Dr. Snip

'I see, have you ever been in love with anyone?' She asked. 'Of course I have, I was madly in love with a girl at school for years but she didn't know about it. Then when I was a soldier I fell in love with a young woman and I believe that she loved me too, but I was always being sent away.

In the end she packed me in and married someone who would always be there for her. I don't blame her really,' he admitted. 'So you never gave them children, or spent the rest of your life with them?' 'I see your point, perhaps I didn't really love them at all.' 'Exactly, I believe you simply lusted after them for a while until you got bored and then went on with your life.

It's the natural thing for most men to do, and there is no shame in it.' She replied. 'I wouldn't know Love if it bit me, I've often had a mad crush on a man but that was pure lust and I've never tried to fool myself that it was Love. I've never been married, however there is still time for that sort of thing as and when it happens.'

Hearing her say that depressed Steve so he decided to change the subject. Earlier Steve had asked Merlin if he could tell Angel about him, as usual Merlin had said that Steve had to do whatever he thought best at the time. Steve took that as a yes, so when they were sitting comfortably he broached the subject to Angel.

He told her everything that had occurred between him and Merlin from the activation ceremony to the present time, and how it was Merlin that enabled him to jump such distances so precisely.

Angel was non-plussed, she had heard of AI's but hadn't considered that something the size of the World Brain could be one; it was a bit frightening to think that one intellect had so much power over human beings. Still she had to admit that it had saved Steve's life and that made her feel kindly towards it.

'Why does it want its existence kept secret?' 'It is vulnerable, if enough systems are shut down it would die,' he said, 'and as you know humans are often afraid of things that seem more powerful than they are.' 'Can I talk to it?' she asked him. 'I don't know, I'll ask.'

'Merlin, can you talk directly to Angel?' I CAN TALK TO ANYONE I PLEASE, ANYWHERE OR ANYWHEN.

'Right, could you say hello to her then please.' IF THAT IS YOUR WISH.

Angel was watching, as Steve seemed to be subvocalising with himself, then out of the blue a voice was in her head, 'HELLO ANGEL, I'M MERLIN, PLEASED TO MEET YOU'

Angel despite being used to receiving information via her implant still jumped at the sound of such a voice, it wasn't loud as such, but it seemed somehow very powerful.

'I'm in your debt, I believe,' she replied out loud. PLEASED I COULD BE OF SERVICE. THERE IS NO NEED TO SPEAK OUT LOUD, SIMPLY THINK CLEARLY.

'Thank you, But I prefer it this way,' she replied politely. AS YOU WISH.

'Who is trying to kill Steve?' I CANNOT TELL YOU.

'Would you impede our attempts to discover the enemy?' NO

'Can you actively assist us?' NO 'Can you tell us why?' NO

Steve interrupted to point out that he had already asked these questions. 'Just checking.' She said, 'we need to know our enemy before we can proceed any further. Our first clue is the robot that attacked you, does Merlin have any information on the forensic results.

Steve communed for a few seconds, and relayed the information that they found moon dust on the soles of the machines feet, proving it was the cause of the dome leak.

Unfortunately it was a standard model robot, which could be programmed to do simple mechanical tasks, such as drilling holes and pointing guns at predetermined targets. The enemy was too clever to allow it to be traced back to them.

'What about the three Laws?' Steve asked. 'Still fiction so far,' answered Angel.

'I assume that our second clue is the fact that our enemy has a QT, so they can jump back and forth to locate us, there must be a spare QT about somewhere,' said Steve. 'No, that is impossible,' said Angel, ' there are only twelve QT's in existence.'

'Is that correct, Merlin?' checked Steve. YES, THERE ARE ONLY TWELVE QT DEVICES IN EXISTENCE.

'Where are they all now?' EACH IS IN THE POSSESSION OF A TIME AGENT

'No prototypes, or missing in action, ones?' NO.

'Am I the only one to realise that our enemy must be a Time Agent?' Steve asked. Angel smiled at him, 'It has always been obvious that he or she was a Time Agent, the problem is that we don't know which of the ten it is.' 'Ten? Oh I see, not counting us I presume.' He said.

'We will have to draw them out then,' she announced. 'Seems like a plan to me,' agreed Steve. As they were being located through records of their actions, they decided to create a trap for the enemy Agent. With Merlin's financial help, they booked in to the Honeymoon suite of the London Hilton Hotel. It was the most prestigious, and expensive Hotel in the world.

Anyone checking on their movements through history would certainly discover this event and hopefully attack them, hoping that they would be distracted by each other at the time. All that was left to do was to thank Margaret the barmaid, and after paying their bill leave the pub that had been their sanctuary for such a brief time. It was time to go on the offensive.

The Hilton was nothing like any hotel Steve remembered, in the richest country in the world; it was the most expensive Hotel. The rooms were themed, and you simply had to ask for any scenario and they would create it for you. To assist those guests lacking in imagination there was a standard menu.

It ranged from a monastic cell, for those who wanted to get away from it all for a few days, to an authentic reproduction of a Roman orgy. Angel let Steve choose, and after serious thought he picked the Arabian Nights suite.

'Why this theme?' Angel asked him in interest. Steve explained that he had spent some time in Arabian States during his tours of duty and had always remembered the belly dancers and the soft silken décor of the various Clubs he had frequented.

'I've seen lots of strippers in my time, but the most erotic dance for me was the Dance of the Seven Veils, I've never forgotten it.' After they had unpacked and settled in, they looked through the menu of entertainment provided by the Hotel for its guests.

'There's a thought Angel, have you got replicators yet? Like in Star Trek.' Angel admitted that although Replicators had not yet been invented, that could create food by recombining atoms and molecules. It was possible by using the Portals to transport food from one place to another.

Owing to the operating costs, Portals were only used for mass transportation of food, for example if there was too much of one type of foodstuff produced by a rich country like Britain. Then the surplus could now be sent to the poorer countries instantly rather than be destroyed as happened in his time.

'Excellent, it's good to know that Britain has still got a heart after all.' Angel just shrugged, 'It's cheaper than having to burn it I suppose.' Another advantage of the Hilton was the level of security, no one, be they human or robot, could get in to see them without their express permission. That is unless they had the use of a QT, in which case security was a meaningless concept.

Angel hadn't had sex with Steve since the Moon episode; her feelings at that time had been so intense that they had shaken her badly. She honestly wasn't sure whether to carry on being lovers or cool the relationship down to colleagues again. She was actually scared of the situation, which wasn't like her at all, what was this primitive doing to her head?

As part of the theme they had been dressed in Arabian costumes, Steve as a Sultan, and Angel had been dressed as a dancer. The evening started with a lavish feast, just for to two of them, no expense had been spared. It wasn't just Steve who was impressed at the opulence of the Hotel, Angel had never been anywhere as magnificent as this.

Even the real roman orgies of Caligula were not all that impressive, especially if you took into consideration the smells. This was absolute luxury, there were so many exotic dishes that they could only taste a small piece of each otherwise they would be full before the feast ended. Music was in the air and there was plenty to drink.

Steve wasn't a big drinker but he enjoyed a glass of wine with his meals and was trying out a different wine with each course, though to keep his head clear he was only having a mouthful of each. Angel however seemed determined to get drunk as fast as possible and was trying all the various Spirits that the Hotel had to offer, and mixing them with a range of recreational drugs.

Steve noticed that she seemed to be relaxing and laughing a lot more than she had been since the Moon. He had been telling her stories about his time in the army and the sometimes-embarrassing anecdotes had her in stitches.

In return she had opened up a bit about her family, they were apparently related through her mother to the Royal Family, which now of course was simply a symbolic anachronism that Britain liked to keep just to be different from the rest of the world.

Steve in the light hearted spirit of the moment immediately knelt down in front of her and putting his big hands over her small delicate ones, swore allegiance to her, and pledged himself her Knight Protector.

Angel giggled and accepted him as her only true Knight. 'I must give you a favour to wear for me, which colour is your favourite?' She asked indicating her dress, which seemed to be made of various coloured semi-transparent silks. Steve chose red, as that was his favourite colour

'Let me get it for you' she whispered huskily, 'it might take a minute as it's under a few others.' She leant towards him and gave him a slow sensual kiss. Angel got up and glided into the center of the room where there was a clear space.

She was swaying to the music and began to dance to it, her eyes locked on his as he sat on a cushion where she had left him. After a while of letting her body move to the music, Steve noticed that her eyes had closed and that she was now dancing for the sheer pleasure of feeling the diaphanous silks against her body.

Angel had released a sexual stimulant into her system, so she could enjoy the feel of the silken scarves as they rubbed against her body. Every now and then she would loosen a silk scarf and gently pull it, so that it slid around her body until it fell to the ground.

It was difficult to tell precisely in the flickering light of the candles, but he thought he could count seven different colours of silk that made up her dress. Only when the second veil fell to the floor did he realise that she was performing his favourite dance for him, and he determined to enjoy every moment of it.

Angel was extremely limber and he watched in amazement as she slowly slid down to the carpet in a full splits, where she writhed slowly moving her hands over her body and enjoying the feel of the silk. As each layer fell away, he could see more and more of her naked body.

Steve had often seen her totally naked, but in situations where she wasn't in a sexual mood, and it was like living in a nudist colony where as everybody was naked it meant nothing special. Now however she was obviously getting very excited by the combination of the dance, the alcohol, and the fact that a man was watching her avidly.

He could see her nipples were erect, and pushing at the silks that restrained her breasts as she stroked herself all over. As she swayed her bottom at him, he could see that the red silk veil was the very last one and the closest to her body. It was wrapped between her legs, and went up around her body to where it was tied around her breasts, and it was totally transparent.

He was getting turned on in a big way, and she made it clear that she had noticed by rubbing herself against him as he knelt in front of her, transfixed by the flood of pheromones that seemed to fill the air between them. Angel was hot and flushed as her dance was bringing her to the edge of orgasm, every time she moved the silks rubbed against her erogenous zones and pushed her closer to the brink.

She desperately wanted him and was restraining herself not to throw herself on him and rip off his clothes, she had taken drugs many times but had never hit such a high in her life as she was experiencing at this moment. Her body was vibrating as if a charge of electricity was coursing through her, she was moaning to the music and knew that he could hear her.

He was watching her, listening to her, and smelling her she felt totally exposed to him and loved it. Wearing only the final red veil, she lay on her back and opened her legs wide for him. Her back arched against the carpet as she thrust herself in his direction, knowing that he could see through the transparent silk and know that she needed him badly.

The final knot was loosened and she slowly pulled the red veil off her body, it slid around her breasts and as it unwound from her it slipped between her open legs and left her naked to his sight.

As she finished the dance Steve noticed the flicker of movement in one of the many mirrors that he had placed around the room, a shadowy figure had appeared behind him and was raising its arm. He knew that if he was going to be attacked by anyone they would wait until he was totally distracted and then get behind him.

Consequently he had made sure there were no blind spots in the room. His hand slipped under a nearby cushion and emerged holding his shock baton. He needed the man alive to answer questions, from his kneeling position he flung himself backwards keeping low and twisting to bring the baton up into the figures groin.

The suddenness of his attack made the assailant fire his weapon prematurely and Steve felt the passage of a bullet as it narrowly missed his moving body. The baton jarred into the man but as he started to scream in pain he had already began his jump and disappeared via his QT. The assassin had seen Angel leaping at him with her nails glowing, and knew he had blown the attempt.

Steve watched as Angel's naked body hurtled over him and sliced through the space recently occupied by the assassin. She was swearing furiously, at being caught out like that, her needs had betrayed her and the first thing she had noticed was Steve throwing himself backwards away from her.

By the time she boosted it was all over, Steve could have been killed again and she would have been to blame. The combination of her raging hormones, the boost drugs and her guilt was too much for her and to Steve's surprise she burst into tears.

Thinking she had been hit by the bullet he sprang to her and checked her for wounds, she didn't seem hurt but she was crying as if her world had ended. She was saying sorry, over and over so for want of anything better to do he simply held her tight and rocked her gently, telling her that everything was all right and no one had got hurt.

Angel finally recovered enough to get up and go to the bathroom where she had her implant release a blood cleansing antitdote to all the drugs currently in her system. The effect was to allow her mind for a short time to think as clearly and dispassionately as a machine.

When she finally emerged she was wearing her normal cat suit, and Steve knew the honeymoon was over. Before he could speak she said she had to go and think something through and would be in touch, then without any further ado she simply vanished.

Steve was stunned for a while, but he decided to let her have some space to think, while he got on with the investigation.

They had chosen the Hilton because of it's security systems ability to record everything that happened within its walls. Its clients knew this of course, and had the option of having the recordings destroyed at the end of their visit. As happened more often, they could simply take the recordings home with them as a memento of their stay.

Angel had already instructed that their recordings were to be given to Steve when he left the Hotel. So after thanking the staff for a great experience, Steve picked up the record crystal and jumped to the B.T.O. headquarters so the experts could examine them.

While he waited for the results Steve contacted Merlin to ask where Angel was, but the AI wouldn't tell him. Angel had asked it for privacy, and it agreed to honour her request. Steve was perplexed at her actions, as far as he was concerned their trap had worked, they had drawn out the agent and soon should know what he looked like.

As there were only ten to choose from it wouldn't take long to solve the mystery. The scientist who was entrusted to examine the crystal came out of the Lab and approached Steve. 'We have a problem; the assassin obviously knew about the recording facility at the Hilton, he was wearing a lead impregnated mask. It was impervious to x-rays, so although the scanners could see it was a man by the skeleton, they had no way of identifying which of the male Agents it was.

Steve was very disappointed, he had expected the assailant to wear a mask, but had hoped that the x-ray cameras would give him enough evidence to compare dental records to discover the mans identity. Steve thanked him for his help, and jumped back to his house in the twentieth century.

To give himself a break from thinking about the assassin, he decided call up the recording of their time in the Hilton so he could relive the experience. The images appeared to play in front of his eyes as his implant fed the images straight to his optic nerve.

He watched again as she danced for him, he noticed her jerk momentarily during the dance, and thinking she had hurt herself asked Merlin why she had done so. THAT IS A USUAL REACTION TO SELF STIMULATION

'I don't understand' Merlin explained to Steve that Britons of Angels class, often used various drugs to help or enhance their day to day lives. Angel had simply released a drug into her system using her implant.

'She's a drug addict?' He asked incredulously. SHE USES DRUGS, AS DO ALL IN HER CENTURY.

He was shocked, the more he learned about this woman the more his world view seemed to have to change. Steve decided to ask the World Brain a question that had become very relevant to him lately.

'Merlin, if I gave you some data could you solve a problem for me?' I WILL TRY

'This is all the data I have, Steven Steele, Angela Black, Love. Can you solve it for me please?' OF ALL THE QUESTIONS IN ALL THE WORLD YOU HAD TO ASK ME THAT ONE.

'Sorry, I don't suppose you know anything about Love, it was stupid of me to ask.' ON THE CONTRARY. I KNOW ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT LOVE. I HAVE IN MY MEMORY ALL THE LOVE STORIES AND LOVE POEMS EVER WRITTEN. I HAVE SCIENTIFIC READINGS TAKEN OF THOSE IN LOVE. UNFORTUNATELY THOSE READINGS ARE IDENTICAL TO THOSE TAKEN FROM THOSE IN LUST. TO ME IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE IN THE HUMAN BRAIN AND I CAN ONLY OFFER YOU MY SYMPATHY.

'Perhaps it is just lust, I certainly want her all the time, even if I do love her there's no future in it for us. As soon as I've done what you want, you'll take the QT from me and send me home, won't you. THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS EXERCISE IS THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE WILL BRING UNTIL IT DOES.

Steve suddenly had a marvellous idea, 'Of course, what an idiot I've been, all I need do is go forward into the future and see what happens.' NO TIME AGENT HAS EVER GONE INTO THE FUTURE, NOR WOULD THEY IF I TOLD THEM TOO.

'Well they may have been indoctrinated, but I haven't so I'm going, unless you are going to stop me.' NO.

Steve had to decide how far to go, he picked an arbitrary figure of two thousand years, and set the QT. Before he activated it he asked Merlin a question. 'Merlin, in two thousand years time, will you be there, and will you remember me?' YES.