She didn't look like she was made of wood. Not right now. It was part of what she'd been built for. She was a spy golem. A robot, really, though the people who built her despised using such modern mechanical terms. Blank sections of smooth carved wood over glowing green magical circuitry of wheels sliding between and within wheels. She had been built for one purpose, to infiltrate and deceive. She could look like anyone, shrouding herself in illusions.

  Right now she looked like no one in particular, a random student walking down the hall. She was there to spy, although there was so much magical going on she wasn't exactly sure what was most important. She had, of course, no idea that she would be the flashpoint for the world shattering events that were to follow. She was just trying to get to class. The one with that professor who gave off mildly deific energy. And almost genie magic?

  She actually wasn't supposed to have ideas at all. It hadn't yet occurred to her that her thinking was quite a bit more complex than a golem's was supposed to be, and if the people controlling her had cared enough that they might notice they probably wouldn't have either. After all, she was supposed to mimic human responses. That was the whole point.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "Excuse me," she said absent mindedly to a student she nearly bumped into in the hall, this altering the fate of the world forever. She didn't even notice she'd done it, although she did spare a brief thought to wonder why the student looked so shocked.

  She moved through the crowd, putting the incident out of her mind. It took a few moments for her to realize she was being followed by the girl she'd just almost bumped into.

  "Wait!" She called out. "Hey! You!"

  The wooden girl had no idea why someone would follow her like that. What had happened? She should feel human too...no, her stealth was perfect. Did they want to start a fight? Her behavior analysis programming said such things could happen. And since fighting, win or lose, would bring nothing but problems she hurried away. Luckily, her pursuer was having a lot of trouble making it through the crowd. She was almost at class, sure she'd escaped, when the girl came out of nowhere and grabbed her arm.

  "Wait!" The girl said, desperate, frantic, panting with exertion. Not a fight then, so what...

  "What do you..." She began, but the girl cut her off.

  "My name's Valerie!" The girl said rapidly. "And...and you can see me!?"