A mechanoid stood on a corner, pointing back. So that was the next trick! Helpful, hinting.... He saw another, showing the way home.
He grew angry. It'll be a battle of nerves. They'll get nicer and nicer to me, until I can't stand it any more.
He concentrated on the lights, watching them pass one by one. That helped.
"Please note your return route."
He wondered if they had missed him at the party.
"There is an autocar at your service."
They would be preparing to eat the midnight meal, now, he remembered. The foodmakers would emerge from the kitchens and steal the show in their performance of taste appeal, warm odors, rare dishes....
"You are heading due west, on Street 751 West, at a speed of three and six tenths miles per hour."
It seemed cold. The mechanoids did not have thermostat stations, for they did not need them. He shivered slightly.
"You are now two miles from zone. The time is eleven-forty-five p.m."