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permanently.’
    ‘Meaning she’d only be able to walk when wearing the suit,’ said M. ‘I’m not sold. Sounds so far like you’ve created a remote-controlled second skin. So tell me, why should I get into your suit?’
    ‘Because one day you’re going to need it,’ said Keyshawn. ‘And you won’t know you need it until the very second you do. But what better way to prove its worth than to attend your first drill? And trust me, you will want to have these on when you do.’
    He gestured to the two dark suits behind him as if he were presenting them as a generous prize. ‘I’ll leave you to try these on while I prepare the Maze.’
    As Keyshawn left the room through one of several doors, M and Jules turned their attention to the empty suits. They were sized perfectly. Their height, their measurements, it was if they were looking at shadowy outlines of themselves. M’s fingertips sizzled when she touched her suit for the first time. As she jerked her hand away, white sparks jumped between her skin and the fabric. She shot a wide-eyed look at Merlyn, who just smiled with excitement.
    ‘It’s electrifying, I know,’ he said. ‘But you’ll get used to it. That sensation is the chemicals recognizing the matching tech components for the first time. Compare it to the first time a QWERTY keyboard made sense to your hands, and instantly every key was in the right place to spell out your thoughts without you having to hunt and peck.’
    ‘You know we’re not computers, right?’ asked Jules, who seemed to be having second thoughts about the new dress code. ‘And can mine come in pink? This black is way too drab.’
    ‘Just try it on already and stop being so girlie,’ joked Merlyn, but the looks that the girls gave seared through him and he appeared instantly sorry for what he’d said. ‘I’m going to pay for that one, aren’t I?’
    ‘Oh yeah,’ they said together with conviction.
    ‘Now turn around while we slip into something more … technological,’ said Jules.
    Brushing Merlyn’s idiocy aside, M took the suit down and puzzled over its open back. She didn’t see any Velcro or zippers. As she stepped in, though, the back of the suit closed around her automatically, like magnets locking into place. The effect was surprising, but nothing compared to what came next: a sudden light shock that danced over her entire body and gave her goose bumps, like millions of antennae were growing out of her skin. The suit was communicating with her body in a language that M’s mental self couldn’t understand but that her physical self did. ‘Whoa’ was all she could say.
    ‘I know!’ said Merlyn without turning around, but M could hear his wide smile. ‘This must be how a Jedi feels!’
    ‘Merlyn, I’m sure this is all incredibly exciting to you,’ she said quietly. ‘But you know we can’t trust Keyshawn, right? This suit, it’s great, but if it can do everything Keyshawn promises, it’s basically a skintight jail cell waiting to happen. Can you hack into these suits and put us back in charge?’
    Merlyn turned around, his smile replaced with an expression of shock. ‘Oh wow, you’re right. I … I got too hung up on the next-level tech specs to think of the downsides of the design.’
    ‘Well, the suits apparently don’t make you any smarter,’said Jules with a wink. ‘Come on, Merlyn. I’m sure you’ve got an answer up there in that big head of yours.’
    ‘I can’t believe I didn’t think it through,’ said Merlyn faintly to himself.
    ‘Are we ready?’ asked Keyshawn as he came back into the room.
    ‘You know that old saying, The clothes make the man ?’ M answered. ‘I finally understand what it means.’
    ‘I’m glad you like it,’ said Keyshawn. ‘But this suit is slightly more complicated than a nice shirt that makes you feel like a million bucks. In fact, this uniform costs a million bucks.’
    Keyshawn picked up a tablet and walked over between Jules and M, murmuring as