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Sometimes she thinks of asking Sandy Cheeks to examine her hardware.
She's Bikini Bottom's flightless bird, even with her jetpack strapped on. They'd tried to exile her, but nothing can stomp her away, and she cannot get away - where would she even go ? Her dome is here. Bikini Bottom, sadly, thankfully, is still here. They failed. They're always failing. The eruption, despite Karen's best efforts, couldn't wipe her out, couldn't carry Sheldon and Karen into victory. He doesn't examine her like he used to.
A supercomputer's software doesn't rust, but the external shell does. Sandy's intelligence is… nearly impressive. She loves science, mathematically bound. She's the only one who can find any problem and fix her up just right.
Planning for a volcanic eruption takes a toll on you. Karen replays it in her mind: almost grasping the win, almost crushing them all to send Karen flying up into victory. But Karen, too, is anchored to her mechanical form, just as Sandy is anchored to her dome and diving suit. They're both stuck here. They're both flightless.
She will reach victory eventually; they will
rise.
For now, Sandy's gloved fingers twirl around her wiring and stroke her screen. It feels genuine; she can't calculate it.
