Get her down from there, he ordered.
Argon positioned a bunk below the harness, complaining at every step. I shouldnt be doing physical labour, he moaned. Its my hip. No one knows the pain Im in. No one. The warlocks cant do a thing for me.
Dont you have staff to do this sort of thing?
Normally, yes, said Argon, lowering the harness. But my janitors are on leave. Both at the same time. Normally I wouldnt allow it, but good pixie workers are hard to find.
Foalys ears pricked up. Pixies? Your janitors are pixies?
Yes. Were quite proud of them around here minor celebrities, you know. The pixie twins. And, of course, they have the highest respect for me.
Foalys hands shook as he unpacked his equipment. It all seemed to be coming together. First Chix, then the strange device on Juliuss chest, now pixie janitors who were on leave. He just needed one more piece of the puzzle.
What is it you have there? asked Argon anxiously. Nothing that could cause any damage?
Foaly tilted the unconscious pixies head backwards. Dont worry, Argon. Its just a Retimager. Im not going in any further than the eyeballs.
He held the pixies eyes open, one at a time, sealing the plunger-like cups around the sockets. Every image is recorded on the retinas. This leaves a trail of micro-scratches that can be enhanced and read.
I know what a Retimager is, snapped Argon. I do read science journals occasionally, you know. So you can tell what the last thing Opal saw was. What good will that do?
Foaly connected the eyepieces to a wall computer. We shall see, he said, endeavouring to sound cryptic rather than desperate.
He opened the Retimagers program on the plasma screen, and two dark images appeared.
Left and right eyes, explained Foaly, toggling a key until the two images overlapped. The image was obviously a head from a side angle, but it was too dark to identify.
Ooh, such brilliance, gushed Argon sarcastically. Shall I call the networks? Or should I just faint in awe?
Foaly ignored him. Lighten and enhance, he said to the computer.
A computer-generated paintbrush swabbed the screen, leaving a brighter and sharper picture behind it.
Its a pixie, muttered Foaly. But still not enough detail. He scratched his chin. Computer, match this picture with patient Koboi, Opal.
A picture of Opal flashed up on a separate window. It resized itself and revolved until the new picture was at the same angle as the original. Red arrows flashed between the pictures, connecting identical points. After a few moments the space between the two pictures was completely blitzed with red lines.
Are these two pictures of the same person? asked Foaly.
Affirmative, said the computer. Though there is a point zero five per cent possibility of error.
Foaly jabbed the print button. Ill take those odds.
Argon stepped closer to the screen, as though in a daze. His face was pale, and growing paler as he realized the implications of the picture.
She saw herself from the side, he whispered. That means
There were two Opal Kobois, completed Foaly. The real one, that you let escape. And this shell here, which can only be
A clone.
Precisely, said Foaly, plucking the hard copy from the printer. She had herself cloned, and then your janitors waltzed her right out of here under your nose.
Oh dear.
Oh dear hardly covers it. Maybe now would be a good time to call the networks, or faint in awe.
Argon took the second option, collapsing to the floor in a limp heap. The sudden evaporation of his dreams of fame and fortune were too much to handle all at once.
Foaly stepped over him and then galloped all the way to Police Plaza.
E7, SOUTHERN ITALY
Opal Koboi was having a hard time being patient. She had used up every last drop of her patience in the Argon Clinic. And now she wanted things to happen on her command. Unfortunately, a hundred million tonnes of haematite will only sink through the Earth at five metres per second and there isnt a lot anybody can do about it.
Opal decided to pass the time by watching Holly Short die. That cretinous captain. Who did she think she was, with her crew cut and cute bow lips? Opal glanced at herself in a reflective surface. Now there was real beauty. There was a face that deserved its own currency, and it was quite possible that she would soon have it.
Mervall, she snapped. Bring me the Eleven Wonders disk. I need something to cheer me up.
Right away, Miss Koboi, said Merv. Would you like me to finish preparing the meal first, or bring you the disk directly?
Opal rolled her eyes at her reflection. What did I just say?
You said to bring you the disk.
So what do you think you should do, my dearest Mervall?
I think I should bring you the disk, said Merv.