Free Return to Wardate by Bill Cornwell

now
resided. In accordance with the protection scheme, this new
identity remained highly classified, documented only on a top
secret data base which Madeline naturally had access to.
     
    Professor
Braugenhau was a truly brilliant scientist but unfortunately
extreme genius can generate its own problems. It started well, the
Professor’s unique communication system had one dedicated use, to
connect Poppy Cock to Madeline Bull. The system’s special radio
waves had the ability to pass through matter, unhindered –
dispensing with costly, unreliable, communication satellites with
inconvenient signal delays. However, the system had one significant
limitation – it could only have one exclusive user. This was
perfectly fine until Raymond de Par, the biological extortionist,
extorted the same system to operate his world wide lethal devices.
The result was that Madeline’s connection with Poppy was disrupted
and vice versa. Madeline’s signal almost disrupted the lethal
devices narrowly avoiding a worldwide catastrophe.
    De Par was the
first to extort the system from the Professor. Since then, numerous
parties throughout the world had designs on the system but
obviously this could not happen – it was already in use by a very
feisty android. Paul Brownsword signed the papers and the
protection scheme was initiated and so began the life of Sam
Johnson.
     
    It was early
evening when Madeline entered the peaceful sparsely populated
village. No shops, garages or schools, just a handful of pastel
coloured houses scattered about the hillside gave this isolated
part of Scotland the right to call itself a village. It was
raining, naturally, but it was peaceful rain, pattering gently on
the roof of the Volvo. In some ways she was looking forwards to
meeting the person who had made her new self possible. True the
other four scientists had played their part but without the radio
link she couldn’t function. Was he old and jolly? Was he bald with
a long white unkempt beard? – No, that was Santa, she thought. She
knocked on the door.
    What seemed
like a long time passed before the door finally opened. A scruffy
middle aged woman hovered in the entrance. The odours that were
surely there were no bother to Madeline – fortunately she had no
sense of smell but the filthy blouse and stained skirt danced out
at her.
    ‘Is Mr Johnson
in?’ asked Madeline. ‘Can I come in? I’m getting a bit wet out
here.’
    ‘No, piss off!’
said the scruffy, grumpy old woman.
    ‘Could you be
kind enough to tell him that it’s Madeline Bull.’
    ‘My God!’ the
old woman said.
    Her eyes lit up
and a huge smile broke across hers face.
    ‘Come in, come
in. I have to be wary on my own out here.’
    The interior of
the house was as expected, untidy but spacious and certainly cosy.
Not modern but kitted out with all the mod-cons – even a 50” plasma
television perched precariously on a much smaller cabinet. It was a
modestly sized room with the kitchen area at one end and what could
be classed as a lounge forming the rest of the living space. A
blazing log fire more than adequately warmed the room.
    ‘Sit down,
please sit down. I know you don’t have to, but please…’
    Madeline dusted
some crumbs of a chair and sat down.
    ‘No point in
offering you a cup of tea but I’ve got a thirteen amp socket if
that’s any use.’
    ‘No, no thanks…
how… do you…’
    ‘You don’t know
how thrilled I am to see you. When they told me what my system
would be used for, I was delighted. And you’re so beautiful –
everything I imagined you would be.’
    ‘Your system?
But you’re a woman?’
    ‘Well I was
last time I checked. Now, you’re not bugged or tracked are
you?’
    ‘No, I’ve got
this jamming device.’
    Madeline took
the little box out of her pocket and checked that the green light
was still glowing.
    ‘Barton’s with
us but he’s safe,’ said Madeline.
    ‘Professor
Barton? Well, well, how is the old codger?’
    ‘ Tell