persona flickers and begins to break up as it changes back to one of Minotaur’s more usual versions.
Minos turns and types furiously at his computer, bringing up a screen full of code. “What happened when she wrote in my book?” he asks.
“She must have rerouted me, father,” Minotaur answers, now brave enough to abandon the Cora persona. “She wrote a few words and I found myself here, in your office.”
Minos scans his monitor, occasionally scrolling to view more information. He stares at the monitor for so long that Minotaur wonders if he’s finished with him. “Sir,” he whispers, “should I leave you to . . . ”
“Stay right there,” Minos says sternly. He continues to stare at the monitor. Then he taps a button on his desk, and the data on his monitor are displayed on the wall-mounted surveillance screens. He starts typing again, searching through the code base for recent changes and examining them. “Brilliant,” he mutters, “just brilliant.”
Minotaur hovers in front of the desk awkwardly, waiting for Minos to give him something to do.
“I wrote you. You’re part of my life story,” Minos explains. “When she revised my book, she revised your code. Look here,” he points to a line of code. “And right here,” he points to another. Minotaur examines the revisions but doesn’t know what they mean. The code is his essence, but he doesn’t understand it any more than most people understand their DNA.
“I had no idea her pen was so powerful,” Minos mutters as he stares at the code. “This is the perfect hack,” he says with admiration. “It gives her a little bit of control over you, but not enough to make you utterly useless to me,” Minos explains.
“She has some control over me!” Minotaur shudders at the implication. He lives in fear of falling out of favor with Minos and being shut down, decommissioned. “Can the master builder debug me?” Minotaur pleads.
Minos leans back in his leather chair and folds his hands behind his head. “She didn’t introduce a bug—she upgraded you, gave you some organic qualities, which puts you partially in her realm. Now you aren’t just a program—you’re a virus. It allows Sybil to spy on us, but it also gives me some clues about her plan. From what I see here,” he says, gesturing to the code on the screens, “it appears that Sybil and I have some common goals. Her interference could be very useful.” Minos pauses for a few moments to scroll through the code, shaking his head with appreciation. Then he looks up at Minotaur as though just remembering he is in the room. “Find the girl and bring her to me,” he orders.
“Sir?” Minotaur begins, “She isn’t going to trust me.”
“Sybil will tell her to go with you,” Minos replies without looking up from his work. “She will instruct Cora to rely on your help.” He stares intently at his computer monitor as he types in new code, revising his plan.
“As you wish, sir,” Minotaur says.
“One more thing,” Minos says. “Find Cora’s dead brother and bring him here as well.”
“Consider it done, sir,” Minotaur says. Fetching the dead brother seems much easier to him than contending with Cora. He disappears from Minos’s office and reappears on the banks of Tartarus.
Intercepting the Ship of the Dead
“You will find your brother as you journey to the City,” Sybil says, as she escorts me out of the tree house. “Minotaur will guide you, but stay on your guard. The pen will help, but you must keep it secret.”
She hangs the little silver flask around my neck. “There isn’t much left,” she says. “Save it for an emergency.”
“Isn’t much left of what ?” I ask, as my hand closes around the pendant. Sybil seems rushed now. She is practically pushing me out the door, but I still have a lot of questions: Where do I look for Lucas, what happened to the rest of my family, how do I get out of this place, and what does she know about the
Minos turns and types furiously at his computer, bringing up a screen full of code. “What happened when she wrote in my book?” he asks.
“She must have rerouted me, father,” Minotaur answers, now brave enough to abandon the Cora persona. “She wrote a few words and I found myself here, in your office.”
Minos scans his monitor, occasionally scrolling to view more information. He stares at the monitor for so long that Minotaur wonders if he’s finished with him. “Sir,” he whispers, “should I leave you to . . . ”
“Stay right there,” Minos says sternly. He continues to stare at the monitor. Then he taps a button on his desk, and the data on his monitor are displayed on the wall-mounted surveillance screens. He starts typing again, searching through the code base for recent changes and examining them. “Brilliant,” he mutters, “just brilliant.”
Minotaur hovers in front of the desk awkwardly, waiting for Minos to give him something to do.
“I wrote you. You’re part of my life story,” Minos explains. “When she revised my book, she revised your code. Look here,” he points to a line of code. “And right here,” he points to another. Minotaur examines the revisions but doesn’t know what they mean. The code is his essence, but he doesn’t understand it any more than most people understand their DNA.
“I had no idea her pen was so powerful,” Minos mutters as he stares at the code. “This is the perfect hack,” he says with admiration. “It gives her a little bit of control over you, but not enough to make you utterly useless to me,” Minos explains.
“She has some control over me!” Minotaur shudders at the implication. He lives in fear of falling out of favor with Minos and being shut down, decommissioned. “Can the master builder debug me?” Minotaur pleads.
Minos leans back in his leather chair and folds his hands behind his head. “She didn’t introduce a bug—she upgraded you, gave you some organic qualities, which puts you partially in her realm. Now you aren’t just a program—you’re a virus. It allows Sybil to spy on us, but it also gives me some clues about her plan. From what I see here,” he says, gesturing to the code on the screens, “it appears that Sybil and I have some common goals. Her interference could be very useful.” Minos pauses for a few moments to scroll through the code, shaking his head with appreciation. Then he looks up at Minotaur as though just remembering he is in the room. “Find the girl and bring her to me,” he orders.
“Sir?” Minotaur begins, “She isn’t going to trust me.”
“Sybil will tell her to go with you,” Minos replies without looking up from his work. “She will instruct Cora to rely on your help.” He stares intently at his computer monitor as he types in new code, revising his plan.
“As you wish, sir,” Minotaur says.
“One more thing,” Minos says. “Find Cora’s dead brother and bring him here as well.”
“Consider it done, sir,” Minotaur says. Fetching the dead brother seems much easier to him than contending with Cora. He disappears from Minos’s office and reappears on the banks of Tartarus.
Intercepting the Ship of the Dead
“You will find your brother as you journey to the City,” Sybil says, as she escorts me out of the tree house. “Minotaur will guide you, but stay on your guard. The pen will help, but you must keep it secret.”
She hangs the little silver flask around my neck. “There isn’t much left,” she says. “Save it for an emergency.”
“Isn’t much left of what ?” I ask, as my hand closes around the pendant. Sybil seems rushed now. She is practically pushing me out the door, but I still have a lot of questions: Where do I look for Lucas, what happened to the rest of my family, how do I get out of this place, and what does she know about the
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