‘It’s Liam being all stressy,’ said Maddy.

› Angry?

‘That’s right.’

Once again they stared in silence at the partial message displayed on the screen, all of them silently hoping it would just go away or change into another message simply welcoming them to the agency.

‘It’s for us, isn’t it?’ said Sal after a while. ‘We’ve got to fix this time problem like we did the last one.’

Maddy nodded. ‘I think so.’

Liam’s jaw set firmly. ‘Well, I’m not going anywhere ’less I’ve got Bob coming with me. I mean that, so I do.’

‘OK,’ said Maddy. ‘That’s only fair.’ She turned round to face the computer monitors. ‘Bob, can we speed up the growth cycle of the foetus we’ve started off?’

› Affirmative. Increase the nutrient mix of the feed solution. Introduce a small electrical charge to the suspension fluid to stimulate cell activity.

‘How quickly can we have a body ready for you?’

› Growth cycle can be increased by 100 % with acceptable risk to the biological life form.

‘Half the time,’ said Maddy. ‘That’s still… what? Thirty-eight hours?’

› Correct.

‘Could we not birth the clone any earlier?’ added Liam. He looked at Maddy and shrugged. ‘I mean, does it need to be a fully grown man?’

› Optimal age for organic support unit is approximately 25 years old. Muscle tissue and internal healing systems are at their most functional.

‘But, as Liam says, could we eject the clone from the tube at a younger age? Or would that… I dunno, kill it?’

› Negative. A growth candidate can be functional from approximate age of 14 onwards. However, the support unit’s effectiveness would be compromised.

‘What does that mean?’ asked Liam.