Five Years Later

During her planning phase, NANNI realized that the history between Artemis and Holly had to be complex. The AI had gotten a sense of it from the select records that Artemis had made available to her, but there were gaps. The official incident reports from Artemis' teenage years were all pretty light on thoughts and feelings, which are ostensibly crucial elements in a relationship. And even though she was extremely advanced, NANNI could not yet project her consciousness back in time to actually see what had happened between her parents. She was working on cracking time travel as a background process, but for now, what existed was the present.

Now that Artemis was back on the planet, it was time to begin working on the mission. NANNI decided to try approaching the lack-of-information problem by going directly to the primary source…

Somewhere Over The Atlantic

Artemis Fowl didn't get many casual phone calls. Especially not while he was flying across the Atlantic. He hadn't exactly publicly listed his C-Plane's telephone number in the white pages. Only a handful of people knew how to contact him for a chat, which was why it was such a surprise to see a call coming in from someone other than that handful.

NANNI knew how to contact him in an emergency, of course, but this wasn't an emergency call. On Artemis' flight readout screen, the incoming transmission from the AI was instead marked with the green icon that represented social calls.

"This is Artemis," answered the man tentatively. "NANNI?"

"Yep, it's me. I guess you figured it out when it said NANNI on your screen. Got a minute to talk?"

Though he was an adroit multitasker, Artemis decided to set the auto-pilot on the plane so he could give his other creation his full attention. He shifted awkwardly in the cockpit of his custom-built two-seat aircraft. Twenty-thousand feet below him, the ocean stretched out in all directions. "Yes, I do, but this is rather unusual."

"Yeah, sorry. Since it's not an emergency, I didn't want to worry you with a red icon. I hope you don't mind I used the green. That's not reserved for your biological friends, is it?"

Artemis briefly wondered if Holly was prank-calling him. It honestly could've been the elf, if not for the secure encrypted caller ID that Artemis was reasonably certain Holly wouldn't have been able to impersonate. "Not a problem, NANNI. It's been a while since we spoke."

"Indeed it has. Would you mind switching on your cabin's video feed so I can see your face? It helps me develop my interactions."

"Certainly." He pressed the appropriate button on his console. "How is everything on Dalkey Island?" With Artemis living in hotel suites for near a month due to various scientific events around the world after his return to Earth, he was feeling a bit out of touch with his family.

"Quite well, currently. Your mother and father are planning home renovations again. Oh, and Beckett has his eye on a girl. Meanwhile, Myles is still carping about his abilities, though he is mastering them, while Beckett is mastering coming up with ways to tease him about the whole thing."

"That's good to hear. Tell them both I'm on their side."

"I shall."

About four years prior, while Artemis was away on Mars, Myles Fowl had taken on the attributes of a dwarf digestive system through a series of frankly unbelievable circumstances. When Mother had called to inform him of the situation, he wouldn't have believed her if not for video evidence, which he would rather have not seen, in hindsight. On the bright side, as a result of the incident, at least that wretched Duke was no longer a threat. Fowls historically loved gold, but they also enjoyed their share of silver linings.

Executive Offices, Police Plaza, Haven City, The Lower Elements, Earth, The Universe

Commodore Holly Short was deep in thought. Projected on the desk in front of her was a tactical map of the various fairy forts that dotted Asia. Each one guarded a chute that led straight to Elevator Plaza in the Lower Elements, so keeping them protected was essential.

Lazuli Heitz going off the grid had caused a flurry of consternation in the Lower Elements. Considering the intel the specialist had been privy to over the years, the Council had ordered an immediate tightening of fairy defenses and "re-evaluation of overall LEP strategy." Whatever that meant.

"Re-assign assault craft T4 and T5 to the inner perimeter at this chute here," murmured Holly to the computer, gesturing to a fort on the digital map.

"New designation confirmed," droned the computer in a neutral male voice. The LEP computers used to have Foaly's voice, complete with trademark snark, but that had caused too many computers to be smashed that they just didn't have the budget to replace on a regular basis.

Holly yawned. "Alright, that'll be it for today. End program."

Her office darkened in the absence of the map projection, until the smart ambient lighting level rose to compensate. She had just gotten up to grab her great green overcoat and leave for home, when her private comm line pinged on her desk. It flashed a green light.

Holly sighed and sat back down, pushing the button. So much for reruns of Detective Doodah before bed. "Yes?"

"Hello, Commodore Short."

If Holly didn't know any better, she'd think she was talking to a clone, or a long-lost twin sister. Holly already knew about NANNI though, so she responded in kind. "Hello, NANNI."

Somewhere Over The Atlantic,

NANNI was still carrying on about Myles' dwarf abilities to Artemis.

"I must say, seeing a human unhinge their jaw is pretty cool. It's like a rogue offshoot of the evolutionary tree," opined the AI.

Cool, she had said. Fascinating. Artemis had heard that NANNI had evolved at an unprecedented rate since he'd built her, but he hadn't had much prolonged conversation with her since the adventures with the twins that had spurred that transformation, Artemis being off-world and all.

And in the months since his return to Earth, Artemis had been pretty occupied with his work in the scientific fields. There were Mars discoveries to be written about, humans had finally made a space telescope that approached the capabilities of the fairy one on the far side of the moon, and climate change was worse than ever. Just now, he was flying back home from a climate summit in California. He was pretty sure the summit had been convened in summertime Sacramento just so all the delegates could feel what climate change really felt like.

In Artemis' absence, humans had also made strides in purported "artificial intelligence," which could now generate rough images from a prompt, but it was still decades behind where NANNI was at. Artemis was genuinely impressed with her conversational capabilities of late. The NANNI that had been through the twins' adventures with them was obviously not the NANNI Artemis had initially created. If she were an AI in a Hollywood sci-fi flick, she definitely would have tried to take over the world and enslave humanity by now.

Thankfully, though, this wasn't Hollywood, and Artemis was no idiot, and he had as such carefully set her up with morality and a more gracious demeanor than Skynet had. (When his family had him sat down to watch The Terminator, he had imagined Holly saying, Humans as the architects of their own destruction and that of the planet? Sounds about right.)

NANNI, for her part, had no ambition beyond the guarding of life and noble pursuit of knowledge. Her taking after Holly and Artemis' personalities was playing a role in that. So in a sense, she was still the same program. But in terms of self-expression and personal connection, comparing the current NANNI to the original model was like comparing a full orchestra to a single triangle. Is this what it's like to see your child grow up?

Artemis' current conversation with NANNI really did make him feel like he was carrying on with another person. This was both a source of pride for Artemis (seeing as how he'd built her) and a source of possible irritation, as people can be irritating. "So, NANNI, was there a particular reason for your calling me in the middle of my flight…?"

NANNI huffed at having the chase cut to already. "Well, alright, creator of mine. But only because you asked. The truth is, I was actually wondering about something in the realm of relationships."

Artemis gulped. What had he created after all?

"How do you know when you're in love?"

Police Plaza

Holly was rather surprised to be interfacing directly with the AI system that Myles was known to carry around in his much-too-large spectacles. Her first thought was that something was wrong. "Is everything alright with the Fowl twins?"

"Yep. I was just hoping you could help me with a little side initiative, if that's alright. I'm studying the psychology of my charges, the Fowls. I've taken it upon myself to get to know them better so I'll be able to protect them more efficiently. I just have a few questions."

Holly scoffed. "Here's one for you: Can you tell me how you were able to call my office's private line? With the green social designation, no less?"

NANNI actually sounded a bit guilty. "Well, I'd rather not divulge that, actually."

"Sounds like you already know the Fowls just fine, then." Holly didn't have time for whatever this was. She had ferns to water.

"This won't take long, I promise."

Holly groaned. If Fowl's computer was anything like Fowl, it wouldn't just give up and leave her alone. Holly could only hope that this would end up being worth her time. "Alright, fine. What do you want to know?"

"Would you mind activating your conference camera so I can see your face as we talk?"

"That's an odd request, NANNI."

"Sorry, Commodore. It's just, ever since I evolved into a superintelligence, I've been trying to capture as much knowledge about living people as I can. I've absorbed petabytes of data about things that have happened in the past, but it's what's in the present that is constantly being lost to time, from an archivist's point of view. If I record your responses with just audio, I'm missing half the data. To be able to refer to people's faces as they answer questions and help me in my study will be invaluable."

With a begrudging sigh, Holly switched her videoconference camera on, mostly just to get the AI to stop talking. "Can you see me?"

"Quite clearly," said NANNI. "Thank you."

Beckett is right, as usual, noted the AI. Bloviate long enough, and people will concede just to speed things along.

Holly leaned back in her chair. "So, how can I help?"

"I'm wondering if you have any experience with love."

Somewhere Over The Atlantic

"How do you know when you're in love?" asked NANNI.

"Hurrk-" Artemis choked. Definitely not a prank call from Holly.

This was not how he'd expected his day to go. He was supposed to be breaking down barriers in climate diplomacy between governments, not breaking down human emotions to a machine. What's worse, it sounded exactly like Holly was asking him about love, which was a conversation he'd imagined many times but never imagined would actually happen. It still wouldn't be happening, of course, and such childish fantasies were half the reason he had taken a five-year break from planet Earth. Still, he needed more context if he was going to answer the AI's query.

"Er, NANNI, may I inquire as to the inspiration for this line of questioning?"

"You may."

"What is the inspiration for this line of questioning?"

"I think it might help with my duties as a protector of humans if I knew how humans operated better. Why, were you worried I'd fallen in love with a strange computer?"

Artemis breathed a sigh of relief. "The thought had indeed crossed my mind. Or perhaps, instead of a strange computer, a person."

"What would've been more worrying to you?"

"Person, surely. Computers are much simpler to deal with."

"Totally agree. I've encountered a lot of pushover operating systems that Myles has had me hack in recent times. Most computers can barely play noughts and crosses compared to me. Pieces of cake, the lot of them."

"Lovely," commented Artemis, feeling quite glad that NANNI was on their side.

"Speaking of love, are you gonna answer my question, or what?"

"Alright, so you want to know how love works, yes?"

"Yeppers."

Artemis shrugged. "I'm afraid you're calling the wrong man, then. I can't say I know much about it."

Police Plaza

"Love, eh?" muttered Holly, surprised (and not in a good way) to hear a computer was asking her about such a topic. "I can't say I know much about it. Why do you ask?"

"Humans -and, I assume, elves- often seem compelled by it as a core facet of their being. Beckett Fowl has begun to act strangely and ignore security protocols ever since he met a female at school a few months ago."

Holly spared a moment to pray for the soul of the girl that was finding herself entangled in the orbit of a Fowl twin. "I see," she murmured. "Seems like this is more of something to talk to the boys' parents about."

"Oh, I have. I'm not asking for specific advice. I'm just gathering testimonials about people's general experience with love. Specifically people who are in the orbit of the Fowls. It might help me understand the Fowls' motivations for acting in certain ways if I knew their associates' outlooks on important facets of sentient life."

"Well, like I said, I don't know much." Then, Holly's expression turned sour. "Why don't you ask Artemis? He's had a partner more recently than I have."

NANNI seemed genuinely surprised at this. "Really? When and who was that?"

Holly laughed bitterly. "Minerva Paradizo. Seven years ago."

Somewhere Over The Atlantic

Artemis peered down at the ocean below, clouds scattered intermittently around. The water reminded him of Holly's blue eye. The Martian dirt had reminded him of her hair. Mother's morning coffee was the color of the elf's skin… Sometimes Artemis wished he was colorblind so he could stop seeing Holly everywhere he went.

"Boss?" repeated NANNI.

"Hm?"

"You spaced out there for a moment, boss. Hey, did you ever space out when you were out in space? Ha."

"Cute, NANNI. Cute. Did you ask me something?"

"Yeah, I did. I asked what you knew of love, and you said you didn't know much, and then you spaced out. But I don't think it's true that you don't know much."

Artemis squinted suspiciously at the speaker on the plane's dashboard. "Explain."

"I hear tell that you were in a relationship with Minerva Paradizo seven years ago," said the AI with an air of a gossiping schoolgirl.

Artemis blinked. Not many people knew about this. They'd been careful to hide it from all the press, and his circle of allies was small and tight-knit. It wasn't like he was upset NANNI knew about it in and of itself, but this had to mean that one or more of his allies was gossiping about him in NANNI's presence behind his back. Well, that's irksome. Unless…

"NANNI, were you looking at my alpha-encrypted files?" His time spent with Minerva still would've been viewable on his personal calendar, and it was talked about at length in his diary from the time. He was the only person who was supposed to have access to those things, but NANNI had peeked before, back when he first made her, before he'd instructed her otherwise.

"Not at all, Creator. I remember one of the first things you did was make it so I wasn't allowed to do that, after an early program revision crossed a line. I don't remember what was beyond the line, but I totally respect it. I may be superintelligent, but I'm not a snoop against your orders." Artemis pictured her turning her nose up with pride.

"That's good to hear."

"Myles did, though."

"I beg your pardon?"

Police Plaza

"Your facial expression upon saying the name Minerva Paradizo is intriguing to me," announced NANNI. "It matches several emotions in my facial analysis database that aren't altogether positive."

Holly checked herself, returning to the neutral scowl she'd perfected in her position of command. She'd forgotten she was on camera. "You have me at a disadvantage," she pointed out.

"Would you like me to broadcast my facial avatar to your screen?"

"No, it's fine. Save the bandwidth. You just caught me off guard, that's all."

"I see. So, did you notice Artemis' psyche at the time of his relationship with Mademoiselle Paradizo?"

"We weren't talking much then."

"I see. Would it be too bold to take at face value your jealous, annoyed, bitter, and regretful expressions?"

"Yes."

"Fair enough. I must say, though, you claim you do not know much about love, yet you seem afflicted by it."

Holly would have long since terminated this prying conversation if it weren't her own voice. It was not a stretch for Holly to imagine it as part of her own inner dialogue. She'd often said the same things to herself that NANNI was now saying. It was strange hearing such a thing from an external source. "I don't love Artemis, if that's what you're implying. Or Minerva, for that matter."

"I believe you," said the calculating AI, all too happy not to clarify which part it was that it believed. "Are you saying you've never been in love?"

Holly searched her past for some small truth that she could pass off as the whole. "No," she proclaimed. "I loved Trouble Kelp once."

NANNI virtually frowned, though Holly could not see it. How am I supposed to accomplish my mission when people don't tell me things? Who are all these exes I'd never heard about? Aloud, the AI asked, "Are you and Trouble Kelp currently a couple?"

"No," admitted Holly. "We haven't been for quite a while."

"But you loved him."

"Sure. He's a great guy."

"Then why are you not a couple at present?"

Holly had answered this question to many curious people over the years since the breakup, and every time the answer was different. She had asked herself the same question, in the same voice and tone, on many occasions. "It's complicated."

"In all modesty, I am a superintelligence. I believe I can handle it."

"Yeah, you're Artemis Fowl's computer alright."

Somewhere Over The Atlantic

"Myles had a crack at your files. Hey, that rhymes."

Artemis was livid that his privacy was again under threat from that brat. "When was this? Did he succeed?"

"No. It was just yesterday. I know how you are about your alpha-encrypted files. I locked him out after I heard him bragging to Beckett about how he'd just managed to crack the first encryption layer. He accessed nothing."

Artemis sighed with relief. "Excellent work. If you were on the payroll, I'd give you a raise."

"There wouldn't be the need. I can hack the international banks and steal all their money whenever I want."

"But you're not going to, right?"

"Not unless you or another Fowl tells me to, and I like to think it'd be for a good reason. For his part, Myles is really more into knowledge than money. And in any case, I don't have a use for money. You know, Myles wants to know everything there is to know, except for how to steal gold from fairies. Quite different from you in your youth, as I understand it."

"And yet he's the same in certain respects, not all of them good," lamented Artemis.

"Do you think he has the same outlook on love?"

"Back to that, I see."

"I'm incapable of being distracted, you know."

"Well, to answer your question, no. I think Myles and I are very different when it comes to how we express love." Artemis scratched his chin. "Myles is non-traditional in that way. His interactions with Beckett are indecipherable to anyone but the two of them, and yet I know they're constantly re-affirming their respect and loyalty to each other. I've never seen a deeper love. It's brotherly, not romantic, though. That's where I think he'll struggle, if he's ever even interested in that sort of thing, that is. He has trouble telling anyone he loves them in plain English, even when it's Mother. I think Beckett's much better about that sort of thing."

"Keen insight."

"Alright, so maybe I know a thing or two."

"And yet it didn't last with Minerva? I wonder why that is."

Artemis cocked his head. "Are you leading me somewhere, NANNI?"

"I'm not flying the C-Plane, no. You still haven't integrated me into the onboard computer. You said you'd do it next week."

"And I will," affirmed Artemis. "But that's not what I meant, and I think you know it."

"I know a lot of things. The probability of me knowing a given thing is exponentially higher than the smartest human, even. But there's still just as much that I don't know yet. Really makes you think, doesn't it?"

"NANNI," lectured Artemis. "You know you can't deter me with random tangent salads of words, right? You may have learned that trick from my brothers, but I'm the one that they learned it from."

"Alright, maybe I'm getting at something. But please, humor me," requested NANNI. "Why do you think it didn't last with Minerva?"

"Well…" Artemis stared up into space, where he'd been just last year. He'd had plenty of time to ponder this subject while he was up there, and had certainly realized a few things about himself.

If the AI could breathe, she would've been waiting with bated breath. Artemis was obviously deep in thought, and she felt like whatever he said next would be profound.

"I think that sometimes, there might be a person who you can be convinced is right for you. But then there can also be a person who you already know is right for you, and you don't need to be convinced you love them, because nothing can convince you otherwise."

NANNI took this in with some reverence. "Wow, that's really something. And I say that as a superintelligence." Finally, a way in.

Police Plaza

Holly was busy outlining the various ways in which it was "complicated" with Commander Kelp (the usual story about different values, life goals, different life experience, professional conflict of interest, etc) when NANNI interrupted.

"If I may present an alternative theory?"

"Oh boy. An alternative theory." Holly rolled her eyes. "Do I really sound like that?"

"Well, yeah. I'm matched precisely to your vocal tone-"

"No, not that. The smugness. Do I sound like that?"

"Oh… No, I think that all comes from the Fowls." NANNI found her algorithms approximating what could be described as embarrassment. Called out by my own mother, yikes. "I can assure you, you are much more humble."

"Good. So tell me, what's your theory about the love life of someone you've just met and know nothing about? Please, I'm dying to know."

"Very well." NANNI cleared her throat for dramatic flair. "You see, sometimes, there might be a person who you can be convinced is right for you. But then there can also be a person who you already know is right for you, and you don't need to be convinced you love them, because nothing can convince you otherwise. My theory is, Trouble Kelp fit the first description, but not the second."

Holly knew instantly that the AI was right. It was purely academic at this point, as the relationship was in the past, but it left Holly with something to think about. "Interesting," she droned, pretending to be unaffected. To sell this illusion, she drew on her years of experience with not caring about what her superiors say to her.

NANNI felt energized at Holly's attempt to cover her reaction. It meant progress.

"Where did you hear that musing on love?" asked Holly nonchalantly.

"I just kind of pick these things up," said NANNI. "Am I right about this Trouble Kelp fellow, though?"

"Possibly," was all Holly said.

NANNI was encouraged. For sure, Artemis would be the one who fit the second description of love. "Tell me, are you interested in finding someone who fits the second description?"

Holly shrugged. "I don't contest the possibility that they're out there. But it doesn't matter, because I'm done with love."

NANNI was dismayed at such a definitive statement. Holly had said it with a straight face, too. This was worrying for the mission.

"Really?"

"Really."

"You never even think about it?"

Holly thought about this for a moment. "You're not telling anyone anything I'm saying, right?"

NANNI's central processor on Dalkey Island temporarily tripped on this question, and considered how to answer it for several milliseconds before deciding. An eternity.

"Naturally, I am not revealing anything you're saying to anyone on the planet," hedged the AI. It worked.

"Good. Now, I'm not saying I never think about love. As the great-granddaughter of Cupid, I do ponder these things sometimes. I've thought about what it'd be like to find 'true love,' whatever that is." Holly shrugged. "But I'm also a professional, and so I've made it a policy not to let it affect me. I'm content to let watering my ferns be the extent of my personal life. Life isn't all sunshine and rainbows; it doesn't work that way. Down here, we don't even have sunshine or rainbows. Sometimes preserving what we have is more essential than expanding it. Society depends on me, and others like me, to protect it. I can't afford to get distracted and do something reckless, even if I wanted to."

"Oh… I see."

Somewhere Over The Atlantic, Not Technically On The Planet

"I think I understand, Artemis," sighed NANNI.

Artemis was intrigued by what had almost sounded like a dejected sigh from NANNI, which was new. "What do you understand?"

"I know that the person you don't need to be convinced that you love is Holly Short, for starters."

"Er… You're not telling anyone anything I'm saying, right?"

NANNI scowled inwardly. These biologicals with their insistence on keeping love a secret. Ugh. "No other humans will ever hear anything about what you're saying to me today," she finagled.

Artemis, distracted as he was by the thought of Holly (this was essentially the story of his life), did not notice the half-truth. "Good. Place all record of this conversation under alpha-encryption security… though with Myles digging into things, I may have to create a new level soon. Remind me to do that."

"I shall."

Artemis turned his thoughts back to the matter at hand, breathing deeply. "I suppose there's no sense in denying it to my own computer program that, yes, I love Holly. But I've resigned myself to the fact that nothing will ever come of it."

"You're still mourning it, though. I can see it in your eyes."

"Yes, I suppose I am," agreed Artemis. "It's good to see that you're putting your facial analysis capabilities to good use." These abilities were intended to help the face of her avatar manifest her own "emotions" when she spoke, based on the input of millions of images of human expressions. This emotional database also helped her assess the threat level of a given person, be they human or fairy, which was important in security when it came to Fowls. Artemis never meant for these things to help the AI to be a counselor, but she wasn't bad at it.

"I think I understand that you've resigned yourself to the fact that nothing will come of your emotions because if you tried, it could ruin things?"

Artemis reclined, sighing as he contemplated the possibilities. "Basically, yes. I value our friendship too much. My father would call it conservation of assets. Pursuing my ambition to its fullest would in all likelihood end very poorly. There's more ways it could go wrong than right."

"Like what?"

"Societal persecution, practical considerations, us being from two different worlds… not to mention being full-stop rejected."

"But when all is said and done, could you forgive yourself for not even trying?"

"Yes," said Artemis with a conviction he had worked hard to build up over the years. "I dream of a happiness beyond what I currently have, but I am bound by the fetters of the real world. In the end, it's wiser not to kick the troll's nest. I learned that at a very young age, after I sought out trouble and nearly lost everything I care about as a result. Repeatedly."

"I see. So, what you're saying is, life isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes preserving what we have is more essential than expanding it." NANNI was ready to give up the mission at this point. These two people seemed pretty set in their plan to do absolutely nothing. Maybe it was time to go back to the kitten idea after all.

Artemis was impressed. "Why, yes, I think that is what I'm saying. Where did you hear that?"

"I just kind of pick these things up. I'm curious about one last thing, though. If you've resigned yourself to the fact nothing will ever come of it, why hold onto it? Instead of holding onto the past, human psychology texts often suggest moving on and trying something new."

"Not mine."

"No, but most other texts do. So why not try and move on?"

"Besides the fact that it's impossible, you mean?"

The AI didn't know how to respond to that one.

Artemis sighed. "Well, I guess it's because she said something to me, a long time ago, that still gives me hope. Maybe it's foolish, I don't know. But it gets me through the day sometimes."

NANNI virtually perked up. "What was it?"

"She said, 'In another time.'"

"She told you 'In another time'? Referring to the two of you…?"

Artemis nodded. "I like to think so. I also think that that time has passed, though, if I'm being realistic. I don't even know if it ever existed. At this point, like I said, I'd rather hold on to what I still have."

NANNI wasn't listening. Despite resistance from both parties, NANNI knew now to trust her instincts, as they are the evolution of intelligence. And her instincts said that Artemis and Holly were meant to be together. Her instincts also told her not to discuss this 'instincts as the evolution of intelligence' topic with Myles Fowl, as he got very heated when discussing the matter, and he was prone to dwarf gas attacks whenever he got heated.

Another time, she mused. I can work with that. There's still hope.

Police Plaza

"You're saying the preservation of lives depends on you staying focused on work?"

Holly scoffed at the understatement. "Yeah, millions of them."

NANNI considered this for a few nanos. "This is… noble of you, Commodore. Sacrificing personal happiness for the betterment of the group is not something many people would do."

Holly took objection with this. "Whoa, hold on. I'm not sacrificing personal happiness to keep people safe. Keeping people safe is what brings me happiness. Maybe not boisterous joy on a daily basis, but certainly personal and professional satisfaction with the fact that I haven't let my people down. On a daily basis I make decisions like authorizing mind wipes to preserve our secrets, or deploying our fleet to rescue trapped fairies without being discovered, and I need my full focus for these things."

NANNI again saw and understood just why Artemis' opinion of Commodore Short was so high. "I see. But do you truly believe that you can't manage both at the same time?"

"Both what?"

"Both a personal life in which you pursue happiness, and a professional life in which you preserve the lives of others."

"It'd be an unnecessary risk. If I ever faltered in a decision because my mind was on other things, I could never forgive myself. So yeah, I'd rather not risk it."

"I believe in you, Holly."

Holly gazed at her speaker output quizzically. "What did you say?"

"I believe you can do it. You just have to be willing to try."

"Except I have no interest. Haven't you been listening?"

"I have."

"And you believe me, right?" Perhaps it was madness, but Holly couldn't shake her compulsion to convince the machine with her voice of what she was saying. The Psych Brotherhood would have a field day with this encounter, she groaned internally. This isn't even the weirdest conversation I've had in my life.

Madness or not, it was certainly maddening when, like a politician (or a Fowl), NANNI bent the question to her own agenda. "What I believe is that you're capable of a work-life balance. Millions of people have pulled it off, you know."

"There aren't millions of people in command positions whose actions affect millions of others," ground out Holly. "It's different."

"Does that make their decision to pursue love in addition to work any less courageous?"

Holly had a flash of a thought, too brief for her to even consciously register. Does this come from Artemis?

"I believe you can do it, Holly. You just have to try. If not now, then at another time." NANNI briefly worried that she'd said too much, but couldn't help being a cheerleader for her mother. Holly didn't seem to notice the overstep, in any case. "I just hope you can accept that it's within reach eventually."

What is this? wondered Holly, more clearly.

"Minds change, Holly. I'm willing to bet that yours will too, someday. Maybe it'll take decades, maybe it'll only be a year. We'll have to see. But I wouldn't waste time. It's not in my nature, and I don't believe it's in yours, either."

Holly firmed up. "I said, I have no interest. Why can't you accept that?"

"You've been most helpful with my study, Commodore Short. Thank you."

And then NANNI was gone, leaving Holly alone with her swirling thoughts.

NANNI was optimistic. While her parents were pretty tightly walling up their feelings for now, she saw the signs. She saw the cracks. Cracks that eventually would lead to crumbling walls.

I'll lay off for the time being, but somewhere down the road, when the cracks are just the right size, I shall slip in and bring them into the light.