“We are here, on your cot, beside your right ear,” the voice said very softly. “Richard sent us to help you escape… but we must move quickly.”

For an instant Nicole thought that perhaps she was still dreaming. Then she heard a second voice, very similar to the first but nevertheless distinct. “Roll over on your right side and we will illuminate ourselves.”

Nicole rolled over. Standing on the cot next to her head she saw two tiny figures, no more than eight or ten centimeters high, each in the shape of a woman. They were glowing momentarily from some internal light source. One had short hair and was dressed in the armor of a fifteenth century European knight. The second figure was wearing both a crown upon her head and the full, pleated dress of a medieval queen.

“I am Joan of Arc,” the first figure said.

“And I am Eleanor of Aquitaine.”

Nicole laughed nervously and stared in astonishment at the two figures. Several seconds later, when the robots’ internal lights were extinguished, Nicole had finally composed herself enough to speak. “So Richard sent you to help me escape?” she said in a whisper. “Just how do you propose to do that?”

“We’ve already sabotaged the monitoring system,” tiny Joan said proudly. “And reprogrammed a Garcia biot… It should be here in a few minutes to let you out.”

“We have a nominal escape plan, along with several contingencies,” Eleanor added. “Richard has been working on it for months-ever since he finished making us.”

Nicole laughed again. She was still absolutely stunned. “Really?” she said. “And may I ask just where my genius of a husband is at this moment?”

“Richard is in your old lair underneath New York,” Joan replied. “He said to tell you that nothing has changed there. He is following our progress with a navigation beacon… Incidentally, Richard sends his love. He hasn’t forgotten—”