There’s only one conclusion: we can’t trust the police now. They’re in Eric’s pocket. I’m glad we decided to come here, to the headquarters of one of Moncha’s biggest rivals. It’s one thing to convince politicians to be on your side but another to convince a rival firm. Surely they would do anything to see Moncha Corp taken down.

I try to turn my attention back to what Eric is saying now. “Thank you, Mayor Coleman. We’re delighted to partner with the City of Toronto to make it one of the best and happiest places to live on the planet. And now, for the next stage of our big announcement. We’ve been working around the clock on the latest update—which is about to revolutionize your lives. This update will bring your bakus even more in sync with your needs, taking even more decisions off your hands to help you lead your happiest life ever. This is the biggest improvement to happen to bakus, well, since the very first baku was released! We want everyone to access this update at the same time, so if everyone would plug your bakus into your leashes…”

“No!” I cry out. But at the same time, all at once, I notice a buzzing from around the room. Mr. Baird’s Halo is glowing, and he’s staring down at a projection on his hand. More of the BRIGHTSPRK employees are doing the same.

Soon, it’s everyone in the room. Everyone at BRIGHTSPRK is receiving a message. I turn to Zora, who grips my hand. “What’s going on?” she whispers to me.

“No idea,” I reply.

The look on Mr. Baird’s face is not good, though.

“What is it?” I ask him.

“We’ve just had a company-wide message come through.” Mr. Baird isn’t really looking at me though. He’s looking around at all his coworkers, the buzz in the air almost impossibly loud. “Moncha bought BRIGHTSPRK. We’re all receiving an update to our Halos.”

All of a sudden, his eyes open wide, as he realizes the implication of what he’s just said. He raises his hand to rip the Halo off his head, but he’s too late. It flashes and changes color, and Mr. Baird goes stock still.

It happens all around us, to everyone at BRIGHTSPRK.

“We should get out of here!” Zora says.

There’s a fierce buzzing in my zipped-up pocket too. Slick is begging to be updated.

Zora’s hand flies to her shoulder as well—Linus is bounding up her arm, aiming for the leash.

>>I’ve just received notification of the latest update! We should leash up now and then I can process it.

“No!” shout Zora and I in unison. Zora is just quick enough to grab Linus before he connects, and she stashes him in my other zipped-up pocket. “But he’s a level two!” Zora cries out.