Chapter Summaries

Murphy pushed Legilimency beyond its limits to reconstruct his memories of The Lion King, leaving him unconscious with brain damage. After recovering, he learned that his method overloaded his brain, raising doubts about how he could use memory copying to gain vast knowledge.

• Murphy used Legilimency to rebuild a vivid memory of watching The Lion King as a child, but collapsed when he tried to interact with his past self.
• Laura told Murphy that he had been unconscious for three days and that doctors had treated his brain damage and cerebral edema.
• Murphy realized his experiment had taught him to recall The Lion King in perfect detail and named the method Total Recall.
• Three days later, medical experts linked Total Recall to rapid synaptic growth and brain damage, while Funes explained that Pensieves normally process memories for wizards.
• Murphy worried that Total Recall would prevent him from expanding his knowledge through memory copying unless he found a safer way to use a Pensieve.

Murphy endured several days of symptoms after using Legilimency on himself, and Omid Abbott explained that the spell had overloaded his brain with memories and neural connections. Murphy sought a way to improve his brain’s capacity and visited the Potions laboratory, where he found Pex Morey researching the Wit-Sharpening Potion.

• Murphy told Omid Abbott about his drowsiness, slow reactions, sweet cravings, and vivid recollections, and Omid attributed them to a sudden increase in neural connections.
• Omid explained that Total Recall exposed Murphy to far more detailed information than ordinary memory and that his brain needed time to adapt without forgetting.
• Murphy asked about easing the symptoms without using an external Pensieve, and Omid suggested enhancing the brain’s capabilities.
• Murphy took Omid to the Potions laboratory, where researchers studied the Beauty Potion, Amortentia, and other potions.
• Murphy found Pex Morey, who said he was researching the Wit-Sharpening Potion because he believed it could make the mind more agile.

Murphy discovered that Developing Solution could generate intermediate frames for film and animation, opening a new research opportunity. In April, he pitched an animal-animated adaptation of Hamlet to Pickett’s executives, then urged them to make it faster than their proposed year-and-a-half schedule.

• Murphy drank a Wit-Sharpening Potion, felt his headache and drowsiness disappear, and assigned Pex to exchange research with Omid’s Mind Magic Research Group.
• Georgi Tavares told Murphy that Developing Solution could fill in changes between photographs, and Murphy asked him to test whether it could add frames to animation.
• Georgi demonstrated that Developing Solution could make a drawn dog move naturally between two cartoon images when its path was constrained.
• Murphy pitched Pickett’s executives an all-ages animated story about a young lion whose uncle murdered his father and took the throne.
• Pickett’s executives praised the idea and estimated that the animation might be released in about a year and a half, but Murphy called that too long and urged them to seize the day.

Murphy oversaw Pickett Company’s rapid progress on The Lion King while developing a new chip architecture. Meanwhile, pure-blood wizards plotted to use Greyback against Murphy, and Murphy learned that a shop assistant at the Supreme Potion shop had been bitten by a werewolf.

• Murphy gave Pickett Company’s producers the script and designs, then ordered them to hire more artists and complete the keyframes and music within a month.
• Albert Runcorn told pure-blood wizards that Rasim had been placed under a powerful Imperius Curse and had become Murphy’s lackey.
• The pure-blood wizards rejected the idea of bringing Murphy into their circle and decided to use Greyback and his werewolves against him.
• Pickett Company completed most of The Lion King’s keyframes, while Murphy turned his attention to ARM and the design of a new chip architecture.
• After receiving an owl from Locke, Murphy went to the Supreme Potion shop and asked what had happened after its shop assistant was bitten by a werewolf.

Murphy investigated the werewolf attacks on his shop clerks and challenged St Mungo’s Hospital’s inability to heal their injuries. He recruited trainee Healer Elodie to research a cure and left determined to establish a better alternative.

• Isaac Beedle told Murphy that werewolves had bitten five of his clerks, prompting Murphy to visit them at St Mungo’s Hospital.
• Healer Hippocrates Smethwyck explained that the clerks’ werewolf bites would leave scars, and argued with Murphy over his suggestion to remove the magically contaminated tissue.
• Trainee Healer Elodie supported Murphy’s proposal, and he invited her to investigate why magical wounds resisted healing.
• Murphy offered Elodie double her hospital pay, and she took his hand and joined him.
• Murphy announced that he would take his injured employees away from St Mungo’s and told Hippocrates that the hospital would soon no longer be Britain’s only or best wizarding hospital.

Murphy used the werewolf attacks on Supreme Potion employees and the Aurors’ refusal to respond to promote the Watchmen Wizard Security Store as a public alternative to Auror protection. He sent trained Watchmen to guard the shop assistants and urged them to face the werewolves confidently.

• Murphy brought the bitten shop assistants and Healer Elodie Russell to the Magic Research Institute, where the Transfiguration Research Group could study their werewolf wounds.
• Murphy told Isaac to list the remaining shop assistants’ names and addresses, arrange their protection, and report the attacks to the Aurors.
• After Auror Headquarters ignored three days of reports, Rita Skeeter and Murphy criticized their inaction in the Daily Prophet, and Murphy promoted the Watchmen Wizard Security Store.
• The Watchmen recruited more combat wizards and deployed them in pairs to guard the Supreme Potion shop assistants, using improved goblin coins to summon support.
• Murphy told the Watchmen they were better prepared than the werewolves and urged them to protect the employees and seize glory.

After the Watchmen drove off the werewolves, Murphy remained wary of another attack and began arranging protection for Umbrella’s key personnel. He also pushed Patrick to accelerate the computer project and recruited Radwan Perry to form Umbrella’s own armed security team.

• The Watchmen captured a werewolf wizard, and their victories were celebrated in Rita’s reports as werewolf attacks dwindled and then stopped.
• Murphy visited Patrick and assigned security guards to protect him and his family from possible threats.
• Patrick told Murphy that the operating system was less than forty percent complete and could take another year; Murphy ordered more hiring and demanded a desktop launch within six months, citing The Lion King’s imminent release as a source of funds.
• Murphy asked Radwan Perry to leave his security company and build an Umbrella security team from former military comrades, offering higher pay and a two-week deadline.
• Murphy warned Radwan that the team might face unusual enemies and told him to obtain all necessary equipment.

Murphy investigated the werewolf attacks and learned Greyback was planning a larger strike, then devised a plan to draw the Aurors into action. He arrived at the Burrow and recognized the rat in Ron Weasley’s arms as Peter Pettigrew.

• Murphy found the Malfoys had left for Rome and learned from the captured werewolves that Greyback was preparing a major attack with a growing group of more than thirty werewolves.
• Murphy considered using Sirius to provoke Barty Crouch into sending out the Aurors.
• Murphy visited his newly acquired property near Stoatshead Hill and told House-elf Tata to renovate its mill and tower.
• Murphy went to the Burrow, where Fred Weasley and George Weasley tricked Ron Weasley into believing he had learned a Transfiguration Spell.
• Murphy greeted the boys and recognized the gray rat in Ron Weasley’s arms as Peter Pettigrew.

Murphy visited the Weasleys and secretly captured Scabbers, whom he identified as Peter Pettigrew, then arranged for the rat to be photographed and publicized. He visited Azkaban with Minister Millicent, and three days later Sirius escaped.

• Murphy introduced himself to Molly Weasley and chatted with her while the Weasley children listened nearby.
• Murphy slipped away from the Burrow, captured Scabbers, and replaced him with a similar-looking rat before returning to the bathroom.
• Murphy gave Scabbers to Blanco Lloyd while Rita Skeeter interviewed him, and several Daily Prophet reports published the rat’s photographs.
• Murphy persuaded Minister Millicent to take him to Azkaban so he could visit his parents’ graves and bring their remains home.
• Three days after Murphy’s visit to Azkaban, news broke that Sirius had escaped.

Sirius Black’s escape and the arrival of Dementors brought panic to Diagon Alley, creating a surge of business for Murphy’s Watchmen security service. As Murphy prepared the Watchmen for a possible werewolf attack, his chip project advanced while the operating-system team struggled with his ambitious requirements, leaving him considering another use of Total Recall.

• The Daily Prophet’s reports of Sirius Black’s escape and a supposed sighting in Diagon Alley prompted complaints to Minister Millicent and forced Aurors to patrol the area.
• The Ministry allowed Dementors into Diagon Alley under Auror supervision, but they preyed on the happiness of passersby whenever they could.
• Murphy advertised Watchmen protection, and demand surged after the Dementors arrived, helping the Watcher Security Shop open for business.
• On July 6, Murphy equipped the Watchmen with anti-werewolf gear and told them to prioritize survival and draw werewolves toward Auror patrols if necessary.
• The full moon passed without a werewolf attack, while Murphy’s laboratory completed an oversized lithography machine and began designing new chips.
• Bob Henderson told Murphy that the operating system’s scale and technical demands had overwhelmed the development team, and Murphy considered using Total Recall again.

Murphy learned that using Total Recall was causing his brain to degenerate, forcing him to choose between abandoning his ambitions for Umbrella’s chip business and pursuing them at further risk. After reflecting on his impatience and desire for power, he decided to press on, and Patrick agreed to support him.

• Murphy used Total Recall to recover network protocol and system architecture knowledge, which Bob Henderson said could save about a month of development.
• Funes warned Murphy that repeated use of Total Recall was causing neural degeneration and told him to stop.
• Murphy told Patrick he feared losing Umbrella if he continued pursuing chip design and software, but also feared wasting his work by becoming a foundry for other companies.
• Patrick asked why Murphy was in such a hurry, and Murphy realized he was driven by his weakness and his ambition to reach the power of the wizards he admired.
• Murphy decided to risk everything and follow his own path, and Patrick accepted his decision and urged him to go create his world.

Murphy learned that a Patronus could guide a high-level Animagus transformation toward a safer result, and he used Peter Pettigrew to help the researchers test the method. Meanwhile, his companies expanded across film, finance, and technology as Murphy prepared for his own transformation.

• Andrew Tuke explained that high-level Animagus transformations could be guided by a Patronus to reduce harmful mutations and improve the chance of success.
• Murphy gave Andrew Tuke Peter Pettigrew, already a stable Animagus, for the research team's analysis.
• Pickett's The Lion King became a global hit, and Camelot completed its public listing, easing Murphy's funding pressure.
• Murphy bought chip design and manufacturing companies, acquired LCD panel makers, and partnered with Seagate to develop hard drives.
• Murphy put one billion pounds into a contribution-based development pool for the desktop system team, sharply increasing competition and development speed.
• As Sophon Technology's aggressive expansion drew worldwide attention, Murphy ignored most invitations and secluded himself to prepare for his advanced Animagus transformation.

Murphy and the Transfiguration Research Group advanced their Animagus trials, and wizard Winston Robinson successfully completed the Patronus Induction Method. As a powerful storm arrived, Murphy reached the moment of his own transformation, collected the potion, and drank it.

• Murphy felt a second heartbeat while mentally guiding his Animagus transformation toward his desired traits.
• The Transfiguration Research Group reported that Winston Robinson had successfully become an advanced Animagus, with the fatality rate recalculated below 3%.
• Murphy ordered Newcastle to stop artificial rainfall so a storm could gather around the potion he had prepared there.
• As lightning flashed, Murphy found himself on a mountaintop without using his wand and went into the cave to retrieve the potion.
• Murphy watched the potion turn blood-red, thanked the raven Patronus, and drank the potion beneath the storm.

Murphy transformed into a raven and discovered that he could fly at supersonic speeds before returning to human form. At the Magic Research Institute, Andrew Tuke’s examination revealed extensive physical changes, and he began describing the remarkable alterations to Murphy’s brain.

• Murphy transformed into a raven, flew through the storm at supersonic speed, and found his senses and flight had improved.
• Murphy changed back, noticed his enhanced night vision remained, and used Apparition to return to the Magic Research Institute.
• Murphy asked Andrew Tuke to arrange a full physical examination, which found changes to his eyes, eyebrows, bones, muscles, and lungs.
• Andrew explained that Murphy’s strength, agility, oxygen intake, and heartbeat had increased dramatically, while warning that reproduction with an ordinary human could be difficult.
• Murphy asked whether his brain had changed, and Andrew called it a miracle.

After his advanced raven Animagus transformation greatly enhanced his mental abilities, Murphy spent a month studying in the library and then directed several research projects. He proposed a new use for developing solution to improve photolithography before convening Turing Technology’s desktop system engineers to review their progress.

• Andrew told Murphy that his brain had more than four times the neurons of an ordinary human and that his memory, reasoning, and other abilities had improved dramatically.
• Murphy decided he needed knowledge to make use of his enhanced mental abilities and spent a month studying in the library.
• Murphy gave the Transfiguration Research Group experiments to pursue on advanced Animagus transformations, magical Animagi, Patronuses, and werewolf transformations.
• Murphy proposed that developing solution could make photoresist gather, spread, or move in patterns, and Derrick Preston agreed to begin testing the idea.
• Murphy summoned Turing Technology’s senior engineers and project managers to report on desktop system development, beginning with Mr. Albert of the Graphical Interface R&D Group.

Murphy guided his teams through design and technical problems, supplied Pickett with scripts, and oversaw advances in chip production and a new desktop computer. After Patrick was overwhelmed by the finished prototype, Murphy asked him to present it to the world.

• Murphy directed the interface team to use smooth animations and create a prominent Start menu, and he gave the network team a leasing-based approach to IP allocation.
• The engineers marveled at Murphy's technical knowledge, and he encouraged them to finish the desktop system by year's end.
• Pickett released Legend of the Magic Lamp, prompting a Disney producer to discover that it resembled the Aladdin project he was preparing to propose.
• Murphy gave Pickett's management ten scripts and set their production order for the next three years.
• Umbrella advanced its chip process to 0.2 microns, began producing its own chips, and moved the completed desktop system into polishing and optimization.
• Before Christmas, Murphy showed Patrick the computer prototype, and he asked Patrick to hold its launch event and present it to the world.

Umbrella Corporation’s heavily publicized Sophon Technology launch drew industry leaders and the media to Birmingham. Murphys confidently bet that it would be one of electronics history’s greatest launches, and Patrick opened the event as the countdown ended.

• The launch packed Birmingham’s convention hall with distributors, media, and representatives from Intel, Apple, and Microsoft.
• Steve Ballmer bet Paul Otellini that the launch would be a failure, while Murphys wagered that it would be one of the greatest launches in electronics history.
• A dramatic countdown, sound effects, and enormous display introduced Umbrella’s logo to the audience.
• Patrick appeared onstage and welcomed the guests to Umbrella’s product launch.

Patrick unveiled Umbrella Corporation’s Blue Queen personal computer and demonstrated its Cornerstone operating system, emphasizing its speed, compatibility, and smooth interface. He left the audience with Umbrella’s claim that its powerful hardware could deliver a rich experience without compromising performance.

• Patrick thanked Murphys Anon and Umbrella Corporation, then explained how Murphys had persuaded him to enter the electronics industry.
• Patrick introduced the Blue Queen and showed its silver-gray design in an animated presentation.
• Patrick described Blue Queen’s six major technologies, then powered on the computer and demonstrated its three-second startup into Cornerstone.
• Patrick explained Cornerstone’s design principles, including hardware portability, software compatibility, ease of use, and high performance.
• Steve Ballmer questioned how Cornerstone could run high-resolution animations at 60 frames per second, and Patrick said Umbrella solved the problem by building more capable hardware.

Patrick showcased the Blue Queen Computer’s advanced components, including its Cornerstone System, Blue Dragon Graphics Card, solid-state drive, hard drive, memory, LCD monitor, and Silver Dragon One processor. Industry representatives recognized that Umbrella Corporation’s technology far outstripped theirs, and Nintendo and IBM’s representatives moved to report what they had learned.

• Patrick explained that the 200M Cornerstone System required powerful hardware and said the Blue Queen Computer could run it smoothly.
• Patrick demonstrated the Blue Dragon Graphics Card with a 3D Counter-Strike demo, prompting a Nintendo representative to ask about the GPU and its availability.
• Patrick told the Nintendo representative that Umbrella Corporation planned to sell the Blue Dragon GPU next year, after prioritizing its own products.
• An IBM representative asked about the solid-state drive, and Patrick revealed a 500M model with a ten-thousand-pound price tag.
• Patrick presented the computer’s 100G hard drive, 50M of memory, widescreen LCD monitor, and Silver Dragon One processor, whose specifications dwarfed contemporary chips.
• IBM, Intel, and Microsoft’s representatives understood why Patrick had warned them not to hate him after the meeting.

After Umbrella’s launch stunned the electronics industry, Murphy celebrated with Patrick, then visited the Magic Research Institute to test werewolf transformation. The next morning, Laura told him that werewolves had massacred the Muggle Security Team and badly wounded Patrick.

• CNN called Umbrella’s product launch a “massacre,” and Steve Jobs said Apple shares were now worthless.
• Patrick thanked Murphy for choosing him as a partner and asked him to be Little Ares’s godfather, but Murphy declined awkwardly.
• Murphy heard Andrew Tuke’s report that werewolf transformations were linked to rabies and affected by psychological factors.
• Murphy warned Laura to alert the security teams because it was a full moon, then the researchers tested controlling transformations by replacing a werewolf’s mental image of the moon.
• Laura woke Murphy the next morning and reported that werewolves had attacked the Muggle Security Team and badly wounded Patrick.