A number of school kids who were there reported what happened next as a kind of amazing natural phenomenon – like the Northern Lights, or a supernova, or a solar fireball. From a distance – from, say, Mr Fawcett’s study, where in fact he was looking out, somewhat mystified by all the noise – it looked like an incredibly violent electrical storm had suddenly hit a small section of the playground. An electrical storm in which the lightning was heading two ways at once.

Hmm … he thought. I must speak to Mr Palmer about that. He teaches all the science stuff. And turned away from the window.

What he missed – perhaps luckily – was the sight of his own daughter, in the form of a female martial arts mercenary, being hit by that lightning as it came back at her, absorbing it for about ten seconds before screaming “OHHHHHHHHH!!!” and being flung backwards across the playground.

“Karabuki?” said Morris from his position within the climbing frame. He couldn’t, of course, completely turn round, so didn’t see that Karabuki had crashed, back first, into the school gates.

“Urrgh … I think … I’m Isla again …” he heard her say. And so it was. Luckily – for Isla – Karabuki’s powerful body had taken most of the force of the impact. Unluckily for Isla, that meant that Karabuki had had enough. The video-game martial arts body just melted away, leaving the eleven-year-old girl Isla sprawled on the ground, not badly hurt, but badly shaken.

Ellie went over to Morris. He was crying.

“I’m stuck,” he said, in between sobs. “My enormous muscly tattooed body is stuck! Waaaa—”

“No, you’re not,” she said. “No, it isn’t.”

She pulled him out of the climbing frame. His avatar too had melted away. Only he hadn’t realised.

“Oh,” he said.

Ellie looked at the Controller in his hands. It had lost all its lights and gone black. Not as in black, its normal colour. As in burnt.

“Maybe you should go and help Isla.”

“Yes,” said Morris. “Maybe I should.” And he turned to go. Then he looked at Ellie. “Thanks, um, for helping me.”

“That’s OK,” said Ellie. Morris nodded, slowly, like he had actually understood something, perhaps for the first time. And then went off towards where Isla was lying.

“Hey!” said a voice by Ellie’s side. She turned. It was Fred.

“Hey yourself! Are you OK?”

“Well … I’ve felt better. But I’m sure I can still … play football!”

Ellie stared at him, trying to make out how true this was. Then she looked at the Controller and at his bracelet. The lights were still pulsing. Just.

“OK,” she said uncertainly.