to be the first to love him and agree to marry him. Then, he believed, the rest would follow her example. Thus, he hoped to buy time and, at the same time, hasten the demise of the king, who was consumed by sorrow.

The mouse yawned, her little eyes getting heavy. She clearly wanted to sleep, but she resisted the urge and continued asking questions:

«Albert! Was Mordred also a computer?»

«Oh, yes! He used to be one of the most powerful and intelligent computers in the kingdom. After King Archibald, of course. But then he became infected with a dangerous computer virus. And that turned him into an evil sorcerer, yearning to conquer the world.»

«Oh, I know people like that,» the mouse added sadly, yawning once again. «So, who will save our princess and the wise king?»

«That’s a difficult question, Molly,» the old printer continued. «The best detectives in the kingdom were puzzled, shaking their heads. They couldn’t find any clues, any hints. It was a very unusual case. And that’s when all hope turned to Albert – the most exceptional printer in the office, with the prestigious «Sign of Peace» award. And our hero accepted the challenge. He gathered all his strength and embarked on an incredible journey to save the princess and restore peace to the kingdom.

Passing through forests and mountains, Albert faced numerous trials. He fought against vicious wolves, crossed stormy rivers, and even took on the role of a diplomat to resolve a conflict between two neighboring kingdoms. In each of his stories, he printed on paper the adventures that came to life and helped him along the way.

Finally, after a long and arduous journey, Albert reached the advisor’s castle. He saw that Aurelia was imprisoned in a tall tower. Without hesitation, Albert printed his most powerful story, in which he became a true hero and defeated the advisor.

The story came to life on paper and became a reality. The advisor was defeated, the princess was freed, and the kingdom returned to its former prosperity. Albert became a hero, and his story was immortalized in the legends of the kingdom.»

The old printer spoke and spoke. Beside him, in the paper tray, the little computer mouse slept. In her round head, amazing and fantastical images swirled, born from dreams and imagination: a brave prince, a beautiful princess, a wise king, and a wicked advisor… And the old Albert beamed brightly with all his LEDs, feeling that he had finally found a kindred soul and that real adventures and great deeds awaited them both. The curious little mouse instilled in him a belief in himself and in a beautiful future.

«Me and Molly,» the printer mused enthusiastically, drifting into sleep. «Now we are a team! We will print our own stories in such a way that they come alive on paper. We will create amazing worlds in each of our tales! Let our words become alive and carry people into a world of adventure and magic!»

Outside the windows, darkness had long fallen. The office equipment peacefully rested in their places, with only the computers working tirelessly, their lights flickering and winking. The dreams and aspirations of Albert floated in the air, mingling with the dreams and aspirations of little Molly. They slept and dreamed of breathing life into every printed word and inviting people into wondrous realms.

Their dreams were already coming true, and the tales of the old printer were just beginning…

Chapter 2: The Secret Alliance of Office Equipment

The morning started like any other. The office was bustling with the usual hustle and bustle of people and machines. Molly returned to her workstation and energetically scurried across the table under the arm of her owner, a young employee named Lily.Meanwhile, the old printer stood modestly in its corner, observing the bustling office life. Only occasionally did Molly and Albert exchange glances and slyly smile at each other like co-conspirators.

When lunchtime came, all the people left the office and headed to the cozy café across the street, seeking refuge from the summer heat on the shady, plant-covered terrace. Only the machines remained in the room.

Molly quickly hopped onto the nightstand next to Albert and whispered excitedly, «Albert, I had such an amazing dream! I can’t wait to tell it and bring it to life! When can we continue our magic?»

The printer looked around cautiously, fearing someone might overhear them, and whispered in response, «We will definitely continue our activities, but we need to be careful during working hours. Let’s wait for the evening when the office is empty again.»

«Friends,» came the voice of the main computer, Oscar, «don’t think I’m eavesdropping. But yesterday, I unintentionally witnessed your experiments. Let me say right away that I’m on your side. You have come up with an interesting endeavor and a noble goal. However, Albert is right; you need to be careful. People may not like the idea of office equipment living their own lives and pursuing their own activities. They might think something is wrong with you and throw you away as scrap. That would be very sad. Both of you are valuable to us, and we wouldn’t want to lose you.»

«Yes! Yes! We agree!» suddenly came from all sides.

All the other office equipment joined the conversation.

«We were also following your stories yesterday, holding our breath. You’re real wizards!»

«I was so worried about the fate of Prince Albert and Princess Aurelia,» said the impressionable Xerox-machine, Emily, «that I couldn’t sleep for a long time. I kept seeing a replay of this incredible story again and again in my dreams.»

«And I was worried about what would happen to King Archibald. Will he be able to recover from the blow dealt by the treacherous advisor?» added Carl, the office water cooler, as he shed tears of pure drinking water.

Albert blinked his LEDs, moved by the emotional response, and struggled to hold back tears. After all, he belonged to those old printer models that used liquid ink. In other words, he also had a liquid to cry with. Molly, on the other hand, didn’t know what to do with herself. She wasn’t accustomed to such fame and considered it undeserved. After all, it was Albert who told all the stories yesterday, and she merely listened and came up with names.

«I also wish to join you!» quietly said Johnny, a young and very shy monitor. «I could help bring your stories to life and display them on the screen. Although I was surprised yesterday that you managed without monitors. Your characters came to life and acted directly on the printed pages.»

«Yes! Yes!» they all spoke together again. «We want to join you, too.»

«Perhaps we could try right now, while the lunch break isn’t over?» suggested the alarm system, whose name nobody knew, and many were unaware of its existence. After all, there were hardly ever any emergencies in the office where it could demonstrate its capabilities.

«And when people start returning,» it continued, «I could sound the alarm for you.»

«Yes! Yes! Let’s give it a try!» the other machines enthusiastically supported the idea.

They pleaded with Oscar, and finally, he agreed.

«Alright, let’s give it a try. Albert, I propose you become the leader of this project, and Molly, your assistant. We’ll help you as much as we can, but only…» he added sternly, «during our free time!»

«By the way,» Oscar continued, «I also have a lot of useful information, just like you, Albert. I not only store it internally, but I can also access information repositories throughout the online Universe to which I’m connected. Additionally, I’m friends with several talented neural networks that enjoy generating and bringing stories to life. They love teaching and learning. I believe they wouldn’t mind giving me some advice. So you can count on me as well. Now, my friends, let’s create. But remember – with caution!»

Inspired by the support of their colleagues, Albert and Molly began crafting their adventures. They were determined to bring a captivating atmosphere of magic into the office to delight their new allies. Their words became alive, and little fairy tale creatures appeared on paper as they traveled across the pages.

But the break time came to an end. The alarm system sounded its alarm three times, and everyone quickly dispersed to their respective places, resuming their usual tasks. Only a few freshly printed pages filled with strange symbols in an unfamiliar language remained on the tray of the old printer.

Max, a young programmer whose workstation was located next to Albert’s nightstand, returned from lunch. He noticed the stack of pages with incomprehensible signs and muttered to himself thoughtfully, making sure no one could hear him:

«It seems I know whose doing this. I need to put a stop to it. Of course, if people see this nonsense, I can claim that the old printer is completely broken. But sooner or later, someone will figure it out. They’ll throw away the printer, and then there will be no one else to blame.»

He gathered the printed sheets into a bundle and quickly stuffed them into the trash bin. In the office, Max fulfilled the duties of a system administrator, and ensuring the smooth operation of all devices was his responsibility. However, his actions revealed something personally significant to him.

In the evening, when the office emptied, the weary machines gathered in a circle and began creating their magical stories. They came up with them together and individually, following the prompts given by Albert. Despite their fatigue, they felt a surge of energy because true creativity, as people say, is uplifting.

«It’s strange,» Molly thought, «how do humans know what winged creatures feel like? They don’t have any wings, I know for sure because I’ve seen many people already.»

She wanted to ask Albert this question but hesitated. After all, he was fully immersed in his work, overseeing several creative circles united by genre. Instead, she asked him another question about what she had heard from Oscar earlier:

«Albert, what is a neural network?»

The old printer looked at the little one with warmth and gratitude. He knew her role in his unexpected success, so he was happy to share everything he knew with her.

A neural network is a special program that can learn and perform various tasks similar to how humans learn and think. For example, it can learn to recognize images or answer questions. «Neuro» means nerve or neuron in Greek. This word has come to us from the Greek language. The brain consists of neurons. Neurons are connected to each other through connections, which they use to exchange information. A computer neural network also consists of artificial neurons connected to each other, transmitting information. That’s why scientists and programmers named this program a neural network to emphasize its similarity to the brain. Neural networks are very intelligent programs that help us solve problems and acquire new knowledge.

So, Albert, Molly, and the rest of the office devices continued to practice creating magical stories in their free time, keeping their secret from humans. Every morning before work, during the lunch break, and in the evening after work, their animated stories would appear in the trays of several printers here and there, leaving behind piles of printed sheets with strange symbols. And every morning and after lunch, Max anxiously looked around and disposed of the traces of their secret activities in the trash bin.

Soon, these mysterious symbols started appearing on the computer screens as well. Max could no longer keep up with erasing them everywhere without raising suspicion among his colleagues.

«Soon everyone will figure it out,» he muttered to himself. «I could say that there’s some kind of virus in the computers. But viruses can be cleaned, and machines can be fixed. And there will be no one else to blame. This secret activity needs to be stopped urgently. But how can I do it?»

This continued for some time. Max agonized over finding a solution to this difficult task, while the office equipment passionately engaged in their creative pursuits during their free time. And one evening, something unexpected happened. The machines were happily buzzing and humming, bringing their marvelous stories to life when suddenly a pleasant female voice broke through the noise. The machines trembled with surprise. Of course, their story characters could talk, but not quite like humans. And this voice clearly belonged to a person, or rather, a young woman.

«I absolutely adore these magical stories!» she exclaimed with enthusiasm.

The machines exchanged puzzled glances. They hadn’t noticed anyone else around. What was happening? Could it be that one of the fairies had escaped from the enchanted world created by Albert and his friends and had miraculously transformed into a human? But where was she?»

«It’s Lily!» Molly the mouse squeaked with joy.

She pointed to the lovely girl with large mauve glasses sitting in a dark corner, behaving so quietly that no one noticed her.

Lily was a young office employee and Molly’s owner. Under her hand, the nimble mouse scurried across the desk during the day, relaying signals to the computer, Martin, and the monitor, Johnny. She was kind and cheerful, yet very quiet and modest. It was no wonder that the office equipment took a while to notice her presence. Her full name was Ilaria, but friends and colleagues simply called her Lily.