"...gale, veering to the Northwest. In the Southwest, snowfall is expected to be heavy, with drifting in the strong north-westerly wind. Temperature is expected to fall overnight to minus 6 degrees at the coast and minus 20 degrees inland. Tomorrow, the skies will slowly clear from the west. An intense frost is expected tomorrow night."
Johan turned off the broadcast with an air of resignation.
"Damn! damn! damn! The weather always seems to clamp down at weekends. It doesn't look as if I will be able to make it to the hut tonight - again. And your brother's place was raided last night - it looks as if they had a tip-off. They could be coming our way next. What do you think Marita?"
Marita looked up from her computer magazine.
"I don't know. The E.T. League has spies everywhere. You can't trust anyone these days. I've just read that Victor Larsen of North Cyber was clobbered last month. It says: 'He wanted the intellectual challenge of trying to beat the Enforcement of Temperance League.' Björn was lucky, his gear was buried under the snow, so the police didn't find it. If anything, I think that my brother is even more careful than we are. Anyway, we won't have to go short for a while yet - there's still plenty in the boat - isn't there?"
"Yes, but there isn't any way to get to the boathouse without making tracks in the snow. You can bet that someone in the E.T. mob will get suspicious about someone working on his boat in the dark at this time of the year. I guess that I will have to try to work out some way to get at the stuff without leaving tracks. I thought of tunnelling my way there but the rocks around here are fault ridden."
"That's just like you to find some excuse, I would have thought that your students would have jumped at the chance to solve that problem. I'd like to design a robot to do it, but it would need a helicopter to carry it, and I don't know enough about flying."
"It would be easier to think up a new way of making booze than to produce something like that. Yes, that's the idea, design a robot to make the stuff - what do you think?"
"I'm thinking about the problems of programming it. Just think what could happen if I made a mistake and it produced methanol instead of ethanol."
"If it was made well enough, it might decide that it wanted the booze for itself. Just imagine, what would the E.T. League do with a drunken robot?"
"You know what Johan, I think that that rock-crunching brain of yours may have hit on a solution. If the E.T. spies saw what they thought was a drunk, and the police found out that it was a robot. . ."
Johan grinned. "I think that we could go one better than that Marita - what if the robot made a lot of crazy tracks in the snow. . ."
"How about a robot riding a snow scooter? It would solve the power problem while making him more mobile."
The project grew. Björn was called in to help. Marita's skills as a programmer were combined with Björn's knowledge of electronics. Johan loved motor bikes, but he was happy enough to adapt his knowledge to the snow-borne equivalent. In any case, 'work' on the scooter provided a perfect cover for his other occupation in the hut. Björn had rigged up an alarm sensor to start the scooter's engine if anyone came within 100 metres of the hut.
Björn's system worked. The whirr of the starter caught Johan in the middle of a specific gravity measurement. He quickly packed up his gear and stowed it behind a false wall in the hut. Then, while he appeared to be working on the scooter, he looked around to see who it was who had triggered the alarm. At first, he couldn't see anyone or anything which could have caused the engine to start. Then he noticed what seemed to be an animal about the size of a fox, trying to plough through the snow. It was around three o'clock in the afternoon and the light was fading, so he couldn't see that clearly. He turned off the motor and looked more carefully at the source of the disturbance. Whatever it was, it thrashed around a lot without making much progress. Johan picked up the long pole he used for probing the depth of the snow. It could be used as a weapon in an emergency. He then set out to investigate.
The movement seemed to die down as Johan approached. He moved carefully, probing the snow at every step. He knew the locations of the gullies and dips near the hut - in the summertime - but they were invisible now, under the snow. The movement stopped altogether, but the disturbed snow showed that something was buried there, just a metre or so away from him. He prodded gently with the pole and touched something which was hard and unyielding. A moment later something under the snow grabbed the end of the pole, nearly pulling it out of his hand. Johan held on, assuming that someone was using the pole to pull themselves out of the snowdrift. The scrabbling, thrashing movement resumed and the pull on the pole became stronger. Johan dug his heels in and pulled at the pole with both hands. The pull suddenly eased, causing Johan to step back quickly to regain his balance. Then, in the half light, Johan could see what appeared to be a large claw grasping the other end of the pole. The thing which owned the claw was now climbing out of the drift.
Johan had a quick debate with himself. Should he let go of the pole and race back to the hut along the tracks he had made, or should he hang on a moment longer to see what was attached to the claw. He decided to hang on for a second or two longer. He could move across the snow easily; "Mr. Claw" had been stuck in a snowdrift.
A thin stick poked through the surface. It waved around a bit and then bent over in an arc until it disappeared beneath the snow again. Johan stepped backwards carefully, feeling the firmness of the snow before transferring his weight. Another stick protruded from the snow, bent over and disappeared like the first one. The claw was getting closer. Johan stepped back again, feeling for his previous footmarks. If he slipped and fell, he would be helpless. Two more sticks appeared and disappeared.
To Johan, they looked like a cross between spider's legs and tentacles. The thing was either not very tall or not standing upright. Apart from the stick-like legs and the claw, nothing could be seen of it under less than a metre of snow. Now the thing was almost out of the gully and Johan could take steps backwards every few seconds. Johan's curiosity gave way to unease. He tried to jerk the pole out of the grasp of the claw, but the pull just drew the thing closer. He decided to let go of the pole and get back to the hut while there was still enough light to do so safely.
Johan reached the security of the main path to the hut in a few paces, then turned to look back in the direction of the thing. He still couldn't see what it was but he could see that it was now using the pole to propel itself. He hurried back to the hut and checked that his snowscooter was O.K. for a quick getaway.
The thing had reached the path and was making its way towards him. From 50 metres away in the dim light it looked like a giant crab. The thing moved very slowly, dragging itself more through the snow than over it. It wasn't very large. The body was just under a metre wide. The legs seemed to be too short but he couldn't see them clearly in the snow. The long claw arm was attached to the middle of its upper surface. It was still using the pole to push itself along, its spindly legs being used more for steering than walking.
Johan picked up his phone and dialled his home number. Björn answered. Johan described what he could see. After comments about drunken visions, Björn said that he and Marita would come to the hut as quickly as they could make it.
The thing was closer now and its features were more distinct. Johan started the scooter and aimed its headlight at it. The claw was shiny and metallic and the greyish green body was encrusted with snow. It stopped moving when the headlight shone on it. It began to move again when Johan turned the beam away from it. He could see it clearly now in the unfocussed light from the headlamp. The crablike thing was a strange sort of robot.
When it was no more than five metres away from the door of the hut it stopped again. Gradually, it drew the pole forwards a few centimetres at a time, renewing the grip with its claw after each movement. When its grip reached the mid point of the pole, it lifted it up and reached forward with it in the direction of the open door.
At the same moment Johan's spirits were raised by the sight of Marita and Björn arriving on skis. He pointed so that they could see the crablike thing as they approached. He stopped the scooter's engine. There was enough light from the doorway now. Johan gestured to Björn to take his end of the pole while he took the other end. The pole bent as they tried to lift it, but the claw released its grip before the pole broke. Johan retrieved the pole as Marita moved closer to the thing. Its legs started to thrash around but it could hardly move through the snow near the door. Then Björn pushed the front of his skis under it, lifting it slightly. With Björn's help it was able to make good progress over the last metre or so to the doorway. Marita and Björn unclipped their skis and stuck them in the snow near the door. The thing scrambled its way into the hut and came to a stop as if its power had run out.
Marita and Björn came in and looked it closely. Marita brushed the snow from the upper surface to see if there were any identifying marks or writing on it. All that could be seen were the outlines of small panels. Johan turned up the portable gas heater to see if warmth would restore the thing to life. Then, as the radiators turned a bright red, a panel lifted. Below it, a tube extended telescopically.
The panel tilted, showing that its underside was a mirror. The tube was a part of an extendible periscope. The claw arm folded down and the periscope scanned the inside of the hut.
Björn and Marita removed their parkas and gazed intently at the robot. Eventually, Björn said:
"I don't think that this was made anywhere on Earth. Whoever designed it did not expect it to be used in snow. I don't think that it was intended to deal with our gravity either, its legs look too thin to support its body."
Johan replied:
"I agree. And I don't think that it was intended for use where there was water, it couldn't use its periscope without flooding its insides."
Marita said:
"I've been thinking. I have been trying to work out whether it is operated by remote control or if it has some degree of artificial intelligence. It could be half and half."
Björn sniffed, wrinkled his nose and sniffed again:
"Can either of you two smell anything? I thought that I caught a whiff of some sort of smell coming from it." he said.
"Yes, its the sort of smell one associates with hospitals, maybe some sort of alcohol." Marita answered.
While they talked the periscope mirror turned until it faced the wall above Johan's workbench. Marita noticed it first. Pinned to the wall were an assortment of notes, diagrams, phone numbers, a small street plan and a tyre company's calendar for the previous year. The periscope seemed to be focused on last November's nude. It turned to face Marita and back to the calendar as if making a comparison.
"I wish that I was still as young and beautiful as that." she said.
Then she took the calendar off the wall and after turning the page to show December's pinup, she held it in front of the periscope.
The claw reached out and took the calendar from Marita's hand. Then it tried holding the calendar between its body and the gas heater as a shield. After a moment there was a repeated crunching noise from within the body which gradually faded. It sounded a little like a pestle and mortar being used to crush sugar. The claw lowered the calendar to the floor and rested there for a moment. Then the legs lifted the body and rotated it a few degrees at a time. The periscope lowered so that it wouldn't foul the arm of the claw as the body rotated.
The three watchers studied the machine in silence, no-one wanting to state the obvious to the others. Johan's trouser legs began steaming as the radiation from the heater began to dry them out. Marita found a box to sit on, and Björn, following her example, sat on the snow scooter by the door. Johan moved his chair further from the heater without taking his eyes off the machine.
The periscope extended again and bent over to study the calendar once more. Then, with the combination of two legs and the claw, the machine attempted to turn over the December page. The paper tore because the claw and legs were still wet with melted snow. Marita got up to assist the machine and exposed the front cover of the calendar so that the periscope could see it. The logo SUPERIOR TYRES 2007 was made up of tyres of every size, with 12 girls posed provocatively in, on, and around them.
After studying the cover for a minute or so, the periscope retracted again and the body rotated once more. Then the periscope extended and the claw turned the pages to January and then February without tearing them.
"Look!" exclaimed Björn. "Steam is coming out of the top. I never would have thought that a machine like that could be turned on by sexy girls."
The others looked. A faint wisp of vapour could be seen coming from the periscope panel aperture. Johan went over to look more closely.
"I can't be sure, but I think that it's full of water. Should we lift it up and try to get the water out?"
"Will it let us?" asked Marita.
"We can only try." said Björn.
The three moved slowly so that they could be followed by the periscope. Björn held the claw arm while Marita and Johan put their hands under the body and lifted. The underside was smooth and gave no purchase. The legs looked too flimsy to hold on to. The periscope turned to and fro as Johan said:
"On the bench."
The machine gave no sign of resistance to this manoeuvre although Björn ended up taking most of the weight on the claw arm as they put it down.
"It is full of water, I can hear it slopping around." said Johan. "Hang on, I've got an idea.
He went over to the secret door in the wall and opened it. He came back with a long piece of plastic tube in his hand. Then he placed a bowl on the floor by the bench and inserted one end of the tube into the periscope aperture.
"Don't worry, I'm used to siphoning petrol." he said as he put the free end of the tube into his mouth. The tube began to fill with a very pale green liquid. Johan lowered the end over the bowl and the siphon started. The claw moved slowly towards the tube while being watched by the periscope. Then it grasped the tube gently and pushed it further into its interior.
"Quick, get the bucket Marita, before the bowl overflows." said Johan.
Marita put the bucket next to the bowl and Johan transferred the flow into the bucket. The bucket was nearly full when they heard the gurgling of a broken siphon - most of the water had been drained out.
A stronger stream of vapour poured forth from the aperture as if a kettle was boiling inside the machine. Then a low hum could be heard and then a fizzing sound. The machine was drying itself out with its own power. The fizzing faded and the hum rose to a higher pitch. The claw lifted the end of the tube clear of the aperture and passed it to Johan who took it instinctively. Then the machine lifted itself up onto the tips of its legs and started walking along the bench. It seemed to be looking for something. The claw picked up a file, the periscope looked at it, and the claw put it down again exactly where it had been. It picked up a screwdriver next and studied it in the same manner. Then it walked to the other end of the bench and examined drills, a scriber, a jar full of paintbrushes and finally a notepad. It studied the notepad very closely and then looked at the notes and diagrams pinned to the wall above the bench.
Marita took a pen and a diary from her handbag to show the machine how a pen was used. She drew a rough sketch of the machine and then produced her make-up mirror. She held the mirror so that it faced the machine and held up her sketch beside it. The periscope bent over to study the diary closely, then the claw reached over and took the mirror from Marita's hand. It turned the mirror so that it could see the reflection of Marita's sketch. Then it gave the mirror back to her and picked up the pen which was lying on the bench. It examined the pen and gave it to Marita. As soon as she had taken it, the claw gently closed on her wrist. It drew her hand towards the notepad and then released it. Marita changed her grip on the pen so that she could write with it, and started to draw a sketch of Johan. The machine took the pen from her fingers and adjusted its position with one of its legs. It held the pad with one leg while it drew a straight line across the page. It studied the line for a moment and then drew another one close to the first. Then the claw began to move rapidly backwards and forwards, drawing line after line across the page. Johan and Björn couldn't see much of what it was doing but Marita watched in amazement. When the claw moved away from the paper, there was a clear picture of Marita with the view of the inside of the hut behind her. It was done like a fax picture but beautifully shaded. The lines were almost invisible.
The claw turned over a new page and started drawing again. This time it drew a small picture of itself followed by a recognisable picture of Earth seen from space. Then there was an aerial view of a snowbound countryside near the coast. The next picture showed a lower view which was clear enough to identify the bare branches of birch trees by the side of a frozen lake. The three knew the spot well, Sternbule Lake was less than three kilometres away. The following scene showed a horizontal view. A large sphere was parked on the ice in the centre of the lake and snow-clad conifers could be seen in the background. Marita's pen began to run out in the middle of the next drawing but it was obvious that the sphere had melted the ice and was sinking. Björn produced another pen for the machine to draw with, and Marita turned over to a new page on the notepad for the next picture, to indicate that she had understood what the previous incomplete picture showed. At first it looked as if the machine was repeating the incomplete picture but this time it was the same scene in a snowstorm. Only the top of the sphere could be seen and then it just looked like a bump in the snow in the middle of the lake.
The viewpoint was different in the next scene; only a few details were visible. It showed the view from the middle of the lake. The front of the machine and two of its legs could be seen in the foreground. On the next page the claw drew a blank rectangle. The next page was a reproduction of the February page of the calendar with the date changed to 2008. The days of the week were the same as for 2007 so February 29th was missing. A rectangle was drawn around the dates 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st. The claw lifted the previous page while one of the legs pointed to the four dates in sequence.
The picture story continued. It showed steam coming out of the machine and then the machine starting to fill with snow whenever the periscope was used. It showed itself getting heavier and heavier, and making ever slower progress through the snow until Johan prodded it with his pole. The next page was used to show Johan holding one end of his pole with the claw grasping the other end.
The drawing stopped. The machine put the pen down on the notepad and walked along the bench. Then it climbed down onto Johan's chair and then onto the floor. It approached the gas heater and examined the heat controller. It then turned the heat down to minimum and back to its maximum setting. Then it walked round the gas heater, looking at every detail. Björn went over to the heater and opened the back to reveal the butane gas cylinder inside. The machine gave the cylinder a close look and then went over to the snow scooter. The three followed it to see what it would do. As they stood round they were amazed to see the machine pick up the engine access panel from the floor and fit it. After a moment or two it climbed onto the seat. It studied the dials and found the fuel filler cap. It unscrewed the cap and the periscope looked into the tank. Then it poked a foreleg into the tank. It withdrew the leg and then lifted it so that it could be examined by the periscope. It then replaced the filler cap and climbed down off the scooter.
The machine returned to the bench and climbed up onto it unaided. It began drawing again.
This time it drew the heater and the snow scooter with strange symbols by the butane cylinder and the scooter's fuel tank. It showed a picture of itself at the lake next to a filled-in rectangle. Its next picture showed itself on the bench next to an empty rectangle. The filled rectangle had more symbols beside it which looked similar to those used for the butane cylinder and the scooter's fuel tank. The message was obvious but the symbols were completely unrecognisable.
Johan said: "We know that it needs a fuel to keep going which isn't butane or petrol. Have you got any ideas?"
Björn said: "Look at one of the pictures he drew a minute or two ago. It looked to me as if it was generating steam somehow. There are only two processes which do that and one of them isn't stable enough for continued use. One is hydrogen peroxide and the other is a hydrogen fuel cell. I think that it uses a fuel cell to provide electricity and steam."
"I think that you're right Björn, but I don't think that it could handle liquid hydrogen. It could use a pure hydrocarbon more easily with some loss of efficiency." said Marita.
Johan said: "You know that we joked about a drunken robot some weeks ago Marita. I guess that we might have a drop of the right stuff right here."
"We can only try it out." said Björn. Lets see what it makes of our best hooch."
Johan slid a toolbox from under the bench and removed a piece of floorboard which it had covered. He then reached into the hole and withdrew a five litre flagon of clear liquid. He then fetched a beaker from behind the secret panel and poured some of the liquid into it. The machine followed all these actions with great interest. Johan held the beaker close to the periscope to see what the machine would do with it. After a second or two, a small panel opened next to the periscope aperture. A tube of similar construction to the legs emerged and reached up towards the beaker. Johan lowered the beaker and watched the tube bend over and put its end below the surface of the liquid. The level in the beaker fell about a centimetre. There was a long pause when nothing seemed to happen. Then the beaker was rapidly emptied.
The tube withdrew and the panel closed again.
The machine returned to the notepad. The drawing with the empty rectangle was updated. Now it was shown as being about one tenth full but the intensity of the shading was lighter. However, now that it was no longer dangerously short of fuel, the machine began a more detailed examination of the hut. It collected Johan's distillation equipment from its hiding place and closed the panel. Then it assembled the distillation equipment with expert thoroughness. It had found a hidden reservoir of wine under the floor and was happily using it as a source of dilute alcohol. The still began to work after a few minutes. The machine evidently had some type of vapour analyser connected to its periscope because it continually checked the output of the fractionation column. Now and again it would extend its filler tube to sample the distillate. After about an hour of work it had sampled nearly two litres of spirit. The three watchers were intrigued. Here was an alien robot distilling alcohol but they had learned very little about where it had come from since Johan found it.
Curiosity quickly changed to fear as the scooter's starter engaged. Johan quickly stopped the alarm as they heard the sound of several snow scooters approaching. The alien robot responded by jumping off the bench onto the floor. It directed Björn to crawl under the bench, then it pushed Marita into the hiding place behind the false wall. It indicated to Johan that he should stand by the door so that when it opened, he would be concealed behind it. The scooter engines stopped and someone knocked at the door of the hut.
"Police! Open up! We know you are in there!"
The robot opened the door and stood in the entrance, its forelegs and claw raised. The first policeman stopped dead in his tracks. The others, not realising why he didn't immediately charge into the hut bumped into his back, knocking him forwards onto the raised front legs of the robot. He screamed. His parka saved him from very serious injury, but the stab wounds rendered his arms useless. His colleagues, not realising what had happened to him, pulled him backwards away from the robot. He screamed even louder this time in a most bloodcurdling manner.
The two uninjured policemen had by now realised that the crab-like robot which was obstructing the doorway had injured their colleague. From their point of view the robot looked somewhat like a scorpion with its claw raised and facing forwards. One uninjured policeman removed his gloves in order to get at his pistol. The other used his radio to call for reinforcements. Neither tried to get past the robot. The policeman with the gun started to aim at the top of the robot. At the same instant, a dazzling beam of light was emitted from the periscope, right into his eyes. He dropped the gun before he was ready to fire and put both hands to his eyes to shield them from the dazzle. The policeman with the radio was earnestly trying to convince a sceptical colleague that he and his friends were threatened by an alien monster. "It's like a giant scorpion with lasers. Send a helicopter quickly - it's urgent! Sergeant Wallen has been stabbed by it and Fredrik has been blinded by it. If you stupid bastards don't get a chopper here in the next five minutes, I'll make sure that you are all reduced to the ranks and given dishonourable discharges!"
Sergeant Wallen was sitting in the snow and shouting repeatedly. "The bastard stabbed me."
The robot stood its ground, unmoved and unmoving.
The policeman with the radio was trying to get his message through, slowly and carefully as if he were talking to a child.
"Its like a giant crab but it has got tentacles instead of legs. It stabbed sergeant Per Wallen in the shoulders with two of its tentacles. . . . I can't explain it. Can't a giant crab have sharp tentacles? . . It has a laser weapon as well. . . Constable Fredrik Mossberg was going to shoot it but it blinded him before he could fire . . . OK, OK, I know it seems far-fetched, but it is here, in front of me, in the doorway of the hut. . . . No, it hasn't attacked me yet. . . . No, I can't tell you why. . .Are you sending a chopper or aren't you? . . . OK, but make sure there is a medic on board."
"Sarge, the chopper will be here in a few minutes. It was going to a reported explosion at Sternbule Lake but it's coming here first. Your shouting must have gotten through to them. Stand next to me Fredrik. Put your gloves back on, you could get frostbite."
"It's not that cold Karl, there's a lot of warmth coming from the hut. I can feel it."
"You're not facing the hut Fredrik, it's behind you."
"Well, although I can't see, I can feel that it is quite warm in that direction."
Karl looked in the direction that Fredrik was pointing. He gasped something which sounded like "Oh no!" and fainted.
"What did you say Karl?" asked Fredrik.
Karl didn't answer.
Per groaned.
Johan could see a little of what had happened through the gap by the doorhinge but he couldn't see what Karl had seen. As the policemen had been disabled, he decide to risk a quick look around the edge of the door. Per, the first policeman, was still sat in the snow, his eyes closed and his chin on his chest. Fredrik had found a snow scooter and was sitting on it, peering sightlessly into the distance. He was in a severe state of shock. Karl had collapsed in a heap. His radio was making unintelligible noises but Johan couldn't see where it was. Beyond the policemen there was nothing to see except a massive blank curved wall. The robot's giant spacecraft was parked less than thirty metres away. He then saw two crablike creatures approaching. They were moving easily over the snow on a powered sledge. They picked up the policemen, put them on the sledge, and went away again. They made no sound whatsoever. Even the sledge motor couldn't be heard above the wind in the trees. There was no sound of an approaching helicopter either. The robot shut the door of the hut and locked it on the inside. It then opened the secret hiding place so that Marita could get out. Björn crawled out from under the bench. They had heard what had happened but had not been able to see anything. Johan outlined what had occurred.
The robot climbed back onto the bench and resumed its work as if nothing had happened. After checking that all was well with the distillation process, it picked up the pen and started to draw once more on the notepad. The first picture showed the three policemen being taken into the spaceship at night. In the second picture, the policemen had apparently recovered from their ordeal but they were in a rowing boat near a sunny palm-fringed shore. The three looked at the picture closely. It was incredibly detailed. There were umbrellas and people on the beach. They saw the characteristic plumes of water skiers in the distance, and there, in the rowing boat, just above the gunwales, they saw three pairs of scooter handlebars.
The robot turned back the pages of the notepad to show the calendar. It drew a heavy rectangle around the 24th February. It then pointed to the 21st, itself and the blank rectangle on the next page. Next, it turned back to the picture it had drawn of itself in the hut and forward again to the calendar. This time it pointed to the 24th.
"It looks a if it will be leaving us soon and coming back in three day's time". said Björn.
The robot started drawing again on a blank page.
It showed a box with two pipes connected to it and wires leading to a scooter battery. One of the pipes was immersed in the bowl which Johan had used to siphon out the water. The other led into the flagon of hooch. Next the robot drew a picture of itself giving the box to Johan.
The robot then jumped off the bench and retrieved the calendar. It climbed back onto the bench again and laid the calendar down so that the blank reverse side of one of the pages was exposed. It then began a very large drawing. It was a view of a building with a police van parked in front of it. A lot of policemen were coming out of the building, loaded up with bottles which they were putting into the van. Some of the bottles were recognisable by their shapes - Glenfiddich, Benedictine, Hennessey X-O and Vat 69. The others could be distinguished by their distinctive labels - Johnny Walker and Napoleon Brandy. A small label on a string was attached to the neck of each bottle. The writing on most of these labels was indistinct, but one of them showed clearly what was on the others.
EVIDENCE ITEM No. 1132 24/2/08
Found at the Enforcement of Temperance League Head Office.
As the picture neared completion, it became clear that the view was from behind a police cordon. There were hundreds of people there to witness the event - including a good sprinkling of newspaper photographers and TV cameramen.
When the picture was finished, the robot began again on the next blank side. When it was finished, the robot took Johan's wrist in its claw and lifted his arm so that his hand covered his eyes. It released its grip and did the same to Marita and Björn in turn. The picture showed the three with their eyes covered and the robot going up a ramp into the spacecraft.
Now, if ever you are invited to Johan and Marita's house, you may be lucky enough to be given a glass of Johan's special elixir. If you should ask what the recipe is, he will answer:
"It's a secret, but it's really out of this world, isn't it?"
You would never guess from the twinkle in his eye that he was telling you the absolute literal truth.
Copyright © Wilf James 4/4/91
Revised 21/5/91 & 09/06/96
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