Seven.

“No, no, no! It says plainly on page 437 of the Decker Guide that you have to connect the transdimensional optic spirograph to the main port if you want vector inversion!”

“Only if you're using old editions of the matrix scanner. It's been updated; besides, the errata to the Decker Guide clearly states that the optic spirograph is more or less redundant.”

“Really? I'm not sure I like that...”

Maximus sighed, looking at the two women arguing. Since they had docked at the Holosphere, they had accomplished absolutely nothing. He didn't understand much of the conversation. The way he saw it, this Jane woman had asked Andromeda for help, and then apparently disagreed with Andy's solution, and then Andy had disagreed back, and now it was just a contest about who could disagree the most.

“Wow. They're really going at it, huh?”

Maximus jumped – there was someone behind him. He spun around, coming face to face with a brown-haired woman wearing a Terminal Imagination T-shirt.

“You're a Terminal Imagination fan?” he asked, surprised. He dimly recalled that Jane had spoken about an “assistant”.

“Of course. They're an awesome band. I'm Selma. I'm the one who actually does the work around here.”

“Maximus. My friends call me Max. So... you're Jane's assistant?”

“She likes to call me that, for some reason. We're sort of taking care of things around here at the moment. Well... us and Sawyer.”

“Sawyer's here?” asked Max, surprised. “Wow, I haven't seen him in a while. Does he live here?”

“Yeah. Works here, uses the 'sphere to broadcast lectures... and to research old stuff.”

“Any chance I could meet him?”

“Sure. I don't think those two will be finished for a while yet, anyway. Right this way.”

Maximus got up from his seat, following Selma through the cluttered corridors of the Holosphere. Things had just taken a turn for the better. Sawyer would be willing to help them, for sure.