MARION WATSON - The family enter a historic vehicle run, from John O'Groats to Land's End.

Jimmy Watson names his DinoBot "Anthony Maximus Antonious Decimus Meridius," after one of his favourite films: Gladiator. He feels sure that his real steel defender would meet with approval from Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott, even the fictional Maximus Decimus Meridius. Maybe even Stephen Spielberg.

When the DinoBot comes to life on Christmas Day, December 25th, Jimmy believes that Santa Clause may have granted him his wish. From that day on his faithful, artificially intelligent, AI, robotic friend is called Anthony. The other names are codes for actions, which Anthony might act on if given those commands verbally by Jimmy:

Antonious = 

Decimus =

Maximus =

Meridius =

But, only if the mechatronic wonder detects elevated stress levels in Jimmy's voice. Anthony is like the Terminator, in Terminator 2, Judgment Day, a machine that exists to protect Jimmy Watson.

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Jimmy Watson is just an ordinary boy. He attends an ordinary school in Hailsham. He is a loner with just a few friends, and quite a few enemies. He often wanders off into a world of his own in classes, not listening to his teachers fully, on those occasions. Although he truly admires his science master, and loves physics and maths lessons. And especially metalwork, when he gets to make things in steel and other exotic materials. Learning all about cutting, joining and even hardening methods. Another world of wonder.

Jimmy is not so secretly in love with Julia Roberts, the smartest mathlete in school. His nemesis is Johnny (The Johnson) Baxter.

Jimmy's special talent is programming. He was taught that at school quite early on. Then, could not stop himself reading books on the subject. He was always in demand in teams for robot competitions; the only time he was popular at school. With his programming, and provided the robot was sturdy enough, his team would nearly always win.

Jimmy would study anything on robotics from cover to cover. Sometimes, under the covers by torchlight, or on his laptop. In the town library, he would always check out for any new books on animatronics, and mechatronics. His favorite subjects.

He read about giant insects in Antarctica, at a time when that continent was warmer. Looking at the garden ants in his back garden and then trying to imagine what they would be like giant size, slowly permeated his robot building plans. Jimmy was also a fan of Jurassic Park, and the Sectasaur stories he'd read, where a prehistoric insect is incubated from an egg frozen solid in ice.

While at his primary school in Herstmonceux, Jimmy had postulated a theory that insects in the right oxygen rich environment, such as during the Carboniferous (around 359 to 299 million years ago) and Permian periods might have given rise to insects of considerable size. Like many children, Master Watson was obsessed with dinosaurs from the age of five. He became fascinated when he discovered fossil evidence on Gondwana to fuel his imagination:

- Meganeura: A dragonfly-like insect with a wingspan of up to 75 cm (30 inches), from the Carboniferous period.
- Arthropleura: A millipede-like arthropod that could reach lengths of over 2 meters (6.6 feet), though it was a myriapod, not an insect.

While Antarctica today is extremely cold and home to only a few tiny, adapted insects (like the flightless Antarctic midge Belgica antarctica), millions of years ago, it was indeed much warmer and covered in lush forests. During periods like the Carboniferous  and the Permian, Earth's atmospheric oxygen levels were significantly higher than today (up to 35% compared to 21% now). This higher oxygen content is widely believed to be the primary reason why insects and other arthropods were able to grow to much larger sizes, as their respiratory systems (which rely on passive diffusion through tubes called tracheae) are size-limited by oxygen availability.

Unable to pursue the subject himself, except in theory, Jimmy concentrated on robotics. He soon realised that conventional tracked robots, and bipedal robots had a lot of mobility issues, or limitations.

He compiled a list of advantages and disadvantages: Bidpedal Humanoids Vs Hexapods, to help in the final decision making.

Then one day in the covers of a robotics magazine, Jimmy saw a kit for a really large hexapod, designed for developers of artificial intelligence.

He could not afford it. But determined to work hard and save enough money to be able to buy a DIY kit.

As he saved every week, he crossed his fingers and made a wish. He asked Santa Claus that if he did manage to build his dream project, that the dinobot would become his special friend for life.

Up in the North Pole, a very large man in a red suit and hat, had heard this wish many times. Making a mental note, that if this ordinary boy from an ordinary school, managed to save enough money and build his robot, that he should pay the boy a visit.

Jimmy knows that Santa Claus is not real. He is an invented character that his mother and father, Marion and Tim, liked to pretend had delivered his presents on Christmas Eve, to make the cold winters more fun. Even so, Jimmy wishes for Santa's help at Christmas.

What Jimmy could not guess might happen, is the MOD plot to discredit his father and himself, to in effect, steal his Dinobot for the British DSTL. Fortunately for Timothy and Jimmy, His Majesty King Charles, finds out about the military plans to convict the Watson's using fabricated evidence. The King is furious at what he describes as a Eugenics agenda, though that is somewhat wide of the mark. It is just downright dishonest and underhanded treatment that this Royal will not tolerate - if he sees the evidence for himself.

Behind closed doors, the King stops the MOD in their tracks.