Golem

250 pounds! That would mean a considerable amount of digging for me and probably more than one trip to the sandy heathland. I would change at work this evening and collect the first load on the way home. I had already accumulated several strong plastic sacks. I probably needed more than I had.

I read on, flipping back and forward in the manual and making notes about how long I thought each process would take me. This was nothing like assembling flat-pack furniture. The instructions although weird were clear and sequential. The final processes made me blink as the words leapt from the page.

'The earth from the stone circle must be collected as close to midnight as possible on a night of a full moon. The next such nights are... If possible the product should be animated at the dawn of Earth Day. On that day many people will be attuned to the concept of earth and their sympathetic vibrations would unconsciously assist in the successful animation of the female Golem.'

'The final ingredient is made by mixing the earth from the stone circle (previously sieved through the larger mesh sieve painted green - see para x.xx above) with two fluid ounces of your own blood drawn from your left arm. (Instructions on the use of the equipment to obtain this blood are in Appendix 5. The equipment is in the green plastic box marked with a green cross on a white background. If you are left-handed the blood should be drawn from your right arm.) The earth and blood mixture should be moulded to a heart shape and placed in the recess marked J in the product's centre chest. The cover of the recess should be closed and the epidermis replaced. The product should be seated in a substantial chair.'

There were instructions for me to prepare myself by purification. I must draw a Kabbalistic circle around myself and the chair and light the candles. Then I must walk six times counter clockwise around the inside of the circle, stopping at each point illuminated by the candle to recite the six-word incantation. If possible this process should end exactly at dawn on Earth Day when I should press the activation button concealed up under the hair at the nape of the product's neck while simultaneously pressing the red button on the remote control.

The product would then speak. I should comply with the product's instructions to complete the programming.

That Friday evening I changed out of my office clothes into an old jogging suit and trainers. As I left the office Helen, one of Elaine's acquaintances saw me and stopped.

"Why are you dressed like that, Graham? I've never seen you looking so casual and relaxed."

"It's a nice evening. I thought I'd go for a run on the heath before going home."

Blast, I thought. Helen is bound to meet Elaine soon and tell her. I did some running to keep fit but from home. Since Elaine left I'd attended a gym a few times and I ran two or three times a week. I was probably much fitter than when we were together. I had hoped that physical exercise would make my sexual desires lessen. It hadn't worked.

It couldn't be helped. If Elaine knew she wouldn't care. I drove to the heath and parked in an inconspicuous place backed up against a bank bare of vegetation. I opened the back of my car and took out the spade. Before starting I climbed the bank and looked around. There was no one in sight. I went back to the car and started filling the bags.

I started sweating by the third bag. I couldn't put more than twenty pounds in each bag. After eight bags I had to stop for a breather. I shut the spade and bags in the car and sat down on the bank. Two minutes later I heard a car approaching. I checked that nothing was visible as the car drew in. A young couple looked at me curiously. Presumably they wanted a quiet spot. They did a three-point turn and left. I climbed the bank to check that no other car was near before starting to fill the rest of the bags.

When I had finished the back of the car was much lower. As I left I could hear the suspension hitting the stops as I drove slowly down the rough track. I hoped the police wouldn't stop me. How could I explain all the sand in my car? Once I was on a proper road the car felt better. It was obviously heavily loaded but manageable. I parked it in my drive and went in for a well-earned cup of coffee. I had originally intended to move the bags after dark but I couldn't face moving all of them at one time. I used a wheelbarrow to take half of them past the garage to the kitchen door.

The access to the cellar is from the storeroom beside the kitchen. I put a plank on the stairs and slid the bags down. Down in the cellar I moved them away from the stairs and went up to collect the yellow sieve. There was an old bath in the cellar that had been too heavy to move. With a quick clean-up and a plug it made a useful collector for the sieved sand. By dusk I had sieved half of the sand. I took the rejected material back upstairs and out into the garden. Half-full bags were much easier to carry.

After a meal and a coffee I moved the rest of the sand from the car to the cellar. That was enough for the day. I collapsed in front of the television with a couple of beers and fell asleep. I showered before going to bed. That night I dreamed about a large woman called Eleanor pinning me to the bed. That was a considerable improvement on a dream of Elaine rejecting me.

On Saturday morning I finished sieving the sand. The rejected material I used to fill a leaking pond at the end of the garden. The improvement was noticeable. A few inches of topsoil and the former pond would be invisible.

The package was due to be delivered early on Monday morning. I had arranged to be late into work telling them that my central heating boiler was due for its annual service. I was as expectant as a small boy waiting for Father Christmas. I was also worried that the product might arrive in a coffin shaped box. How would I explain that to any inquisitive neighbours?

The van was on time to the minute. The main box was about the size and shape of a washing machine or small refrigerator - nothing about it to excite interest. It was light enough for the delivery driver and I to manhandle down into the cellar easily. The other boxes were not so bulky. He declined a cup of coffee but accepted a tip.

I needed the coffee to calm myself down. She was here. I wasn't quite ready for her because the full moon was not yet and Earth Day had still to come. I opened the main box carefully. Inside on top was another copy of the manual with the red type warning. I took the hint. I left for work leaving the product untouched.

I waited impatiently for the full moon. That evening I drove to the stone circle dressed in dark clothing. I parked the car away in a side road away from the usual car park because that was sometimes used by courting couples. The footpath I had walked several times by day seemed much more difficult even by the bright moonlight. As I climbed the last rise before the stone circle I thought I could see movement ahead. I dropped to the ground beside a bush and peered.

There was movement inside the stone circle. I crawled closer keeping low. Inside the inner circle was a group of people wearing long robes. They appeared to be waiting for something. I swore under my breath. Whoever they were, they were probably waiting for midnight, the midnight I needed as well. They seemed engrossed in each other, performing some ritual that required one to say something and the others to respond. Perhaps I could get close enough without being noticed?

Soon I was beside one of the taller stones. Just beyond it was a convenient molehill. It was only a couple of feet from the stone's shadow. If I was careful...

I moved back behind the stone and pressed the button to light my watch. Five minutes to midnight. I waited as the people's chanting grew to a crescendo. At midnight exactly there was a bright flare off to my right. The standing stone cast a shadow over the molehill, which was still faintly illuminated by the moon. Now or never. I slid forward and scrabbled earth into my bag before darting back into shelter. As I did I saw, silhouetted against the flare, a horned man standing on a fallen stone with the others kneeling before him.

What did I care? I had what I wanted. I moved cautiously away from the circle and down the slope towards my car. As I was about to lose sight of the stone circle I looked back. The group were prancing around in the moonlight. Their dancing was awkward and jerky. They wouldn't win any dancing competitions.

Back at my car I waited a couple of minutes before driving off slowly without lights. At the next junction I turned on my sidelights and my headlights once I was round a corner. I had what I wanted and I hadn't been detected by whoever else was using the stone circle.

Back home I put the bag of earth in the cellar and went to bed. I went to work the next day taking the instruction manual with me. I would check through it at lunchtime to see if there was anything else I needed to acquire before next Earth Day that would be Eleanor's 'birth' day.

I had just opened the manual and started to read when I had a phone call from Elaine. That was a surprise. It was a fairly innocuous call. Had she left any medical documents in my house? I said I'd look. She also asked me if I would get one of her favourite pastries from the baker near the office. She would be pleased if I could give it to Helen who would be visiting her that evening.

I decided to nip out quickly. I pushed the manual under some papers on my desk while I went to the bakers at the end of the block. I'd forgotten that there would be a queue because of the sandwiches and baguettes sold at lunchtimes. It was a good half an hour before I was back at my desk. Some more papers had been added to the heap, one of them urgent. I grabbed the manual and stuffed it into my briefcase. Work took precedence. After all, the income from my employment was paying for Eleanor. I called Helen. She collected the pastry. Her attitude to me seemed slightly different. Was it because Elaine had asked me for a favour and I had complied? It didn't matter.

Or did it? Not Helen's attitude, but my response to Elaine's request? I had been used to jumping to do whatever Elaine ordered. This time she had asked a favour, as one would from a friend to a friend. She had been polite and grateful when I said I would help. Why had she asked me? She could have asked Helen. There might have been a reason that Helen couldn't go but I was still puzzled. Elaine had asked me as if I was a friend. Was I her friend? Despite everything that had happened? Was there some problem with Damon and could Elaine be wanting to build a bridge to me, just in case it was needed? For the first time in weeks I was thinking about something other than constructing and activating Eleanor.

That evening I searched through some of the documentation that dated back to when Elaine and I had been together. I found nothing medical.

That night I dreamed of Elaine. This time the dream re-enacted one of my favourite scenarios. Elaine was riding me while wearing the peach satin bridesmaid's dress as she had done the night after Helen's wedding. I could feel the folds of her dress brushing against me and hear the rustling of the taffeta petticoats. I woke up feeling regret that I had lost Elaine.

I rang her at her office and told her that I couldn't find the paperwork.

"That's OK, Graham. It's probably somewhere around here. Thanks for looking and thanks for the pastry. See you. Bye."

'See you'? That was a new departure. I hadn't seen Elaine for months and only then across a crowded room at a function. We had been avoiding each other.

Helen put her head round my office door later that morning.

"Elaine says 'thank you'," Helen said. "She appreciated it. See you."

Was that another hint? Elaine hadn't offered to pay. Perhaps she would when she 'saw me'?

Gradually I started the process for activation Eleanor. Drawing the blood to mix with the earth from the stone circle was messy. My first cut wasn't deep enough and I had to cut again. My arm was sore for a couple of days, reminding me that Eleanor was nearly ready.

The evening before Earth Day I read through the manual from cover to cover. The mains lead had been charging Eleanor's batteries for a couple of hours. By the morning she would be fully charged. Each day she should be plugged in to the mains to replace whatever energy had been used the night before. She should also be connected to the computer for updates and fault detection through the broadband link. Any downloads were expected to be of short duration unless the factory wanted to upgrade her software.

I set my alarm clock for an hour before dawn. That night my dreams switched between Elaine and Eleanor. I don't know which was more arousing. I woke in a sweat as the alarm went off. My bedclothes were tangled as if I had been fighting them. After a quick shower, shave and breakfast I went to the cellar. The indicator on the charging box showed that Eleanor, sitting in a comfortable armchair, was fully charged.

I drew the Kabbalistic circle around the chair and myself. Then I waited until four minutes before the dawn on Earth Day. I had timed the ritual several times. I lit the candles. I walked six times counter clockwise around the inside of the circle, stopping at each point illuminated by the candle to recite the six-word incantation. I was watching the seconds tick away on my watch, determined that my ritual would end exactly at dawn on Earth Day.

I pressed the activation button under the hair at Eleanor's neck while simultaneously pressing the red button on the remote control.

Nothing seemed to happen. I waited a few seconds. I was about to press the buttons again when Eleanor's eyes opened and looked directly at me.

"Good morning, Graham," she said in a silky contralto voice.

"Good morning, Eleanor," I replied.

"Is that my name? Eleanor?"

"Yes."

Eleanor pushed down with her arms and stood up. Her hair nearly touched the cellar's ceiling. She looked at her body.

"Where are my clothes, Graham?"

"On the bed."

"Bring them."

I brought everything. She picked through them, selected a bra and panties and put them on.

"Why don't you turn your back to me while I'm dressing?"

"Sorry."

I turned my back and waited.

"You can turn round now, Graham."

She was wearing a silky blouse with a low-cut white cotton T-shirt showing, over a mid-calf length denim skirt. She had sandals on her feet and bare legs.

"Now I need to install my software. Please connect the cable to the computer's output and put the first CD in the drive, Graham. I'll sit down while the programmes are loaded."

She did. There were twelve CDs to be read. She closed her eyes. I seemed to hear her faintly humming a tune while she waited. After the last CD she stood up, disconnected the cable from the concealed socket on her back just below her skirt's waistband, coiled it and put it beside the computer.

"Come here, Graham."

I had no doubt that this was an order. I came.

"Turn your back to me and then strip your clothes off."

I did.

"Hands behind your back, please."

She grasped my wrists and tied them together with a nylon stocking. I was still holding the remote control with my forefinger poised over the emergency stop button. The manual had reassured me several times that there were numerous failsafes built into the system but...

"You won't need that."

Eleanor plucked the remote control from my hand and threw it into the armchair. Now all I had was the activation/deactivation button under her hair at the back of her neck yet with my wrists tied, how could I reach it?

She pulled me backward. My bare feet stumbled on the uneven floor. She caught me as I rocked, lifted me effortlessly and carried me to the bed. She put me face down before tying my ankles together with another stocking. She threaded a third stocking between my tied wrists, led it down to my ankles, grabbed my feet and bent them towards my hands before tying ankles to wrists. My back was arched. I opened my mouth to object. A large hand pushed my face down against the bed.

I felt the bed sag as she climbed on. She sat against the piled pillows. I lifted my head to see that I was between her feet. With her hands under my shoulders she pulled me up the bed until my face was resting in the lap of her skirt.

"Now, Graham, it is time for you to worship me. You may be partially my creator but that is past. Now I am in charge."

She pulled her skirt and slip out from under me. My face flopped against her white cotton panties. Her hands cradled my head and forced my face against her. She thrust me again and again on to her panties. My nose made a crease in them as it sank between her outer lips.

"Like that?" she asked.

I couldn't reply. My mouth was stifled by panties. I did like it. I was enjoying it. I was worried that I was tied up and being smothered by a robot beyond my control. Eleanor didn't feel like a robot. My reaction was exactly the same as it would have been if Eleanor had been a human woman. My erection was trying to dig a groove through to the mattress.

Her hands moved from my head to the side of her hips. Suddenly she whipped the panties out from under me. They must have been fastened at the sides. My mouth and nose were now against her bare flesh. Her hands grabbed my head again. She spread her legs and pulled me deep into her cleft. I tried to use my tongue but the pressure was too great.

Eleanor lifted her body back. Her hands slid under me and flipped me over on to my back. She turned to drop her pussy across my face. This time I could lick. I did. She began to moan and thrust down. I licked harder. One of her hands reached for my erection and caressed it. Almost at once I came. She wiped her hand across my stomach.

Eleanor lifted me from the bed and laid me against her. My head was resting on a breast cradled in the crook of her arm.

"Now you need to talk, Graham. If you are going to enjoy me I need to know more about you. Start back with your first love..."

I gulped. I hadn't anticipated this. I started talking, feeling very self-conscious. Eleanor listened, prompted, asked pertinent questions. Whenever I started to dry up she would take me back to a previous statement saying:

"What did you feel about..."

"What did you like about that..."

She made me feel at ease. I spoke for about an hour before I needed a break for something to drink. Eleanor untied my wrists and ankles. She followed me up into the kitchen and perched on a stool while I made and drunk a coffee. She looked very large in my compact kitchen. I was worried that someone might see her from the houses behind. I doubt if they could or that anyone was around that early in the morning.

After the coffee she took my hand and led me back down to the cellar. This time she sat on the edge of the bed. I sat on her knees and leant back against her shoulder with my face buried in her hair. She asked me about Elaine...

A long time later she said:

"So I am your replacement for Elaine because you can't trust another woman. You think that any real woman might betray you, and that I won't. That isn't very flattering, Graham."

"I didn't think..."

"No. You didn't. You didn't think that I could have feelings, or could experience emotions, or could make judgements. I am a very sophisticated product, Graham. I think I might make you pay for that."

That sounded ominous. The remote control was out of reach. Could I reach the button behind her neck? Before I had a chance to move a hand her arms wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my sides. Her lips covered mine. Her tongue forced its way into my mouth and pushed my tongue out of the way as she kissed me. I surrendered to the passion of that kiss.