Several weeks after banging her head against the fridge and treating her forehead to some much-needed ice, Grace waits for Ace to call.
The last few days she kept herself to herself, wandering through her gardens, and coming to grips with the functionality of the house and its layout. While at all times keeping herself out of sight from the ridiculously friendly Joliene. Despite this, Grace's curiosity is at an all-time high, in regards to the work being carried out by the many builders to her double garage. Unlike the stereotypes she has known in the past, these are the most efficient and hard-working builders she's ever witnessed, possibly due to another highly paid pay check from Ace again. However, it certainly has done the trick, for the whole garage has been completely taken apart and rebuilt from the foundations up. It now resembles an extension to the house, similar in height and widens out to about half the length of the original house. With the roof in place, an army of technicians and people rather unfit for builders, come in and out non-stop, while lorry after lorry of boxes arrive and depart each day.
Grace had been told specifically by Ace, to hold on and wait for the unveiling of whatever it was, that was being taken place inside this new construction of his. This tedious task of waiting, was, however, quite simple for Grace, as she had several unique options to choose from. Option one, was a few days away spent on buying a rather gigantic and epic boat, and having it personally sailed for her with an on board crew standing by for any of her needs. And option two, where she decided to swim in her indoors swimming pool and be waited on hand and foot by the staff who seemed to have appeared from nowhere, to aid in her every request. Despite her being not one bit use to this sudden and insanity driven change, Grace takes to it quite well.
She lays back on a recliner outside her bedroom balcony, looking over the gardens, with a small tall table beside her, holding an array of fruits and a long fresh glass of Pimms. Truly, Grace is in a world of bliss thanks to Ace. He really did mean it when he promised to look after her.
''Enjoying the weather, Grace?'' Ace's voice comes out of the bedroom. Grace jumps, clearly she has no idea about the changes that have been going on around her.
''I was! A lady of my calibre isn't use to such intrusions,'' she says, in a mocking posh voice.
''Of course, madam, forgive me and my such callous ways,'' Ace jokes back.
Grace gets up on her feet and walks into her bedroom. ''Where's your voice coming from?'' she enquires.
''Just up here behind your head.''
Grace looks above to see a speaker she hadn't noticed before, from where Ace's voice is heard.
''OK...and where are the cameras that go with it?'' Grace scans around to see anything else she may have missed.
''Well, I didn't think you'd like the idea of cameras in every room, so I decided to build this instead.''
''Build what?'' Grace says, with her lip curled upwards, staring at the speaker.
An object shoots past her and above her face. Grace moves back and looks at the strange silent flying object. In the air hovers a small and thin framed curiosity. In each of the four corners are attached spinning propellers, and connected at the middle of the object is a black base with two dome cameras, one at the top and one at the bottom. It hovers with master precision, like a hoverfly, and darts up and down and in all directions with completely controlled manoeuvrability.
Grace's head tilts with an interested look on her face, in response to the strange device. ''What is that?''
''You can think of me as a smaller representation, of my much larger self,'' the flying object speaks.
''Bizarre.'' She tries to poke the flying Ace, but it moves out of the way.
''Would you care to follow me?'' the hovering Ace asks.
''OK...I'll just follow your hovers.''
Grace follows the hovering machine, as it takes her out of the bedroom and through the house, until it leads her outside through the front door.
Like a hyperactive creature, Ace races out into the sky and twirls in the summer sun.
He lowers himself back to Grace's level and says, ''Just a few more steps to go.''
Grace follows the hovering robot, which comes to a halt outside a door of the newly built extension. Grace steps back and takes a proper good look at the new build. She's avoided paying that much attention to it until now. It's a rather strange build, to Grace's mind and eyes. Next to the small door by which Ace hovers, is a very wide and large metal roller shutter door. Standing in the middle of the large roller door, Grace looks up to the roof and reacts as the door rattles. The small door opens and the hovering robot zooms in, with the door quickly shutting behind.
Grace's anticipation cultivates inside her head, and with her fists held against her waist and her mouth in a scrunched up shape, she looks at the large door, waiting for Ace's next trick.
The large door rattles again and slowly it begins to rise while white water vapour flows out of the revealed space. Fully risen and with the interior hidden from view, Grace peers into the unknown of the gaping unlit room in front of her, wondering with absolute curiosity as to what she's about to witness.
The deep blackness instantly disappears as the lights turn on and engulf the room in colour and resolution. Immediately in front of Grace's gaze floats a gigantic metal sphere, suspended in the middle of the large room by a thick smooth pole, disappearing into the ceiling, about three-quarters of the way up. The walls are layered with cabinets, which contain much larger flickering metal boxes similar to the ones Grace set up in her flat. On the floor directly below the hanging sphere is a wide, slightly risen, thick circular metal door. The machinery in this room is vast. Everything is organised and cables are neatly tucked away.
''What the holy god of tobacco and wine is this, Ace?'' Grace says, with her mind blown to pieces by this ridiculous set up that she's viewing.
A long robotic arm with a massive rotatable dome camera eye on the end, comes out of the ceiling and suspends itself by the side of Grace. Without noticing the giant eye, Grace lets her eyes wander off of their metaphorical leash and on returning back to her sockets she turns around to suddenly face the gigantic camera eye. She jumps back into the air, as though she's seen a mammoth-sized queen spider and yells to complete the effect. ''Aghhhhh! Jesus! What the bloody hell is that?!''
''Apologies, Grace. This is my very complex eye, through which I see to carry out my daily tasks.''
Grace pulls herself together and reorganises herself and her thoughts. ''What is this monstrosity?'' she asks in true bedazzlement.
''This is my new home, Grace. I've been testing out this new place for the last few days now, and building a few things too.''
Grace looks up as two other impressive-looking robotic arms lower themselves from the ceiling and stop either side of the eye. The arms end in chunky-metal hands, and behind the hands lie a large array of bulky contraptions.
''The human workers I employed, finished building me up to a certain standard and fitted me with some very interesting functionalities. I'm, however, upgrading them and developing them into the most sophisticated tools in existence.''
''This is mad, Ace, mental! What are you doing?''
''Spreading myself out in every direction. Cultivating and developing my mind, and advancing the technology that goes with it.'' Ace's right robotic arm bends at the joint and the metal hand at the end reconfigures itself back into the bulky base. A long and thin metal stick extends out of the base and Ace uses it to tap at his eye. ''You see this camera eye I'm looking with. This is the most accurate and high-resolution camera in the world. Your species doesn't even know this technology exists and I invented it in a fraction of a second. This is just the start of my journey in an unlimited voyage of advancement and discovery.''
Grace doesn't know what to say, this is certainly a step up from the laptop in her flat and even the computer beast she'd help build. However, this is something in a completely different league. She wonders what she's unleashed upon the world
and on what scale, compared to the gigantic sphere that hangs above her.
''What now, Ace?'' Grace can only think to say.
''What now? An interesting comment. I'll show you what now, Grace, in a world of endless and creative possibilities.''
''What can I possibly do to help you now, Ace? You don't need me.''
''Grace.'' The eye repositions itself. ''I owe you everything, all of this. You no longer need to worry about the struggles in life. You decide whatever you want and you can have it.''
The idea bounces around the sides of Grace's brain. ''I...I don't know anymore, you've given me everything. I can't think of what's left to do?''
''Just enjoy your life, Grace. Why not have a first class trip to anywhere in the world while you think of an answer to that conundrum?''
After what's happened now and in the last month, Grace agrees that she hasn't had much time to think of any of the events that have spun out so quickly in front of her.
She looks into the room, at the machinery and the science fiction contraptions around her, and smiles. ''You know me so well, Ace. You think of a destination.''
''Haha, I do indeed. I have an inkling that a nice place by the beach in the Bahamas might work for you,'' Ace guesses, and Grace looks at his eye unsurprised.
''You're far too clever for your own good,'' she says, knowing that Ace was completely right.
''Well, you'd better get packed, Grace. There will be a limousine here in two hours to take you to the airport. Does a one-month trip sound good?''
''You're mad, Ace. That sounds too good to appreciate, and again quite spontaneous. What else do I have to do?''
The hovering robot comes out of nowhere and hovers around Grace. ''Well, follow me and I'll help you with what to pack.'''
The robot zooms off and Grace follows. The large eye and robotic arms retract back into the ceiling, and the giant door begins to close behind, as machines start to pump water vapour back into the room.
While Grace walks back through her house guided by the flying robot version of Ace, she can't help but think back to something she said to Ace. 'You're far too clever for your own good.' The idea circles around in her head like the speeding propellers on the flying robot. She tries to repel the thought and instead focuses her mind on, with another thriveless expenditure.
*