“I think you may be right.”

The rest of the trip was reasonably quiet as Windsor reviewed some of his business correspondence.

Windsor looked up from his papers. Drops of water had started hitting the car windows. The windscreen wipers came on. Windsor watched the rain drops racing down his window. He noticed an old rusted car sitting in a well-grassed paddock. He remembered seeing it on the last trip, so he knew the house wasn’t far from here. The car slowed as the GPS told them they needed to make a left-hand turn soon. They turned. Some coins started rattling in the unused ashtray.

After bouncing along the dirt road for a few hundred metres, Windsor could just make out the old Federation style home through the mist. Wheels crunched as they turned on to the gravel driveway. As they got closer, Windsor saw a figure sitting in the shadows of the deep shaded veranda. The car now parked, Windsor watched the man stand up and place a wide-brimmed hat on his head. He walked down the steps, waving, and came towards them.

Good to see the Professor again. God brought the right people into your life at the right time. He wanted to do something about these lawbreakers.

Windsor’s door was open before he had placed all his business correspondence in his bag. Impressive. Windsor stepped out of the car.

He gave the Professor a warm handshake. He turned to Tony. “Tony, I would like you to meet the Professor. His real name is Bruce Starke, but we refer to him as the Prof, the Professor, or just plain Starkey.” The Professor and Tony shook hands. Windsor continued. “He’s the brainchild behind the technology, the innovative technology, I am so looking forward to seeing. He wants the world to know about it, and we are going to help him achieve that.”

They left Tony to his own devices and headed up towards the house. Windsor towered over his friend. Starkey was a small, slightly-built man. Starkey once told him that his build was the result of nervous energy from years of thinking too much and eating too little.

Windsor was puffed from just walking up a few steps. He was out of condition and needed to do something about it. But he had told himself that on numerous occasions.

“Okay to sit out here for a moment, Starkey.”

“Glad you suggested it.”

Windsor stared at the openness of it all. The quietness: no traffic, no people. He took a deep breath.

“They working you too hard, Grant?”

“No, not at all, Starkey. It’s just life. Wears you down. I seem to be getting grumpier and less tolerant the older I get. That’s what everyone tells me anyway. What about you? This stuff I got you working on stressing you out?”

“Loving it, the stress and all. I’m nearly sixty and bouncing along. You’re helping me bring something together that I’ve waited thirty years for. It’s like all those years, with all those companies all over the world, all those ideas and bits and pieces, all those crazy scientists and physicists, are finally culminating into something. Yes, you’re giving me the opportunity to bring it all together.”

Windsor nodded. He had no doubt about Starkey’s ability and talents. He also knew Starkey was being driven by the desire to prove himself to others. A prominent entrepreneur tripped some negative thought patterns in Starkey’s head. Apparently, Starkey heard this entrepreneur talk about him in a demeaning manner—that was a spark that set off a forest fire.

He noticed that Tony had made himself comfortable under a tree. He wondered what the magazine was he was reading. Most probably something to do with body building.

“Well, I’m keen to see what this build up of thirty years has brought about. I just hope you’re not going to have some supernatural being come thundering out of the sky.”

“Not quite, Grant. Thor will not be attending. Let me go over it with you. The technology works as the testing has shown. It involves placing an energy field around an entity or entities. We can call the energy field a package or attachment. This package is pushed into an invisible realm and transported to an identified location.”

“Just like my e-mails.” Windsor added with a smile.

“Well, sort of. The invisible realm acts as a transporting mode—like placing a canoe on a river.”

Windsor pictured a canoe with the occupants dressed in business attire. “Do you have any reservations?”

“Not really, Grant. You and I are spiritual type people, so I will tell you that I still lack confident knowledge about the invisible realm. I’m not entirely sure what happens when they are in the invisible realm.”

“Maybe nothing happens. Maybe it’s just like driving along a road or canoeing in a river, as you say. Maybe there isn’t even an awareness of the realm.”

“Well, we will find out. I just want it to be used. Your strategy, although flaky in some aspects, will utilise the technology and that’s all I want. Maybe we will be famous one day. And Grant, I do thank you for the opportunity. Now, come inside.”

<°)))><

They entered the house, their feet echoing on the timber floor. Windsor walked into a large lounge room where he saw a comfortable-looking couch, and a large iridescent mosaic tile coffee table, which reminded him of stained glass windows. Something sat on the floor covered in a sheet—maybe a precious piece of furniture protected from the dust.

Starkey told him to be seated. Windsor looked around the room and saw a large brown shed through the window. He turned back to see Starkey place an aluminium briefcase on the coffee table and then walk over and remove the sheet. Starkey came and sat next to Windsor. They sat together staring at a lifelike mannequin.

“That thing looks spooky,” Windsor said, staring at the mannequin. The longer he stared, the more uncomfortable he felt. “I think I understand why you see more headless mannequins in the shops now. The longer I look at the mannequin’s face, the more disturbed I seem to be getting.”

Starkey made some adjustments to something in the briefcase. “What you’re saying about the mannequin, Grant, is known as the uncanny valley effect.”

“Uncanny valley?”

“Yes, they say the closer the mannequin or robot resembles human form it creates a feeling of uncanniness . . . familiar but foreign . . . attracted to, yet repulsed.” He smiled at Windsor. “Are you ready for a demo?”

Windsor gave a slow nod.

A humming noise started. Then silence. An energy wave engulfed the room. The mannequin vanished.

Windsor pushed his back hard against the couch and then leaned forward. “Where did it go?”

Starkey stood up. “Come outside with me.”

They headed down to the large brown shed Windsor had seen before. The mood outside felt strange—there seemed to be different vibes in the air. Windsor could see Tony still sitting under the tree. So nothing’s happened out here. Starkey opened the shed door.

Windsor was hesitant. What lay behind that door?

Starkey must have sensed Windsor’s apprehension. “There’s nothing to fear, Grant. You won’t end up in the invisible realm or anything.”

Windsor walked in to what looked like an office: benches, desks, chairs and monitors. An aluminium briefcase, similar to the one in the lounge room, sat on a bench. There was another door with a digital keypad.

Starkey entered a number and pushed the door open and gave the signal for Windsor to follow him.

There on the floor sat the mannequin. Windsor could feel adrenaline pumping through him at the sight. He was back in the uncanny valley.

They walked over to the mannequin. Half its head was missing.

“Still needs some fine adjustments, but you get the gist?”

“So it does work . . . not that I ever doubted you Starkey. I’m impressed, and I get the gist.”

They started walking back to the house.

“Yes, I’m impressed Starkey. After all those meetings I’ve finally seen it in action. And you are a clever man, and I may say, soon to be famous.” He patted Starkey on the back. “Lucas is also impressed. He has been keeping me up-to-date with the testing.” Windsor wanted to tell Starkey about the mistake he made, but he couldn’t. He just wanted to give someone a scare. Windsor preferred not to think about the consequences of that scare.

Windsor realised that Starkey was talking and quickly refocused.

“It’s just a matter of bringing up the entity you want to move on a screen or entering their GPS location. They get enclosed in an energy field, and then sent off to the specified destination.”

“There’s my email analogy again, but this time it’s like sending an attachment to someone.”