Happy 10nd birthday, Mairi!

When Mairi wakes up on the morning of her second birthday, several e-cards are waiting on her bedside table. She opens them, still in bed, and is amused by the cheerful tunes and the animations. The one from her parents, however, contains an odd message at the end:

go to the uppermost of the first and foremost

What's that all about? She gets out of bed. "Dad?" she calls, exiting her bedroom. "Mom?"

"They had to go get the party ready," calls back Hack from downstairs.

"It's just us," adds Slash.

This is good in general—party!—but frustrating just now. Mairi heads down to the kitchen, where the bodyguards-cum-babysitters are waiting with breakfast. Hack is a surprisingly good cook for someone with no mouth.

"Guys, look at this." She shows them the card.

"Awww, lookit the kitties!"

"Yeah, but look what they input at the end. Do you know what that's about?"

Hack scratches his head. "I guess they want you to go somewhere?" he hazards, putting her plate on the table.

Mairi stares contemplatively at the 2D array of her waffle. Uppermost of the first... matrix[0][0]... Mainframe[0][0]... "Oh!" she exclaims, and tucks into her breakfast. This should be interesting!

* * * * *

Ray Tracer is lounging on top of the Principal Office subsphere when they arrive. "Happy Birthday, love! G'day, fellas."

"Uncle Ray!" Mairi alights and gives him a hug. "Are we allowed up here?"

"Special access for the occasion as long as we don't mess with anything. And speakin' of the occasion..." He presents her with a small package.

"Thanks!" The card pops up as she opens it, but she looks at the gift first: a ring with a bright pink butterfly on it. "Cute!"

"It's a custom cursor, they're the big thing in the Web lately. Try it out!"

She puts the ring on her pointer finger and waves her hand. A trail of rainbow sparkles follows her movement. "Alphanumeric!"

(to be continued)