"Well, Artemis, what do you think of this?"
Artemis Fowl the Second sat with his father in front of a messy, disorganized pile of papers heaped on the coffee table in front of them. Butler stood dutifully at the door, watching the seven-year-old and the rich mastermind discuss business plans.
"Hmm. I'd say it's a good curve, though they could have done better."
Artemis Fowl Senior smiled unnoticeably. "How so?"
His son pointed to a spot on the graph. "Well, here-"
Something crashed through the door. Butler tried to grab it, but it was moving too fast - and that was rare. In the same instant, Artemis Fowl Senior threw himself back into the sofa and his son crossed his arms in front of his face. The mystery object struck his palm, and he instinctively closed his hand around it.
Artemis Fowl the Second had caught the mystery object.
"What is it?" Artemis Fowl the First edged off the sofa and knelt in front of his son, concerned for the seven-year-old. The child looked over it. It was a metal cylinder, with all sorts of buttons and knobs and lights all over it, except for a leather grip. One end was closed off, but the other had a hole in it. The bottom was shrouded in darkness, but the boy could see the glint of wires and circuits. It was a very strange device, one Artemis the First couldn't recognize.
And that was indeed a rare occurrence.
"I...I don't know, Father." Even at the age of seven, it was hard for Artemis to admit there was something he didn't know. And his father knew that if his son didn't know what something was and he didn't know himself, it was probable that no-one alive knew.
But this had never happened with an electrical device before. What was this thing?
"Clearly, it's dangerous," the seven-year-old said. "It almost killed Butler. We should probably keep it somewhere where it can't hurt anyone else." Though, for some reason, the weapon - if that was what it was - seemed to be connected to the boy, and little Artemis knew it. Part of him wanted to keep it. But he forced himself to put it down on the table, where his father picked it up. The boy had to suppress the urge to take it back.
"I'll go put this somewhere it won't get out." Artemis' father walked out of the room.
The boy nodded to himself. The device had to be kept where it could do no harm.
It had to.