“I wonder what’s in the crates,” Judy asked.

Frances looked towards them. “You know, I never even thought to look,” she said, an edge of puzzlement to her voice. “Now, that’s not right…”

“What is it?” Judy sensed the warning in the robot’s tone.

“Trouble,” Frances said. “I can’t see anything in the crates at all. I can’t even get the idea of them in my mind. There’s heavy-duty stealth stuff in there.”

The whole of the Shawl section was now visible beneath their feet. Judy felt a flutter of fear as her view of safety receded, leaving her trapped on this craft with the sinister emptiness in the crates before her.

“Hilary…” called Frances. There was no reply. Judy stood up and folded her arms, her hands tucked into her sleeves. She was thinking herself calm.

“Anything?” she asked eventually.

“Nothing. Hilary has been blocked. There is a bubble of nothingness around this craft. I don’t know who is flying it now.”

Judy placed a tiny blue pill on the tip of her tongue. There was a cracking noise and a slat on one of the wooden crates came loose. A silver-grey nail went skittering across the metal floor.

Frances’ voice was low. “I can see the crate moving, Judy, but I can’t see what’s emerging. You’ll have to describe it to me.”

Judy looked at the sleek grey shape that was unfolding itself from the crate, wooden slats and nails dropping to the ground around it.

“It’s a robot of some kind, I think, but like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” She was whispering, though she didn’t know why. “I don’t know what forms the integument, but it doesn’t seem like plastic or metal or…or anything. It’s folding itself together like origami, or maybe some sort of three-dimensional tangram, but the shapes that it is forming are complex. I don’t think I can quite follow them. It’s making itself into a humanoid. The head is strange, like a very handsome man but obviously still artificial-”

“It’s okay,” Frances said suddenly. “I can see it now. It just seemed to come into view then. I was right: it’s a stealth robot. A good one.”

“Not that good if you can recognize me as such,” said the intruder, suddenly dropping into focus. He gave a charming smile. “Call me Chris.”

Judy remained silent. Frances held out her hand.

“Pleased to meet you, Chris. What does the EA want with us?”

“Not the Environment Agency. The Watcher had me come here.”

Judy said nothing. If there had been another human in the room, her body would have appeared perfectly still. Frances wouldn’t be fooled; she would be monitoring her friend’s vital signs and noting the patterns of tension that ran through her muscles on hearing Chris’ words.

Judy’s voice remained level. “I don’t believe you. The Watcher doesn’t exist. It’s only a fairy story made up by those who need to anthropomorphize causality.”

Chris gave a wide smile. “Oh Judy, we both know you don’t mean that. Face it, I can read your mind just as easily as Frances here can. Even more easily, in fact.”

Judy held her composure. She was feeling the robot with her MTPH-enhanced senses. He was like nothing she had ever encountered. The skin was not something that existed as an object in its own right, like the silk of her chemise or the metal frame of the antique seats; rather it was nothing more than a bounding region between the inside of Chris and the outside. It shimmered and moved as she ran her mind over it, constantly changing.

– Touch me. See what I feel like.

The words appeared directly in her mind, and Judy reeled in astonishment. She mentally centered herself, drew herself into her own body, felt the soft silk that she was wearing touch her own skin, felt the cold of the floor through her thin white tabi socks. Now she looked at Chris and focused on him. Was he using telepathy? Was that possible?

– Oh, yes, it is. MTPH is an idea that is entwined with human development. It can free your mind in ways you would not believe. Someday you will see. Now, touch me.

Judy walked forward, stepping over the wooden slats that littered the floor. Chris reached out and took her arm, guided her gently away from a loose nail.

“You’re beautiful,” Judy murmured, sensing what he had just done. She gazed into his dark eyes.

“I know,” Chris said.

The robot was beautiful. Proportioned like a man, his body was a softly shining grey; it made Judy think of dark lead crystal. She touched Chris’ arm. The skin was neither warm nor cold, neither rough nor smooth.

“I can’t feel anything,” Judy said.

“How about now?”

Judy felt warm flesh, then cold ice, then an invigorating prickling that seemed to massage her hand.

“That feels nice,” she said.

“You chose to remain a virgin,” said Chris.

“At this moment I find my resolve weakening,” said Judy truthfully. She touched the robot’s chin and felt warm skin and rough stubble.

Chris stared at her. “Why?” he asked.

“Because…”

“You’re reconsidering.”

“I am weakening,” breathed Judy. “However”-she snapped out the word, effectively throwing the switch on her emotions-“weakening is not enough.” She took her hand from Chris and folded it back into her sleeve. “So I believe you. You were sent by the Watcher. I have heard it said that the technology we use now, the Watcher knew about one hundred years ago. The Watcher reserves the best for itself and makes the ordinary available to humans.”

“And I’m the living proof.”

“So what do you want with us?”

Chris sat down in one of the padded chairs. He steepled his fingers and looked up at Judy and Frances.

“I want you to be aware that we’re watching you.”

“Surely the Watcher is always watching us,” said Frances. “Hence the name.”

Chris smiled at Frances, a beautiful smile.

“That doesn’t work on me,” said Frances. “You’re tuned in to Judy’s libido. Anyway, I think that Judy has worked out that the sexual aspect to your appearance is just a distraction.”

“Judy hadn’t realized it until you pointed it out to her in that last sentence.” He laughed. “As we both know.”

Judy relaxed her impassive pose and slumped into a chair next to Chris. There was no point maintaining her professional manner when both other parties could read exactly what she was thinking.

“Are you going to conduct your conversation via my subconscious reactions, or are you actually going to allow me to speak?”

“He’ll allow you to speak,” said Frances. “All robots do the same for humans. It’s good psychology.”

Chris turned to face Judy. The movement of his fluid body was like molten glass.

“Judy, something has changed about you since Judy 3 and 11 visited you last night.”

There was no point lying. “They told me something that shocked me.”

“What?”

“You mean you don’t know?”

Chris smiled a beautiful smile, carved from the finest lead crystal.

“No answer,” said Judy. “So is this meeting a fact-finding mission or a warning? Or something else?” She smoothed the edges of her layered kimonos flat, thereby concealing the colors of the linings. Now she was a white woman only. “Is the Watcher going to kill me if I reveal what I know?”

Chris gave her a disappointed look. “The Watcher does not kill, surely you know that? Judy, you should not believe everything you are told. Still, here is some advice: open your mind. Your life is changing.”

Judy looked at the robot.

“What do you mean?”

“I have a bad thing on my mind, Judy.” He looked at her significantly. “You’ll see.”

The viewscreen at the front of the shuttle was beginning to glow red.

“We’ve hit the atmosphere,” said Chris. “We have about twenty minutes before we land. Frances, what happened to Judy 11?”

“You seem to be much more advanced than me,” said Frances. “Can’t you read my mind?”

Chris leaned closer to her. “Not as such,” he said. “But I believe I can see something there.”