The comfort and security of the spaceship gave him a confidence he had seldom known before, and he felt complete master of the situation as he followed Theon into the house. The door of the conference room was locked and it was some time before Theon could attract attention. Then the walls slid reluctantly apart, and Alvin moved his robot swiftly forward into the chamber.
The room was the familiar one in which he had had his last interview with Seranis. Overhead the stars were twinkling as if there were no ceiling or upper floor, and once again Alvin wondered how the illusion was achieved. The three councillors froze in their seats as he floated towards them, but only the slightest flicker of surprise crossed Seranis’ face.
“Good evening,” he said politely, as if this vicarious entry were the most natural thing in the world. “I’ve decided to come back.”
Their surprise exceeded his expectations. One of the councillors, a young man with greying hair, was the first to recover.
“How did you get here?” he gasped.
Alvin thought it wise to evade the question: the way in which it was asked made him suspicious and he wondered if the underground transport system had been put out of action.
“Why, just as I did last time,” he lied.
Two of the councillors looked fixedly at the third, who spread his hands in a gesture of baffled resignation. Then the young man who had addressed him before spoke again.
“Didn’t you have any-difficulty?”
“None at all,” said Alvin, determined to increase their confusion. He saw that he had succeeded.