No. 2 — The Algorithmic Perfume for Zerus

Make sure your ideas always smell like you: not like someone else’s bottle!

---

Sometimes technology feels like too much.

Too many screens.

Too many sounds.

Too many machines asking us to click, scroll, tap, repeat.

But what if we could flip that? What if technology didn’t just demand things from us… but helped us make something that feels truly ours?

Like pencils. But with wires. And logic. And spark.

This story is about that. It’s about starting with your idea — and letting technology follow your lead.

A story with impossible perfumes, bubbling algorithms, and a sock with a lucky hole.

Because in the end, we shape the machines — not the other way around.

---

The Algorithmic Perfume for Zerus

Today is a special day. Ona woke up early. She tiptoes down the stairs, as if she didn’t want to wake any sleeping chip. She opens the door. Turns on the light.

Today, she wants to give a gift. A perfume. A perfume that smells like Zerus.

“How do you program a scent that smells like him?” she wonders. “A smell with wild ideas, strange questions, and silly laughter.”

She looks at her screen. Then her whiteboard. Scribbles, arrows, cross-outs… and a doodle she doesn’t remember drawing. On one side, her shelf of bottles is waiting:

"Freshly Stripped Wire Scent"

"Brainstorm Storm"

"Error 404 with a Hint of Vanilla"

Ploff!

She finally powers on the Impossible Smell Machine:

“Three drops of ideas that don’t exist yet…”

“Eight drops of unanswered questions…”

“And a splash of endless giggly afternoons!”

The bubbles rise. The smoke swirls. The tubes whisper.

The screen reads:

“SOMETHING'S MISSING.”

The machine asks, in a soft voice:

“What’s that thing Zerus has, that’s so his, and he won’t let it go — even though it smells as strong as a skunk after a run?”

Ona frowned. And suddenly she sees it:

“His sock!”

She grabs a tiny bottle, with a handmade label. A little crooked.

“Lucky Hole-in-the-Sock Scent”

She adds a single drop. Just one. The mixture bubbles. More. More. And more.

Until the machine stops cold. The screen glows:

“Final Algorithmic Perfume: 100% Zerus.”

Ona fills a bottle with a spiral-shaped cap. Ties a red ribbon around it. Nice and tight, so the scent doesn’t escape.

On her way to find Zerus, Ona smiles. She knows the best perfume isn’t just a mix of smells. It’s who we are. And what we share.

“Zerus, happy 365 million milliseconds of friendship!”

---

Big Questions for Small Thinkers

• Why did Ona think about what she wanted to create before turning on her machine?

• Is it better to have an idea first and then use the machine, or to wait for the machine to tell you what to do?

• What kinds of things do you like to imagine or invent — without any screens?

• Have you ever seen someone create something using technology, like a video, a drawing, or a game?

• If you could make a perfume that smells like you, what would you put inside?