The Mysterious Stranger
- So Robert and Xiang are getting tutored by Juan in how to use wearable computers. Meanwhile, Miri is supervising Juan, like reminding him to get the attention of some virtual Argentineans.
- (There's a lot of silent messaging here, which can look confusing, but you'll get used to it. Whenever you see an "—>" you can just read it as "said to." And keep in mind that while Miri, Juan, Lena, and Xiu are sm'ing each other, Robert can't see any of it.)
- So they all play a game of "synch monster" with some kids from South America, which helps teach Robert about virtual cooperation. (And as you know, Robert needs lessons in cooperation.)
- Because of network lag, the monster falls apart, which is very funny to everyone, though Robert thinks of this as a Serious Problem to be Solved.
- Robert thinks Xiu Xiang is a little weird, which we know is because Lena and the others are talking to her. And it's also because she's obsessed with engineering issues. (To Robert, that's crazy.)
- As for Juan, thanks to Robert's teaching, he's becoming not-terrible with poetry, which is a step-up for Juan.
- Curiously, Robert is getting more interested in the technical problem of synchronization than he is in Sharif's interviews about his poetry or in the anti-Librareome protests. (In fact, the Librareome Project is temporarily on hold.)
- Thanks to Juan, Robert is learning a lot about wearable computing. Although Miri and Lena keep trying to get Juan to avoid certain topics, like sm'ing, because then he might guess that everyone is talking about him behind his back.
- Which means that Robert is a little surprised when Xiang sends him a silent message. Hmm…
- After a lesson, Robert hangs around the school and watches some kids play a sort of virtual/physical game called Egan soccer. (Which is a reference to science fiction author Greg Egan and his "quantum soccer".)
- And that's when a "mysterious stranger" comes to talk to Robert about his situation. He offers to trick/force/persuade the biotech labs into making a cure for his lost poetry.
- (Robert calls this presence "Mysterious Stranger," which is a reference to Mark Twain's unfinished book of the same name, where the Mysterious Stranger is the devil (more or less).)
- And the Mysterious Stranger will give Robert this cure if Robert just goes along with the Elder Cabal and fight the Librareome Project. Which he's already doing, so…
- Meanwhile, Bob is looking into some threat analyses. Until his dad comes up to ask Bob's expert advice about the Mysterious Stranger. (Except Robert doesn't tell Bob all about that.)
- Bob is surprised that his dad isn't being a total jerk. So they talk about how people can try to hack into other people's wearable computers; and how the house has a good bug sniffer on the front door to catch issues like that.