“I did a job about six years ago, when I was just a kid who didn’t
know enough not to take those kinds of risks. I didn’t really know
the details, I was just part of a team some high-roller put together,
but it involved a heist of restricted data from a big investment
banking firm. My part was pretty small. I had to break into some
big wheel’s apartment and steal some kinda little black book with
information that would tell us what to look for. But the guy who
actually cracked the system and hijacked the data was a real whiz.
He got the job done and they never even knew they had been hit.”
“Who was he?” Wydrone asked.
“Guy named Claude something,” she said, frowning. “Weird guy.
One of those genius types. They called him Pirate. I can’t remember
his full name, but I know where I can get a hold of him.”
“Just a moment,” Merlin said. “Before you take this any further,
has it occurred to any of you that Archimedes might have
something to say about this?”
Wyrdrune glanced at Billy. “Well… why don’t we ask him?”
Billy got up and went back into his room. A moment later he
came out and behind him came a boxy little computer, waddling
comically like a duck. With its built-in screen, it resembled a small
portable TV set with short, stubby little legs. In its own way, it was
as odd a thaumaturgical creation as the broom, a special gift for
Merlin from the faculty of the College of Sorcerers at Cambridge,
on the occasion of his being appointed dean emeritus.
Billy bent down and lifted it up onto the coffee table. “Sit down,
Archimedes,” he said in Merlin’s voice. “There’s something we
would like to ask you.”
The little computer squatted down on the coffee table, retracting
its blocky legs into its light beige housing. Wyrdrune glanced at
Modred.
“Go ahead,” said Modred. “It was your idea.”
Wyrdrun cleared his throat. "Uhhh, Archimedes... we were
thinking... How would you like an upgrade?"
"An upgrade?" said the computer in a voice that sounded like a
chipmunk breathing helium. It popped up on it's legs again and