“They. . we. . would. And that is why this operation has to be carried out in secret.”

“Secretly coat the world’s glaciers? You should have said.”

“I just did say, and I thought we agreed that you would hold your peace. This constant haranguing is tiresome.”

Holly winked at Foaly, twirling a pencil between her fingers.

“The problem with coating the icebergs has always been how to deploy the reflective blanket,” continued Artemis. “It would seem that the only way to do it would be to roll the stuff out like carpet, either manually or from the rear of some kind of customized snow crawlers.”

“Which is hardly a stealth operation,” said Foaly.

“Exactly. But what if there were another way to lay down a reflective covering, a seemingly natural way.”

“Work with nature?”

“Yes, Foaly. Nature is our model; it should always be.”

The room seemed to be heating up as Artemis drew closer to his big reveal.

“Human scientists have been struggling to make their reflective foil thin enough to work with, yet strong enough to withstand the elements.”

“Stupid.”

“Misguided, centaur. Not stupid, surely. Your own files-”

“I considered the foil idea briefly. And how did you see my files?”

This was not a real question. Foaly had long since resigned himself to the fact that Artemis Fowl was at least as talented a hacker as he himself was.

“The basic idea is sound. Fabricate a reflective polymer.”

Foaly chewed his knuckles. “Nature. Use nature.”

“What is the most natural thing up here?” said Artemis, giving a little hint.

“Ice,” said Holly. “Ice and. .”

“Snow,” whispered the centaur almost reverentially. “Of course. D’Arvit, why didn’t I. . Snow, isn’t it?”