[ WP ] Computer viruses and antiviruses are now self-aware AI . Write a tragic love story between a virus and an antivirus .

The data stream trickled chaotically, lines of codes tumbling against the hard surfaces of the architecture. The installation was going smoothly so far, under her watchful eye and bright blue interface. Standing high on a platform, observing the stream and making sure the code travelled to its right directory. Some of the data cluttered into packets, and she gazed closely at them, ensuring they hadn ’ t been tampered with. Once that would be done, she would resume her inspection, patrolling the architecture, on the lookout for rogue codes. 
 
 Above, he heard the trickle. The familiar noise of raw packets and data entering the labyrinthine pathways of the network, seeking their newly formed directory. The time for hunting arrived. The time of data infection. His visor glowed red as his shadow slipped between the partitions of a folder. Not much longer now. He was looking around, to the heights, where she usually inspected incoming traffic. For now, he stooped low, undetected, carefully avoiding touching anything to not give his position away. His injector was glowing, a blob of code hanging at the edge of the tool. 
 
 Data kept flooding the system and she was starting to feel the heat and exertion. Unaware for how long it would last, she readjusted her scanner and kept observing the packets, which should be slowed down a little with the heat. A recent update made her feel more invigorated this time around, and although tired, the task felt easier than previous times. 
 
 He crouched low. On top of the ledge above him, he could hear her probe whirring, and the blue beam shining down on the stream. He craved the noise of the traffic, it hypnotized him and he resisted the urge to jump down and inject. The noise was loud, filling his senses. The sight of the beam vanished, and the architecture froze into place, all he could see was the green haze of data. And red outlines around every single line of code. Infection. He jumped below, landing right in front of a large packet, irregular and undecipherable. Raising his injector, he plunged the apparatus into the victim, and felt the trickle of code leave his veins. The packet stopped, and veered sharply to the right, crashing into the frame, the echo reverberating across the structure. A blue beam shone on him, and he felt the glow of the light burn into him. Raising his visor upwards, he saw her. And her elegant interface, backlit against the coursing neon of the system. And she saw him, his rough, spiky look, and large red visors, staring from the surface. Both froze, and neither made a move, seemingly oblivious of their programmed instincts. The scene was brief, before the crashed packet began stumbling, reddened. He quickly regained composure and darted away through a small subpath as she descended. It was too late; he had already vanished, the lingering red code dissolving into small sparks. 
 
 She headed to the damaged packet, lying broken next to a wall. There was some damage, but it wasn ’ t extensive. A throbbing hum and a light pulsated as she approached the packet. The red began draining, oozing downwards before vanishing in sparks, while the packet ’ s distinct green was being restored. It then rejoined the stream and continued along with the remainder of the flowing code. There was something about the glance with that element, but she couldn ’ t quite comprehend it. Her basic coding kept telling her that he was to be eliminated, and yet the red glow, the energetic movement and decisiveness to corrupt was impressive. A worthy opponent, undermining what she was working for. When would she see him again? Or rather, how could she see him again? Deep below, she felt the sparking, and yearned for the red visors. 
 
 Far away, the trickle of data stopped, and he began to feel cooler again. The red glow of the injector was dim. The antivirus had almost had him, and he began reviewing what had happened as the temperature dropped. The purity of her blue halo, the smoothness of her interface… Something inside him was churning, a storm of conflicting thoughts. The hunger of infection still lingered, but he wanted to see her again, witness her power and determination. He had been told since his introduction in the system to never trust her, because she meant his certain destruction. And yet… he had to see her again. 
 
 But they couldn ’ t be together. Each sought the destruction of the other. And despite the new thoughts and conflicted ideas, their basic codes would never allow reconciliation. 
 
 He was gliding across the shadow of a frame, sneaking through the neatness of the architecture, carefully maintained by her. Not a single trace of others like him, all probably gone by now. Him and her, unique in the own way, and alone in the vastness of the system. Sleek neon shone overhead, a stream of light flowing through a tube with great speed, a distant beeping confirming receipt. This was the only way. He hopped on the tube, climbing on top. His visor reddened and the injector was ready. The tube gave way to the sharp needle and crimson code streamed inside, tainting the light. The pipe buckled, groaning, and threw him off. A blue halo lit up above the architecture, and was growing larger, and he got up with energy. Her. 
 
 She dropped to his level, knocking him down with the impact. Blue interface glowing with might, she was glaring at her opponent, his injector still dripping with vile code. He gazed at her through the bright red visor, in a low stance, ready to strike. They both froze again, locked in a battle at a different level. Faint sparking emerged from their interfaces, growing ever louder, striking everything beside them. The walls blackened and charred and the pipe burst, but they were untouched and unfazed, still frozen. Something neither ’ s coding had ever prediction. Something that wasn ’ t destruction and hatred. Attraction. 
 
 The two walked towards each other, uncertain, slowly, a step at a time. They were now face to face, and lightly touched one another with their hands. In a moment of destruction, there was creation. Blue and red merged in a luminous flash. The arrival of something new, unprecedented. Around them, the architecture was crumbling, caving in and bending as sparks warped it. The flash became larger, engulfing the partition, and extending to envelop the system, which burst flames and bolts, collapsing, imploding. Somewhere in the pile of parts and electronics, below the relays and the junctions, the combined spark extinguished itself. 

