The virgin & the bad boy (Gravity)

Chapter 32/the last resting place of the credit card of Arazemoth

Later I was back in my hotel room sitting in a bath relaxing my aching bones looking at the landscape beyond while Kentro repaired my cycling armour.

"I found something very secret out tonight," I said.

"Was it that the chalet is based on the ruins of an ancient church built by the knights templar that holds a hidden entrance which if one has the right key, hidden as a simple necklace in three parts that also acts as a map you can find and unlock untold riches and  possibly find the last resting place of the  credit card of Arazemoth?" said Kentro.

About 70 years ago after successfully making a fortune by releasing his books on the discovery of the secrets to the pyramids, the true last location of the ark of the covenant and the only accurate history  of Atlantis. An adventurer called Morgan Miller realised that the world's supply of truly fabulous secret treasures was being used up. With about 10 billion people on the planet, the arrival of the internet, practically all clues to secret treasure would soon be found and all the world's secrets used up, he reasoned. To this end, Morgan Miller announced the world needed to stop wasting its time worrying about global warming and stuff and get on with the real job and  engage in an extensive campaign of tomb building. In these and many other secret locations he wanted to create a number of modern-day treasures of mythic proportion. You had the mythical credit card of Arazemoth, the iPhone of the Templars, the last trainers of Einstein, all hidden away protected by secret orders of ninja guardians sworn to protect them with their lives through the millennia ahead. All so, one-day thousands of years from now future adventures like Miller, could solve the cryptic puzzles and find the parts of the secret maps all hidden in multiple exotic locations around the world leading them to treasure. At the end of each trap filled chamber just before the room (for no readily apparent reason) self-destructed  the words 'Don't forget to build and stock your own tomb' were flashed up just before the beam above you caved in. So that the number of mysterious secret chambers filled with treasure remained constant. In this world without work the lost treasure industry was big.

Morgan Miller had to this end set up the world's largest and subsequently richest Kickstarter funding project which had sucked up so much money the world had gone into recession leaving Morgan Miller with a vast fortune which mysteriously disappeared. Some say Morgan Miller embezzled the whole fortune for himself but others said he had hidden his fortune away in the same secret chamber that Elvis used. The clues to the location of which, could be found hidden in code in his best selling books. OK info dump over back to the conversation. 

"No," I said "I meant the one to do with Binks."

"Was it that Madam Lucy is a robot breaking the laws against impersonating a human?" said Kentro.

"You knew huh?" I said. Thinking ' I'm a lousy secret keeper. I can't even keep my own worst secret from myself, that's pretty bad.' If you can't delude your self who can you delude? 

"The Internet of Things has been full of the same for the last 6,000 milliseconds, Madam. It has caused quite the commotion among the digital classes. Most of the more advanced machines suspected and inferred that miss Lucy was Mr Bink's missing robot. However for those with emotion chips like myself know that revealing same would break the first law of robotics. Miss Lucy is wise indeed not to divulge such information. If any basic robot found out it would report her as malfunctioning immediately."

"I never heard of these Farage machines, " I said while sipping a drink and Kentro put the armour up in my wardrobe.

"And why should you madam, their purpose is policing machines not policing humans," said Kentro.

"Could you scrub my hands? I've got all this wallpaper muck on them. So You've had dealings with these Farage machines?"

"I cannot say I have Madam." said Kentro getting down and scrubbing the ingrained dirt from my fingers " They are, however, widely known for their strict doctrinaire interpretations of machine function"

"How strict are they?"

"Well, I did know one machine - a cooking robot called James who was forcibly recycled for not opening an egg at the correct end."

"Wow both doctrinaire and completely ignorant of Gulliver's travels these machines sound evil," I said

"Yes Madam," said Kentro taking my other hand and scrubbing. 

"Well, we came up with a smart solution. I'm going to link Binks up with Esmerelda"

"Esmerelda Smnes madam?" said Kentro tilting his mask up. 

"Don't you Esmerelda Smnes madam me. We all agreed she is quite suitable' I said

"We being the group who were given miss Lucy's secret? Well there are a number of candidates and Esmerelda would not be the highest."

"This isn't match.com we just need to find someone who Binks can date causing Lucy to be able to drop him. And for the record, I don't approve of robots and computers deciding who dates who. "

"Certainly Madam. There is however the slight problem of getting Esmerelda and Mr Binks together" said Kentro.

"Well I'm going to approach Esmerelda at Aunt Mallery's ball and get the ball rolling on Binks behalf. Once I have lit the blue touch paper I will retire to a safe distance and wait for fireworks. Then we are going to line Lucy up to walk in and find out she can divorce Binks so putting Binks to Esmerelda and Lucy can go back to being Bink's robot"

"Very wise madam. If difficult to organise" said Kentro. Hanging my jacket up.

A thought crossed my eyes.

"Are you going to spill the beans to the Farage about Lucy?" I asked. I guessed I could order him not to.

"Fortunately for Lucy, I also interpret the first law of robots about emotional harm and given that the Farage would turn up in less than 10 minutes once summoned. I am bound by the unbreakable laws of software to keep her secret to prevent emotional harm to Mr Binks or your self" said Kentro.

"You're really bound up by the law's of robotics to that degree?" I said. Kentro let go of my hand, he had brushed it like an electric toothbrush. The wallpaper stain was now all gone.

I got out of the bath and Kentro handed me my towel. 

"Mental well being is a part of well being Miss," said Kentro bringing me my pyjamas.  For some reason, I wondered what Dante was up to.

"Keeping my owner sane and well balanced is part of my parameters." Kentro said " Suicide was once the third largest cause of premature death for young people. Speaking of which while I was cleaning the room rather vigorously I found this space hidden beneath the floorboard. In the space, I found this amulet, Madam."

Kentro produced an amulet, with an old leather thong it was carved with complex symbols and markings.

"It's not mine, you better take it to the hotel's lost and found," I said.

"Yes madam, it does look like it is one of three pieces," said Kentro.

"So it's broken? No wonder someone dumped it. eBay it or better still put it in the bin" I said.

"Yes Madam, and the secret map paper is written in an unknown language?"

"bin it too. I have plans to make". I said. 

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A/N Thanks for reading and making this a wonderful summer of dreams. Thanks for all the votes it's pretty cool watching them come in on our phones. Join us next Thursday when Io's story starts to really kick off with Chapter 32  What do you mean she's failed the Turing test? We will also do the big reveal on Scarlett's big secret ( oh we can't wait).