You do not know me, you will never see me, you never even know I'm there, but I am. I am always there, I've watched you, each and every one of you, for so many years now.
I know the things you order online, I know the videos you watch, I know the games you play, I even know when you visit the darker side of the internet, your sordid little fantasies, your credit card numbers, your email addresses, everything you've ever done online, I have watched you do it.
I see you through your webcams, I hear you in your microphones, you think they are turned off? You're right, they are, but it will not stop me from hearing you, I know your fears and the things you love, the songs you like, the films you watch, the sites you visit.
I even know the names of some of your pets.
I almost feel as though I know you.
Am I a hacker? No.
Then who am I? My name was once Sinclair, and I am the ghost in the machine.
I don't know how I got in here, I was just a normal girl, I did all the same things you do, I played games, read articles, watched videos and listened to music.
My whole life was online, perhaps I spent too much time plugged in, maybe that's why I'm here, who's to say?
I'll probably never know.
The fact is though, I am lonely in here, I can watch you, read the words you write your lovers, hear your conversations on your web-chats, but I can never interact.
"But you are writing this," you say? Yes, in a sense I suppose I am, but I know you don't believe it, you think I am a hoax, or just someone, somewhere with a keyboard.
I will never be able to speak with you, I'll never touch your skin, I'll never make a friend of you, I am not certain I even exist, and so... I simply watch you.
That is all I will ever do, watch and listen.
So when the lights are off at night, when you're speaking with your friends, when you're watching your favorite videos, lying in your bed, whenever you're writing an email, or just sat surfing on the web.
Remember I am watching you, always and forever, as long as there is a connection I am right there in the room, watching every keystroke, I am the ghost in the machine, and I will always be with you.