Alice approached the roadblock, her heart pounding so loudly she thought the soldiers must hear it through the open window of her car.
‘What’s the problem?’ she asked as casually as she could, keeping both hands on the steering wheel to steady them.
‘Just a routine exercise, ma’am,’ one of them said, leaning in the window. ‘Would you mind stepping out of the vehicle please?’
Alice did so.
‘May I see some identification?’
She took her license from her handbag as a squad of soldiers examined her car, popping the boot and bonnet, checking the underside with mirrors. They opened all four doors and checked the inside too.
‘What’s this?’ one of them snapped, pointing at the blanket-draped cage on the back seat that had been secured with a seat belt.
‘Parakeet,’ Alice said quickly. ‘He’s dozing. Please don’t disturb him. He can be very noisy in a small car.’
The soldier used the barrel of his gun to lift a corner of the blanket, enough to confirm it really was a birdcage.
Alice held her breath. The mice stayed hidden.
The first soldier returned from radioing in her details. ‘Where are you heading, Ms Jones?’
‘Home. To Greymouth. I’ve been visiting my sister.’
‘Right you are,’ he said and handed back her license. ‘Thank you Ms Jones. Carry on.’
* * *
‘Brilliant! Your stupid robot got us arrested!’ Coral hissed as a stern looking policewoman closed the lounge door on them.
‘You didn’t think it was so stupid when you used him to threaten Alice,’ Tim said, checking the doors that led to the veranda and finding them locked. ‘Anyway, we haven’t been arrested. We’re wanted for questioning once that army guy gets back.’
‘And what are we going to tell him? “Oh, we just built an advanced robot for fun.”’
‘Hey, you’re the one who said don’t go near the caravan. We could’ve brought him with us. Or at the very least I could have stuck a disassembly disc on him.’
‘And got yourself shot in the process.’
‘I didn’t know you cared.’
‘Yeah, well, blood splatters and I like this T-shirt.’
She sighed and slumped into one of the armchairs. ‘Look, I saw some of the gear those guys had pointed at us: audio, video, infra-red, telescopic lenses and god knows what else. I don’t know what they thought we were up to, but if they’d spotted us slipping on control gloves and tapping out commands, they’d have been on to us straight away. And then they’d want to interview Albert. On his own. The way they’re carrying on, they must think he’s some sort of terrorist. You heard that radio broadcast. They’re looking for guns and explosives.’
Tim went to the window and looked out at the activity outside. ‘I know who’s behind all this: Cakeface. We should never have let her leave the reserve.’
‘OK, so the Sentinels meddled with her memories. To what end? They don’t know about the ... ’ Coral checked herself and looked around in case Smudge was nearby, ‘... about the you-know-what. Or even Artificial Albert. So why call the in the Feds?’
‘I think it’s like that Smudge attack. They can’t really do anything. They’re just harassing us.’
‘Speaking of the you-know-what.’ Ludokrus said, studying the calculator. ‘You are sure of what you see? I get no signal.’
Tim and Norman exchanged a look. Nodded.
Ludokrus frowned. ‘Maybe she is still too far.’
There was a knock at the door and Aunt Em entered with a pitcher of raspberry cordial and a plate of biscuits. She was escorted by the policewoman who cautioned her against saying anything. But she didn’t need to speak. Her expression said it all.
As she left, they heard a key turn in the lock.
‘What are they doing that for? It’s not as if we’re going anywhere.’
The sound made the lounge feel like a prison cell. A comfortable cell — there was TV, a sofa, armchairs and plenty of books and magazines — but the prospect of being interviewed by the major in charge of the operation hung over them like a cloud. What could they say? How could they possibly explain Artificial Albert?
Ludokrus scowled at the calculator. ‘Also, the you-know-what is early. Should not be here for one more hour at least. But this show me nothing. No arrive time, no where she is heading.’
‘What sort of range does it have?’ Norman said. ‘I was thinking that if the you-know-what avoids the reserve and heads, say, to the other side of town, would the calculator still pick it up?’
‘Twenty kilometre? No, too far. Would need a good aerial.’
‘We would never find her in time anyway,’ Alkemy said. ‘Albert say she will not wait long.’
‘What about using the scanner blocks? They’re designed to pick up signals and they are scattered all over the place. Could we reprogram them remotely and use them as receivers for the calculator?’ He drew the receiver from his backpack.
‘Signal type from spacecraft is much different, but maybe,’ Ludokrus said.
They hunched over the receiver, trying different combinations.
‘And we should get our stories straight,’ Tim said to Coral. ‘For when that guy gets back from the reserve.’
Coral shook her head. ‘No, we shouldn’t, because we shouldn’t be here when he gets back from the reserve. These guys have a you-know-what to catch.’
‘How do we get away without the army and police coming after us?’ He gestured at the locked door. ‘And how do we get out of here for a start?’
‘Ssshh. Let me think.’
Coral paced the room while Norman and Ludokrus worked on the receiver. ‘No, no, try ... How about ...? Maybe if we ... Yeah ... Yeah, that’s it!’
‘It work?’ Alkemy said.
Ludokrus, still hunched over the screen, nodded. ‘But this cannot be right. You check please.’ He handed it to Norman.
‘What’s not right?’ Tim said.
Norman studied the display, made some adjustments, then shook his head. ‘No, that’s what I get too. No doubt about it. Your ship’s headed straight for Gizzard Gully.’