Xia Lei walked out of the shed an hour and a half later. He had memorised all the mechanical structures, electrical integrated circuits, CNC and so on. There were virtual things he couldn’t see but he knew the principles of how they worked. With knowledge of all of these, he was fully capable of producing a lathe that would be the most advanced in the world when he went back to China!

Back in the living room, Xia Lei saw two unfamiliar people. They wore black silicone masks which made them look like black people but Xia Lei could see from the colour of their eyes that they were of the same race as he was. 

“Done?” asked Long Bing.

“Done,” said Xia Lei. 

Long Bing glanced at the watch on her wrist and said, “There isn’t much time left. Go back to your seat.”

Xia Lei walked to the dining table and sat at his original place. He looked at Annina all sprawled on the table and felt a twinge of guilt. 

He knew Annina’s...