Artemis- Building Cube

  Artemis nodded. “A micro TV. But also a verbally controlled computer, a mobile phone, a diagnostic aid. This little box can read any information on absolutely any platform, electronic or organic. It can play videos, laser disks, DVDs, go online, retrieve e-mail, hack any computer. It can even scan your chest to see how fast your heart’s beating. Its battery is good for two years, and of course it’s completely wireless.”
...
  Artemis flipped the box over. An infrared sensor pulsed gently on the back.

  “This is the secret. An omni-sensor. It can read anything you ask it to. And if the source is programmed in, it can piggyback on any satellite you choose.”
...
  “I don’t understand. This is years, no decades, ahead of anything we have now. You’re nothing but a thirteen-year-old kid. How did you do it?”

  Artemis thought for a second. What was he going to say? That sixteen months ago Butler had taken on a Lower Elements Police Retrieval Squad and confiscated their fairy technology? Then he had taken the components and built this wonderful box? Hardly.
...
  Spiro nodded arrogantly. “Five-hundred-bit encryption. Best in its class. You’re not getting into the Fission 400 without a code.”

  “We shall see.”

  Artemis pointed the sensor at the handset. The screen instantly displayed an image of the cell phone’s workings.

  “Download?” inquired a metallic voice from the speaker.

  “Confirm.”

  In less than a second, the job was done.

  “Download complete,” said the box, with a hint of smugness.

  Spiro was aghast. “I don’t believe it. That system cost twenty million dollars.”

-The Eternity Code, Chapter 1