Arthur had to wait for three days before he could do anything at all.
He locked his bedroom door and sat on his bed, turning on the Simulation Suite controls. The virtual world appeared around him, and Arthur found himself standing in a paddock area.
"Apex Guide," he said, being straight to the point. "I need access to public data archives. England rural areas, 2007 to 2008. Search for mini-moto sales, club ads, local newspaper listings. Look for cheap bikes that need minor repairs."
The Guide appeared in front of him, still smiling that fake, over-enthusiastic smile Arthur found annoying.
[OOOOH! I LOVE TREASURE HUNTING!! WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR TODAY?]
"A good deal," Arthur said flatly. "Something cheap enough that my parents won't have a heart attack."
[SMART THINKING! TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE TO HELP YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED!!]
Arthur massaged his head in despair. The Guide's over enthusiastic happy behavior was beginning to get exhausting. "Can you just pull up the data?"
[ALREADY ON IT, BOSS!]
A lot of data began to appear in Arthur's view. His 'Cognitive Accelerator' ability instantly sorted and grouped it, faster than his mind could even process them. The data had Classified ads from local papers, Community bulletin board postings and Estate sale listings.
Crazy! people in this era are practically giving away gold, Arthur said, watching the data scroll past. No single data center, no tools to compare prices. Just people talking and paper ads that were useless after a week. No wonder rich people could buy every good thing easily.
His Synaptic Boost quickly pointed out the patterns in the data, matching locations with dates and confirming if the items were still for sale. Most of the listings were useless. Bikes that were either too expensive, too damaged, or already sold. But then something caught his attention.
A Polini mini-moto was listed in the ads section of the Ashford Parish Newsletter. The date showed May 2008. The asking price was two hundred pounds and tagged as negotiable. Owner note: "Son lost interest. Needs minor work. Engine is working fine."
Arthur began to smile like a predator.
Two hundred pounds was nothing. His parents could easily gather the money without breaking the bank. And "needs minor work" from someone who didn't know motorcycles usually meant basic maintenance that Arthur could handle by himself.
He looked for more data on the listing. The seller was a Mr. Thomas Henderson, whose address was in a village called Ashford, about forty-five miles from his current location. The ad had been running for three weeks before it disappeared, meaning Henderson had probably sold it or stopped trying to.
But this was still 2007. The listing wouldn't appear for another seven months.
Arthur stroked his chin in thoughts, making him look older than his age. He needed to set things up now so that when the "discovery" happened, it would feel normal.
"Guide," he said slowly, "show me local events in Ashford over the next six months. I mean village festivals, community meetings, anything that will bring people in from neighboring areas."
[ON IT!] More data appeared in his view.
[LOOKS LIKE ASHFORD IS HAVING A SPRING FESTIVAL COMING UP AT END OF APRIL! THAT EVENT USUALLY BRINGS IN PEOPLE FROM ALL THE NEIGHBORING TOWNS!]
Good. The festival would be a month before Henderson posted his listing. All Arthur needed was a reason to be in Ashford, and a way to casually ask if anyone has motorbike for sale.
"Show me community board postings from Ashford in March through May of 2008," Arthur instructed. "Only show me anything motorcycle-related."
The Guide showed different results, but one caught Arthur's attention. It was a notice about a local youth motorcycle club looking for new members, posted in early April. It would be on Ashford's community board around the same time as the spring festival.
Which meant if Arthur's family decided to go for the festival, and if Arthur happened to walk past the community board, and see the motorcycle club notice...
Well, it would be normal for him to look into it more. And if someone at the festival mentioned that one Mr. Henderson had his son's old bike sitting unused in his garage...
Arthur couldn't stop smiling at his thoughts.
["You're looking very happy with yourself,"] the Guide observed, changing his tone to be more serious. ["This is a complicated plan for a kid who's only six."]
["Simple gets you nowhere."] Arthur shot back.
[PERHAPS! BUT REMEMBER, ARTHUR!] The excited personality instantly returned.
[THE PLANS THAT WORK BEST ARE THE ONES THAT CAN BE FLEXIBLE! DON'T FOCUS SO HARD ON YOUR PLAN THAT YOU DON'T SEE CHANCES THAT ARE EVEN BETTER!]
Arthur dismissed him with a wave. "Yeah, yeah. Be flexible and ready to change. I understand."
He left the Simulation back to his bedroom. His mind was already working fast, planning the next steps. He needed a way to get his parents interested in the Ashford festival without making it obvious that he had other motives.
That meant he had to do some research. Luckily, being a gifted child had its advantages. No one asked why Arthur spent so much time reading or why he asked so many questions about local events.
After two weeks, Arthur knew everything about Ashford. He had learned about its history, what businesses it had, and who its important people were. He even found out that Ellie's uncle owned a small printing business there, which gave him the chance to bring up the topic.
"Did you know your Uncle Martin lives in Ashford?" Arthur asked casually one afternoon while Ellie was taking pictures of his latest notebook drawings.
She looked up, showing she was surprised. "How did you know that?"
"I heard your mum mention it at the shop. She was talking about visiting him for some family thing." The lie was easy to tell because his Synaptic Boost helped him choose the right casual tone. "I heard Ashford has a big festival coming up. Sounds kind of fun."
Ellie gave him a suspicious look. "Since when do you care about village festivals?"
"I don't," Arthur admitted, because complete honesty made the important lies more believable. "But I heard they sometimes have vintage vehicle displays. Motorcycles, old cars, those kind of things."
"Ah." Ellie nodded knowingly. "There it is. Everything comes back to motorcycles with you."
"Is that a problem?" Arthur asked.
"No it's not." She took another photo. CLICK. "You're going to trick your parents into taking you, aren't you?"
Arthur met her stare calmly. " I'm going to suggest we go, saying it could be a nice family day out. What they do with that suggestion is up to them."
"Right. And I'm sure it's pure coincidence that you're talking about this after they gave you that challenge about finding an affordable way to start racing."
"If you are so sure I'm tricking everyone," Arthur said carefully, "why don't you say anything?"
Ellie brought down her camera and thought about the question seriously. "Because I'm eager to see how far it will go with you. And because..." She paused. " Because when you're planning something, you're honest about what you want. Most people lie to themselves first."
Arthur didn't know what to say to that. So he said nothing. After a moment, Ellie went back to taking pictures, and the afternoon continued as if the conversation never happened.
That evening at dinner, Arthur's father mentioned that he'd been talking to some of the other parents at work about youth sports programs.
"I found out something interesting," David said while eating the peas on his plate. "One of the guys in accounting, his nephew does mini-moto racing down in Ashford. He says it costs much less than the big racing programs."
Arthur kept his face serious, but inside he was celebrating. His father had done the research all by himself, exactly the way Arthur thought he would.
"Ashford?" his mother said. "That's where Margaret's brother lives, isn't it? Martin with the print shop?"
"I think so," Arthur replied, acting innocent. "Don't they have some kind of spring event coming up?"
"The festival, yes." Sarah looked happier as she spoke about it. "We used to go every year before you were born. They do lovely craft stalls and homemade foods. It's really a nice event."
David looked at Arthur then back at his wife. "It might be worth a visit. We could ask around about this mini-moto thing while we're there. See if it's as affordable as Tony has been saying."
"That's not a bad idea," Sarah agreed.
The conversation continued to other topics, but Arthur had heard all he needed to hear. The seed was planted. In a few weeks, they would be going to Ashford. And somehow, through a series of natural coincidences, Arthur would end up with what he needed.
Later that night, when Arthur was in the Simulation, the Apex Guide appeared with a look that was almost thoughtful.
["You know"], the Guide said, his voice at a normal volume for once, ["there's a difference between being strategic and being manipulative.]
"Is there?" Arthur asked, not really caring about the answer.
["STRATEGIC MEANS USING AVAILABLE RESOURCES EFFICIENTLY!"] The Guide's lively voice suddenly returned. ["MANIPULATIVE MEANS USING PEOPLE AS RESOURCES! ONE BUILDS PARTNERSHIPS! THE OTHER BUILDS RESENTMENT!"]
Arthur thought about what Ellie said earlier, about him being honest about what he wanted. "What if the people I'm 'manipulating' get what they want too? My Mum and Dad wants me to prove I'm serious. I'm proving it. Everyone wins."
["DO THEY, THOUGH?"] The Guide tilted his head. ["OR DO THEY JUST BELIEVE THEY'RE WINNING BECAUSE YOU'VE MADE THEM THINK THAT YOUR SUCCESS IS ALSO THEIR OWN?"]
"Does it really matter?" Arthur said. "As long as the end result is the same?"
["THAT, MY FRIEND, IS A QUESTION YOU WILL HAVE TO ANSWER FOR YOURSELF!"]
The Guide vanished, leaving Arthur alone in the virtual paddock.
He pushed the thought aside and went back to work.
There would be time for ethics later, after he had gotten what he wanted