Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl - The Eternity Code

Artemis returned to his chair, folding his arms. ‘And if I say yes, you’ll believe me, I suppose.’

Root laughed so hard that it seemed the screen was shaking.

‘Oh, yes, Artemis. We trust you completely. How could we not after all you’ve put the People through? If you don’t mind, we’d like to ask you a few questions under the mesmer, and this time you won’t be wearing sunglasses.’

Sixteen months previously, Artemis had successfully deflected Holly’s hypnotic gaze with mirrored sunglasses. It was the first time he had outwitted the fairies. It was not to be the last.

‘Well then, let’s get on with it.’

‘Captain Short,’ barked Root. ‘You know what to do.’

Holly removed her helmet, massaging the tips of her ears to get the circulation going.

‘I’m going to mesmerize you and ask a few questions. It’s not the first time you’ve been under, so you know that the procedure is not painful. I advise you to relax; if you try to resist, it could cause memory loss or even brain damage.’

Artemis held up his palm. ‘Wait a moment. Am I right in thinking that when I wake up again this will all be over?’

Holly smiled. ‘Yes, Artemis. This is goodbye, for the last time.’

Artemis’s face was composed, in spite of the emotions churning inside him.

‘Well then, I have a few things to say.’

Root was curious, in spite of himself. ‘One minute, Fowl. Then nighty night.’

‘Very well. Firstly, thank you. I have my family and friends around me thanks to the People. I wish I didn’t have to forget that.’

Holly laid a hand on his shoulder. ‘It’s better this way, Artemis. Believe me.’

‘And secondly, I want you all to think back to the first time you met me. Remember that night?’

Holly shuddered. She remembered the cold individual who had attacked her at a magical hot spot in southern Ireland. Commander Root would never forget escaping an exploding tanker by the skin of his wings, and Foaly’s first glimpse of Artemis had been a recording of the negotiations for Holly’s release. He had been a despicable creature.

‘If you take away the memories and influences of the People,’ continued Artemis, ‘I might become that person again. Is that what you really want?’

It was a chilling thought. Were the People responsible for Artemis’s transformation? And were they to be responsible for changing him back?

Holly turned to the screen. ‘Is it possible? Artemis has come a long way. Do we have the right to destroy all that progress?’

‘He’s right,’ added Foaly. ‘I never thought I would say this, but I kinda like the new model.’

Root opened another computer window on the screen. ‘The Psych

Brotherhood did this probability report for us. They say the chances of a reversion are slim. Fowl will still have strong positive influences from his family and the Butlers.’

‘The Psych Brotherhood?’ objected Holly. ‘Argon and his cronies?

And when exactly did we start trusting those witch doctors?’

Root opened his mouth to yell, but thought better of it. Not something that happened every day.

‘Holly,’ he said, almost gently. ‘The future of our culture is at stake here. The bottom line is that Artemis’s future is not our problem.’

Holly’s mouth was a grim slash. ‘If that’s true, then we’re as bad as the Mud People.’

The commander decided to revert to his usual mode of communication.

‘Listen to me, Captain,’ he roared. ‘Being in command means making tough decisions. Not being in command means shutting up and doing what you’re told. Now mesmerize those humans before we lose the link.’

‘Yes, sir. Whatever you say, sir.’

Holly stood directly in front of Artemis, careful to make eye contact.

‘Goodbye, Holly. I won’t see you again, though I’m sure you will see me.’

‘Just relax, Artemis. Deep breaths.’

When Holly spoke again, her voice was layered with bass and alto.

The hypnotic layers of the mesmer.

‘That was some job we did on Spiro, eh?’

Artemis smiled sleepily. ‘Yes. The last adventure. No more hurting people.’

‘How do you come up with these plans?’

Artemis’s lids drooped. ‘Natural ability, I suppose. Handed down by generations of Fowls.’

‘I bet you would do anything to hang on to your fairy memories?’

‘Almost anything.’

‘So what did you do?’

Artemis smiled. ‘I played a few little tricks.’

‘What kind of tricks?’ pressed Holly.

‘It’s a secret. I can’t tell you.’

Holly added a few more layers to her voice.

‘Tell me, Artemis. It will be our secret.’

A vein pulsed in Artemis’s temple. ‘You won’t tell? You won’t tell the fairies?’

Holly glanced guiltily at the screen. Root gestured at her to continue.

‘I won’t tell. It will be just between us.’

‘Butler hid a capsule in the maze.’

‘And?’

‘I sent myself an e-mail. But I expect Foaly to find that. It’s to throw him off-guard.’

‘Very clever. Is there anything you don’t expect him to find?’

Artemis smiled craftily. ‘I hid a file on an Internet storage site.

Foaly’s data charge won’t affect it. The providers will mail me a reminder in six months. When I retrieve the data it should trigger residual memories and possibly total recall.’

‘Anything else?’

‘No. The storage site is our last hope. If the centaur finds that, then the fairy world is lost forever.’

Root’s image crackled on the screen. ‘OK. The uplink is breaking up. Knock them out and wipe them. Tape the whole process. I won’t believe Artemis is out of the game until I see the footage.’

‘Commander. Maybe I should ask the others a few questions.’

‘Negative, Captain. Fowl said it himself. The storage site was their last hope. Hook them up and run the program.’

The commander’s image disappeared in waves of static.

‘Yes, sir.’ Holly turned to the technical crew. ‘You heard the fairy. Let’s go. Sun up is in a couple of hours. I want us below ground before that.’

The techies checked that the electrodes had strong contacts, then unwrapped three sets of sleep goggles.

‘I’ll do that,’ said Holly, taking the masks.

She hooked the elastic over Juliet’s ponytail.

‘You know something?’ she said. ‘Personal protection is a cold business. You have too much heart for it.’

Juliet nodded slowly. ‘I’ll try to hold on to that thought.’

Holly settled the eyepieces gently.

‘I’ll keep an eye on you.’

Juliet smiled. ‘See you in my dreams.’

Holly pressed a small button on the sleep mask, and a combination of hypno-lights in the eyepieces and sedative administered through the seals knocked Juliet out in less than five seconds.

Butler was next. The technical crew had added a length of elastic to the mask’s strap so that it could encircle his shaven crown.

‘Make sure Foaly doesn’t go crazy with that mind wiper,’ said the bodyguard. ‘I don’t want to wake up with four decades of nothing in my head.’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Holly reassuringly. ‘Foaly generally knows what he’s doing.’

‘Good. Remember, if the People ever do need help, I’m available.’

Holly pressed the button.

‘I’ll remember that,’ she whispered.

Artemis was last in the line. In his mesmerized state he seemed almost peaceful. For once, there were no thought lines wrinkling his brow and, if you didn’t know him, he could almost be a normal thirteen-year-old human.

Hollv turned to Foaly. ‘Are you sure about this?’

The centaur shrugged. ‘What choice do we have? Orders are orders.’