‘That’s interesting,’ Wilis said as Welis peered over his shoulder. ‘According to Valax, that sofa went to an upholstery company owned by someone called Andop Scolyfol, registrar and workshop technician at Theia University.’
‘What’s interesting about that?’ Walis said.
‘Guess where that song first became popular?’
Walis frowned. ‘The ... furniture shop ...?’
‘No.’ Wilis took a deep breath. ‘Theia University.’
‘Oh.’
‘And some years ago it seems that Andop Scolyfol declined an invitation to join the Military Council after his research project was cancelled. He’d been working on neural laces and syntho brain enhancements before the programme was shut down. It would make him an ideal candidate for one of Krilen’s secret projects.’
Walis brightened. ‘Maybe that’s why those kids put their syntho in a radiation casket. To hide his big brain.’
‘Yes ... maybe ...’
‘We should have a word with this Scolyfol character.’
‘What a good idea, Walis. Why didn’t we think of that?’ Wilis glanced at Welis who rolled his eyes.
‘We should go in there in with a bunch of war-bots and arrest him. How about that?’
‘A little obvious, don’t you think? No, we need another excuse to pay him a visit,’ Wilis said, stroking his jaw and looking at his silent clone-brother.
* * *
Albert dressed absent-mindedly as he absorbed what had been happening on Eltheria. He’d been offline for days, but now he had a proper synthetic body he had full access to all of the planet’s many data systems.
‘You miss a button.’ Alkemy pointed to his shirt.
‘Hmm?’ He glanced at her vaguely.
It was like old times. Just like the old Albert. She laughed and hugged him. ‘So good to have you whole again.’
He patted her back then held out a hand and studied it, turning it over and flexing his fingers. ‘I must say it feels good to be whole again.’ He released her, adding, ‘You didn’t happen to remember my notebook, did you?’
‘Of course. I bring it with me from the ship, like you ask.’ She took out a slim, leather-bound notebook, its cover cracked and worn. He tucked it in the pocket of his misbuttoned shirt as Andop handed him a wig – a grey frizzy thing that looked in need of a trim.
‘Perfect!’ Alkemy said, positioning it just so before giving him another hug.
Albert’s first steps were a little unsteady. Alkemy stayed at his side, but after two trips back and forth across the workshop he was moving normally.
‘I’ve caught up with what’s been happening on Eltheria,’ he told the others, ‘now I’d like to hear what you’ve all been up to since my little radiation spill.’
Andop suggested the cafe at the front of the building, promising to join them once he’d tidied up, so Ludokrus led the way through a maze of corridors. A couple of purple-haired girls in green metallic tracksuits passed them at right angles. They wore matching high-heeled boots and carried shoulder bags the colour of their hair. ‘Now we’re allowed out,’ Coral said, watching them go, ‘we should get some new clothes so we blend in more.’
‘That’s hardly blending in,’ Tim said, looking around for Norman to find him dawdling at the door of every classroom and workshop they passed.
‘What a cool place!’ he said, running to catch up. ‘Now we’ve got student IDs, can we actually take classes?’
Tim rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t believe you two. We’re the first humans to ever reach an alien planet, and all Coral wants to do is go shopping while you want to go back to school!’
‘You’re right,’ Norman said, considering. ‘There are other things. Let’s eat!’
The cafe overlooked the gardens and the paved area at the front of the building. It was only half full at this time of the morning. The sunlit grounds looked tempting, but they wouldn’t be overheard in a corner booth. Once the serve-bot delivered their trays of drinks and pastries, Ludokrus filled Albert in with what had happened since they’d unplugged him from the casket. Then Coral, Tim and Norman took turns telling him of their adventures.
‘You’ve all done very well, no thanks to me,’ he said. ‘That wretched English language module! I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. Things are far worse down here than I imagined.’
‘What do you mean?’ Alkemy asked.
‘The disappearance of Krilen and his deputy; the takeover of the Science Council – there’s very little about either event on the news nets. I’m not sure what’s going on, but we need to get to the bottom of it.’
They sipped their drinks as Albert checked his comms. ‘A message from Andop. He’s been delayed. Some sort of emergency.’
‘Wouldn’t be anything to do with that, would it?’ Norman asked, pointing to the front lawn where a number of people had stopped to shield their eyes and peer into the sky. A distant black speck was growing larger by the second, coming in fast and low.
The helijet bucked like a rearing horse as it switched from horizontal to vertical flight then came straight down, landing on the lawn outside. Four medic-bots raced down the steps, unfolding the legs of a wheeled crash trolley as they went. The helijet settled, the sound of its engines dropped to a low hum, and the medical team disappeared behind the body of the aircraft.
‘Looks serious,’ Tim said.
All they could see were pairs of mechanical legs scuttling back and forth around the wheels of the stretcher. Then they began to move as a single unit.
‘Here they come,’ Norman said.
The bots emerged, guiding the heavily laden stretcher, its wheels leaving deep indentations in the lawn. They lifted it to the paved area then paused at the steps, taking one corner each and carrying it up with some difficulty. The shape on the stretcher was huge. Like a small hill covered by a white sheet.
Two more pairs of legs emerged from the far side of the helijet. They stepped back as aircraft’s engines rose in pitch and it lifted smoothly from the lawn. They were blasted by a momentary downrush air, but as the helijet soared away they straightened the lapels of their enormous jackets and began walking towards the building.
‘It’s them,’ Tim gasped. ‘It’s Triple-Dub!’