Lucas watched Mackenzie walk up and put her arms around the lady and raise her eyebrows to the man who must have told the woman to shut up.

The briefcase swinger spoke. “Mate, you can understand the panic we’re feeling. One minute we’re crossing a road the next we’re in a—”

“Oh, I do understand. Please let us explain,” Starkey said.

Lucas looked around the room. They all appeared okay, a bit panicky, but it looked like they were all intact. His eyes always came back to Mackenzie and lingered there.

Starkey continued. “As you can see, through your firsthand experience, we have made certain advances with a particular technology that we wanted to bring to the attention of appropriate authorities, but they would not give us the light of day so we—”

“Sorry . . . we’re guinea pigs for a new technology? Who do you think you are? You can’t treat people like this.” The speaker started towards the door, but Lucas blocked his path and directed the man to a seat at the end of the room. After sizing Lucas up, the man agreed with his request.

The man rubbed a black mark under his right eye.

<°)))><

Lucas moved to stand next to the door. He enjoyed the brief adrenaline rush. With his hand resting on the Taser, he had a feeling of power. Tag once told Lucas that he gave off a sense of unpredictability, maybe not the volcanic type, but you could sense something was simmering and you didn’t necessarily want to engage it. That puffed Lucas up. He felt that now.

They had settled. Starkey stood next to Lucas and cleared his throat.

“There’s nothing to fear. The event that you have found yourselves involved in is for the good of society. By good, we mean huge benefits. You’re all here because you disobeyed a law that was established to protect you.”

Lucas watched the response. Some raised their eyes. Some dropped their jaws. Some rubbed their foreheads; most just had a look of disbelief.

Starkey continued. “Some may respond to this by saying ‘get a life’, but it’s a fundamental problem. The law is not being obeyed and many continue to mock the law. We plan to do something about it.”

Briefcase man had taken a seat. “You’re right. Get a life. Thousands dying in the world, hunger, terrorists . . .”

“Let me continue,” Starkey said, with hint of aggression. “Here’s a summary. It’s a common story. Young girl killed because she chooses to ignore the ‘don’t walk’ indicator. Her family devastated, family disintegrates, dad walks out, ends up homeless, the driver of the car is a shattered man, and two years later the driver commits suicide. So, you say get a life? No, we say save a life.”

A few were nodding their heads; the rest looked unconvinced.

“You are the first lot—there are more to come. Jaywalking is the first law we are focusing on. We plan to use our relocation technology in a few more intersections and then move on to other risk areas.

Briefcase man jumped up on his seat. “You mean you used this ‘beam me up Scottie’ technology because a few people disobeyed a minor pedestrian law—I mean I agree with what you’re saying, but come on man, this is going a bit far—and are our bodies going to be okay after this ‘relocation’?”

“Your bodies will be fine,” Starkey said. “We agree it is a minor law, but it is still law. We can give many more examples where disobeying the law has resulted in a traumatic event. We can talk about speeding, running red lights, talking on mobile phones, road rage. You yourself can name many others, but look at the ripple effect. This is what we want people to focus on, the consequences of their actions. Think about it. The ripple effect.”

“Well, how different is ‘relocation’ to law enforcement then?” someone asked.

“Good question. We want people to obey laws. They’re not, so we want to do something about it. We believe a strategy of inconveniencing people will make them have second thoughts about breaking the law. Do you people feel inconvenienced at the moment?”

A few nodded.

“Why not just zap one person? Why a group?” someone else asked.

“It’s about capturing lawbreakers. If one person jaywalked, then only one person would have been relocated. But because we got quite a few of you, it shows most people don’t give a hoot about the law.”

Lucas looked at Mackenzie. It looked like she was going to say something but decided against it. He knew she didn’t break the law.

Someone asked, “Are you planning on replacing the law enforcement agencies or something?”

“Not quite. We anticipate that we will develop a close relationship with such agencies, as we offer them a tool. So please don’t be concerned—we will send you back soon. We have some refreshments for you. We ask that you trust us, let all this unfold. We mean no harm. You are just messengers.”

Lucas thought Starkey’s last comment would have them thinking they were aliens. He looked towards the end of the shed and saw that the refreshments had been set up. Starkey must have done that earlier. He would have known once the shock of the transition settled down, they would need something to eat and drink. Such a thoughtful man.

Starkey continued. “But we do stress that this exercise has been one of highlighting the technology. They have ignored all our requests for showing off the technology. They now know what it is capable of, and we want to discuss the use of the technology with the appropriate authorities. They can also explore different applications it can be used for, and can get their best minds working on it. We are sure the military will have ideas as well.”

Lucas noticed Mackenzie standing by herself. He was sure her partner was with her at the crossing. He wondered then if they had all made it. He would have to review the ‘relocation’. He nodded to Starkey, and moved his head towards the door.

Mackenzie spoke, confirming what Lucas was thinking.

“Excuse me. I’m really concerned about my friend. I was sure he was with me when whatever it was happened. He was with me when we vanished. Could you tell me where he is please. Is he all right?”

“Lady, he probably wasn’t transferred. Maybe he didn’t break the law,” Starkey said.

Lucas and Starkey left the room.

<°)))><

Lucas grabbed an iPad, went up to the house, and after brushing some ants off a veranda chair, sat down. He tapped the iPad and opened up the transfer log file. Eight bodies were detected and picked up. Only seven arrived at the destination. It looked like they still had a problem with the technology. Where was the missing entity?

When he wanted to talk to the Professor about the technology he felt he needed to use the title, but he’d slipped into referring to the Professor as Starkey now—it had become a habit. He saw Starkey looking at his watch. “Hey, Starkey, I reckon we lost one.”

“What do you mean?”

“Eight entities sent, seven received.”

“That’s not good, Lucas.” Starkey checked his watch again. “I have to go and visit the boss.”

“That’s crazy. Why doesn’t he come here?”

“Because he wants to stay away from the scene of the crime.”

“That’s a joke isn’t it?”

“Yeah, of course, Lucas. Tag will be here soon. He can help you look after the people.” Starkey walked to the door then turned, rubbing his chin. “I reckon it’s the power. There were a few flickers this morning from the unsettled weather . . . we need to install a surge protector or something along those lines. But then again, the transport channel could be affected by electrical storms. Need to ponder this further.” Starkey walked down the stairs.

Lucas walked over, leaned on the veranda rail and watched Starkey drive off. The minister probably thought his phones were bugged and tracked, so made Starkey drive to his place. Lucas went inside the house. He looked around. It was quiet—too quiet. He grabbed a pouch from one of his trouser pockets. Time for some grass. He had given up on his path to righteousness—the grass caused him no harm. And he was going to smoke it in this house while he waited for Tag to arrive. Just the thoughts of having a joint made him feel tougher, less inhibited. He told the house that he didn’t fear it, and then he thought of Mackenzie and smiled.

Comfortably seated on the couch, he blew out a smoke ring. He watched the circle go out and gradually lose its form as it drifted up to the ceiling. He thought of bubbles. Once the Professor used that as an example of how the people were transported. He explained it was like putting them all in a bubble and then placing the bubble on a conveyer belt. Everything inside the bubble was protected from the elements. The bubble was popped when it reached the destination.

He blew another smoke ring and watched the circle fly off. He wondered how someone fell out of the bubble.

<°)))><

The Brisbane Koala Bushlands are located fifteen kilometres south-east of Brisbane city, and are popular with bushwalkers.

Koalas are hard to see. Their colouring blends in with the bark of the big gum trees, making them almost invisible.