‘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.’
He pointed in the direction of a mirrored wall.
‘And how are you feeling in yourself? A little nervous? There’s really no need to be, you know. Just take your time and repeat whatever it was that you did to open the box in the first place. How does that sound?’
Arthur nodded. He wasn’t just feeling nervous – he was feeling completely nauseous.
‘Good morning, all,’ said the general, coming up behind them. ‘Everything set, Doctor?’
‘I believe so.’
‘Excellent, let’s begin then, shall we?’ And taking the box out of his pocket, he handed it to Arthur.
‘Right, two minutes please, everyone,’ announced the doctor, guiding him over to the square concrete platform in the middle of the room. Empty, except for a single chair in the centre. Arthur sat down on it and waited nervously.
Such a lot of trouble, he thought, turning the box over in his hands and gazing up at the mass of cameras pointing down at him from rails mounted to the ceiling. And all I’m supposed to do is say ‘open’ three times. Unbelievable!
‘Ok, Arthur, we are going to dim the main lights now,’ came a voice once the room had cleared.
Nodding, Arthur took a deep breath.
‘Ready when you are,’ said the voice.
Dark, except for a soft light above him gently illuminating the platform, Arthur cleared his throat and held the box up into the air.
‘Open. Open. Open,’ he said clearly and evenly.