All this was spoken in a single breath, in a voice that kept getting higher and louder, in an effort to drown out the beautiful child, who was now hopping happily from foot to foot and chanting ‘Liar, Liar!’ at the top of his clear little voice.

The boy in the cap swivelled around to stare at the cherub, who froze, balanced precariously on one foot, the other still dangling in the air. Theo continued to glare at him for a moment or two, and then turned back to Albert and grinned.

‘He don’t think too good, our Felix, but long as he looks like that it don’t matter, do it now, Mac?’

The grin gone, he narrowed his eyes at Albert.

‘Now for the last time, you gonna give us what we want? No? All right then!’

They moved in slowly, weapons hoisted, smirks in place. Albert stood still, eyes darting desperately from left to right, looking for an opening, an exit, as they closed in.

And then the lawbots arrived.

They appeared out of the twilight behind, two of them, so quietly and suddenly it was as if they had materialized there, large and dark and shiny and intimidating. Albert was overwhelmed with relief. Glorious, elevating relief. He’d never have thought that the day would come when he’d feel grateful to see a lawbot, but as it turned out, it was today.

The lawbots barely seemed to move, yet now they were standing between Albert and his assailants, who had fallen silent, their faces displaying varying degrees of panic and defiance.

NOBODY WILL MOVE! YOU WILL ALL PRESENT YOUR CREDENTIALS FOR INSPECTION.

The voice was deep and booming, guaranteed to arrest attention, which was why the bot had chosen it. Each individual lawbot had a database of several dozen voices, specifically chosen to fit the needs of different situations.

Albert pulled himself up straight for one of the bots to glide over for the scan—first his face, then his communicator, while the other stayed in front of the children.

CITIZEN 3481, UNIQUE IDENTIFIER ALBERT, THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA.

WHY ARE YOU HERE?

The voice had changed. Now it was softer, almost conversational. It was a voice that inspired trust, encouraged you to confide in it.

‘Look, I didn’t know. I swear. I missed the pod home and thought this would be quicker.’

WHY DID YOU—

The rest of what the bot said was drowned out in the loud metallic clang as a stone bounced off its head, ricocheting towards Albert, who managed to jerk his head out of the way only just in time, his communicator flying out of his hand in the process. He steadied himself against the wall, as another stone clanged against the bot and bounced harmlessly away.