‘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?’

‘So, first impressions of the T8 facility?’ said his father, as Arthur joined him in the living area. He had just finished warming up the rice and fish that had been left for them, in the microwave. ‘Mmm, yum… tastes pretty good actually. Here, this one’s yours.’

Taking the plate he was offered, Arthur sat down at the little square table, which his father had already laid.

‘I don’t know. Pretty cool, I guess. It’s much bigger than I thought it would be.’

‘You can say that again. Did you get a look at those towers on our way in? I reckon they must be where they assemble rockets and such like. You know, ever since I was your age, I’ve always wanted to see a real space rocket.’

‘Do you reckon they’ll let us see one?’

‘Maybe. Who knows. I don’t see why not. Anyway, no harm in asking, is there? It’s the least they can do, all things considered.’

‘Hey, come on, rise and shine already!’ meowed the cat. ‘You don’t seriously think that you can hide under those sheets forever, do you?’

‘Ugh… I do actually… Now go away.’

‘Nope, not gonna happen. Come on, up, up, up.’

Arthur groaned and opened his eyes.

‘That’s it, a bit more… Almost there…’

‘Cat, zip it, huh? It’s way too early.’

‘Fine, but first let’s see how well you can sleep when you’re starving, now c’mon, look lively.’

‘Oh blast! I forgot to pack your biscuits, didn’t I?’

‘You did indeed! Lucky for you though, us cats are extremely versatile in these sorts of situations. So, if you could be so kind as to tot off to the kitchen and bring me back something tasty, I’d be ever so much obliged.’

‘Tasty?’ repeated Arthur, sitting up. ‘Like what?’

‘I don’t know. Like anything really. Well actually, anything except sausages.’

‘Sausages?’

‘Yep. Terrible things, sausages.’

‘Really? When have you ever been given them to eat?’

‘Well, never. But as none of you are any good at clearing away after yourselves, you’d be amazed at what I’ve tried over the years.’

Arthur grinned. It made sense when he put it that way.

‘Alright, fine, I’ll try and find you something,’ he said, dressing and heading towards the door.

‘And don’t forget to make sure it tastes good!’ the cat meowed after him.

‘Yeah, you said that already. And it shouldn’t look like a sausage—I know.’

‘Or taste like one!’

‘Morning,’ said his father, who happened to be standing right outside at the very moment he’d opened the door, making him jump. ‘What’s all this about sausages, then?’

‘Sausages? Oh, nothing,’ Arthur replied, feeling his face burning. ‘I was just, um, wondering if there’d be some for breakfast, that’s all.’

‘Were you indeed? And do you often talk to yourself about things?’

‘Me? No… Well, I don’t know, sometimes I guess…’

‘Is that a fact?’ He grinned. ‘Well, don’t tell your mother I said so, but I imagine that you get that from her.’

There were no sausages that morning. Breakfast was a much simpler choice of yoghurt, muesli and bread with cheese. Arthur, though, couldn’t bring himself to eat any of it. Constantly glancing up at the clock above the door, he was already far too nervous. Thoughts like: <<What if I can>>’<<t open it for some reason? What if it is all just a big waste of time?>> had begun to flood him with doubts. And unable to take his mind off them, he’d even ended up completely forgetting to fetch something for the cat. The cat, in turn, had threatened to start meowing at the top of his voice unless Arthur went back again and did exactly as he’d promised.

‘See, no sausages!’ said Arthur, returning and placing two bowls under his bed. ‘Now, don’t forget to hide in the pack if you hear someone coming, okay? And wish me luck! That lady’ll be here any second now.’

‘Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever,’ purred the cat, getting stuck into a bowl full of yoghurt.

Maria arrived, as she said she would, at nine o’clock on the dot, and escorted them through a series of walkways to a lab on the far side of the facility. Stuffed full of cameras and different arrays of equipment, the sense of excitement was palpable as they entered.

‘Good morning, good morning,’ said Dr Rubenstein, hurrying out of a side room to greet them. ‘And how are we all this fine morning? I trust that you both slept well. We’re just about ready for you, I think.’

‘Definitely a bit jet-lagged this morning,’ said his father, who was still nursing a large mug of coffee which he’d brought over with him.

‘Ah yes, of course. Plenty more of the black stuff in that room over there if you need it,’ said the doctor, indicating the room he’d just come out of. ‘Now, Arthur, as we’ve still got a few minutes before kick-off, why don’t I tell you what all of this is for?’ he continued, pulling a handkerchief from his pen pocket and mopping his brow. ‘So then, these sensor banks that you can see at intervals around the room, and all of those cameras which have been set up with them, are going to record not only what we’ll be able to see with the naked eye but also everything our eyes simply won’t be able to register. That data will then be processed by those big computer racks and sent for analysis in the control room on the other side of these glass panels over here.’