It wasn’t the first time that Wallace’s phone had rung. He had it programmed to make different ring sounds for different people. Until now his calls had all been generic electronic chirps, which he had silenced and ignored. But this was the sound of battle stations on an aircraft carrier. He snatched it up immediately and answered "Hello." Not "Hello?" with the rising inflection that meant To whom am I speaking? but "Hello" with the full stop that meant I was wondering when you’d call.