if len(b) > 0 && b[0]&0x80 != 0 {
		// Handling negative numbers relies on the following identity:
		//	-a-1 == ^a
		//
		// If the number is negative, we use an inversion mask to invert the
		// data bytes and treat the value as an unsigned number.
		var inv byte // 0x00 if positive or zero, 0xff if negative
		if b[0]&0x40 != 0 {
			inv = 0xff
		}

		var x uint64
		for i, c := range b {