interjected. “Because you seem to know so much and are able to do so many things.”
“I tried to be very careful and tactful. But it was hard enough for me to handle the cutting edge technology that had been aimed at her. Evidently everything will be decided in a different place."
And he looked up towards the heavens.
“We all love her very much and give her all our support. And that is the main thing.”
“So is she living in the City of the Robots?” asked Ben, “then it will be impossible to drag her out of here.”
“No, no, she doesn’t live here. But the robots congregate in other countries and cities as well and can easily entrench themselves in a normal country… although, it’s more difficult for them to gain a foothold in these places. You know, in the New Testament according to Luke the Lord said to his disciples: It is inevitable that temptations to sin will come, but how terrible it will be for the person through whom they come! But temptations come in all forms, for example the desire to have a family regardless of the cost. But there is an explanation for everything. If something bad happens you just have get through it. And having got through it once you’ll be better equipped to get through it a second time. But the most important thing is not to besmirch your soul… Well, that’s enough about that lads, I appear to have got side-tracked and seem to rubbing an old wound. And as far as I understand there would seem to be similar problems in your family, otherwise you wouldn’t be here in this horrible city taking such risks to free that part of the Princess’s energy that has been stolen from her and kept in captivity. Isn’t that so? The time has come to stand up for the wonderful ideals of your family. And the forces of heaven have come down to earth to help you in this. So, God be with you! We will be waiting for you early tomorrow morning."
And with that the expert lead the boys right up to the city gates before melting away into the forest. On the way home the boys talked about what the expert had said about the wiles of the humanoid robots and the inexplicable way that this exceptional man was helping them. Staying out here likes a tramp in the forest on the outskirts of this foul city and all just to help them and what about the restoration artist? He was behaving towards them as if he were their real father: He fed and watered them, told stories and went for walks with them but the most important thing was that he treated their problems as his own.
“It just means that they were sent here for our sake, and for the sake of the successful completion of our mission,” Michael pondered out loud.
“With friends like these there’s always going to be a chance that we will succeed,” Ben murmured.
At home Michael and Ben went through everything with ‘dad’ right down to the smallest detail. They had researched and forearmed themselves as much as possible. In the morning the boys left for the outskirts of the city with the worker’s outfit that 'Dad' had acquired for the security expert. The boys safely brought the expert through the security checkpoint, while the dog and the snake sneaked into the city using holes in the perimeter fence that they had found. Then they all set off in the direction of the Museum House. The restoration artist arrived in a small van with a group of “tourists” and parked close to the entrance of the museum. Invisibility buttons on, Michael, Ben and the expert joined the museum excursion group and entered the museum building. Holding hands all three of them moved from one security control box to another while the expert put the system out of action. The main thing was not to be noticed by the robot guards. When this was done, the cousins went into the exhibition hall. And there in the display cabinet shone the Princess’s ring! The ring looked fairly modest next to the other priceless and ancient valuables. Nevertheless, it was displayed right in the centre of the display cabinet and was lit from all sides. When the hall became full of people, Ben pressed the remote control signal button for the snake who was now waiting in the special compartment under the display cabinet. The snake soon moved into action, it raised its head and began to squeeze the glass of the cabinet with all its might. The cabinet even began to buckle under the pressure but no-one seemed to notice and the tour continued as normal. However, a few minutes later the snake had broken the display cabinet and with a wild hiss hurled itself at the tourists. A terrible commotion ensued; everyone rushed to escape the snake who herded them closer to the display cabinet. Michael, Ben and the expert nestled up close to the glass. The security expert soon had the power, light and alarm switched off. Michael quickly cut a hole in the glass of the display cabinet and Ben grabbed the ring!!! All three of them and the snake rushed straight for the exit. But they had only managed to take a few steps before they were greeted by the howl of a siren and a terrible racket behind them. The rod holding the cabinet together began to pulsate and then slowly made its way towards the roof of the museum building and disappeared. And a few seconds later the whole pagoda-like roof began to stir and flew away!!!
What a shock that was! Suddenly the tourists were confronted with the open skies. And the roof of the museum had transformed itself into something resembling a UFO and flown away.
“Run for it!” the expert shouted and all three of them dashed for the door. There was a scrum of bodies all trying to get out but they managed to squeeze their way through and jump outside. The restoration artist’s car was running and waiting for them. All three of them jumped into the back seat.
“Is everything okay?" asked ‘dad’ anxiously.
“Yes, we’ve got the ring,” answered Ben’s disembodied voice. The restoration artist had only guessed that they had got into the car when he felt their weight in the back seat. So with some trepidation he asked:
“Are you all here?” and when they all chorused yes. He breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Thanks are to God!”
When the boys had taken stock of what had just happened both of them asked:
“What happened back there? How was the roof able to lift off and fly away like a transformer robot?”
“It was a shock to me too. Even though I’d worked there I had no idea that the roof had been made like that – it must be some kind of kind starship," said the security expert in amazement. “They were clearly frightened by the fact that the ring had gone missing. For the robots it must have been a very momentous sign. Some sort of danger signal. But what was it that flew away and where did they go and why? It’s possible that the robots’ top leaders have a secret alternative bunker or even another city.”
“Perhaps they have some sort of secret linked with the valuable things that they were holding there. There were so many priceless valuables and precious things there – each with their own special energy,” the restoration expert ventured, trying to fathom the answer to the mystery himself.
They passed through the checkpoint at the gates without any problems, chaos reigned everywhere and no-one bothered to stop and check them. They stopped close to the gates, the security expert jumped out to see if the snake and the dog had got out of the city okay. The dog had been detailed to protect them as they left the entrance of the museum. The dog’s job was to hurl itself at any guard who might get a fix on anyone. But everything went to plan without her having to do this. Very soon the snake and the dog appeared through their respective holes in the fence. They put the snake in the boot of the car so that she could go back to the forest where she belonged and the dog jumped into the car. The security expert had decided to take her home to live with him because she had become such a loyal friend.
They drove for a long time without stopping until they had passed through all the robots’ cordons.
Before long the restoration artist stopped the car at a crossroads. On the verge stood another car, which was to take the security expert home. Everyone took a long time to say goodbye. They had become so close that it was sad to part.
Michael asked:
“Do you think we’ll meet again sometime?"
“It’s probably not possib
le, because we don’t even know your real names," said Ben sadly.
And at that moment the Angel appeared saying:
“Everything is possible."
Everybody greeted the Angel with great joy and even the snake poked its head out of the boot of the car.
“What a fantastic triumph! I have good news for all of you. Your sister no longer lives with her husband, although it was on his initiative that she had to leave. However, I hope this doesn't bother you too much," said the Angel looking at the boffin. He was so overjoyed that he was completely lost for words.
“You my dear artist have a big choice to make: You have been invited to work either in Germany or England in order to restore some of the most ancient and beautiful churches that were built over a thousand years ago. And this means that your children will get an excellent education. The book of frescoes that you have restored is published and ready to go to the shops.”
‘Dad’ literally shone with happiness at the news of these gifts.
“And you, Michael and Ben have been invited to the City of the Angels,” said the Angel in conclusion.
“What? Us?” said the boys smiling and jumping for joy.
“But how are we going to get there?” Michael asked naively.
The Stolen Star Page 28