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attack from the virus? Or by the Brainy Hacker?’
    â€˜Yes, I do. But Will is sure that it couldn’t be, because the game was on a commercial CD and it’s a closed system. You can’t add stuff into it. The game doesn’t have an online mode and it can’t receive messages via the web.’
    He paused and then said, ‘Only, when we played it, it did look as if it was able to pick up stuff from somewhere else. I’m sure the Brainy Hacker did use the monitor, but this time the message couldn’t have come over the internet. It came through the game itself. It’s much the same as what happened the other times, except that this time the hacker used a character.’
    â€˜What do you mean?’ asked Sonia curiously. Theyhad almost arrived at Will’s gate by this time, and they had decided to try and repeat the experience. At least, that was the idea.
    As they walked, Pedro had been explaining that there were loads of characters in this game. Depending on the situation, a player could be harmed by one of the characters, and that meant he or she would forfeit some items, for instance. But a player could also win points, of course, or get help from allies to face a challenge. These allies could be warriors, or a knight maybe, or a wizard. And the place where the mysterious message had appeared, that time when Will and Pedro were playing, was in a tower belonging to one of these wizard characters.
    â€˜A wizard! Like, with a boiling cauldron, a pointy hat, a starry cape?’ asked Sonia, surprised. ‘Will likes playing with stuff like that?’
    Pedro pretended to be concentrating on opening the gate, but really he was hesitating, wondering how to answer. He wanted Sonia to take the game seriously, to see it as a grown-up thing, not some silly kids’ stuff. He certainly didn’t want her asking Will questions like that.
    After a few seconds’ thought, he answered: ‘You don’t want to take much notice of those things, Sonia. These games are all like that, with wizards and magic and stuff, but it’s just a set. They’re actually very sophisticated and difficult. Complex aschess, for example. They require intelligence, highly developed logical thinking –’
    â€˜And a blue cape covered in little stars?’ Sonia chipped in with a smile.
    â€˜No, I can’t say I saw a cape,’ said Pedro seriously. ‘In the game, we were inside a castle. The wizard wasn’t about to go outside – he was in the tower. Maybe he just wears a cape in bad weather, who knows? But yes, there was a cauldron. And a pointy hat. And a lot of glass bottles with colourful liquids bubbling in them. There was an owl perched in a corner. And a big book.’
    â€˜Full of recipes for spells?’ she went on, teasing him. ‘And was there a magic wand?’
    She was really quite surprised at all this childish stuff in Will’s game. He had always seemed such a dark kind of guy. He wore black and listened to punk and heavy metal bands. He always put on such grown-up airs – and now suddenly she finds out he’s into fairy tales, the kind of thing that she and her girlfriends had left behind ages ago.
    Pedro replied, slightly impatiently, ‘How am I supposed to know? I didn’t go flicking through the book. It was on a screen, remember? But listen, suddenly the book spun around, changed position and faced us, wide open and showing the pages – and there was this message written on it. So, tell me, are you still very interested in the details of thecostumes and décor, or can I tell you what we read on that screen, on those pages?’
    He sounded annoyed.
    â€˜No, I’m sorry, go ahead. What was written on the book? Tell me!’
    But just at that moment, Will’s mother opened the door and invited them in, all smiles. A few minutes of polite small talk followed, so it was some time before the three friends were