TIME MACHINE CHAPTER NINE
The next day at breakfast, Rita handed the painted pebbles that the Squaws had given her, to Jacob.
"Would these sell, do you think?"
This time Ben actually heard the mechanism whirring as Jacob calculated this.
"Wow, yes, they'd fetch a thousand IMU's each if you took them to the Amy Winehouse museum! That's three months wages you're holding there, Rita!"
Rita nearly dropped the three months' wages of pebbles in shock.
"Anything else?"
Ben opened his shirt to reveal the talisman given to him by Grey Owl.
"There's this, but I've been advised to keep this safe and not part with it."
"But that's three thousand IMU's on your card, bang! Just like that."
"I'd rather keep it" Ben replied, wondering why he was even arguing with a robot.
"Why don't you have the pebbles in return for your hospitality, Jacob?" asked Connie.
"Because there's nothing I need. I fabricate all my own clothes, repair my own furniture and find the cheapest food on the market for any guests that visit."
"And what about your food?"
Jacob laughed.
"Robots don't need food, sweet cheeks."
Rita fainted. Connie glared at Jacob, who carried Rita to the room she shared with Connie and Jess and lay her on the bed.
"I'm a free robot. Some robots are free, some are slaves. Same with your kind, the humans."
"Humans?"
"Oh yes. You've already seen the state of the lowlife wandering around. When they're caught, if their crime's not serious enough for a lethal jab, they're put on the market. If they're sold they're either worked to death, or if their owners are softies, they become part of the families."
Connie shuddered.
"Hey, honey, it's progress. We have to have rules here in Andromeda, or we'd all have gone to the dogs a long time ago. The death sentence stands for murder, assault, kidnapping and stealing."
"Stealing?" Ben repeated, his face pale.
Dylan was going off Jacob more by every minute.
"You got it, friend. We have to cull the poor somehow."
"Jacob" Connie said coldly, "Thank you for your hospitality, but right now we're going to the Amy Whitehouse museum to get some Units. Once we have enough I think it's better that we rent our own accommodation."
She expected Jacob to get angry and tell her they could all get out now. Instead, he smiled lazily.
"Okay; let me know when you're sorted and I'll help you move your things."
The robots of Andromeda were insensitive in some ways, but they were also slow to anger.
Ben and Dylan sat on the grassy bank, watching the river flowing. Suddenly a deer ran into the nearby bushes and Ben grinned in delight.
Dylan gave a sigh:
"It's heartbreaking that the only way we can get close to nature now… people are going to lose so much."
Ben kissed him gently, then they reluctantly left the 'Green' section of the museum and went to join the others for an interview with Sir Anton Meyer, owner of the museum.
"Do you know how much these are worth?" asked Sir Anton, as he looked at the pebbles.
"We were told about five thousand IMU's for all of them."
Sir Anton laughed.
"Try adding twenty thousand to that figure! I'll split the cash up between all your credit accounts if that's agreeable."
They were now comfortably off, and, after finding a suitable residence – which took just fifteen minutes to process – to share for the duration of their stay in Andromeda – they ate out at one of the restaurants. The meal tasted as if it was well over a thousand calories but in fact came to a mere 200, including starter, dessert and wine.
The next afternoon they gave their lecture in the Jack Sparrow Centre, taking turns to speak. Rita found she was able to speak comfortably about the Native American Indian lifestyle. They earned another ten thousand IMU's for this, and then Senator Self came over to speak to them.
They were shocked at the Senator's attitude when they told him they'd like to give some of their earnings to help the poor.
"Friends, it's pointless squandering money on those who won't help themselves. Besides, there are ways for the poor to make a little extra here and there. You'll probably see that before you leave."
That evening they went into a bar that played old sixties music. Ben began to sing along to one of the tunes, and a sleazy-looking man came up to him.
"You have a good voice, friend. You lot are the time travellers, right?"
"We are."
"If you want to come down and provide some entertainment tomorrow, I've a little competition that I'm wanting to host. If you won you'd get fifteen thousand IMU's. Game?"
"Why not?" Ben smiled. Dylan was uncertain but let the younger man have his way.
"I have to tell you, friend, you're very likely to lose but hey, you'd get free drinks all night."
Ben's competitive spirit came to the fore.
"I'm up for it."
Dylan sighed, but wasn't too concerned. The IMU's would be useless to them all once they all left Andromeda anyway.
"Okay, come along to the Michael Buble Tribute Centre tomorrow night by eight pm. My name's Adam Trueman."
The Michael Buble Tribute Centre was full, but thanks to Trueman's help, Connie and friends had seats on the front row.
The audience was eager. Most of them more or less knew Ben was going to lose this contest and were eager to see someone
being humiliated. One or two wondered if there'd be a surprise for them. Dylan sat in the front row, his heart pounding. He
anticipated a disaster.
Trueman swaggered on stage in a shocking pink suit and announced:
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a wonderful competition for you
tonight. From the twenty 5rst century, our singing time traveller, Ben Chiltern..."
Ben came out to take his bows, wearing a grey suit and blue shirt that brought out his "storm eyes" perfectly.
Unfortunately, the man who was announced next looked more than handsome, he looked nothing less than flawless.
"And our very own favourite... Rossignol!" bawled Trueman.
Rossignol swaggered out. He was tall, athletically built and his skin glowed with a healthy tan. His eyes were an almost emerald green,
his lips were perfectly formed. He was perfection.
To his shame, Dylan felt himself becoming very attracted to Rossignol. He forced himself to focus on Ben.
Ben began by singing a heartfelt version of 'Hallelujah' and the applause was appreciative if not ecstatic.
The ecastatic applause was reserved for Rossignol, who sang an aria from a recently-written opera, Abelard and Heloise.
It told of the misery of Abelard, who, because of a brutal trick of fate, has been forced to spend his life apart from his beloved Heloise, only corresponding with her by letters. Rossignol sang of these
letters now and his voice shook with emotion.
"How can I face the future without my beloved Heloise… ise… ise…ise…ise…"
Rossignol's voice began to screech in an ugly falsetto key. People covered their ears, screaming for somebody to turn off his mechanism, which his red-faced owner did.
Dylan loathed himself. How could he have been besotted, even for a few minutes, by this metal contraption?
Smiling with gritted teeth, Trueman paid the 20,000 IMU's into the new communal account that the travellers had opened.
"This is going towards the new wing at the JB Memorial Hospital" Ben announced, smiling.
Dylan couldn't wait to get Ben home and to lay his head on the younger man's chest, to feel his warmth and very human heartbeat.
The evening began to go downhill again when the travellers walked past Madonna Square Gardens.
People were cheering as two dogs, dressed in rags, were fighting over a piece of meat.
No… not dogs. Human beings. Two young men. And it was jeering onlookers who were throwing the food to them.
(