That’s part of my conversation with this man Lu.

The reason I cited them is because I want to tell the world about this strange incident. It is about a mascot prepared for this year’s Olympic Games by a rural craftsman. It is intended as a surprise, a robot made in China, among the first of its kind.

Chinese had had the mechanical know-how to drive wooden ox and horse long before the West did the alike. Those were Lu’s words.

‘I started this because I like robotics. It can be traced far back into more than a millennium ago. Westerners don’t know it because they’re so absorbed in themselves. Japanese robotics leads the world. It represents a major trend in the science. And remember, Japanese culture originates from China, the old Cathay. So why should anyone be surprised if a Chinese like me makes an archetype of the robot mascot?’

Before I could say anything, Lu whispered, ‘The earthquake on 12 May let me have a little more time, as the secret agents seemed absent these days.’

‘Secret agents?’ I asked.