Vera shook her head. "No, I actually studied archaeology…"

"Archaeology?" Merlin chuckled before saying earnestly, "Ms. Lavor, I really think you should study criminology at UCI. Their criminology department is the best Stateside, and I think you have a flair for it."

Somehow, Vera smiled at Merlin's mention of academic majors. "You flatter me, Captain Lammy, but I'd really rather not deal with criminals and their shady nature day in day out—archaeology is the simpler life."

"Well, it's a shame you don't want to be a cop," Merlin replied. “We're always lacking real talent like you."

Still, Merlin understood that Vera was as mysterious as she was important, and she was definitely not one to be swayed by mere words.

Not prying on the issue, he quickly said, "Anyway, Ms. Lavor's idea should be reliable enough. I'll arrange for the technicians to try it, and it'd work for global detective work too if it takes off.

"That said, it would need unparalleled volumes of processing power and