Tom shook his head.  If he s been offeredwizardry, that means that there s some problem to whichbe is the solution. But he can t merely have been offered wizardry; he also has to have been able to agree to the offer. He found the Wizard s Oath, in some form or another, and he accepted it. Now we have to find out how we can assist without removing the basic challenge.

Kit nodded.  It makes you wonder, though,  he said.  Ifhe s the answer, what s the question 

 I think I know what you mean,  Tom said.  He does seem an unlikely candidate. But even in what we laughably refer to as  normal  life, all too often the unlikely people turn out to be the ones who have the answers; the objects you would have thrown away are the ones you find you can t do without.  The stone rejected by the builder becomes the cornerstone.   Tom got a wry look then.  It happens too often to be accidental. Is the universe trying to tell us something important about the way it works that sometimes even what we call fate has an element of unpredictability 

Kit nodded.  Or maybe the One s just saying,  Don t be so sure you know it all. 

Tom stretched and leaned back in his chair. Could be. There are people in our world who ve made a tremendous difference but who would have died in another time. In this time, people every day are making choices of who should live and die on the basis of criteria like whether you re going to be the  right  sex, or whether your whole body is going to work perfectly. Who knows how we may damage ourselves if we insist too hard on what, this week, looks like perfection.

He stopped, a somewhat rueful expression coming over his face.  Sorry,  Tom said.  But being a wizard makes philosophers out of most of us eventually. As long as that s notall it makes of you, you re okay  Anyway, now you have to plan how to approach him.  Tom chewed one lip briefly.  You may have to go to his home, secretly. But maybe you d have better luck at his school.