Chapter Fourteen
Misconnections
“A blow-up is not the same as a blow-down but still makes the same mess.”—H-Pad
It was not long before Hilda was swearing every pickle under the sun and repeating them. It seemed that reading a manual was not as easy as she thought and reading a mind was not as easy as the manual stated, let alone someone like Archie.
“This instruction manual is a load of old gherkin,” said Hilda. “It talks of connecting like it is as easy as slipping on an earpiece.”
“Ma’am, it also says in the manual—depending on the weather, hills, and clarity of thought,” said the H-Pad. “And clarity is the last thing you are going to get with an Identity, you may as well zone in on a gaggle of geese.”
“Geese?” said Hilda and the footman together.
“Trying to connect with an Identi
