Isolde must have been pleased with Doncia for bringing the robot back repaired in good time, because in the afternoon she invited her to the robot store. Doncia followed down the spiral stairs, and realised her mistake the day before: the store was only three floors down and she had descended four.

Doncia’s pocketwatch was warm in her hand. Would the pufferfish reappear?

‘Are you all right, Dear?’ Isolde asked.

Doncia shook her head clear. ‘Yes, Isolde.’

Isolde wedged the door open. Doncia followed closely, not daring to think of the pufferfish again. They were not real. She concentrated on counting green doors—they turned left as they exited the tower stairs, and the store was on the right exactly five doors along.

‘Why are the doors not marked?’ she wondered aloud. ‘Actually, why is nothing marked in the castle? It’s so easy to get lost.’

‘Because,’ Isolde said, ‘If we are ever invaded by enemies, we don’t want them to know where everything is.’

That made sense. Doncia had not thought of being invaded by enemies. Who would they be? The puka of course—the image of the puka in the dragonfly room flashed in her mind. Not real! She banished it. Not crazy; she was absolutely not crazy.

Isolde unlocked the door and pushed it open. Inside was completely black except for the stream of light from the doorway. Isolde kicked the rubber door wedge into place. She pointed out, on the right of the doorway, the toggle that ignited all the lamps. Doncia snapped it down with her thumb, and one by one the gaslights sparked and lit. The huge room flickered into brightness, hissing like it hated to be woken.

They wove between the tall shelves of boxes toward the back, to where a row of ten robots crouched, bodies lowered to the floor and legs splayed out.

‘Your father was a brilliant man. We still really don’t know how the robots understand commands and obey them, but we know how to do it.’

She took a rectangular silver box from her apron pocket, and held it up.

‘This is a command box. If I want a sweeper robot to clean a particular room or corridor, then I hold this box to the robot’s turret and imagine the location.’

‘It’s an anrenn,’ Doncia said.

Isolde creased her skull face into a smile. ‘Clever. Yes, it is, a special anrenn. Now watch.’ She chose the first robot in line, unplugged it from the charging socket, tapped it on the red button, and waited for it to raise on its spring legs and complete its start-up shuffle. Then she held the silver box against the brassy turret.

‘I’m going to think of the Hall of Art,’ she said.

After a moment the robot twitched its feelers, spun its turret, and scurried away like a giant cockroach.

‘Can I try?’

‘I didn’t bring you here to play,’ Isolde said, ‘but yes, just once.’ She passed the box to Doncia.

Doncia took it. There was a slight tingle against her palm—it reminded Doncia a little of her pocketwatch. Isolde unplugged and woke the next robot.

‘Picture in your mind the Audience Hall, where you hung the curtains. It should be easy since you know it well now. Then imagine the robot sweeping that room. Then imagine it going. That’s how it works. Three ideas, slowly, one at a time: the room, then the sweeping, then the actual command to go do it.’

Doncia did as she was told. Just like the other, the robot clattered away on its many legs.

‘I hope we don’t find that one later swimming in the mermaid pool,’ Isolde said, and after a moment of panic Doncia realised it was a joke. She gave the command box back.

‘Come now, we have work to do,’ Isolde said. ‘Since the robots are always cleaning, we must regularly empty their dust trays. They get very dusty, so we must keep them clean also, otherwise they’ll break down.’

Isolde showed her how to remove the dust tray from one of the remaining robots, and empty it into a bin. They emptied all the trays, then set to cleaning and polishing the robots.

🔸⏱️🔸

When they returned to the muster room Mother was waiting but Piri was not. They waited till Doncia became a little concerned; it was starting to get dark. Moni came in finally.

‘Have you seen Piri?’ Doncia asked. ‘We’re ready to leave.’

‘She begged off a little early, saying she was not feeling well.’ Moni explained. ‘I expected she’d be here.’

‘She can’t be far,’ Mother said. ‘Just take a quick walk along the front wing. I’ll search back here.’

‘All right,’ said Doncia, relieved to not just be standing there worried. The fastest way was along the green corridor, which meant going past the dragonfly room. Doncia grasped her pocketwatch for reassurance as she entered, trying not to see the phantom puka, but knowing she could hardly search for Piri without looking anywhere.

She was resolutely trying not to see the imaginary puka when the pufferfish appeared. It waggled its fins at Doncia.

Not now! Doncia thought at it. I’m trying to find Piri.

It bobbed as if it was nodding, and did a little spin and circle to ask her to follow.

Last time you got me lost.

The fish shook no, then did the follow-me dance again. It headed along the green corridor into the enormous reception hall. Doncia had been going to go that way anyway, so she followed. The fish didn’t continue through to the Hall of Art, but turned left onto the colonnade porch, and floated down the stairs toward the central parade courtyard.

No, she thought to the pufferfish. Far enough.

It disappeared.

Fine, lead me nowhere then vanish.

But then she saw the puka, appearing and disappearing as it dashed across the courtyard. Then it disappeared completely.

I’m not crazy, Doncia thought, trying to banish both the pufferfish and ghostly puka from her head, wondering why it was increasingly difficult.

She traversed the hall, still dwarfed and awed by the chandeliers, and hopped up the one step into the Hall of Art. The robot Isolde had sent was still busily sweeping.

There was Piri, asleep on a chair, curled like a cat. Greatly relieved, Doncia shook her warm shoulder.

‘Piri, wake up. Are you all right?’

Piri woke slowly, and stretched. ‘I was so tired,’ she said, ‘and I feel odd. Can we go home?’

‘Of course,’ said Doncia. ‘Come on. You know you should have had a jacket this morning.’