Patrice

Patrice is Apollo Kagwa’s friend and business partner, and his technical skill makes him an important ally when Apollo’s danger becomes immediate. The evidence of his character is concentrated in two pressures: the discovery that Kinder Garten has infiltrated his computer, and a late phone call in which Patrice helps Apollo obtain Daylight. In both, technology is not a distant convenience. It is a vulnerable object that can be compromised, and a tool that a trusted friend can still put to use.

Identity and Role

Patrice appears in the novel as someone Apollo can turn to for practical help. Their friendship and business partnership give the urgent phone call more weight than a simple exchange between a user and an app developer: Apollo needs something quickly, and Patrice answers, listens, and acts. The scene does not make Patrice the center of the danger, but places him at a point where Apollo’s personal crisis meets the digital systems surrounding it.

His role also links two different kinds of vulnerability. Patrice’s computer has been penetrated without his knowledge, while the app he controls offers Apollo a possible resource. The same technological world can therefore be a means of intrusion and a means of assistance. Patrice’s usefulness lies not in being untouched by that world, but in knowing how to operate within it when Apollo needs him.

The Compromised Computer

Apollo tells Emma Valentine that Kinder Garten sent messages to her phone and then made them disappear. Emma’s response is that she had not imagined them. Apollo then explains, as quickly as he can in the den, that Kinder Garten has infiltrated Patrice’s machine and concealed himself inside its hard drive. The revelation makes Patrice’s computer part of the threat even though Patrice is not present in the room: his machine has been turned into a hiding place.

That detail gives the computer a double significance. It is not merely a device Patrice owns or uses; its hidden contents have made it an opening through which Kinder Garten can act. The hard drive, ordinarily an unseen part of a working machine, becomes the specific place where the danger lurks. Apollo’s account to Emma also establishes that Patrice’s equipment has been compromised before the later call, connecting the characters’ immediate discovery to the wider digital intrusion. The machine is therefore a vulnerable link in the crisis, not a neutral backdrop to it.

The Call During the Crisis

Later, Apollo reaches Patrice by phone while Emma is beside the hole. Patrice’s first response is relief that Apollo is still alive. He adds that Apollo’s mother came looking for him that morning, was worried, and thought Apollo had sounded off. In a few lines, the call carries information beyond its practical purpose: Apollo’s disappearance or danger has alarmed someone close to him, and Patrice knows about that concern because his mother came to him.

Apollo cuts off the personal exchange, telling Patrice that he has to stop talking and that Apollo will not be able to call again. Patrice does not press him to explain before offering to hear what he needs. The contrast is sharp: Apollo has little time and is facing an immediate emergency, while Patrice is at a distance but responsive. His relief and his willingness to help are conveyed through the conversation itself, rather than through a separate account of their friendship.

Daylight and the Price Change

Apollo asks whether Daylight is available in the App Store. Patrice confirms that it is and explains its limitation: the app can be used only once, and its battery drain is substantial. Apollo says he needs it. Patrice first offers to make it free so Apollo can download it, noting that its usual price is $3.99. The exchange shows both the app’s practical constraints and Patrice’s immediate readiness to alter its price to help.

Apollo then asks whether Patrice can set a maximum price instead. Patrice says the stated ceiling is $999.99 but that there is an easy way around it. When Apollo asks him to do it immediately, Patrice answers that he can and asks how much to charge. Apollo names $70,000. The amount transforms a routine app-store transaction into an unexpectedly comic gesture amid the danger: Patrice laughs loudly enough for Emma to hear before Apollo ends the call. The humor does not erase the urgency; it occurs within it, as the two men improvise a way to make the app available under Apollo’s chosen terms.

By the time Apollo finds Daylight in the store, Patrice has changed the price. Apollo taps to purchase, then squats beside Emma as they watch the download bar advance together. Patrice’s part in the action is conducted remotely, but its consequence is visible in the shared wait for the app to arrive. The episode brings his two functions into focus: his computer has been made vulnerable to Kinder Garten, yet his knowledge and quick response also help Apollo obtain a tool when time is short.