"Please turn him on again," Dad.

"May I?" asked Francisco anxiously.

"Oh well, for Torsten's sake then, as it is Christmas Eve," muttered Linda.

"I intend to report this attempted murder to the police, just you wait! How could you do this to me?" howled the robot.

Not even Linda could avoid smiling.

"Unlike you, you stupid sourpuss!"

Linda felt obliged to go into the kitchen and take a glass of whisky in order to calm herself down.

"It's good she has gone," said the robot.

Francisco was desperate. He wondered how he could get the robot to be less rude and he went through the instructions like a madman.

Did the government really have completely control over these robots, which they produced and sold at subsidized prices? Something must have gone wrong. This robot appeared to have a wrongly programmed brain or, worse still, a self programmed brain. He shuddered at the mere thought.