<center>A Division in Parts</center>
<center>by Vaughan</center>
Sandra had been Keith the illusionist's assistant for several
years now. Keith thought he was very lucky to have Sandra because
she was pretty, had a pleasant out-going personality that came
across on stage, and was exceptionally flexible. They enjoyed
each others company and the work of practicing and performing
suited their temperaments.
The stage show they did together used a very modern theme, but
underneath the futuristic glittery paint work, the heavy use of
lasers and the showmanship, the show was just the usual illusions
performed by the usual mundane methods. Their show was basically
self-contained just requiring an indoor space of a certain size
and access to a high amperage power outlet. They had performed in
many places, on many stages, in school gyms and on one memorable
occasion in a marquee during a thunderstorm.
On days when they had time, which was any day they where not
doing two shows or traveling more than 100 miles, they would
spend at least two hours practicing. This practice was mostly
aimed at perfecting the moves that made the show run smoother or
seem more mysterious to the audience. Occasionally, Keith would
have bought a new effect and they would spend an intensive two
weeks learning the illusion until it was almost second nature.
They knew better than to be blasé about performing or
practicing their illusions as each had its pitfalls that could put them out
of action for a while.
There relationship with Fred Ostensee, the man who did most of
their illusion building, was very good, partly because they put
plenty of business his way, and partly because they would
feedback any ideas and suggestions they had, allowing him to
develop new illusions and improve the illusions he already built.
On rare occasions, Fred would send a new illusion that he had
designed to them so that they could try it and test it. The
reward for the time spent trying out the new illusions was the
promise of exclusive rights to perform the illusion for two years
and the fee for performing the illusion for Fred's promotional
video catalogue. The three illusions they had tried had been
successes, but Keith and Sandra could not find a place in their
act for them, especially as the test prop was always a bare-bones
version of the effect so there would be the time and expense of
having a new one custom built.
There was a knock at the door. Sandra answered it. The man
knocking was a Federal Express driver.
"Excuse me, miss," asked the driver, "Are you 'Xanadu
Duality'?"
"Yes," Sandra answered simply.
"I've got a delivery for you. It's rather heavy; is their
someone about who can help?"
"Of course, I'll get our trolley so we can take it out
back and I'll call Keith to help. That, OK?"
"Yes ma'am."
Sandra went into the house, calling for Keith to help the
FedEx man. Keith called back that he would be right down. Sandra
went through to the practice room that was at the back of the
house to fetch the low four-wheeled trolley they keep for moving
stuff about. When she got back to the front of the house Keith
had not made his appearance. The driver had opened the back of
his van and was dragging a small packing crate to the back ready
for when help arrived.
Emboldened by not having seen anyone else, the driver said,
"Xanadu Duality, that's a rather unusual name, but it suits
you."
Sandra smiled, "That's not my name. It's the name of our
magic act. Do you want a hand getting that onto the trolley?"
"Yes, please, if you're sure that you can cope with the
weight."
"I expect so. I'm stronger than I look."
It was the work of moments to transfer the case onto the
trolley and soon Sandra had signed the receipt and the driver was
on his way. Sandra had dragged the delivery into the practice
room before Keith came downstairs.
"Who was that?" Keith asked.
"Just FedEx with a new toy from Fred."
"What is it?"
"Let's find out!" she replied, the chill of her
displeasure melting under the blowtorch of her curiosity. "Hand
me the jimmy!"
It was less than a minute later that the lid clattered to the
floor. Inside the crate was a letter addressed in Fred's precise
handwriting, a laptop computer and another box with rope handles
at each end. Keith put the computer on one of the tables in the
practice room, while Sandra ripped open the letter.
Dear Keith and Sandra,
I was talking to Terence Sleedon,
another illusion builder at the conference in San Diego. He
asked my how I managed to produce such user-friendly (his
term) illusions. I told him that I have professional
illusionists test them and get the most helpful comments so
that I can modify and improve the design.
I thought that was that until he
sent me this package, asking that I ask someone to test it. I
opened it to check it out. As you will see there is a
computer as part of the equipment. I am a bit old-fashioned
and don't know the second thing about computers, so I thought
of you and your hi-tech style. Terence said in his letter to
me that this is a computer controlled visible division into
parts. This seems a bit far-fetched to me but he has offered
a generous sum for just trying it out and further bonuses for
providing constructive suggestions and comments, both of
which I know you can do.
If you decide to try this out,
the necessary instructions are on the computer.
Have a nice time and hear from
you soon.
Yours, Fred.
"Well? What do you think? Should we try it?"
inquired Keith.
"It can't hurt to plug in the computer and take a look at
the instructions. We're honest enough not to take advantage if
there is something worth having and it would be nice to have an
alternative to the mis-made."
A little while later, the computer was plugged in and switched
on. It booted up like a standard PC with Windows 95 on it. With a
few deft movements of the joy pad Sandra discovered that the only
program available on it was called 'illusion'. She selected this.
The computer beeped and whirred for a few seconds, then it
spoke. "Welcome to Sleedon Magicworks Software controlled
visible division equipment," it said in a voice that was
quite obviously synthesized from pre-recorded syllables. There
were further whirrs and beeps and then the voice announced,
"I/O error; Division equipment not connected. Please read
screen for required preparations." On the screen was a
window full of text, which describe how to set up and connect the
equipment, how much space was required for the equipment, what
the assistant should wear and how and where she should stand.
Sandra went to change into the required costume after helping
Keith lift the bulk of the equipment out of the crate. Keith
opened up the equipment, plugged it in, connected it up and
switched it on. Keith booted up the laptop and started the
illusion program, which announced itself again and told him that
the assistant was not present and to press any key when she was
ready and standing in place.
Keith thought, Well, the first suggestion has to be to
improve the speech synthesis or remove it all together,
especially if this computer has to be used on stage. Audiences
just won't be happy with such a crude voice and it won't carry
into an audience at all. In fact it might be better if the
computer did not speak to give a better illusion that the people
were in charge. Deft strokes of the keyboard, real or mimed,
would probably increase the visual aspect of the illusion and
give the audience somewhere else to look other the action.
Sandra returned and asked whether everything was ready.
"Well, the equipment says it's ready and you look very
ready indeed," he said admiringly. Her trim figure was its
usual tanned and toned self and the little that was left to the
imagination was barely covered by a strapless bikini top and the
briefest bikini bottoms. Keith looked slightly worried, "Are
you sure you want to try this, because I'm having second thoughts.
You know, if this had been one of Fred's things, I'd have said, 'let's
go for it!' but he would have provided us with much more
information about what happens and gone into great detail about
any special moves that need to be done. I don't even know this
Sleedon fellow. And what if this thing goes wild and tries to
chop you into salami?"
Sandra shivered slightly at the thought and suggested that
they switch it off and route the power through the secondary
lighting controls, that way Keith could shut of the power at a
moment's notice. She was also as curious as Keith about how
the visible division would be achieved.
It took them some time to collect and connect the extra
equipment. While they were rearranging things they moved
everything in front of the practice mirror so they could get some
idea of what the effect looked like from the audience point of
view. Sandra got into position standing on top of the equipment
with her feet in the rectangles marked there. Keith switched on
the equipment and the computer happy in the knowledge that if the
machine turned out to be a mincing machine, he could shut it down
in moments by cutting the power.
There was a barely audible hum from the box as the computer
beeped and chirped. The computer once more announce that it was
the "Sleedon Magicworks Software controlled visible division
equipment". A few beeps followed then it announced that the
assistant was present and weighed 115 pounds.
The action started to happen at the equipment end. From each
corner of the almost featureless black box rose a chromed metal
rod to a height of six foot five inches. How a solid seventy-seven
inch metal rod appeared vertically out of the box that was only
eighteen inches deep who can say, but it is such minor
impossibilities that add zest to magic.
The laptop spoke; instructing Sandra to close her eyes and not
to open them until told to. Keith was asked to press the space
bar when Sandra had closed her eyes.
Keith press the space bar and the equipment emitted a high
pitched whir. The section of the top that formed a ring, rose at
a slow pace. The outside of the ring was rectangular and the size
of the box, the inside was a smooth oval. It took almost a minute
to reach level with the top of Sandra's head, and as it rose it
shone what Keith assumed to be lasers at Sandra's body, thus
explaining the requested to shut her eyes. The only other unusual
feature was that from the back of the ring hung a sheet of
metallised plastic, like the reflective blankets they give to
marathon runners at the finish line; it even rustled lightly with
the movement of the ring up the poles. Keith described this
development to Sandra, who closed her eyes tighter. He also
speculated that it was measuring her, so that it can provide just
enough cover for the division. He was right about it measuring
Sandra, but not about why.
Once the ring had halted at the top of Sandra's five foot
eleven inch frame, the computer said that Sandra could open her
eyes again. For about ten seconds it seemed that the laptop was
working very hard, if the sound of disk accessing was any guide.
"Press the space bar to start!" instructed the
computer.
"Are you ready?" asked Keith.
"Go ahead, but keep your hand over that power switch,"
replied Sandra.
"Ok, I'll do it on three. One... Two... Three."
Keith pressed the space bar and the high pitched whir
restarted. The rods lowered until their tops did not stick above
the first ring. Then, a second ring started up the poles. This
differed in that it did not emit any light and there were two
sheets of the metallised plastic hanging from the back. This ring
rose until it was level with the top of Sandra's shoulders. This
meant that Sandra's head and neck was positioned neatly in an
open box, with the two rings forming the top and bottom and the
sections of pole for the vertical edges.
The computer spoke again, which neither Sandra nor Keith had
been expecting. It said, "Assistant, Please raise your arms,"
in its flat tones.
Sandra spread her arms to her sides and a third ring identical
to the previous one, except for having a smaller oval hole in the
middle, began to rise. This ring rose until it touched the
undersides of Sandra's upper arms, when it stopped. The computer
told Sandra that she could now rest her arms on this ring. She
was quite glad of that as her arms were getting tired.
The next ring to rise, rose to level with bottom of Sandra's
ribs. That was followed by one that rose to align with the top of
her pelvis. The remaining four in sequence rose to the top of her
thigh, to just above her knees, to just below her knees and to
just above the knobs of her ankles. The high-pitched background
noise had stopped when the last ring stopped moving
The picture was obvious. Sandra stood inside a framework of
poles and rings that seemed to be positioned to divided her into
nine sections. The effect was enhanced by the shimmering of the
plastic sheets that cascaded down back of the frame, two per ring
except the top one.
The computer emitted a very loud beep, then instructed Sandra
to breathe out slowly. Sandra took a deep breath and began to
breathe out slowly. The rustling of the plastic sheets increased,
but neither Sandra nor Keith could see what was happening.
When Sandra had almost completed her breathing out, she felt a
series of sharp sensations, just like someone had touched her
back with the blade of a very sharp knife. Sandra took a deep
breath to make some sort of protest and perhaps get Keith to kill
the power. Before she could make a sound, the computer beeped a
fanfare and said, "division complete."
Having felt the blade edges against her back and tickles up
each side, Sandra decided to check herself. She noticed nothing
unusual when she looked in the mirror she faced, except that the
plastic sheets that had provided a shimmery background to the
cabinet had disappeared. Sandra then tried to move to see what
had happened and found that she could not move. A rapid check
lead to the discovery that she could only move her jaw, her arms
and her toes. This she reported to Keith.
Keith approached the confined and immobilized Sandra. It soon
became obvious what had happened to the plastic sheeting. It had
been drawn into the rings and appeared to cover the whole inside
the ring. Keith tapped the plastic membrane. It was very tight.
The computer, once more, spoke. It said, "Unstack the
component parts of the assistant. Place each part on a smooth,
clean, flat surface, taking care not to damage the separating
membrane."
"Stupid computer!" commented Keith, "It seems
to think you have been divided into pieces. And even if you had
been, the sections are still held together by a solid rod at each
corner."
"Don't be so negative," Sandra said, "I can't
say that I notice another special happening but give this thing a
chance. Maybe it has something up its sleeve that we have not
noticed. But be careful, we don't want to damage this stuff
before we send it back."
Keith stood behind Sandra, his eyes level with the ring that
circled her throat. He raised his arms to take hold of the top
ring. Without much hope or desire for success, he took a grip
that would allow him to lift the top section, which appeared to
contain Sandra's head and neck. He applied an upward force to the
top of the frame with no expectation of any movement and
completely prepared to stop if he felt anything happen that
should indicate that he was applying too much force. For about
two seconds nothing moved, then suddenly something gave way.
Keith's hands were immediately three inches above where they had
started and they still help the top of the frame. Their had not
be any sound of anything breaking. He looked at his hands,
because he had been looking sideways to help him concentrate on
not breaking anything. In Keith's hands was help a frame composed
of two membrane covered rings held together by a short rod at
each corner, inside which appear to be Sandra's head. Three
inches below the bottom of the separated section was the top of
the remaining framework, topped by a ring and membrane, directly
below which seemed to be Sandra's shoulders. In the three inch
gap between the two membranes seemed to be nothing but air. Not
sure what to do or what should be done, Keith gently placed the
frame section back where it had been.
The silence that followed extended for an uncomfortable
duration until Sandra broke the silence by asking, "Did I
just see what I thought I saw?"
Keith, still not sure what he saw or if he was, whether to
admit to it, answered with the questions, "What did you
think you saw? And did you feel anything?"
"I thought I saw you lift the section with my head in
several inches from the section with my shoulders. It sort of
felt like that too. You know, kind of like that slight movement
sensation you get when a lift starts. I think my point of view
changed a tiny bit, as well. But all that is impossible."
"But we do the impossible at least twice a day and have
been for almost six years. But, I wonder..."
Before Keith could complete his speculation, Sandra butted in
with a correction. "It's been six years and eight months.
Any way, we haven't been doing the impossible; we've just been appearing
to do the impossible."
"My point exactly," said Keith in a triumphant tone.
"And what point would that be exactly?" inquired
Sandra in a tone that suggested that she miffed at not having
scored the point, but was not going to let Keith score it either
without further explanation.
Keith, who had not been point scoring, but trying to cover his
confusion, paused to consider what was best to do. If he failed
to make the point, which he had not intended, she would keep
mentioning it until she got tired of it. Then again if he made
the point too forcefully she would probably go into a sulk and be
uncooperative until lunch. He decided to take the delicate middle
path of explaining the point in such a way that she could get
there before he finished.
"The point is that we seem to be doing impossible things,
because we know how to make it appear that we are doing them and
have the necessary equipment."
"So?"
"What just seemed to happen to you was impossible, so it
could not have happened as it seemed to happened. Am I making any
sense here?"
"I think I can see your point. When you lifted my head
off my body, you only seemed to do it, because to really do that
is impossible. Right?"
"I think so," he said doubtfully.
"Then how was the illusion achieved?" she asked.
Keith shrugged, "I haven't got the slightest glimmering
of a notion, but maybe if we try it again, then it might become
more obvious."
"I suppose so," Sandra conceded reluctantly, "but
don't go moving my head too far; I imagine it could be very
confusing if it works."
Keith moved a small table next to the equipment that held
Sandra's immobile body. "OK here goes nothing," said
Keith. He, once more, gripped the top of the frame around Sandra's
head and lifted and again the head section came free as if it was
held down by a magnetic force. Carefully he took a step sideways
and began to lower the frame towards the table.
As Keith gently placed the frame containing Sandra's head on
the table, Sandra let out a sob and said, "This thing is
working too well. I'm getting frightened!"
"Why are you frightened? You're not in pain or anything
are you?" asked Keith.
"No. It's just that the experience is exactly as if you
had just removed my head for real and put it on the table. I don't
like it, the effect seems far too real."
"What do you mean too real?"
"Put it this way; why does an effect need to seem real to
the assistant?"
"Umm, I see your point. It just doesn't need to be real
to the assistant at all, just so long as she can act as if it is
real. I can see why your frightened. I'm going to try something.
Don't go away!" he smirked.
Sandra's shoulders gave a slight shrug and she said, "As
if."
Keith took a position behind the framework and said, "Tell
me if you feel anything!"
He first run his finger up her left calf and she gave a small
giggle. She soon said, "That was my left calf and that is my
right shoulder you just tapped and get your hands off my ass!"
Keith emerged smiling and commented, "That definitely
seems to be your body and your voice seems to come from where
your head seems to be." He reached into the frame that stood
on the table and tweaked Sandra's ear.
"Ouch!" she squealed, "What did you do that for?"
"I wanted to prove to myself that that was your head."
"So, what is the conclusion you've come to, having
touched me up while I'm helpless?"
"I'm afraid, it looks like what seems to have happened
has happened."
"You mean, that I'm standing in that there framework
headless while my head is sitting disembodied over here?"
"That seems to sum it up, perfectly," remarked Keith.
"OK, How?"
"Well, you know at least as much about this thing as I do,
if not more. I'm not the one who has my head a yard from my
shoulders."
"Let's apply some thought to this," suggested Sandra,
"Either this is a very clever illusion, that not only gives
the effect for the audience, but also for the assistant, in which
case something very peculiar is happening. OR what seems to be
happening is really happening, in which case something even more
peculiar is happening. Either way, I'm not sure I like it."
"I can quite see what you mean. I'm quite certain I would
not like to have my head parted from my body, even if I survived
it and knew I was going to get it back."
"Are you trying to say what I think your trying to say?"
"Well, this gear seems to be designed with a certain
amount of safety in mind, but so far we have seen nothing to
indicate that this effect is reversible, have we?"
Sandra's frown and worry lines deepened. "You said it.
You don't think you can put me back together."
"Well, you did not go back together when I put back your
head the first time. There seems no reason to suppose you will go
back together anytime, except..."
"Except, What?" shrieked Sandra.
"Calm down! Who knows what might happen if your blood
pressure goes too high. But consider; why was this thing sent to
us?" Keith paused. "It was sent to us to try out, so
that it could be tested, improved and have the bugs worked out of
it."
"But what if one of those bugs is that the division isn't
reversible?"
"I know it won't be much comfort, but if you don't end up
whole and complete and unharmed, we'll sue that Sleedon fellow
and his company for every penny they have and the methods they
used to get you in this state, so that we can work out how to
reassemble you," Keith promised. "But then we are
rather looking on the dark side. I feel sure that no-one would
deliberately offered us this thing to try, if the effect was not
reversible."
"Then let's get it reversed, and double quick!"
Sandra exclaimed. "Restack my head and tell the computer to
undo the dividing. And don't move my head too fast, it makes me a
bit dizzy."
Keith with care replaced the frame with Sandra's head in it.
He went to the laptop and tapped the joy pad, because it had gone
into a power saving mode. A message on the screen said to hit the
space key when the assistant's parts had been unstacked and
restacked. He tapped the space bar. The message changed and said
"the assistant has not been completely unstacked. press
space bar when the assistant has been completely unstacked and
restacked." Keith frowned.
Sandra noticed Keith's worried expression. "What's
it saying? And why isn't it saying it out loud?"
"It's saying that won't do anything else until you've
been completely unstacked and restacked. And the Lord only knows
why it displayed the message instead of speaking it."
"So, what are you going to do?" asked Sandra.
"Well, I suppose I'm going to do what it says, unless you
can suggest something else."
"Can't we fool it into thinking that the unstacking has
happened?"
Keith paused, then said, "That's a great idea, except for
one thing. How? I'm sure you don't want me to try anything with
the computer, in case it forgets that you are divided and decides
you don't need restoring. And we don't know enough to try
fiddling with the equipment."
Sandra's face registered her disappointment. "Ok, go
ahead, but be very careful. You remember the warning about not
damaging the membranes."
With the care generally reserved for bombs that contain tilt
switches, Keith lifted Sandra's head and gently lowered it to its
former position on the table. He then returned to the stack and
with a slight jerk detached the section containing her shoulders
and arms. This section he placed on another table. Keith then
went to the front of the equipment to pick up the next section,
which contained Sandra's chest. Having lifted it off the stack,
he walked across the room he placed it on top of a box near the
door to the main part of the house. He came back and removed the
belly section, which he set in front of Sandra's arms.
"Why did you put my belly there?" asked Sandra.
"Well, I thought you might want to find out what it was
like to touch yourself while in this, sort of, divided state,"
answered Keith a little too glibly.
"Thank you. You are most considerate." Sandra's
tone was extremely sarcastic. "And why did you put my tits
over there by the door?"
Keith looked as if he had been found out. "I thought it
was a good idea to see how far apart you could be and still work."
"And I was thinking that you were planning to take them
out of ear shot and then play with them," replied Sandra in
a tone that implied that she did not believe a word Keith said.
"I admit I had thought of it, but then I don't really
want to leave you on your own until you are completely back
together."
"Glad to hear it," said Sandra, without making it
clear whether it was his concern for her safety or his desire for
her body that she was glad about.
He removed Sandra's bikini-clad hips from the dwindling stack
of assistant and carried them to another table.
"I knew it!" declared Sandra, "You're enjoying
this." Sandra's voice took on an accusing tone. "You've
always wanted to do something like this. Some sort of perverted
adolescent fantasy, I suppose." In a more resigned tone she
continued, "Well, you'd better enjoy it while you can, 'cause,
I'm never getting involved with this thing ever again. And don't
be too long, 'cause it's tiring not moving and I don't really
want to be in nine sections for any longer than absolutely
necessary."
Keith took Sandra's thighs, knees and calves and placed the
sections around the room. When he tried to remove the section
containing Sandra's feet and ankles, he found that he could not
move them.
"Well, I've tried to be a bit tidy, but you seem to have
get yourself spread about rather," commented Keith. "How
do you feel?"
"Umm... Not bad considering. It's rather uncomfortable
being sort of held in place, but there's no pains or aches. I don't
think I've actually lost feeling anywhere either, but my calves
are going to sleep. Could you massage them a bit."
Keith went to where he had deposited her calves and squeezed
and rubbed Sandra's lower legs.
"You were always good at that, but this time it feels
even better. Are you doing anything special?" asked Sandra.
"Not really. In fact, I thought I wasn't doing as well as
usual, what with the frame being in the way and being a bit
afraid of knocking something over."
"Could you try massaging my back?"
"Why? And which bit?" asked Keith.
"My lower back, of course. And use your fingertips."
"I thought you didn't like that because my fingernails
scratch your skin."
"Just do it! It's a kind of experiment thing. I've
got an idea and I want to try it out."
"OK, you're in charge for the moment."
Keith moved across the room to where he had let Sandra's belly
and began to rub Sandra's lumbar region with his fingertips.
"That's great," breathed Sandra, "Now could you
scrape your fingernails lightly over my back."
"I thought you hated that, but here goes."
After Keith had raked the nails of his right hand across her
back, she said, "Ok that's enough of that. Now, do a proper
massage. You know with the ball of your thumb like I really like."
Keith repositioned himself and then began to massage the small
of Sandra's back. He stopped fifteen seconds later, because
Sandra was screaming.
"Why did you stop?" asked Sandra.
"You were screaming," Keith stated.
"Was I? I didn't notice. I was just enjoying the way you
were rubbing my back. It was great... In fact, it was better than
great. I can't begin to describe how good it was."
"So, what was this experiment about?" asked Keith.
"What experiment? ... Oh that! Umm. Well, I reckon that
somehow that pleasant sensations are being amplified and
unpleasant ones are being, ... er... diminished."
"I suppose that makes sense, if you want someone to use
something, you try to make it pleasant for them. But how it is
actually done; search me."
"I'll bet those plastic sheets have something to do with
it. You know the computer referred to them as membranes and most
membranes I've ever heard of let some stuff through and not other
stuff."
The conversation lulled while they considered these thoughts
and what had happened.
Finally Keith spoke. "I wonder what would happen if the
membrane was damaged?" he mused aloud.
"Don't even think about it," said Sandra, "The
computer warned us about, so the consequences are probably dire.
It might prevent it restoring me."
"I think it's about time to put you back together," said
Keith.
"Yes, I suppose so, but can we try something else first?"
"I though you want to be complete as soon as possible."
"I did, but since I've discovered that it increases
pleasure, it doesn't seem quite that bad."
"We can experiment when we know that the effect isn't
permanent," said Keith.
"Oh, go on, just one short experiment, then you put me
together," wheedled Sandra.
"Ok, but it had better be short and then I'll stack you
back on your feet."
"I want to know if I can feel through the membrane. So
would you touch me through the membrane."
Keith turned his attention from the belly section to the
shoulder section, which was on the same table. With a gentleness
born of caution, Keith stroke a finger across the membrane on top
of Sandra's shoulders so that the crossed the stump of her neck.
Sandra gurgled with pleasure for a few moments, then said,
"That was super, just like the tingle of champagne bubbles."
Keith dragged his fingers across the membrane that covered the
top of her belly. The pleasureful noises Sandra made amazed Keith.
Keith walked over to where he had left Sandra's calves and
shins and said, "Now it's really time to put you back
together."
"I suppose so," replied Sandra dreamily.
In quick succession, Keith place Sandra's calves, knees, thigh
and hips back in their original positions. Sandra's two torso
sections had soon been placed on top followed by her shoulders
and her head. With the rapidity of the reassembly she was
slightly confused, but had a feeling that something was wrong.
Keith went over to the laptop and pressed the space bar.
There was a loud beep from the computer that got both Keith's
and Sandra's attention. After five seconds the computer said,
"Assistant format error: Abort, Retry, Continue."
"What does that mean?" they asked in unison.
Keith started to rationalizing, "Aborting probably stops
the program completely and that would probably leave stuck in
that position, which we don't want. Retrying will probably repeat
the message until we work out what it thinks is wrong, which is
pointless, And continuing would probably compound or make
permanent what ever is wrong. So we had better work out what is
wrong and sort it out before touching the computer at all."
"So, what does 'Assistant format error' mean?" asked
Sandra, "That seems about as helpful as syntax error."
"Not entirely. I tells us it thinks there is something
wrong with you," Keith pointed out.
"That's rich! It didn't complain before," protested
Sandra. "But then again, I had not been divided into nine
sections and scattered across the room before."
"Ah-ha, I think I've spotted what's wrong," observed
Keith, "and while it might be interesting to leave you like
that, I would not inflict that on you." Sandra recognized Keith's
expression. It told her that he was thinking of bizarre
situations and wondering about practicalities and consequences.
"Are you going to tell me what's gone wrong or are you
just going to fix it?"
"I'll sort it out, when I've shown you," laughed
Keith.
Keith went over to Sandra and put one hand on her hip and then
moved it up one section and stroked her breast. "That give
you any clues?"
"Yes. It tells me that some idiot put my torso sections
on the stack in the wrong order. I suppose you're going to
unstack me again to get things right."
"I can't see any other way," admitted Keith. He soon
had the upper four sections of Sandra correctly stacked and on
top of the other five lower sections. He returned to the computer
and selected retry.
A short period of quiet followed. The familiar high-pitched
whir announced that something was about to happen. The whir was
augmented by a crinkling sound as the plastic sheets gradually
extruded from the backs of the frame rings. The rings below
Sandra's arm section lowered back into the top of the box. The
computer then requested that Sandra place her hands by her sides,
which she did. The remaining two rings descended the rods which
then also withdrew into the box. The computer announced that the
effect was complete.
After a quick check to see that she had all her bits in the
correct places, Sandra rushed off to visit the bathroom and
change into some more comfortable, but less revealing. She
returned in ten minutes in jeans and a sweater. Keith was tapping
away at the computer.
"What are you doing? I thought that we were finished with
that thing for the moment," she asked.
"Well, it seems that this Sleedon character wants to get
his feedback electronically. When I'm finished, you should check
what I've put in, so that you can change it if you don't agree,
before we plug the computer in to the 'phone and send it off."
"I'll go and rustle up some lunch, while you're doing
that. I'll look at it afterwards."
Sandra went into the kitchen and Keith continued typing his
thoughts, suggestions and opinions into the computer.
After lunch Sandra read through Keith's report and made some
minor amendments. She then added her own description of
how terrifying and terrific it had been. Before, she allowed Keith to
see what she had written she plug the laptop into the 'phone and
sent the report.
Two days later, A small package arrived with the mail. It was
from Sleedon Magicworks. The parcel contained a letter, a disk
and a check for $300. The letter thanked them for their feedback,
and said that the check was for services rendered in the testing
of the equipment, the remainder of the fee was the equipment. In
addition, The letter said that the disk contained the new version
of the control software, with most of their suggested
modifications included. The last paragraph promised them the
opportunity to test future Sleedon Magicworks products.
Sandra said, "How about we try out the new software?"
To Be Continued?