Tales of the Old Printer
Lana McCartney
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