Dear Claudia,

Okay. I know I left you with a cliffhanger last time, and I can't say I didn't enjoy it, but I figured I'd better fill you in. I meant to write on the plane to explain, but I sort of kind of fell asleep, and anyways, I didn't know that much then anyways. All I knew when I last wrote to you was that Artie'd gotten a ping in California and I was going with Myka as my mentor on my first mission (honestly, I was sorting hoping for HG ((don't tell Myka!)) but I guess with the whole harbinger-of-doom thing they thought she'd be a bad influence).

So we get down there and give our luggage to a taxi driver to take to the hotel- that MUST be Artie's idea, it's the 21st century, for Pete's sake, you can't trust your grandmother- and picked up our rental car. In the drive, Myka filled me in: something with some bad juju was causing people to lose all emotion and gain about 100 IQ points. SAT scores were off the charts, and so were frantic parent complaints.

Myka neglected to inform me of where we were going: a mini LA comic-con.

I can rock out to that.

We got there and found the first guy who had been affected in the fantasy hallway, strictly informing an Alice why, exactly, her costume was completely un-period for the Carroll story.

"Hi," Myka said brightly, walking up to him. I followed behind her, a little shyer than I'd like to admit. What can I say? First mission, let's keep in mind. I wonder how you did.

Annoyed at being interrupted mid-schpiel, he turned to glare at her. "Yes? How may I help you?"

Let me clarify real quick. This kid looked nothing like a genius. He was maybe 17 years old, kind of scrawny and pimply... he still had braces. Like, the most stereotypical nerd you could think of. Maybe I was rolling my eyes just a bit.

"I heard something unusual's happened to you in the past few days."

"That is correct. An IQ jump and a severe decrease in the emotional activity in my cerebellum."

"Exactly," Myka said. "What we want to know is if you've come into contact with anything strange in the past few days. Anything old, different looking..."

"Did you smell fudge?" I asked helpfully. Yes, I've been reading the manual.

He sneered at me and turned right back to Myka, who seemed to have passed some silent test. Probably cuz she could have whooped his ass at Jeopardy. "I don't have any recollection of such an occurrence. Perhaps if you could be more specific..."

"Not quite yet, I'm afraid. But have you experienced any other changes?"

He cocked his head to the side. "No. Just what I previously stated."

"Alright. I'd like to take down your contact info, if we need to get in touch with you."

"Some psychological foundation, I presume."

"APA. We're very interested in you."

He wrote down everything she asked for and handed the slip back to her.

"I'm sure we'll see you again soon," Myka said.

"Live long and prosper."

"Later," I called. Myka took my arm and headed off.

We're in the hotel room now; she's doing research on her laptop and eating Twizzlers. But she's telling me to call Artie. I'd better go. Updates later!

Cheers,

Ellie

Thanks to SamLovesOneDirection, Daddy's Little Pyro, Timetrixter22, mondler1998, CyanB, MiDushiNoSushi, parkitcharlie, and Chinagirl18 (anytime! :D also I dislike your profile pic. Clargo all the way!) for reviewing... seriously, guys, this response is incredible. Also, excuse me for any bogus comi-con info- as much as I'd love to go, I have yet to visit one.

Any guesses to the artifact?

APA: American Psychological Association

Live long and prosper: Star Trek catch phrase