Chapter Five

Trying to make Giles Ms. Calendar get along was like trying to make two toddlers play nice, only worse, because these toddlers actually had a vocabulary. A vocabulary which they used, quite loudly and prolifically.

"You are a snob!" Ms. Calendar was all but shouting. I groaned inwardly and lifted my head from where I'd been hiding in the classics, trying to escape to the dismal world of Jane Eyre because even there was preferable to here.

At least Jane Eyre had Mr. Rochester.

Giles straightened so fast from where he'd been squatting he put me in mind of a jack-in-the-box…only in tweed.

He narrowed his eyes at her and I saw his back stiffen.

"I am no such thing." He said primly.

"Oh, you are a big snob." Ms. Calendar informed him. "You think knowledge should be kept in these little guarded repositories where only a handful of white guys can get at it."

I stood up then. She'd better not be accusing Giles of being a racist. I would be having a not-so-polite word with her if she was.

"Nonsense." Giles snapped. "I simply don't adhere to a knee-jerk assumption that just because something is new, it's better."

"This isn't a fad, Rupert," Ms. Calendar argued. Since when had she been calling him 'Rupert'?

"We are creating a new society here." She continued.

"Yes, a new society in which all human interaction is all but obsolete," Giles argued right back at her, "in which people can be completely manipulated by technology. Well, thank you, but I'll pass."

"Well," Ms. Calendar sighed, "I think you'll be very happy here with your musty old books."

"These 'musty old books' here have a great deal more to say than any of your fabulous web-pages." Giles muttered back.

I rolled my eyes and came down the stairs.

"An argument has been made for both viewpoints," I announced, "you're both set in your ways, so why continue to argue and bicker like schoolchildren?"

"Well what's your opinion?" Ms. Calendar asked, playing with the edge of an ancient looking tome.

I blinked.

"Mine?" I asked, "Do you really want to hear it?" I was incredulous about this. After all, the woman didn't appear able to remember my name for more than a day, I wasn't sure she could even remember half of my argument.

"Well I do." Giles answered, "It would be nice to hear common sense for once."

I sighed and rubbed the back of my head. They were looking at me now, and I felt incredibly awkward for thrusting myself into a debate like this.

"Well," I began slowly, "I agree with Ms. Calendar that this isn't just a fad, and I can see her view of its importance. On the other hand, I can also see Mr. Giles' concerns. However, unlike him I don't see computers as a threat."

"Why ever not?" Giles asked. The look on his face must have been the expression Caesar had when Brutus stabbed him.

"Because books and computers both come down to two basic things: knowledge, and communication." I answered, "Books have been our 'computers' more or less for thousands of years. I highly doubt they're going to become obsolete just because technology has made an advance once again. For example, when computers were first being developed, the same argument was made that books would soon become obsolete, that's almost thirty years ago and they're still here. Books have survived a very, very long time, Mr. Giles and I don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon. There will always be a love for books, and a desire for them."

I took a deep breath, surprised at my lengthy speech, and then I turned to Ms. Calendar.

"On the other hand," I said, "I don't think one's love for books should be belittled, nor should their fears be ignored or dismissed. What I believe Mr. Giles is trying to argue is that there is something undeniably intimate about a book. It's physical, it's there, whereas computers create barriers whilst also giving access, do you see?"

Ms. Calendar nodded slowly.

"I think so," she said with a frown.

"There is a need for both sources," I said, "Neither is better than the other, they're both useful, both beloved, both necessary. I cannot say which is better, simply that I admire both means of information and don't hold one in particular in high regard as they both have flaws and benefits."

I dipped my head.

"Here endeth the lesson." I said with a smirk.

There was a moment of silence and then nodded Giles sighed

"I suppose…you have a point." He admitted reluctantly, then glared at Ms. Calendar, "But if it's all the same to you, I will continue to prefer books, and you your…dread machines."

Ms. Calendar shrugged as she flipped open the book she'd been toying with.

"Fine by me." She said, then addressed me, "That was a very good argument, uh, Margery. For the middle of the fence. Very good indeed, have you thought about going out for the debate team?"

I shuddered.

"Good heavens, no." I said. She laughed, then glanced down at the book and frowned.

"Huh," she said, flipping a page back and forth, "I wonder if this is supposed to be some sort of journal, because, contrary to what Rupert here thinks, it sure doesn't seem to be 'saying' a whole lot."

Giles frowned deeply, and I immediately took notice. There was something churning in that head of his. Something was amiss.

"How odd," he said, coming around the table to look, "I haven't looked through all the volumes yet, I need to, um-" he'd been examining the pages as he spoke, and now he flipped the cover closed and stopped short. I looked down at the cover.

It was old leather, and there was the etching of a ferocious looking horned demon, complete with red eyes.

"What is it?" Ms. Calendar asked. Giles pulled himself together quickly.

"Nothing, I-uh, um, a diary. Yes." He was stumbling, and he gave me a sharp look that made me stiffen. Something was very much amiss here.

"I imagine that's what it is…"he trailed off, his brow furrowing over his glasses again, he picked up the book and started moving away. He looked, distracted.

"Well, it's been so nice talking to you." He commented, as an afterthought.

Even Ms. Calendar picked up on that.

"We were fighting?" she said quizzically. Giles didn't seem to notice as he moved towards his office.

"Yes, must do it again sometime," he said with a friendly smile, "bye now. Margery, do come along, won't you?"

I frowned a bit, and glanced at Ms. Calendar. She still looked confused, and, frighteningly enough, suspicious.

"Of course," I answered, hurrying to follow, "be right there."

As it turns out, I wasn't of very much help to Giles back in his office. He kept double checking ledgers of the recent arrivals, but couldn't find anything about the book being blank, and he wouldn't really talk to me, other than to mutter a little bit.

So mostly I stayed out of his way and fetched him other books as he thought of them.

What? Monster slaying can't be glamorous all of the time.

To make matters worse, we'd only just gotten underway in our investigation when we were interrupted by Xander and Buffy again, and this time Buffy looked the worse for wear.

Apparently, she'd nearly been electrocuted whilst looking for Willow, after Dave had told her where to go.

"The plot thickens." I murmured to myself, but I was grateful Buffy hadn't been seriously harmed.

"I am going to kill Dave." Xander stormed, pacing around the room. He'd gone quite mad once he'd learned of Dave's involvement.

"He tried to warn me." Buffy argued softly.

"By setting you up?" Xander demanded. He was getting quite heated, the poor lad. Giles walked by, hold the world's cure-all: a cup of tea.

"Is she going to be all right?" he asked him.

"Well, she was only grounded for a moment." He said calmly, "Still, if you'd been anyone but the Slayer…"

He left the last part unsaid, and I felt a hot flush of anger work its way up through my neck.

They'd nearly killed her, whoever they were. That meant they would have to pay.

Buffy looked stricken as she took the tea from Giles, and looked at us in a worried manner.

"Tell me the truth," she said earnestly, "How's my hair?"

I rolled my eyes at this, but turned away so she wouldn't see it.

"It-It's great!" Xander lied, "It's your best hair ever."

"Uh, y-yes." Giles seconded. I sighed.

"Though you might to borrow someone's comb." I told her as gently as I could. She groaned and sank back in her chair.

"I don't understand what would make Dave do a thing like that." She moaned.

"Yes, I mean, what did your hair ever do to him?" I couldn't help quipping. I fell silent quickly after Buffy glared at me threateningly.

"Well, I think perhaps I do." Giles said. I almost gave a little cry of praise. At last, maybe NOW I could find out what on earth he'd been doing in his office all that time.

He fetched the blank book from the caged off area of the library, looking very serious.

"Does this look familiar to either of you?" he asked, holding it up so we could see the grisly cover.

"Yeah, sure," Buffy said, "it looks like a book."

Giles huffed at her and she smirked. Xander grinned.

"I knew that one." He said proudly.

"Mmm, well done." I murmured at him, "Visual comprehension has not failed you."

"In darker Ages," Giles began, "Souls of demons were sometimes trapped in volumes. They remained locked in the book, harmless. Unless the pages were read aloud."

I frowned.

"Well, no one read aloud from any of the books, that I know of." I said.

"Unless I'm mistaken," Giles continued, "This is Moloch. The Corrupter. A very deadly and seductive demon, he draws people to him with promises of love, power, knowledge. He preys on impressionable minds."

"Sounds a bit like a succubus." I suggested.

"Not far off." Giles nodded.

"So he preys on people like Dave." Xander pointed out.

Giles nodded.

"Dave, and, who knows how many others."

I couldn't help but feel there was something more to this. Perhaps not Moloch specifically, but Giles had a strange look in his eyes. One I couldn't place, but it made me wonder.

"And, Moloch is inside that book?" Buffy asked.

"Not anymore." Giles said grimly, and flipped it open to reveal all of those blank pages.

"You released Moloch?" Xander asked. I frowned at him.

"Why, yes, boy, we released him because we thought things had been a bit dull around here lately." I said, making sure my voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Yes, that dreadful Calendar woman found it, and it was already blank." Giles explained.

"So, a powerful demon with horns is walking around Sunnydale and nobody's noticed?" Buffy asked.

"Well, they didn't notice the vampires." I reminded her.

"And if he's so big and strong, why bother with Dave?" Xander asked, "Why didn't he just attack Buffy himself?"

"I don't know." Giles sighed, "And I don't know who could have read that book, it wasn't even in English." He paused and looked at me with an arched eyebrow. I sighed and crossed my arms.

"Of course it would be me," I said, "because I have such a huge love for demons after one raped my mother."

That came out far harsher than I had meant it to, but it had been a long, strenuous day, and was about to get longer, it appeared. Giles blushed and looked away, adjusting his glasses awkwardly as he tried to think of a way to make up for his insinuation.

"I-I'm sorry." He murmured.

"No, it's all right. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped. Things have just been very, emotional this week." I answered. He nodded, smiling in understanding. Bless that man.

"Hey," Buffy said quietly, "Where was that book?"

"In a pile with others that were scanned." He answered.

We all froze, and simultaneously we all looked at the computer.

'Oh no.' I thought.

"So…that released the demon?" Xander said quietly.

"No, he's not out here." Buffy insisted.

I frowned at the computer.

"Of course not," I said, "he can't be if he's in there." I pointed at the computer. I looked to Giles. "He went with the words that bound him."

"Of course," Giles breathed, "it took him out as information to be absorbed."

"He's gone binary on us." Buffy said.

"Okay, for those of us who are in our studio audience which are me," Xander said, looking scared, "you're saying Moloch is in this computer."

"And in every computer connected to it by a modem." Buffy nodded.

"So, in short, he's everywhere." I said quietly, looking at Giles. Perhaps his fear of computers hadn't been so groundless after all.

"Well," Giles sighed, "Willow scanned it into her file. It may be a futile gesture, but I suggest we uh, delete it?"

"Solid." Buffy said, getting up to move towards the computer.

"Don't get too close." Xander warned her.

"If it could be physically harmful through the screen, it would have been so already." I pointed out to him. "But do be careful." I added.

She sat down at the monitor and booted up the computer.

"So," she said, "Which file do you think it is? 'Willow'?"

None of us could think of anything better, so she tried it.

She clicked on the file marked 'Willow' and dragged it down to the trash bin. Much to our surprise, the file bounced back into its original position, and the screen transformed into the face of none other than Moloch.

"Stay away from Willow," he snarled, "it is none of your business."

I was so startled I reacted out of instinct. Or rather, the Essence's instinct.

I didn't realize I was even doing it, but I punched the monitor.

"Um…sorry." I said, once I realized I had done. Everyone was staring at me as smoke drifted up out of the monitor.

"Well," Buffy said awkwardly, "at least we know what 'Malcolm' looks like now."

I withdrew my hand and straightened.

"And if he thinks that Willow is his," I added with a growl, "then we'll just have to show him the error of his ways."