‘Yes, well, we wouldn’t want that becoming general knowledge now, would we?’ He winked. ‘So then, now that we’ve all been introduced, I will leave you both in Maria’s very capable hands and give you a chance to rest up before tomorrow. Dr Rubenstein, if you would be so kind as to accompany me, I have a few things which I need to go through with you.’

‘Certainly, General,’ replied the doctor.

‘Follow me, please,’ said Maria, and led Arthur and his father out of the hangar, through a security checkpoint, and into a brightly-lit warren of stairs and ultra-clean corridors. Technicians in white coats like the doctor had been wearing hurried to and fro, barely paying any attention to them.

‘Green is for Propulsion Systems,’ she said, noticing that they were staring at a coloured sign-board at the end of one of the corridors. ‘Red is for Astrophysics, blue is for Biomechanics, and so on. It’s confusing for everyone at first, so don’t worry too much if it feels a bit intimidating.’

‘Yes, it’s quite the labyrinth you have here,’ commented his father.

‘Oh, you have no idea. And this is only what you can see above ground.’

‘Is that right? I wonder what goes on down there then.’

‘I honestly couldn’t tell you,’ she said, smiling at him. ‘That information’s way above my pay grade.’

Taking them up several flights of stairs, she led them down a side corridor and stopped in front of a glass door. Pressing a key card against a sensor, it swished open to reveal a plain but cosy looking entrance hall.

‘Arthur, this is going to be your room over here,’ she said, indicating one of three closed doors. ‘And Craig, your’s is that one there.’ Opening a third set of doors, she stepped aside to allow them to get a look inside. Consisting of a kitchen and table at one end, and sofa, TV, and soft chairs at the other, it was a simple but comfortable living area. ‘As you can see, pretty much everything you could need, so make yourself at home and feel free to help yourself if you get hungry. Provisions have already been prepared for your arrival, and you’ll find them in the refrigerator… Also, there’s a telephone you can use, as your mobile phones, if you have them, won’t work here. Just press the red button on it if you need to get in contact with me for any reason.’

‘Red button,’ repeated his father. ‘Got it.’

‘Now, I hope you’ll understand that, given the nature of this facility, you will not be permitted to leave these rooms without an escort. I apologise if that sounds a little draconian but it’s for your own safety as much as anything.’

And telling them that she would return at 9am the following morning, she wished them a good evening and left.

‘Right, well, here we are then,’ said his father after the door had shut behind her. ‘Why don’t we go and get ourselves sorted out and then meet in that living area in a bit? I don’t know about you, but I’m getting kind of hungry.’

Agreeing, Arthur opened the door to his room. Small and lightly furnished, it had a built-in wardrobe on one side and a double bed and side tables on the other. A window at the far end looked out directly onto a concrete wall opposite. Dropping his pack on the floor, he flopped heavily on to the bed.

‘Ouch! Hey – watch it, will you! I’m not a sack of flower, you know.’

‘Oh my God, sorry,’ he replied, rolling over and unfastening the top of it to let the cat out.

‘Go on, admit it, you forgot I was in there, didn’t you?’ meowed the cat, jumping out and stretching himself.

‘Well no, not really. Anyway, I said I was sorry, what more do you wa… ‘Woah! Cat—we’re back!’ he cried. ‘We can talk!… And it has to be because we’re close to the box again, doesn’t it? What do you think?’

‘What do I think!? I think that first thing tomorrow morning you need to get yourself over to wherever it is that they’re keeping it, and offer to buy it off of them! And don’t take no for an answer, either! It can’t cost much – it’s only small. And if they ask why you want it, you’ll just have to explain to them that you’re not very useful without it.’

‘Me? Nice one, Cat. But I seriously doubt that the box is for sale. There’s no way they’ve gone to all this trouble to simply let us take it away again. Ah! Which reminds me, you’re going to need to remember to stay out of sight from now on. No one knows you’re here, and we should probably keep it that way. I can’t imagine what they’ll do if they discover I brought you with me.’

The cat, who’d just started cleaning a paw, glanced up at him.

‘So, why did you bring me?’

‘What do you mean, “why did I bring you?” I told you. It was a feeling, like you needed to be here.’

‘What do you mean you told me?’

‘When we were in my room. When we were all about to leave. I told you that you needed to come, too.’

‘And what, you thought that I somehow magically understood you?

‘Well, I don’t know – yeah, I guess. Why’d you get into my backpack, then, if you didn’t?’

‘Because I saw you were going somewhere with that general and wanted in on the action.’

Arthur gazed at him and then shrugged.

‘Fair enough, I suppose,’ he said, getting up. ‘Well, now you’re in on it, just stay quiet and hidden, ok?’