A voice agreed with him. She deserved someone better, someone like him.
His boss was starting to annoy him too. The voices told him that he was being used and his boss thought he was stupid. The voices also told Lucas that the minister was going to get rid of him as soon as he had served his purpose.
He needed a smoke.
<°)))><
Windsor watched the grapevines pass. He thought about the name of the winery but only briefly—his real focus was on the technology. How easy was it to use? Could he use it?
Windsor looked up to see Lucas looking at him in the mirror. He smiled. “Sirromet is T.E. Morris spelt backwards.”
“Huh?”
“The name of the winery is a name spelt backwards.”
Lucas nodded and kept driving.
“Lucas, is it easy to transport people? You don’t need to use the van all the time, do you?"
“The transmitting device is basically the size of a laptop computer, fits in a briefcase. The van is still a good idea because it gives you privacy and you can hook up some larger monitors. The idea is to bring up an image of the target on the monitor or enter a GPS location. You also need to be in close proximity to the target when you want to transmit. My preference is to use the van but the other way is fine.”
“How close do you need to be?”
“Within about seventy metres.”
Ten minutes later they turned into the property. Starkey was raking up dead leaves and twigs from under a large Moreton Bay Fig. He leaned the rake on the tree trunk and walked over to greet them.
“Greetings. Windsor, you can’t stay away from this place. What brings you out here? I’m sure it’s not just for a Sunday drive.”
“You may be right, Starkey. Grab some beers, and let’s sit out here and have a chat.”
Windsor sat down. He looked around to see if he could locate the mob of kangaroos he saw the other day. It was more peaceful out here than in the city. He’d never noticed that before. No kangaroos, but he saw a horse in the next paddock with a white bird standing next to it.
Starkey placed the can on the table.
Windsor turned and looked up at Starkey. “I’m just not used to nature, Starkey. Why’s that bird hanging around the horse?”
Starkey looked over to see what Windsor was talking about. He smiled. “It’s called a Cattle Egret. While the horse grazes, it disturbs insects and things that the birds feed on . . . saves the birds a bit of work, makes the insects easier to catch.”
“Smart birds.”
“They even come when we cut the grass—there’s bugs flying everywhere when you do that.”
“Definitely smart birds.”
“Well designed.”
“Of course. God is clever.” Windsor pondered something. “Do you believe that animals have souls?”
“That’s a deep question, Windsor.” Starkey paused and had a sip of his beer. “They’re programmed to do things, they have a set of instructions they follow. But do they have a moral awareness? I don’t believe they have a spiritual aspect. So I suppose if you keep soul and spirit separate you could say they have a soul which holds the design package together.”
“Interesting how you talk about a design but don’t seem to seek out the designer. As humans, we have a moral awareness that some say it is written on our hearts. But who wrote it? And about seeking out the designer—animals don’t do that. They seem satisfied with their lot but we humans are uniquely curious about our origin, purpose and meaning.”
“Good point, Windsor. Morals. Gets complex doesn’t it? What we’re doing with the transporter—we believe it’s morally correct, but others don’t.”
Windsor pondered Starkey’s point. He turned and looked out towards the paddock again. The horse and bird were doing what they were designed to do, grazing and eating. They weren’t seeking out purpose and meaning; they weren’t trying to fix up a mess. But man, what a mess he had made of things.
“Now, Windsor, you didn’t drive out here to discuss morals. What did you want to chat about?”
“Yes, you’re right . . . I know we’ve touched on this before, but how do we change the receiving location of the transfers?
“I’m sure there’s a good reason for that question. At the moment, the only way we can do it is by placing some switching equipment at the location where you want to receive the bodies. We have three devices. They can all be used as senders or receivers, but for a transfer to take place, at least one device needs to be set to receive. They’re easy to configure. That’s it in a nutshell.”
“Bodies sound too negative, Starkey. Entities sound better.”
“Does it?”
“I think so . . . could you show me the equipment?”
Chapter 25
MONDAY. A NEW WEEK.
There was some urgency to Windsor’s plan.
Windsor’s wife used to volunteer as a church receptionist. She told Windsor that Monday mornings were always the busiest, with people wanting to speak to a pastor—seeking forgiveness for the sins exposed at Sunday services. Then the rug would be slowly pulled over to cover the sin as the week progressed and the cycle would start again. He had laughed at her theory and hoped it wasn’t true today.
“Hello. City Community Church,” came the greeting.
