I check the car over again: It is running superbly, as it has done since I lifted it two weeks ago from a street in some suburb.


It's a classic Dodge V8 with a silver re-spray. Not the most sensible of getaway cars for four people, but it's got quite high ground clearance compared to modern cars and it won’t let us down. 



I examine the thick cable which emerges from under the engine, then I feed its massive bulk through my hands to where it joins the Machine, with all its beeping lights and quivering dials. 



I check over the Machine for the twentieth time this morning, paying special attention to the pre-programmed date settings, the first of which is set for exactly six months in the past. 



I go start the car and rev it a bit to pump some juice to the Machine. I take another deep breath, before lowering myself into the leather upholstery at its center.