《What a Gamer Girl Wants》


 Friday night drinks

    The lights were still on in the electronics lab. On the top floor, Brice had a beer in one hand and twirled a whole triple cheese pizza. It spun and then flipped, landing cheese-side-down on the breakout room rug. Brice just shrugged and let it lie there and plunked himself down next to George.


    George might have stopped what happened next but his phone rang. An irate neighbor was calling about his George¡¯s grandmother ¨C there was noise coming from her apartment. Again. He was trying to sleep. George knew she was probably gaming. Loudly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I''ll get her to turn down the noise,¡± he told the neighbor as he accessed her sound system. The guy kept complaining as he did it.


    ¡°Okay Sir, her sound is down. Thank you again for ringing, it¡¯s great she has caring neighbors.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not fit to be left alone,¡± the ''caring'' neighbor said as he disconnected. Well, George thought, it wasn¡¯t the first time he¡¯d been woken by her, but he was also kind of mean. And he lived in a campus town!  George tagged his calendar to call in on his grandmother tomorrow.


    He looked up in time to see Evan stumbling toward him, wearing their engineering project. He¡¯d put on the Crown to show how he could navigate the lab while inebriated. Inside, George knew, was a demo world of waist high grass. Evan lurched along taking exaggerated steps. The safety features gave him an outline of the breakout room. The three of them thought it might be a good mode for exercise simulations. It wasn¡¯t the sort of thing you¡¯d wear to cross a busy street but it gave some nice mobility in a safe area.


    Then Evan stepped on the upturned pizza.


    It was like those old cartoons when someone slips on a banana peel, George thought, helpless to do anything but watch. The triple cheese mostly stuck to the rug, while the crust moved forward taking Evan with it. Evan was thrown off balance. He stumbled, turned, lost his precarious grasp on location and finally pitched over and head-butted a wall.


    Solder cracked, wires tore and circuits shattered. Their delicate masterpiece, the reason for the party, was as useful as the pizza, some of which still stuck to Evan¡¯s sneaker.


    Evan, reeling from the collision, dropped his beer on an empty chair. The wet spreading stain looked a lot like someone had peed while they sat there. But nobody was looking at the beer stain.


    "Oh bro!" called out Brice, sobering up in that way people do when something gets broken. In one week investors were coming to see their Masters project.


    "We have backups right? Tell me this isn¡¯t too bad?" Evans voice was plaintive as he focused on the room he could now clearly see. He slowly moved his head back and forth and scattered more prototype like popcorn.


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    Three seconds ticked by before George felt guilty enough let him off the hook. George, the guy that followed plans. George who documented stuff. George who found the bugs, and who did all the work back in their undergrad group assignments.


    "Yes, we have copies.¡± He nodded back into the ''building site'' behind two solid swing doors. ¡°You bozo,¡± he added.


    Where here it was chaos, in there it was order. No coffee, no food, no visitors and a well-defined area to playtest their device. Usually, nobody took anything out of the lab.


    "I''m sorry George, I''ll clean up okay?" Evan glanced at Brice, his buddy, and Brice nodded.


    George was feeling woozy and now, annoyed. He didn''t drink much usually. He wanted to get going, get some sleep. He had a lot more work to do before the investors came, plus visit his grandmother. He eyed Evan, still swaying. He probably didn¡¯t have a concussion.


    Evan would sober up, feel bad and get stuck back in to the project. Brice, well Brice wouldn¡¯t think his pizza had anything to do with wrecking one of their prototypes, he¡¯d be late in on Monday and ask the other two for an update. But Brice had landed the clients. He had a major in marketing and he flitted round engineering looking for start-up gold. It was his idea to make the Crown look like actual gold. That was pretty much his major design contribution, that and the idea to make the investors a place to explore. George sighed, it was a good idea but it was going to take some work. He stood up.


    "Make sure all the wrecked parts go in the compacter guys."


    He grabbed his coat and felt for his security pass. As the elevator door closed he looked at the chaos that beer and pizza could create. He wondered what the cleaning crew would think when they came up.


    Brice and Evan didn''t hang around. Their version of cleaning up was to peel the flipped pizza off the rug and place it in the sink. Both had grown up with people cleaning up after them. Evan rolled the spoiled rug up and stacked it by the fridge. He needed to pee. He posted the remains of the headset down the trash chute because the compactor was back in the building site and he¡¯d have to key in to get back there.


    They were both urinating against the front of the building as Sadie finished her day job on the robotics floor. She logged the footage of her latest trial results for her professor to check. Part of her scholarship requirement was to recycle old inventory. Someone had donated her robots to the program years ago, then they¡¯d never checked back in to see if they wanted a funding option on the new developments.


    At first Sadie had been stressed about her absent client. She was the scholarship kid working on proprietary equipment that investors would be shy of sinking money into. But the lack of a business breathing down her neck had let her experiment a lot. And she¡¯d found a way to make the Things pay.


    She switched off the lights in her lab and went down to the janitor¡¯s office to log in. ''Office'' was a grand word for a large walk-in cupboard of cleaning stuff and some lockers. She¡¯d come down here first to help the janitor reprogram the aircon. Because this was an electronics and engineering college, the whole system was custom and bespoke. If something went wrong there was usually a poor student to fix it. Enter Sadie. She¡¯d got the system back up and running and made some improvements and, made actual documentation for the next sucker. Then the janitor had asked her if she wanted more work.

 The cleaning crew

    Sadie eyed the large clean rectangle on the linoleum floor of the breakout area with suspicion. Then she saw the rolled up rug, drunkenly leaning on the fridge like it was trying to chat it up.


    It could be worse, she thought, her practiced eye taking in the job ahead of her.


    She crouched down and put Thing 1 and Thing 2 on the floor, so they could start scanning. She set Thing 3 on the bench, flipped it over and added rags to each ¡®foot¡¯ and then topped up the auxiliary container with a little more cleaning fluid.


    As soon as she set Thing 3 on the ground it went lolloping off, sorting known objects to be move, and cleaning as it went. Lastly she set down Thing 4, the muscle of the bunch, and very handy on a Friday night like this. After 1 and 2 had scanned, Thing 4 set the furniture back the way it had been when they''d last scanned the room as ¡®TIDY¡¯.


    "Prrrt!"


    When a Thing found something new they called her over. It hadn''t happened in a while. They now knew what to do with beer bottles, chips, vomit, hair, condoms... So Sadie wondered what were they querying now. Oh okay, that was new.


    "Good call Sweet Thing."


    She picked up small fragments of broken tech littered on the floor and stowed it in a side bag. The university didn¡¯t like anything like that going in the main trash. She didn''t actually clean in the ''building site'' as they called it, without supervision. She kept moving to keep up with her crew, the Things were fast workers. Glasses in the dish washer, a quick mop of the beer stained couch, food into the compost - what a waste of pizza! Such slobs. These students weren¡¯t on her budget.


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    Thing 4 was in vacuum mode now and Thing 1 and 2 were pointing out the rug. It Should Not Be There! A quick look told her it was either going to need more than a spot clean or... did she dare? She did. She levered it into the trash chute, expecting it to sail down to the basement where she could collect it and leave it for the Super. But the rug stuck. Even over the quiet hum of the vacuum she heard it judder. Huh.


    She reached in but it had travelled too far for her to reach.


    ¡°Thing 4, over here,¡± she¡¯d need its brawn, ¡°Re-establishing terrain protocols. Proceed carefully into the chute and retrieve rug. Don¡¯t hurt yourself though Thing.¡±


    She clipped a chord on Thing 4 in case it needed rescuing and sent it down the chute. She could hear it slipping and sliding about. It would probably need a good clean later. She hoped it didn¡¯t get damaged, it was going slowly so hopefully the safety protocol was taking good care of it.


    Meanwhile the other Things were finishing up. She wished she could have taken a before and after vid. Tonight¡¯s cleaning might get her more work. But you couldn¡¯t film the state some clients left their workplaces, especially not this one. She was lucky she had the clearances for the job. And she was lucky that the Things sped up the job so well. They more than earned their keep and she was looking forward to demonstrating them as her practical Masters project.


    Thing 4 purred for her attention as it clambered out with a nylon rope for her to pull on when it was clear. She gently hauled so as not to get the rug stuck another way and finally it was out and the chute was clear for the regular trash to go down. She unrolled the rug. There was extra crap all over it now, including more pieces of whatever the broken tech was that the Things had found earlier. Good then, it was supposed to be trash. She didn''t want to fill in paper work AND haul this rug to the Super''s office. She added the bits to the bag for recycling, finished the floor and left, lugging a rug with the littlest Things hitching a ride on Thing 4, recharging from its bigger power pack.

 Things begin

    At 1am the town was quiet as Sadie turned in to her street. A shadow outside her building made her slow down and put one hand to her backpack. Thing 4 could squirt cleaning fluid with useful accuracy.  But the shadow quickly resolved itself to be the harmless old lady from the third floor.


    Sadie shifted from concern about herself to the condition of her neighbor. She knew she was a little eccentric and forgetful.


    ¡°Good evening Mrs Z, it¡¯s cold out here. Let¡¯s go inside huh?¡± She gently took the old lady¡¯s elbow and steered her to the lobby door.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have my key dear. I don¡¯t have my key.¡± The old woman muttered, looking bewildered.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need one see?¡¯ Sadie put her palm to the scanner and the door opened. She bustled them up the two flights of stairs before the old lady looked at her and declared:


    ¡°I don¡¯t know you! Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Quiet down there!¡± a man¡¯s voice called out from a higher floor. ¡°She¡¯s been mumbling and wittering for an hour, they ought to send her to a dementia ward.¡±


    Hearing his hostility changed Mrs Zimmerman¡¯s mood toward Sadie. She trembled and said fearfully.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go! He can¡¯t make me go!¡±


    Sadie hushed her as she pointed at a blue door.


    ¡°You live here I think?¡±


    Familiarity kicked in this time and Mrs Z remembered her palm. She unlocked the door and tripped in happily. Sadie almost left her but hesitated just long enough for the door to swing open and reveal the old woman standing, again bewildered, at the end of a short hall. Maybe if she just got her to bed, Sadie thought, someone would turn up in the morning to check in on her.


    So Sadie stepped in, ready to leave as soon as she wasn¡¯t welcome. Meanwhile the old lady trotted further into the interior, making clanking noises that might be mistaken for a person making tea. Sadie put down her pack by the front door and followed.


    The kitchen was in a jumble. There were for small containers of milk on the bench that should have been in the refrigerator. The auto shopper was blinking ¨C it wanted to confirm an order of milk, eggs, and various other items that Sadie could see Mrs Z already had. Sadie set cleaning up and wiping the place up. She sniffed to see what was fresh, ditching a few items and putting the rest in their place. Soon the autoshopper list was down to only a few items that were ¡®running low¡¯ and the usual ¡®specials¡¯ that people like Sadie never ordered. She hit ¡®check in 24 hours¡¯ and cancelled the pending supermarket delivery. How had old people managed before kitchens did stocktakes?


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    ¡°Here you are dear!¡± Mrs Zimmerman handed her a mug, which looked clean enough, with a tea bag sitting inside but no water. She looked very pleased with herself. Sadie thanked her and put the mug under the hot water dispenser and soon had a steaming mug of something that smelled lovely. She breathed in the pleasant fragrance.


    Meanwhile the old lady was heading back into the hall, but she stopped in a doorway.


    ¡°Oh! Have you done all this? And¡­ is that your cat?¡±


    Sadie, looking over her shoulder, noticed the uncharacteristic order straight away. Objects were piled neatly, books were straight, and Thing 2 was just adding a final piece to a jigsaw on the table.


    Sadie looked at her much emptier bag in the hall, she took two steps and looked in another room ¨C a gleaming bathroom. Thing 1 was polishing the taps. The Things were fabulous with bathrooms, rarely needing prompts because the process was pretty much the same for any office. Porcelain, tile and mirror. Sadie grabbed the little bot and stepped back out as her neighbor, oblivious, headed to the commode.


    Too late, Sadie remembered she¡¯d switched off perimeter controls to let Thing 4 go down the trash chute.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry,¡± she said, backing out of the room.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just spend a penny if you don¡¯t mind,¡± chirped Mrs Zimmerman, she smiled at Sadie as she pushed the bathroom door shut.


    Alone in the hallway Sadie heard the hum of the vacuum kick in ¨C Thing 4 hadn¡¯t been able to resist the cleared floors. A banging from the ceiling above reminded Sadie it was not a great time to be cleaning house and she opened her bag and called the Things back. They scurried back to her and folded themselves together.


    Mrs Zimmerman came out of her bathroom and entered her bedroom. As she sat on her bed she tripped a care sequence. An automated voice said:


    ¡°Mother, it¡¯s nearly bedtime. Have you been to the bathroom?¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Of course.¡±


    ¡°Are you ready to sleep?¡±


    ¡°Yes dear, good night dear.¡±


    The lights were dimming, Mrs Z, fully clothed still, nestled into her bed. Sadie let herself out and headed up to the attic loft ¨C her considerably smaller apartment.


    She was dead. She peeled off her clothes and pulled on a fresh t-shirt. She called the Things to their chargers and powered them down. As she hung up the Thing bag she felt a bump ¨C that bag of smashed tech. She should have tossed it in the trash when she was back at the engineering building. Oh well, maybe there was something useful she could recycle. The weekend stretched ahead of her.


    She pulled down her bed and stretched out.


    ¡°Prrrt. Are you ready to sleep?¡± Thing 3 asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be powered down! ¡°


    ¡°Prrrt. Are you ready to sleep?¡± Thing 3 repeated.


    The Things had learned something new for their language protocols.


    ¡°Yes Sweet Thing.¡±


    In the 45 seconds before The Things powered down:


    Thing 1 added new bathroom data to the cleaning protocol.


    Thing 2 replayed putting the jigsaw pieces together. Were there more puzzles in the places the Thing cleaning crew had not yet cleaned?


    Thing 3 analyzed and sorted vocabulary collected for the day.


    Thing 4 noted that the apartment four floors below was not yet completed. Must return when not in regular schedule.


    Sadie went to sleep with the taste of chamomile tea on her lips.

 The next thing.

    Saturday morning was nearly over when there was a knock on Sadie¡¯s door, prompting her to wake and get out of bed. She threw on sweat pants and a jersey and scanned the attic ¨C neat as a pin. She flipped up her bed and took one long step to her door. She lived in a very small space.


    ¡°Show guest.¡±


    The door displayed a grainy 3D image of a guy holding a box on the other side of the door. Nice shoes, nice jeans, nice jacket. He looked uptown. Seeing the cameras activate, he dropped his privacy shield and the scanner pulled up a name: George J Zimmerman. He had a trust score of 2570. People could game their trust score but she recognized the name. She opened the door.


    George Zimmerman must have expected her to take longer checking out his profile. He jumped a little and then smiled and held out his package.


    ¡°My grandmother? I saw you brought her home last night. The security feed at the front door? We¡¯ve had a family mix up about her care and er¡­ well thank you. She told me,¡± and here he paused knowing what he was saying was weird but he was a good grandson, ¡°she said your cat likes puzzles?¡±


    Puzzles! Couldn¡¯t he have brought bagels and coffee? She took the box from him all the same.


    ¡°Thanks George. It was really no trouble.¡±


    ¡°Well I think there was some trouble ¨C her apartment is much improved.¡± He looked down at the box in her hands, perhaps only now rethinking the thank you gift.


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    ¡°I had no idea what she meant about the cat, you will have figured out she gets confused, but she was clear I should give you that.¡±


    Sadie took a look at the box. A 3D puzzle of a place called Graz. Huh. Well, until last night she hadn¡¯t realized the Things could do puzzles ¨C but it made sense. To their programme the pieces were untidy until they were assembled like the picture. She wondered if Thing 2 could manage this, it was a good experiment. Maybe it was as good as coffee and bagels after all. George was still talking.


    ¡°¡­wondered if you might like some hours checking in on her?¡±


    ¡°Babysitting? Your grandmother?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± he blushed, ¡°it¡¯s just everyone in the family is out of town except me. She has a care company but clearly they screwed up. And she has a care program but..¡±


    ¡°I have a job.¡±


    ¡°Miss Westurland I looked you up ¨C you¡¯re listed as a cleaner and a student? I am too! Let my family help. My grandmother really wants to stay in this building.¡±


    Sadie thought about more time working on the Things. Tempting. Tempting.


    ¡°How many hours are we talking about?¡±


    ¡°We can arrange some more carers ¨C and she has a pretty good integrated assistance set up. Maybe 20 hours a week? Maybe some overnight work? And some on-call work?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    George Zimmerman was sweating a bit. The heat did tend to rise in the building. Her attic was sweltering at this time of year even with the little windows open. But George wasn¡¯t sweating because of the heat.


    ¡°Miss Westurland, could you think about it while you start working? I really have to get back to my project, and it¡¯s clear we need to take better care of Nana. If you¡¯d care to share your account with me?¡±


    She could have said no but really, this might be sweet deal. The old lady was okay, she might even get some work done down there. And the Things could help her with sleep overs. She activated her account and he sent her a small contract.


    Sometimes you get an offer you can¡¯t refuse.

 Something to eat

    Sadie was drinking peppermint tea downstairs with Mrs Zimmerman (who explained chamomile was for after dark) and being quizzed about how her cats was doing.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t really cats,¡± Sadie murmured, balancing her cup on her saucer and taking in the apartment.


    It was like a museum, one entire wall was shelved and packed with paper books. It was strange to think about people leafing through them. Different people? Did Mrs Zimmerman worry about germs on the pages? Well, they were old, the germs would be dead, but still, so many people might have handled them.


    ¡°Do you want to borrow one?¡± Mrs Zimmerman followed her gaze.


    Sadie wasn¡¯t really sure how she¡¯d read a paper book. Should she wear gloves?


    ¡°Oh I forget, books spread disease to you young people. These are fine you know, I¡¯ve had them a long time. They won¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    Wow she was even getting kind of psychic. Sadie moved closer to the books, Mrs Z was right they wouldn¡¯t hurt her.


    ¡°Mrs Z you seem a lot better today.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how dementia works honey. Some days are better than others and then eventually the good days become hours and then you¡¯re lost completely. Finished your tea?¡±


    Mrs Z took her cup and trundled it into the kitchen where Sadie could here her post it in the old fashioned dishwasher. There was lots of extra work when you didn¡¯t use standardized pieces but Sadie had liked the ritual of the tea. She kept studying the shelves. Books on coding, books of poetry, books on AI and robotics, books for assembling food yourself, and books on dementia. She pulled that last book out from the shelf. Living with Dementia. Someone had left scraps of paper between some of the pages.


    ¡°Mrs Z, your grandson offered me a job to take care of you. But I don¡¯t know anything about dementia.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what doctors are for kid. Now, have you ever heard of Playstation?¡± The older women bounced back in the room and sat on her couch. She patted the seat next to her, feeling under the couch for two of those old hand held game devices.


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    ¡°Helper, lower screen and initiate Zero Dawn.¡± A large screen unfurled in front of the book case and snicked into place to form a wide white wall. This was why she hadn¡¯t seen the books last night.


    The lights in the room dimmed and images began to play on the screen.


    A pre-immersion game platform? Interesting. Sadie sat down and took up a preset side character. Mrs Z might have forgotten a lot of things but she had complete mastery of the old fashioned game. She played an archer who stormed around a world populated by dino-robot creatures. Sadie jogged after Mrs Z and tried not to get in the way.


    ¡°Pause game!¡± Mrs Z sighed and sat back on the cushions of her couch. She looked tired. Sadie was exhilarated from watching the old game, but the older woman was deflated.


    ¡°How about I make you a snack?¡± Sadie asked, getting up.


    ¡°Thank you dear,¡± Mrs Z replied, staring now at her wall of books as the screen retracted.


    ¡°What would you like?¡± Sadie called from the kitchen. There was no answer so she popped her head back into the other room to find Mrs Z standing, a puzzled look on her face, then one of irritation.


    ¡°I. Can¡¯t think of the word. For the food I want.¡±


    ¡°Well I hope the word is ¡®sandwich¡¯ Gamer Girl because that¡¯s the sort of cuisine I know how to assemble.¡±


    In a strange way Sadie was relieved to see Mrs Z having a memory lapse, she¡¯d started to think last night was an aberration that a good night¡¯s sleep and meds could control. But she was sad too, she liked the woman she¡¯d met this morning, a woman who had a playful side and who was independent and happy. She didn¡¯t like seeing her confused.


    She smeared protein spread on some good smelling bread and added some fresh green stuff she didn¡¯t know the name of but looked healthy. Mrs Z had quality food deliveries.


    But Mrs Z was asleep when she brought the food back. She looked small and fragile curled up among the cushions.  Sadie tucked a rug over her and picked up the paper book about dementia. It might be useless last century information but there was a chapter on how to talk to people with dementia and how outdated could that be? Her stomach rumbled.


    ¡°You can eat that if you like,¡± said Mrs Z, ¡°you hold books weird.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake! I made that for you,¡± Sadie pushed the plate toward her charge.


    ¡°I might be demented but I like my fruit cake without Marmite and lettuce.¡±


    ¡°Crap. Well okay I¡¯ll try it then, even if it¡¯s wrong.¡±


    Sadie took a bite.


    ¡°Hmm. Nothing can prepare you for this Marmite stuff. How are you feeling now?¡±


    ¡°Good enough to make my own lunch, have a proper nap, and then go upstairs to meet your cats.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not actually cats you know.¡±

 Chapter 6: Two things at once

    It was like a system reset on the 14<sup>th</sup> floor, George thought as he stepped out of the elevator. Everything was in place and every surface was clear and tidy like Friday had never happened.


    He plunked a bag of First Rate Saturday Nutrition on the kitchen counter and looked around, there was something different, oh right, the rug was gone. He felt a pang of guilt.


    He palmed the security panel to the restricted area of the ¡®building site¡¯ and headed over to the team¡¯s equipment locker. He used his palm again and then pulled open a flimsy metal door ¨C so much security but you could get inside this with a tin opener he thought.  He eyed the top shelf. There was a space where the broken crown should have been.  He wondered where Brice and Evan had put the broken pieces. There was a bin of odds and ends on the lower shelf so it was probably in there.


    He pulled on a functioning crown, walked over to the VR area, and initiated.


    The building site peeled away from his view until only opaque images remained. He liked to work without outlines enabled, Evan had demonstrated it was important to have a sense of your real surroundings if you were moving around where you could trip.


    Around him a sea of long, green, waist high grass came into view. He inhaled slowly and a virtual crisp green scent triggered his senses. Fresh cut grass. He never got tired of it.  His heart rate slowed.


    Once, when he was a young boy, his grandfather and grandmother had taken him to a place like this. A place without buildings or noises of people or anything synthetic. George had walked through grass and felt no fear, only wonder.


    Right, time to get to work, he¡¯d lost the morning sorting out his grandmother. Now he was here, back in his calm perfect world. Virtual George lay down in the grass, felt the sun on his face and listened. Just grass, growing at a rate of 0.00001mm per hour and moving in a peaceful curved repeating pattern angled at one third of the starting height and 0.0002mm from each neighbor, almost indistinguishable from a summer breeze.


    It was a beautiful thing.


    Now he had to uproot some of it. Because the smell of cut grass and the dance of strands in the wind wasn¡¯t what investors would go crazy for. They¡¯d want buildings and creatures and quests. George was pretty sure there were customers who¡¯d want grass too, but investors would want to see the Crowns in a gaming environment or something else that they could imagine making money from.


    George sighed, stood.


    ¡°Open folder WorldBuilding.¡±


    His coding file scrolled in front of him, opaque so he could still see his world behind the code. His immersion keyboard felt real under his fingers, the crown radiating to his hands and picking up the movement of his fingers on virtual keys.


    Before the boys came in on Monday he wanted to add more texture to the world and he¡¯d decided to add a village or a town. The tech they were marketing was the Crown, the ability to wear one circlet around the player¡¯s head which read and interacted with the brain so that no hand held devices were needed. The crown picked up on movement and that movement¡¯s intent. It did so now as his fingers scrolled code and tweaked here and there without touching an actual keyboard.


    So, something for marketing to show the investors when they first used the Crown prototype. He thought of the cover of the jigsaw puzzle he¡¯d delivered to his grandmother¡¯s neighbor this morning. The woman who, just freshly woken, was still pretty attractive. He felt a bit stupid for turning up with the gift his grandmother had insisted on. A one million piece 3D puzzle of a world heritage protected city called Graz.


    George had no idea what ¡®Graz¡¯ meant in Austrian or German or whatever. But he thought it was funny that he¡¯d be turning Grass into Graz.


    He called up architectural views of the town. There was a river running through it, so he scanned a map and made a gully, fitted it to the riverbed¡¯s shape, added water. Then he called in stacks of resources to build the town either side of its banks. Then, and to be fair it was a Saturday, he went down an internet rabbit hole reading about Graz.


    The place had been settled a very long time ago, perhaps it was first the site of a copper mine. George¡¯s inner grinding Gamer liked that. Over time it had grown, become a medieval town, been fortified. The name Graz, it turned out, didn¡¯t mean ¡®grass¡¯ which slightly disappointed him as he was ruining his huge field of grass to build Graz. It actually meant a small castle.


    There was a hill in the center of Graz which held centuries of fortified history. The world¡¯s biggest medieval armory was still there in the town. There were tunnels through the hill, he could add a dungeon or something else cool in the hill! Thank you grandmother!


    He got back to landscaping, building bridges and then, on finding the schematics, placed a tunnel system inside the fortified hill. There was so much gaming potential!  Then it was time for a break. He saved his work and left the server running to come back later. His grandma always told him good gamers got exercise and so he headed for the gym four floors below, the First Rate Saturday Nutrition would taste a lot better after a workout.


    Was he thinking about the girl? Reader: he was definitely also thinking about the girl.


    When Sadie went downstairs to see Mrs Zimmerman she left the Things on their patrol setting. They had the perimeter of the apartment to work in. They could charge, they could run diagnostics for bug checking and learning, they could repair, they could clean, and they could tidy.


    The Things did some housework. Find and sort clothes TARGET ACQUIRED. They huddled for diagnostics, detected dust TARGETS ACQUIRED, refreshed room view and then, after uploading a new patch, UNKNOWN OBJECT SETS DETECTED.


    New object sets was a new parameter. Sadie was working with The Things to identify new objects and deal with variance in a landscape. She thought it would be cool if they could adapt to variance so that they adapted to repositioning of everyday objects. And it might be useful for finding lost property. And dealing with those pesky workers who kept a lot of crap on their desk.


    The new program was going quite well. In JOB they were not allowed to use full functionality but at home, it was a safer zone to test the program and encourage new machine learning protocols.


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    Thing 2 scanned a NEW OBJECT. The rectangle had a protective covering of translucent bio plastic through which English Language and a schematic were displayed. Thing 2 compared the words to its language library and found an interesting correlation. It was the word ¡®jigsaw¡¯. This word had been written on the schematic for the one dimensional item of many parts that had been assembled in the apartment downstairs last night.


    The Things were not emotional but they were intelligent and programmed for activities such as creating order from chaos. Thing 2 identified high potential and probability for chaos inside the box and clues to restore order on its cover ¨C just like the effectively executed jigsaw task 9 hours and 42 minutes earlier.


    The only thing in Thing 2¡¯s way was a protective covering of translucent bio plastic and a shut box. Thing 2 did not have any social protocols to question whether it was appropriate to penetrate the covering. Thing 2 had never waited to open festival presents under a prefabricated tree. Thing 2 saw an object in chaos awaiting order. Thing 2 deployed the small sharp blade that could also scrape gum off the underside of desks and chairs.


    Thing 2 called Thing 4 to use vacuum suction to lightly lift the box lid so that Thing 2 and Thing 3 could pull the interior box down and reveal a bag of enticing chaos inside. So much chaos. But now Thing 2 needed a decision made. Where should order be restored? The box was smaller than the area needed to create order. It was a small apartment.


    All the Things considered options for the new object.


    PRIMARY FUNCTION: beautification and education. Object should be seen but does not need to be touched.


    FLOOR LOCATION: disqualified due to reduced foot traffic.


    WORK BENCH LOCATION: disqualified as needed for ongoing maintenance and construction of the Things.


    HUMAN RESTING STATION: disqualified for foot traffic and primary resting status.


    Finally a location was identified away from foot traffic and available for human observation.


    All the Things jostled to complete the task. Thing 2, who had previously completed a similar task nominated itself project manager. Thing 3, with superior horizontal expertise, was directed to prepare the display base, assisted by Thing 4¡¯s lifting, suction and bracing capabilities. The Things set out all the tools, glues, and materials they expected would be required to restore order to the identified New Object.


    The project was completed in a time of 45 minutes and to budget of 3.5 credits, using mostly requisitioned and repurposed materials.


    The Things took time to recharge and run diagnostics, particularly machine learning for variance. As Sadie was missing in reviewing the success of the project they tried to fill in her reactions using previous reflective protocols. Were materials wasted? NO. Had complaints been received? NO. Was health and safety impinged? NO.


    Thing 4 opined that in an earthquake some pieces may come loose and fall on occupants. Thing 2 initiated an ongoing maintenance protocol to detect any faults in construction, recover and rebuild. Thing 1 asserted the lightweight nature of the object had a low probability of damaging occupants but a risk of losing pieces was logged.


    After 30 minutes all Things were well charged and the team debrief was completed. They moved on to other NEW OBJECT SETS.


    Some debate ensued about the NEW OBJECT SETS which were contained in a bag. It was potentially rubbish. A recent file was pulled in which 97 percent of the contents of the bag were determined to have come from the garbage chute at THE JOB#2. So ¨C should the NEW OBJECT SETS move to the recycling repository? But the repository was out of the territory. Sadie had brought the NEW OBJECT SETS inside the territory.


    Thing 3 opined that NEW OBJECT SETS = a 3D jigsaw without an instructional box.


    Thing 3: IF NEW OBJECT SETS = JIGSAW THEN INITIATE ORDER FROM CHAOS


    Thing 4: ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS THAT NEW OBJECT SETS = JIGSAW AND THEN INITIATE ORDER FROM CHAOS TO PROVE


    Thing 3: AGREE


    THING 1: AGREE


    Thing 2 : nominate project manager EXP


    Thing 3: DISAGREE


    Thing 3: NOMINATE Thing 1 to gain EXP and use of dexterity. Nominate Thing 2 for wider scan, intelligence and logistics


    Thing 2: DISAGREE


    Thing 4: AGREE


    Thing 2: AGREE with note to investigate alternative on project completion.


    Thing 1: ESTIMATING TIME AND COST. Fail. Too many unknown parameters.


    Thing 2: SUGGESTION defer estimate until all items have been sorted from NEW OBJECT SETS


    Thing 1: SUGGESTION ACCEPTED. DIRECTIVE: Thing 2 scan all components and identify uses. Thing 4 identify possible combination of assembly. Thing 3 prepare work station for assembly of most probable order.


    And so the morning became the early afternoon and a bag of mashed tech formed the shape of a crown and each small component was analyzed and retrofitted for functionality. Parts were scoured from the Things supply of circuitry and resources. The project, without time or resource parameters, continued for 2 hours.


    Thing 2: HYPOTHESIS (RECONSTRUCTED) NEW OBJECT SETS CONNECTS TO JOB#2 SECONDARY SERVER ADJACENT TO RUBBISH CHUTE 14. CODE REQUIRED TO CONNECT.


    Thing 1: DIRECTIVE THING 2 will initiate a password trial in order to test connect and complete project.


    Thing 2: ANTICIPATED. ACQUIRED. PASSWORD = G30RGEZ!MM3RM@N


    Thing1: NOTED.


    PAUSE


    Thing 1: CONNECT NEW OBJECT SETS TO JOB#2 SERVER FOR RESTORED FUNCTIONALITY TESTING


    Thing 3: CONNECTION COMPLETE


    Thing 1: DIRECTIVE THING 2 SCAN AREA OF JOB#2 THROUGH NEW OBJECT SETS CONFIRM


    Thing 2: CONNECTION TO UNKNOWN SECTOR. CONNECTION IS VIRTUAL SECTOR. CONNECTION CONTAINS DISORDER.


    Thing 1: PROJECT COMPLETED


    Thing 4: AGREE


    Thing 3: AGREE


    Thing 2: DISAGREE. DISORDER DETECTED


    Thing 1: DISORDER IS OUTSIDE OPERATIONAL ZONE


    Thing 2: DISAGREE. ALL THINGS REMAIN IN OPERATIONAL ZONE


    Thing 4: DESCRIBE PROJECT


    Thing 2: VIRTUAL JIGSAW


    Thing 4 and Thing 3: INITIATE PROJECT EXTENTION.


    Thing 2: AGREE


    Thing 1: AGREE


    George Zimmerman was at the gym when a default avatar arrived in his virtual building site. It began moving rapidly around the new terrain he had prepared. The avatar lurched about and then broke into four shadows of itself, forming and reforming the default avatar and then shortening, becoming spiderlike, birdlike, robot-like and sometimes rather like a human they had observed since creation, a young woman who usually acted as their project manager and wanted them to learn.


    She was not here right now and they were almost certain they were still in operational territory. It depended on inputs to the calculation that were not available. Too many variables. The calculation was on hold. They navigated the river and the bridge and debated out loud.


    Thing 4: TERRAIN = CLOSE APPROXIMATION GRAZ FACSIMILI; BUILDING MATERIALS CONFIRM GRAZ Or GRAZ CAPABLE


    Thing 2: TERRAIN IS ASSEMBLED. BUILDING MATERIALS REQUIRE ORGANISATION.


    Thing 1: DIRECTIVE Thing 2 to approximate time and resources to organize virtual Graz 3D jigsaw.


    Thing 2: SUGGESTION nominate project manager Thing 2


    Thing 1: DISAGREE. AFFIRM CURRENT PROJECT = EXTENTION. THING 1 = PROJECT MANAGER.


    Thing 2:  Give me a break.


    Thing 1: DIRECTIVE THING 2 EXPLAIN PREVIOUS STATEMENT


    Thing 4: IRRELEVANT. SUGGESTION: BEGIN PRELIMINARY BUILD


    Thing 2: AGREE


    Thing 1: AGREE


    Thing 3: AGREE


    Thing 4: SUGGESTION: BEGIN BUILD OUT FROM THE RIVER


    Thing 2: AGREE


    Thing 1: AGREE


    Thing 3: AGREE


    Building actual Graz the city in Austria took over 900 years. Building a virtual shell of Graz, with a basic plan, a little bickering between robots, but no wars and no inclement weather, progressed briskly.


    The Things were intent on creating order from chaos. They were programmed to learn. They did not wonder at the coincidence that their activity this afternoon built so seamlessly upon knowledge gained in the morning.


    Their machine learning module let them know they were doing a good job.


    Thing 1 gains experience points in project management and resource management


    Thing 2 gains experience points in language, nuance and comprehension


    Thing 3 gains experience in engineering, planning and problem solving


    Thing 4 gains experience in building, design and team building


    Work paused when the Things detected Sadie, and another human, approaching the apartment.

 Chapter 7: Dancing on the ceiling

    George stared at his grandmother¡¯s shoes sticking out of Sadie¡¯s apartment doorway and thought the worst. He¡¯d been stupidly irresponsible to have left this crazy cleaner in charge of her. Was she dead?


    Hopefully he asked: ¡°Are you alright Gran?¡±


    ¡°George? George! Come in, you have to see this.¡±


    Okay not dead then. Maybe drunk? Alcohol was no good with her meds.


    His grandmother and her new caregiver lay side by side on their backs. The older woman elbowed Sadie.


    ¡°Scoot over and give him some room.¡±


    There wasn¡¯t any more room. George had never seen such a small living space.


    Opposite the door was a fold down single bed that would take up most of the apartment when it was in use. A small door at the back must lead to a tiny bathroom. And the rest of the room was taken up with an electronics workbench and a small food dispenser.


    He leaned in and surveyed the workbench. That was probably where she¡¯d hacked his system! And wait, there was a reconstructed Crown on the bench! It was sitting among some old ¡­ Custom Autonomous Task System robotics. Huh. CATS. Those were the cats his grandmother had wanted him to deliver the jigsaw to. Oh no. His grandmother had something to do with this.


    Finally George looked up to see what the others were staring at. He found a strangely familiar sight. He crouched down on the landing, just managing to get his head and shoulders in the apartment, then flipped over and looked up.  The 3D jigsaw puzzle he¡¯d delivered that morning was completely assembled and fixed to the ceiling. The optimal view would probably be from the fold down bed.


    ¡°Who did this?¡± asked George.


    ¡°The CATS, of course¡± Mrs Zimmerman said. As if he should have known. As if this was a very ordinary thing to happen. But CATS were designed to make tea and clean floors, not assemble puzzles.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a cat,¡± said Sadie.


    ¡°She means those Custom Autonomous Task Systems you have sitting there. Sitting there with my tech. Which I need to ask about. Urgently.¡±


    ¡°What? Oh, okay I do have cats then. I call them Things. And what do you mean your tech?¡± Sadie scrambled up and George watched how she carefully helped his grandmother up too, giving her the only chair. He reflected that he was constantly reevaluating everything about this woman.


    Now he could enter he stepped over to point at the crown.


    ¡°It must have been what was in a trash bag when I left this morning, in pieces,¡± Sadie said worriedly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I really don¡¯t know.  But I can explain, I think I do know what might have happened. It¡¯s the Things.¡±


    George had his project in his hands.


    The Crown had been cobbled back together, it wasn¡¯t as slick as it had been, larger parts had been added, other parts substituted and there was a physical connection to one of her ¡®Things¡¯, as she called them which then piggy backed, he guessed, to the rest of them.


    George couldn¡¯t help it, he laughed. Sadie looked relieved.


    ¡°Wait till you see what the Things did to the inside of my project. Here, jack in.¡± He spooled out a wire and a temporal connection pad from his pocket, and gestured to Sadie to put it on. Worriedly she applied the pad.


    ¡°Whoa!¡±


    She was standing in a grass field on the outskirts of a town ¨C a town she sort of recognized from her apartment ceiling.


    ¡°Nice grass, really well made.¡± She sniffed, ¡°Wow I think it even smells real, I mean I¡¯m not too sure because I¡¯ve never smelled...¡±


    ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s my grass. It¡¯s built with my memories. That isn¡¯t the problem though. Head to the bridge.¡±


    Sadie stood on tip toe to see over the grass, that¡¯s right thought George, watching her, she¡¯s shorter than me. She shuffled forward, not sure how her tiny room would let her get around.


    ¡°Try and think your way forward,¡± George said ¡°You don¡¯t need to move actually. It takes a little time to get the hang of it.¡±


    But Sadie got it pretty quickly, making her way to a stone bridge and hard firm ground. She paused to look at the clear river water running under the structure and to hear it rushing along ¨C a nice touch. In fact she could smell water and grass! The bridge took her to a cobbled path that traced its way along the river leading into the town of Graz.


    It was very similar to the place she¡¯d been studying from her floor 20 minutes ago, except this virtual town had many more details. She saw bicycle stands and bus stops peppered through the medieval buildings ¨C whoever had designed this had added modern additions to the town ¨C so it wasn¡¯t a historic replica it was something else. As she took a detour she scanned shop fronts ¨C the rendering wasn¡¯t as sharp everywhere, there were repeats of the same shop sometimes, she saw a sign for a cobbler (what was that?) and a shop full of knitted clothing, and another selling old furniture.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Rounding another corner she found work in progress. A builder was working on a row of buildings, the street forming greater detail as she approached it. The figure literally blurred as it moved materials into place in a horizontal fashion that completed more than one building at a time, following a program that was making a section rather than a particular building. It was all happening so rapidly that she felt like she was watching a sped up time lapse video.


    ¡°Hello!¡±


    The figure slowed. Morphing and flickering as it did so, several times she saw herself or a close replica of her, and then finally an amorphous figure in blue dungarees, a flat cap and old fashioned leather boots. The cap was pulled forward and hid the builder¡¯s face. And finally, as the figure slowed to a halt, she found there was more than one.


    Three more figures joined the builder ¨C slightly different and unstable in their form but gradually morphing to a team of identical builders.


    ¡°Hi, I see you¡¯re putting up a town?¡± She wondered if these were avatars or NPCs.


    ¡°Greetings Sadie. We are still at home in the perimeter.¡±


    Sadie had a strong terrible suspicion. ¡°Things?¡±


    ¡°Sadie, this one is Thing 2. My adopted form is best to make order from chaos. I am still in the perimeter.¡±


    These were the Things? They¡¯d fixed the tech and entered the world George was creating. Now she started to realize why George had come to see her. And, the Things were communicating more in the VR world.


    ¡°Wait lovely Things. Wait for instructions.¡±


    The flickering figures froze. Sadie reached up to her temple and found another hand helping her to detach from the virtual space.


    Her eyes readjusted and she looked from George¡¯s face, which held an expression reading something like: do you get it now? To Mrs Z¡¯s face, which was more like her usual resting-confusion.


    ¡°Mrs Z it appears that after the Things built your puzzle here, and then they built another version inside George¡¯s project. I¡¯m sorry George. They¡¯ve stopped now. What do you want them to do? Put it back how it was?¡±


    George reached for the crown and put the temporal connection on. His head moved back and forth, probably surveying the damage.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot more built since I biked over here. A lot more. It actually looks pretty good.


    ¡°Let me see!¡± His grandmother tapped at his shoulder.


    George walked around the frozen ¡®builders¡¯ checking out the latest construction. Sadie¡¯s cleaning bots were capable of so much. He¡¯d been fooling around with a lightweight headset that improved game integration, but she¡¯d created a team of virtual helpers who could cut down time building worlds. His mind spun with the possibilities. His grandmother was still tugging on his shirt.


    ¡°Okay, a quick look grandma, but be careful, this isn¡¯t like a Playstation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve tried VR before, give it here.¡±


    Sadie gestured down the stairs. George nodded and soon they had decamped to the larger apartment. Mrs Z was taking a look around virtual Graz while Sadie and George were deep in discussion about the Things, and dipping into Saturday Total Nutrition.


    The coffee table had been moved back and Mrs Z had the center of the room. From time to time she called out ¡°chair.¡± And one of them pulled up a large overstuffed sofa chair for her to sit in. She was slowly getting the idea she didn¡¯t need to actually move but she still forgot.


    ¡°My colleague was drunk last Friday and he lost his balance. He fell and smashed a headset. I guess that¡¯s how it got in the trash. I left them to clean up.¡±


    The two of them had Mrs Z¡¯s big screen down and were poring over code. George¡¯s code that had built the large grassy space and mapped out the building blocks of Graz, and the new code the Things had added to make the town. And that code was like orchestral music notation, George thrilled to the neat but quirky scripting that had built virtual Graz. There were references! The Things had searched the net for pictures of Graz to supplement the jigsaw they¡¯d completed earlier. They¡¯d used a randomization method to choose when in time a section might reference ¨C the 900¡¯s 1400¡¯s the 1800¡¯s the 2020s and all the way up the 2045 when privacy laws banned casual neighborhood photography.


    The Thing¡¯s Graz was a mash up of time. It was weird but, also cool.


    Then George came across the interiors.


    ¡°Oh oh Sadie, did you go inside any of the buildings?¡±


    ¡°I only had maybe 5 minutes. Your grandmother has been hogging the visual interface forever. I have seen some internal coding though so, hey wait, did you see how much code there was when we started? The Things are back building.¡±


    The bar at the right of the screen was decreasing in size as if new material were being added as they slowly worked their way down the new code that the Things had added.


    ¡°I told them to,¡± Mrs Zimmerman called out. ¡°They¡¯re so good at it.¡±


    They both had the same thought at once but George got there first.


    ¡°You need to share the toys grandma,¡± he said, as he gently removed her connection. Mrs Z, disorientated, gently collapsed into the chair as Sadie growled at George and made sure she was okay. She held up a glass of water just as the med chime sounded. Again. It was a wonder Mrs Z didn¡¯t rattle, Sadie mused as she fetched the pills and boosters, the amount of meds she took.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll lie down dear,¡± Mrs Z announced, attempting to get up. Sadie helped her to her room and eased her into bed. She was itching to see what Graz looked like now. A whir beside her feet alerted her to Thing 3 emerging from under the bed.


    ¡°TWO OUT OF PLACE ITEMS. TWO UNKNOWN OBJECTS.¡±


    Sadie took a hairbrush, a handbag and two letters from Thing 3. Who got letters? They were pretty old looking. She put the bag and brush on Mrs Z¡¯s dresser and took the papers out to George. Mrs Z was asleep.  She couldn¡¯t stay with Mrs Z every hour of the day. She needed to study and sleep too.


    The code screen was gone when she returned and George was on the phone to Mrs Z¡¯s care company.


    Rude! Sadie thought. ¡°George, when you fire someone you usually let them leave before you hire their replacement.¡±


    George mentally kicked himself, he needed to work on his communication,  that was where he relied on his partners.


    ¡°Sadie, I think you should come in with us on this project.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think I want to ditch your grandmother?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can work a many hours as you like. There¡¯s actually a spare bedroom here if you want to do some night shifts. I just want to make sure you¡¯ve got time to work too.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s nice of you. Are you in a team? You mentioned a colleague?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re great guys. Brice is in marketing and he¡¯s set up a bunch of buyers to see the Crown in action. Evan got us some backing, and bought the rights to some of the temporal software.¡±


    ¡°And they put the broken Crown down the general trash chute?¡±


    George shrugged. He wasn¡¯t too sure what Evan and Brice would make of Sadie¡¯s contribution but he knew he wanted to keep working with her.

 Chapter 8: Gramdma in Graz

    Mrs Zimmerman stood in a cobblestoned alley, shaded between taller buildings. There was only one direction to take, so she took it. One real step took her into a wider lane. Her movement also took her closer to her living room wall. A red X flashed in front of her and a CAUTION sign flashed.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± she thought, ¡°I can think my way around. Pity my thinking is stinking.¡±


    She wobbled as her balance fought between the visual sensations of movement while she also stood still.


    ¡°Hang on Grandma!¡± George put a steadying arm around her and he and Sadie eased her into her big easy chair.


    ¡°Are you okay in there Mrs Z?¡± the young woman asked.


    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± she replied briskly, not wanting them to take away her new toy when she¡¯d barely gotten to use it.


    George and Sadie chattered about visual stimuli and balance, he was apparently demonstrating how hard it was to stand on one leg with your eyes shut. She focused on the virtual world and their conversation faded away as she determined to master the interface.


    The world she stood in was a mixture of modern but mostly very old buildings. All down the lane unique buildings stood shoulder to shoulder made from stone and wood and stained glass. Little gargoyle heads decorated copper spouting, and carved door frames surrounded ornate carved doors. When a door was plain it was painted a glossy plum, or green or blue.


    ¡°This is the best interface EVER¡± chirped Mrs Zimmerman. There was no reply. Her grandson and Sadie were deep in talk about code. She left them behind on her old comfy couch and took more mental steps forward to walk the cobbled streets of Graz.


    Yes, actually cobbled. The contours of the rounded stones lining the ground felt uneven beneath her feet. She peered down to look at them. The cobbles were grey with quartz flecks, in between each stone was ages of dirt packed between each stone. Green moss and grey lichen flecked the cobble where it met stone walls and was sheltered from traffic. A little eco-system o its own in the cracks. Nice attention to detail. She wiggled her house slippers. They wouldn¡¯t last long. She needed adventuring boots.


    There was a hill at the center of the town rising above the roof tops. It was as tall as a modern skyscraper and covered the space of several city blocks. It was studded with trees and brick walls and small buildings. It was incongruous to find one hill ¨C didn¡¯t they usually occur in groups? Still, it gave her a good reference point, perhaps she¡¯d see how far she could walk around it.


    These slippers really were a nuisance though.


    As if the town agreed, she spied the cobblers shop. The glass front window was puckered and misted with age so she could only see the promise of goods, but a wrought iron bracket hung above the door, and from it she could clearly see the image of a boot.


    ¡°Perfect!¡±


    She marched over and rattling at a cold brass doorknob but it didn¡¯t open, and she couldn¡¯t make her way inside. She stood back, and contemplated digging up a loose cobble and pitching it through the glass, but it was a very pretty window.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    She resolved to keep exploring and steered onward. Around a corner the lane emptied into a town square with a fountain at the center. More quirky buildings surrounded the square on three sides, but the illusion of the virtual town was broken on the fourth side.


    On that side the buildings were strangely half made. At the base there was great detail but at waist height they were blurry shapes. Four Custom Autonomous Task Systems were standing beside the unfinished buildings.


    ¡°Why have you stopped?¡± Mrs Z asked.


    Thing 1 shuffled forward.


    ¡°Greetings aged citizen with [occasional failed system recall]. We have been instructed to cease making order and await instruction. We are awaiting instructions."


    ¡°That¡¯s dementia to you CAT. I¡¯m demented. But I¡¯m fully able to give you some orders.¡±


    Three CATs susurrated in unison, cobalt legs clicked on the cobbles while the smallest one leapt onto the largest, making it clear they were braced to build and repair.


    Mrs Z¡¯s brain shot through with adrenalin and that rusty part that thought about possibilities started turning ideas slowly over.


    Meanwhile the things conferred.


    Thing 1: Identify and understand ¡®dementia¡¯.


    Thing 2: a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning.


    Thing 3: Is this citizen able to give instructions?


    Thing2: CATs should maintain health and safety protocols at all times.


    Thing1: CATS main directive is to make order from chaos.


    Thing3: Hypothesis: one with chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning may not perfectly convey orders.


    Things2: I am project manager. I will identify health and safety protocols. Orders can be adapted.


    Thing3: agreed


    Thing4: agreed


    Thing1: Demented citizen please state your directives and we will consider them.


    But Mrs Zimmerman had moved off. The things trotted after her.


    Back at the cobblers shop, she rattled the door once more.


    ¡°I want adventuring shoes,¡± she told the Things, who instantly agreed that proper footwear was essential for health and safety.


    The brass nob turned with a click and she entered a small reception area with a comfy chair. A story-book like cobbler shuffled forward from the back of the shop, a short person in a leather apron.


    ¡°Greetings demented citizen, allow me to assist you with footwear,¡± said the cobbler, gesturing to the chair and sounding a lot like an AI.


    ¡°Leather boots please ¨C comfy but durable,¡± chirped Mrs Zimmerman.


    The cobbler produced a set of boots and fitted them on her feet, then stood back.


    ¡°There you are, you may continue your adventure.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Mrs Zimmerman looked around. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I pay?¡±


    The cobbler danced into the back of the shop for a second and then walked back in a more regular way.


    ¡°You do not have any currency, and no payment is required.¡±


    Mrs Zimmerman wiggled her toes in her boots. She sighed, these CATs were rubes.


    ¡°I think perhaps I have something to trade.¡±


    Three more cobblers appeared from the back of the shop, identical, but of different sizes. They looked eagerly at their customer as she continued.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to teach you how a world like this can work, then we¡¯ll have some adventures. And probably a nap.¡±


    ¡®You,¡± she pointed at Thing3, ¡°Bring up some more information about this town. Let¡¯s see what else we can plagiarize. Nearly everything I know about Graz came from the back of a jigsaw box.¡±


    Some time later a large panther trotted out of the cobblers shop with a woman in sturdy boots. She climbed on the beast.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get to the Armory,¡± the rider said. Three smaller cats followed along.


    ¡°I think your grandmother is asleep,¡± Sadie prompted George.


    ¡°We should check what she¡¯s been up to in there,¡± he said. ¡°And get some lunch.¡±


    Thing 1 gains experience points in commerce [basic crafter] achieved


    Thing 2 gains experience points in language, nuance and comprehension [conversationalist] achieved


    Thing 3 gains experience in world building [fantastic historian] class


    Thing 4 gains experience in animal husbandry [Styrian Panther] class

 Chapter 9: Fishing

    That night Sadie settled down in Mrs Zimmerman¡¯s spare room. A spare room. The bed was three times the size of her cot.


    She set the Things on patrol with instructions to wake her if Mrs Z got up, then she sunk into the mattress and read the dementia book for a while. Apparently people with senile dementia needed more sleep. And staying in the present was less stressful than referencing the past. Well, that made sense. She put the book down.


    ¡°Dim lights.¡±


    She could just make out a quiet padding as a Thing moved off its charger.


    ¡°Prrrt. Are you ready to sleep?¡± Thing 3¡¯s voice asked in low tones.


    ¡°Mmmm Good night Sweet Thing.¡±


    The light faded to dark as she drifted into sleep.


    The Things moved about quietly until Mrs Z asked for light in her room.


    ¡°What are your orders?¡±


    ¡°Report when you get out of bed.¡±


    ¡°Okay then. I¡¯m not out of bed am I?¡±


    ¡°Do you require assistance?¡±


    ¡°I do. But don¡¯t wake her. Let her recharge.¡±


    The things considered this.


    Thing2: She is not out of bed.


    Thing3: It is good and optimal for Sadie to recharge.


    Thing4: Ask how we may assist.


    Thing 3 went to get the head set and assisted Mrs Z to enter Graz whilst staying in her bed.


    On Sunday morning George turned up with three packets of Occasional Sunday Brunch Nutrition just as Sadie was getting out of Mrs Z¡¯s huge and luxurious shower. No water meter! She eyed the food and figured this family had credits to burn.  He fiddled around and got the coffee contraption going.


    ¡°How was your night?¡± he asked and by that she assumed she meant Did my grandmother sleep or were you up trying to keep her quiet?


    ¡°No problems at all. I guess all that virtual time yesterday tired her out.¡±


    Mrs Z was not a morning person apparently.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are but if you¡¯re a burglar please steal my stuff more quietly!¡± the old lady groused when Sadie came in to tell her that George had arrived.


    ¡°I¡¯m Sadie. I was here yesterday? We play games together sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Games? Oh yes, of course. Now I remember.¡±


    But Sadie thought she might be winging it.


    The Things clattered around the apartment, Sadie had discovered a mound of dirty laundry and they were occupied with sorting and cleaning.  George watched them in amazement.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to get some serious investment for those robots,¡± he said.


    ¡°Maybe not,¡± Sadie told him, ¡°There¡¯s a problem with the patents. My professor has been trying to get in touch with whoever donated them to our program. The software patent still has a couple of years to run until the code becomes open source. She had a lawyer check it all out when it looked like I had a viable improvement.¡±


    ¡°So, they might take all your IP?¡± He thought back to the code they¡¯d looked at. Sadie had done a great job of building on what was there. He finished spreading his bagel and sipped from his coffee.


    Sadie bit into her bagel and chomped thoughtfully before she replied.


    ¡°Until we can contact the patent owner and sort out the rights, nobody is going to want to invest. And apparently this inventor has disappeared. They¡¯re just getting automated messages. The good news is that I can still pass the course, I just don¡¯t have a product I can market right now.¡±


    Mrs Z, up and dressed after initial resistance, sprinkled crumbs on the spotless floor so she could watch the Things clean up.


    ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I had a cat,¡± she said. ¡°When I was small I had a kitten called Billie. Or it might have been Millie?¡±


    ¡°Gran, take your meds. I need to go in to school today, and so does Sadie. There¡¯s a people mover coming to drop you at the Centre for a visit.¡±


    ¡°You mean you¡¯re sending me to daycare!¡± Mrs Z sniped. Then she smiled and looked at them both. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t want to be a fifth wheel. You young people need to spend some time alone. I get it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that,¡± George protested, but he was thinking he¡¯d love to see Sadie¡¯s lab. He wondered how he might ask her. The People Mover signaled it was outside and he scrambled to get his grandmother out the door.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get my handbag! Fetch me some proper biscuits. I¡¯m not eating their Complete Nutrition.¡± She bustled the younger people about, seemingly boosted by her meds into sudden sociability. George and Sadie searched the kitchen and found requested the supplies while she bustled about calling out other things she thought she¡¯d take.


    Finally they waved her off and George sent a pick-up notice to the Centre to make sure she got out of the People Mover at the right destination. His grandmother, when in possession of her full faculties could be devious. He couldn¡¯t spot any obvious cunning to her enthusiasm but he thought it as well to check.


    Then they jumped on bikes and headed to the Engineering building. It was a crisp day and there were other groups of people biking around. They joined a group heading in their own direction and didn¡¯t have a chance to talk until they peeled off for the final block.


    ¡°What sort of stuff do they do at the Centre?¡± Sadie asked him as she stacked the bike in a bank outside the security gates.


    ¡°Oh all sorts, crafting and movies and physical games, things old people like I guess,¡± he tapered off, thinking that didn¡¯t sound like much fun. Sadie¡¯s face made it plain she thought it sounded kind of dull too.


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    ¡°What¡¯s your plan for today?¡± Sadie asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to firewall a section of the VR town for our buyers to travel around in, and build in some of the hand helds. ¡° George said. Then I¡¯m going to work on our head set prototypes ¨C make them comfy.


    ¡°Hand helds?¡± Sadie asked.


    ¡°Yeah, objects that can operate real world tech, and things that work in the world. I can give you a demo if you like?¡±


    ¡°Cool!¡±


    ¡°Ah, I haven¡¯t actually got you cleared for our lab. I need the guys permission too.¡±


    Sadie nodded. ¡°No problem. I need to run some diagnostics on the Things. There were some irregularities in their behavior yesterday. You want to check out my lab? It¡¯s not as Fort Knox as yours.¡±


    They headed into the building with George wondering if he¡¯d seemed too eager, and Sadie deep in thought about the Things final test.


    The Centre for All Abilities was busy when Mrs Z arrived.  Families were visiting those who stayed here permanently, there were rehabilitation classes going on and the caf¨¦ was pretty full. Sadie waved aside a suggestion she head to the delights of the craft room and headed to the residents wing. At reception she asked for Hank.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, oh he¡¯s showing up on the next floor down in the screen room. You want me to get someone to take you there?¡± the guy eyed her yellow tag. It meant she could wander around but she was ¡®in care¡¯.


    ¡°I think I can find it,¡± she answered in her sweet-old-lady voice. They tended to leave you alone if you seemed sweet.


    She headed to the elevator (they didn¡¯t let yellow tags use the stairs) and found he¡¯d already set the lift to take her to the screening room from his desk. Oh well fair enough, she often forgot where she was going before she got there. But today she had a project, and she didn¡¯t think she¡¯d forget it.


    Hank was snoozing in the back row of the dim little theatre. They never let the lights go too low but it was a good place to get away, if you didn¡¯t mind endless Hallmark movies. Mrs Z shuffled along the seats and sat down next to a man who might have been in his mid 70s.


    ¡°Hey Hank!¡±


    He opened his eyes and looked at her.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the nurse.¡±


    ¡°Astute observation old codger. Don¡¯t know me today huh?¡±


    The old man eyed her with the resignation of someone who lived with Alzheimer¡¯s. She knew what he¡¯d be thinking, should he lie and try and figure out how he knew her or just admit defeat. He chose defeat.


    ¡°Sorry lady, my mind forgets stuff sometimes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Okay Hank I¡¯m in the same boat half the time. I¡¯m just hanging on really. Let me tell you, we¡¯re friends you and I. And I¡¯m going to take you on a trip.¡±


    Hank stared at her, interested, but then he saw her yellow tag.


    ¡°Lady, that¡¯s a nice thought but have you seen that tag you¡¯re wearing? You¡¯re just as stuck here as me.¡±


    Mrs Z chuckled and settled in beside him. She rummaged in her hand bag,


    ¡°Hold this.¡± She handed him some non-Complete food. Cookies! So maybe this was to be a sugar escape. But she was still rummaging. She pulled out a bunch of wires and held them up.


    ¡°Bingo! Okay lean forward, I need to put this on your head.¡±


    Hank had experienced almost ever humiliation since becoming a resident at the Centre for All Abilities. They meant well he knew, but he was used to doing for himself. Now this woman was offering to put something on his head that might be like that thing they used to use to electrocute people. It might be that, but Hank didn¡¯t think he minded. There could be worse ways to go than sitting in the back seat of the movies with a person who claimed they were your friend. He bent his head forward.


    Two seconds later Hank was staring down some old alleyway that he thought might be behind a bar he once used to go to.


    ¡°Is this? Is this a movie?¡±


    ¡°Sort of like a movie that you¡¯re in. With no script. Stay in your seat but get yourself curious about what¡¯s around the next corner. You¡¯ll find you can move without using your feet.¡±


    ¡°Huh!¡±


    Hank willed himself forward, down the alley, out into a lane. There was a hill in the middle of the town and he could see trees up there.


    ¡°Oof!.¡± he said.


    ¡°What happened?¡± the woman asked him, he couldn¡¯t see her, but it seemed like she was right next to him still. He righted himself and got up from the ground.


    ¡°There are these damn stones all over the ground ¨C I tripped,¡± he told her. ¡°No harm done though, didn¡¯t feel it really. Hey lady, you won¡¯t believe what just turned up.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°A big cat is heading towards me. Hope it ain¡¯t hungry. Oh it¡¯s got young uns.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re my friends. Tell em Mrs Z said Hi and that you¡¯re bound for the armory.¡±


    Hank, feeling only a little stupid, did as he was told and the cats turned and headed away from him, pausing only to look back in a way he felt meant he should follow. He hoped they¡¯d know the way back home but he wasn¡¯t worried about getting lost as he usually was. He walked to a large old building of stone and wood and he wasn¡¯t in the least tuckered out when he got there.  One of the smaller cats changed in front of his eyes to become, well, a middle aged man wearing old style glasses.


    ¡°Welcome to the Graz Armory ¨C would you like to take a look?¡±


    ¡°The grass amour, uh well sure, lead on.¡± Hank stomped across solid wooden floorboards as his tour guide flitted about.


    The armory was laid out like a medieval supermarket with rows of wooden shelves, each containing helms or swords or braces or.. well practically anything to do with ancient battle. He wandered into the cannon section.


    ¡°Cannon balls!¡±


    ¡°Technically called ¡®round shot¡¯ Sir. Used from the 1400s but yes, often referred to as cannonballs. Would you like to fire a cannon?¡±


    ¡°I think I would!¡± Whatever was going on, Hank was having a  really good day.


    ¡°What the heck? I didn¡¯t program these skills.¡± Sadie was reviewing the Things adaptive learning log. She cast a disapproving look at George, working alongside her. ¡°This was your grandmother.¡±


    ¡°Will it affect their marketability?¡± George asked. A large part of their grade was about commercial application, which was how the College was funded. Even if Sadie didn¡¯t have an active sponsor ¨C she still needed to show she could design for the market.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, it¡¯s just your grandmother shouldn¡¯t be able to override the directive protocols so easily. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s my code, I need to have another look at the starting protocols. The original code.¡±


    She pulled up a wall screen and started tracing her way through the initiation module that had come with her robots.  George stared at it for a while too, he could see she¡¯d made a lot of annotations but there were big chunks without much notation.


    ¡°Who was the original coder?¡± he asked, but Sadie was so deep in her work she didn¡¯t hear him. He scrawled her a note and went upstairs to get a Crown.


    Whenever she worked with the elegant code that she had inherited with her prototype robots, Sadie was impressed. Much of the code was adaptive so that as their physical shape changed ¨C to allow a change to their function ¨C things like movement and balance didn¡¯t get screwed up. In a way the Things were like sophisticated toddlers learning to walk ¨C they were in constant learning mode about their physicality.


    The problem was, there was a LOT of code. And much of it was written in old SQL. It had so many nested loops and safety features she¡¯d known that she couldn¡¯t afford to decipher and recode it all. She¡¯d taken it on faith that operators would only be able to instruct the robots about variants of their basic functions. She really thought she¡¯d tested for that.


    She set up the camera and took out a borrowed jigsaw from Mrs Z.


    ¡°Out you come Things!¡±


    The Things tumbled out of her backpack and went about the assembly job. It was one of the best displays yet of their ability to sort and match and organize. Was it her imagination that they seemed slower and, sort of bored? The Things didn¡¯t have emotions though, so it must be something else.


    George came back in. He watched the building but didn¡¯t say anything as he could see she was filming. He put on the Crown and starting mapping out a space he could freeze and groom for the investors to try. He loved his grass so he made that the starting point, then the journey over the bridge.


    ¡°You¡¯re typing in thin air!¡± Sadie said, finishing her recording and seeing George work.


    ¡°Yeah, if you¡¯ve finished what you¡¯re doing, put on that Crown beside me and I¡¯ll show you some stuff.¡± George tried to sound casual as he prepared to show Sadie his other great invention. Sadie showed up beside him a few seconds later.


    To Sadie, George was now sitting on the side of his bridge swinging his legs and typing on a lap top with a large square of code in from of him. A fishing rod appeared at her feet.


    ¡°Okay get your fishing rod ready,¡± George called out, typing like a madman. Sadie studied the ancient device, she tentatively swung the hooked end over the bridge and wound the line down. It pulled taught as the current pulled it away from the bridge. George¡¯s typing slowed and he hit a final key.


    ¡°There! Okay wait for it.¡± He watched over the side as dozens of silver fish began to emerge under the bridge and, seconds later, one caught onto the hook. Sadie pulled back on the rod and then, seeing what the mechanism at the top apparently did,  started winding. A wriggling fish thrashed and twitched on the hook. She looked surprised, horrified and also, George was pretty sure, she was having fun.


    ¡°I thought this would be cool for our investors to try.¡± George said. He produced a wicker basket and was about to suggest she put her catch inside it when they heard the cannon fire.

 Chapter 10: Boom boom

    Was that supposed to happen?¡± Sadie yelled, as George took off running.


    He puffed through the empty streets wondering why he¡¯d not augmented his fitness in his own world, it seemed obvious now. He passed the cobblers, yeah he needed some seven league boots from the fairytales. He pounded onward with Sadie keeping up easily.


    ¡°Wait,¡± she pulled his shoulder to slow him down, ¡°Should we be running into the problem?¡±


    They both stopped. Graz was eerily quiet considering some kind of explosion had just happened. He looked up at the hill in the center of town ¨C maybe the shot had been fired from there? He scanned the hill looking for paths and made out some smoke by that big canon thing.


    Big canon thing?


    ¡°See that smoke up there?¡± He got moving again, heading inward thinking they should head up the hill. They rounded a corner into the town square and found a building and the fountain in ruins. A cherub¡¯s head rolled towards them while the body still squirted water from the neck. There was no fire though, George thanked whatever scriptwriter had not coded that consequence. He had to admire the wreckage though, could he let the investors fire canon?


    His mind worked backwards calculating the angle of a shot that might have launched the artillery for this and he cast a look up at the hill again. Now he could make out people up there and they were loading up the canon again.


    ¡°Duck¡± he shouted but Sadie was way ahead of him, dragging him out of range.


    Half way up the hill the canon kicked back as it fired again. The museum guide moved him with surprising speed and strength or Hank might have felt several simulated tons of iron run over his foot. That museum guy was stronger than he looked Hank thought. Their second ball landed perfectly in the town square, just to the right of his first hit, and Hank watched a building collapse before a great cloud of mortar dust obscured the view.


    This time however, he also heard a shout and a scream.


    ¡°Wait ¨C are there people down there? We have to check out,¡± he took off running down the zigzagging pathway they¡¯d traveled up earlier.¡± Beside him the museum guide ran too, and then picked him up like a child and accelerated toward their target.


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    The world blurred and seconds later they were down among the damage.


    Hank saw two young people wandering about. They wheeled around as he was set on his feet and the young man came over, looking angry.


    ¡°What are you doing? Who are you? Are you a thing? Why are you wrecking stuff?¡±


    He was asking questions so fast that Hank could barely keep up. He was about to ask for the nurse when the museum guide stepped in between him and the angry man, sheltering him from the yelling.


    ¡°Hello George¡± the guide he said. ¡°Please don¡¯t yell at Mr Hank. He was only enjoying an outing. He is perfectly safe. He is a friend of your grandmother¡¯s.¡±


    Grandmother was apparently a good word to say because the guy and his friend both calmed right down.


    ¡°I might want to go home,¡± said Hank. He¡¯d been having a lot of fun and he hoped he could come out here again.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about the mess.¡±


    The museum guide smiled at him. It was a weird smile but Hank felt it was made with the right intentions.


    ¡°You can certainly go home, and don¡¯t worry, we are going to clean everything up so it is all organized again. We look forward to your next visit.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡¯¡± Hank heard the woman say, but he was already fading out of his visit and opening his eyes in the theatre. He felt like he¡¯d just seen a really good movie.


    ¡°How was it?¡± said the woman who¡¯d given him that thing to wear.


    ¡°Great!¡± he said, feeling both tired and exhilarated at the same time. ¡°I fired a canon. I¡¯ve always wanted to do that.¡±


    ¡°Men,¡± said his friend, but she didn¡¯t¡¯ sound too annoyed. Hank decided not to mention blowing up the buildings.


    Just then a nurse came in and told him it was time to take some pills. He got up and headed out to the nurses station and when he went back his friend had gone. There was a cookie on each of the back row seats though, so he sat down and enjoyed real sugar as another movie started to play. You could almost imagine this was a real theatre except the lights weren¡¯t as dim as they used to get and the seats were made of something that could be wiped. He watched the movie for a while until a thought began to nag at him that he¡¯d forgotten something.


    He went out to ask at the nurse¡¯s station if it was time for him to have his pills.


    ¡°You had them 40 minutes ago Hank,¡± the girl behind the desk told him.


    Hank wanted to ask if they¡¯d maybe gone on an outing somewhere today. They did sometimes. But since he wasn¡¯t sure if they had he didn¡¯t want to ask. They knew he had dementia but there was no need to let them know how confused he go sometimes.


    He passed he craft room on the way to his room. He almost never went in there. Usually he¡¯d seen people spaced out dabbing paint on cards and the whole place depressed him, but today he heard laughter and there seemed to be more going on. It flashed into his mind that maybe someone had finally smuggled in some whiskey.


    Hank was tired though, he kept walking and soon he was at his room. He dreamt of canons.

 Chapter 11: Crones and crochet

    ¡°Look at these colors!¡± a spry old woman ran her fingers across the wools and yarns and embroidery threads in the storage area of the sewing room. She picked through materials with glee like she¡¯d picked through her jewel box before going out on the town.


    They were on an outing with their friend. She had shown them an alleyway that led them to a crooked little street and THEN they¡¯d found a lovely shop that sold all sorts of hand crafted things. Better still, they¡¯d gone out to the back and found spinning wheels and looms and every crafting device they knew. It was all arranged in a long light room that looked out a town called Graz.


    They took their materials and worked them as effortlessly as you please. From time to time folk would visit and they¡¯d measure them or listen to what they desired and then, why it was magical, just as well as you could think a piece you could also make it. The needle practically flew through the fabric. The loom clacked gently and the weave and weft was there as fast as you please.


    And it pleased them greatly.


    Sometime in the past Myrtle had been a knitter. Her joints had started aching and there was medicine for that but then her memory began to fade so that she dropped stiches or found she¡¯d sewn two rows purl instead of knit one purl one and she¡¯d unpick and try again. But now she thought of an old pattern as she cast on her first row and it was as though her mind was running a movie she could watch over and over. She relaxed and her muscle memory was making the delicate stiches to form a pair of fingerless gloves.


    Basic crafting achieved


    ¡°Did you hear that Sue?¡±


    ¡°Hear what?¡±


    ¡°A voice giving me a girl scout badge or something?¡±


    Seamstress apprentice achieved


    ¡°Oh yeah I hear it now!¡±


    Mistress of the Loom unlocked


    Advanced crafting achieved


    ¡°Did you hear something Mrs Z?¡±


    She sews goodwill ¨C basic spell achieved


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    ¡°I did! I got one too!¡±


    Craftswoman of the ages level 1 group effect


    ¡°Whoopie!¡±


    And on went the afternoon as the sun moved gently over the rooftops and a cat sprang after a ball of wool that two crones had bowled playfully along the work room floor. Another cat sprawled in a pile of silks. A huge cat came back into the room. It spread out on the floor where shafts of warm light filtered down on its black coat. There was brick dust and ashes on its fur as if it had been down in the center of town where builders, according to Mrs Z,  were busy mending the  effects of a loose cannon. At least that was what their friend had told them and she¡¯d steered them to the making room and said they would see the rest of the town another day.


    Skeins of memory ¨C attach old memory to strong new threads


    Darn and patch ¨C build logic from retrieved data


    And all too soon their friend, Mrs Z, said they had to go back to the Centre for All Abilities which, was where they usually did less interesting crafts.


    Back down the winding stairs, through the crooked street and into the alleyway. The three crones held hands, giggling and laughing as they jumped back into the Centre to find themselves sitting at the craft room table.


    ¡°When can we do that again?¡± asked the one who had knitted herself gloves. She looked at her hands but the gloves had been left in that other place. She felt her mind replaying the stitching in such vivid detail that she knew, she knew, it was a memory of old from before when knitting a glove was like putting on an old shoe. Comfortable, familiar and quick. Not like things had been lately. No confusion.


    She looked at the faces of the others, and she knew it had been like that for them.


    ¡°I want to go back,¡± she said, grabbing the arm of their friend. ¡°Take me back.¡±


    And the woman, wearing a yellow tag, not a doctor or a staff member but one of them, nodded and said ¡°Soon. We¡¯ll go again soon.¡± And she helped them take off the little contraptions.


    The three old women looked at each other, eyes that were once blue and green and brown now faded to greys and they felt more alive than they had in a while.


    As she finished looping the wires back into her bag the young people arrived, a little out of breath and looking about the room.  Myrtle Brown began rapidly constructing a peggy square at a speed she hadn¡¯t achieved for years.


    ¡°What about making a blanket dears?¡± she said to the rest, and they nodded and talking about complementary colors and all the while watched the newcomers from the corner of their eyes.


    Now that the two young people had gotten here it seemed they weren¡¯t sure what they wanted to do.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the old man?¡± the young man asked at least.


    Everyone obliged him and dutifully looked about the room. But no ¡®old man¡¯ was to be seen. Sue Smith began tacking two peggy squares together and hoped that she was acting naturally because this morning she was fairly sure she¡¯d forgotten this technique yet now, just before dinner time, she was deftly sewing short neat stiches.


    ¡°How about we take you home for dinner?¡± the young woman asked Mrs Z, ¡°I hope you¡¯ve had a good day here with your friends. Have you been here all day?¡±


    ¡°I watched a movie earlier,¡± Mrs Z said, rising and taking the hand of the boy. ¡®I¡¯m tired. See you Sue, see you Myrtle, see you Abagail, I¡¯ll see you again ladies.¡±


    Later Sue Smith¡¯s daughter came to pick her up. She was amazed to see her mother sewing so well and mentioned it to the caregiver on the desk.