Even though most electrical machines didn't work anymore, we had no way of knowing if they had any sort of machines with which they could spot us before they can actually see us. And even if they couldn't, these people would be understandably paranoid if they see another ship flying over them. So of course Murphy used our cloaking mechanism to make our ship invisible. In this state, we could see what the planet had become. Garbage was lying all over the streets, windows were boarded up, cars were everywhere in sight but none were moving. Everyone was walking in the middle of the roads, knowing they wouldn't be hit by anything. And at a distance, I saw a building, with a plane crashed into one of its walls. Saya wasn't impressed by any of this. It was like what she saw was nothing new. Merlin, on the other hand, was in awe. I suppose to him, a world with tall buildings and with things he can't fully recognize (a car could be considered a cart that is pulled without a horse, but only if can actually move without being pulled), so to him this world was a wonder, no matter what state it was in. Murphy stopped the ship in front of a building.
"This is where the broadcast came from." he explained.
"Then you better land on the roof, so we can get in." Saya told him.
"I can't." Murphy replied, "There's a landing pad for helicopters there."
"Meaning?" Merlin had no idea what a helicopter was.
"Doesn't that mean we can land there?" Saya questioned.
"Not without being seen." Murphy replied.
The irony of the situation, I realized. Our ship can turn invisible, but as soon as one of us steps out, it would look to everyone else like we just appeared out of nowhere, literally. We stick out more when we're invisible than we do if we weren't.
"All the streets are crowded, so we can't land on the ground either." Murphy said, "I'll have to land us on another rooftop."
Before any of us could say anything, the ship flew up. It was weird to see all the windows of all the floors rushing past us, but somehow incredible enough, I couldn't keep my eyes off it. I almost felt disappointed when it ended, and Murphy landed us on the other roof. As soon as we touched the ground, the three of us unbuckled ourselves from our seats.
"This is odd." Murphy said, "I just intercepted a transmission."
"A transmission?" Merlin questioned.
"It's a command: Trouble telepod ten." Murphy answered.
"Telepod?" the term was new to Saya as well.
"It came from a building about a mile west from here." Murphy explained.
"We don't like telepods, then?" Merlin asked.
"That's not the problem." Murphy answered, "The way this transmission was sent, and considering the level of technology in this world, it seemed like an odd message. Maybe it's part of the Number Six's plan."
"Let's go to that other building then." Saya decided.
"Wait!" Merlin stopped anyone from doing anything, "Why don't we leave here, and go there on foot?"
Saya and Murphy look at each other, then back at Merlin when she answered, "Because this is faster."
"But we can't just barge in on a building and expect them to welcome us with open arms." Merlin said, "If we go out here, and mingle with the people a little, we might understand this world a little better, and thus help them more."
Saya looked away, grumbling, "Do we really have to?"
"What harm can there be?" Merlin asked her, "You mingled with Diego and Garcia before, and you did all right."
"This world is more crowded than that." Saya replied.
Merlin sighed, "At least, it will give us more insight on what a telepod is."
Saya's head sank down, "Do our radio's still work?"
"And your goggles as well." Murphy replied.
I had almost forgotten. We all had these little devices in our ears that helped us talk to Murphy when we're not in the ship. It was a pain at first, but I had grown used to it. The same can be said about the goggles, which we wear not just so we can see things on different spectra, but also so Murphy can see what we see. Something else that I had grown used to wearing, mostly around my neck (putting them on my eyes only when I need them), to a point I stopped noticing I'm even wearing them at all.
The ship's door opened. Murphy turned to us, "Good luck."
"Thank you, but we won't need it."
Saya said nothing. If she spoke any less, she'd be as mute as I am.

As soon as we left the ship, Merlin gagged, while trying to pull his scarf over his mouth and nose.
"What is that stench?" he asked.
Saya smirked, "Five years without using cars, and you can still smell the pollution."
"Pollution?"
Murphy had started to explain to Merlin what she meant by that, but I wasn't listening. I stepped on something, but it not only felt weird, it also made a strange noise as I stepped on it. I lifted my foot to look at it. I sank down to pick it up. It seemed to be made of some kind of metal, but it didn't look like any sort of metal I had seen before. What was stranger is that it had a bug-like appearance.
"M?" Merlin called at me, and I turned to look, after which he said, "You coming?"
I put the "bug" in my pocket, and followed them.

There was a door on the roof, which Saya opened without any trouble, so we could enter. After that, there were a large number of stairs down. On our way, I got a look at what kind of building this was. It was just an everyday office building, but with all the computers now being useless, there wasn't much work anyone could do. So it made sense why there was nobody in this building. Or even why the front door wasn't locked, so we could leave easily. And now that we were among the people, things didn't look that much better. In a world where everyone has some amount of money, you can tell the penniless apart by their torn clothes. Here, everyone looked like they were penniless.
"If I ever return to Camelot, I'll never complain about dirty underwear again." Merlin stated.
Saya said nothing. She merely looked around. She had her eyes fixed on that building, from which we saw that broadcast earlier. I looked too. There were two robots standing there, both about twice the size of a normal human, but with that red light in their visors going from left to right, they were unmistakably Cylons.
"Looks like entering that building won't be as easy as it was to get out of this one." Saya said, referring to the building we just left.
Merlin nodded, "Isn't it strange, though? I remember Tanith telling us that Cylons exist that look human, but I thought they'd look more mechanical. You know, like the Borg do. I didn't think she'd look THAT human."
Saya looked at Merlin, "Don't tell me you like her."
Merlin hesitated for one second, which was enough for Saya, "Though a warlock, you are still human after all."
"Come on." Merlin complained, "How about you? Are you seriously saying you can't even look at a man and say he's handsome?"
"When I look at people, other things come to mind." Saya replied.
Remembering what she did to me, back when we were in Artemis Fowl's mansion, I had a good idea of what she meant by that. I scratched my neck when I thought about that.
"But that's not important." Saya continued, "We better find out what this telepod business is about."
"Are you looking for the telepod station?" a voice sounded.
The three of us looked at who spoke to us. It was a man, about sixty years of age, wearing a long coat, a hat, and carrying what looked like a briefcase, only it had such a weird shape, it looked more like a box.
"Eh... yes." Merlin answered, "We've heard so much about them, but we never saw any."
The man smiled, "Never saw one. Then how did you get here?"
Merlin's mouth was open, but no sound would come out. He looked at Saya for help, but she just frowned.
"You don't want to tell me?" the man said, "A wise decision."
Both Saya and Merlin looked surprised, but only Merlin laughed, "Can you take us to these telepods?"
"Sure." the man bowed his head.
"Just like that?" Saya questioned.
"The telepod station is a public place." he explained, "Everyone is allowed to use them. Who am I to stand in their way."
He sounded polite and helpful, and yet I couldn't help but feel there was something strange about this man. Like he was too polite.
"Incidentally, what are your names?" he asked.
"I'm Merlin, that's Saya, and this... we call him M."
The man looked at me as Merlin had introduced me. As he locked his eyes on me, I felt like taking a few steps back. As I did, I felt something happening in my pocket. That bug I picked up earlier, it was moving.
"M for 'mute', I take it?" the man asked.
"How about you?" Saya cut in between us, "What is your name?"
The man smiled, not at all fazed about Saya's behavior, "Lehnsherr. Eric."