Astrid quickly jumped forward and disconnected the battery.
“Are you alright?”she asked the boy.
“Did you see me? I was flying!”
“Don’t move,”she ordered, and got quickly back on the phone. “Mrs. Purcell, would you send a medical team to my lab please? And call Mr. Brown. Tell him to get here as quickly as he can.”
“What do you want my dad for?”asked Denise. “You’re not planning to crash me into the floor too, are you?”
“Your dad is the best designer in the business,”said Astrid,“and I need him.”
A pair of medics arrived, checking over Austin, and though he seemed to be fine, they decided to err on the side of caution since he had landed on his head and shoulders, and put him on a gurney for transport to the infirmary to get an x-ray. The two Valeries went with him to keep him company. They had just left when Mr. Brown arrived.
“Hello Sweetheart,”he said, giving his daughter a hug. “What’s up, Astrid?”
“Look here,”she said, pointing to the upturned cycle. “We just built a flying bike.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with it,”said Denise. “It was all Astrid’s fault.”
“Clearly it needs work,”said Astrid. “We need a mechanism to control the tilt of the hoverdisks for steering, maybe a smaller version mounted in the rear for forward momentum, a computer, several tilt sensors, and a series of gyroscopic sensors. Of course, we’ll need servo drive motors for balance and propulsion control.”
“This is exciting, Astrid,”said Mr. Brown. “I see some kind of sleek, futuristic, scooter design.”
“Or we could go with something more nostalgic,”replied the girl inventor.
Mr. Brown pulled a notepad and pencil from his pocket and began sketching. Two minutes later he whipped the pad around, displaying his sketch of a sleek flying cycle, looking like something halfway between a jet-ski and a motor scooter.
“I knew you would know the best design,”said Astrid. “How soon can you have a prototype ready?”
“I’m already thinking of several design variations,”he said. “If I’m going to make one, I might as well make all of them. That way we can see which one is most functional and which one you find most esthetically pleasing.”
“Great,”said Astrid. “Get started right away. Say, build at least seven prototypes, even if you have to double up a couple.”
“Understood,”said Mr. Brown, with a smile.
“I’m going to get started right now on the control systems,”Astrid continued.
“But Astrid,”said Denise. “I’m hungry. It’s past lunch, and I ought to get to go to lunch with either you or my dad, not watch both of you work.”
“You have to eat too, Astrid,”said Mr. Brown. “Why don’t we all go downstairs to the cafeteria and have some roast beef sandwiches.”
Astrid stared at her workbench longingly for a moment, but at last agreed.
“Can I have hot chocolate with my sandwich?”asked Denise.
“Sure Honey,”said her dad, as the three of them left the lab and headed toward the elevator.
Chapter Seven: The Trouble with Valerie
Austin was given a clean bill of health by Dr. Martinez in the infirmary, but Astrid and the two Valeries still felt that they should go home with him and explain to his grandmother what had happened. The elderly woman was so happy that Austin had brought some friends home, that she didn’t seem to mind him having been dropped on his head. They sat in her living room as she plied them with cookies and milk and told several stories of her work at Maxxim Industries when Astrid’s father was a boy. Astrid in particular was fascinated when she talked about the girl inventor’s grandfather creating the plans for the campus. She was going to ask her father about it, but by the time she got home she had forgotten.
It had been St. Patrick’s Day all day, but since it was Saturday, Astrid hadn’t even noticed. If it had fallen on a school day, everyone would have been scurrying to make sure they had something green on. Since it was the weekend, nobody seemed to bother. Astrid had worn her lab coat most of the day, but her radiation badge had been green. That evening though, Dr. Maxxim had made a feast of corned beef and cabbage in honor of the day.
“What’s all this about,”asked Astrid. “We’re not even Irish.”
“Everyone’s Irish on Saint Patty’s day,”her father replied.
“If you say so.”
“Get into the spirit, Astrid,”he continued. “I think we ought to celebrate all the holidays, not just Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July.”
“I’m not complaining,”said Astrid. “I like corned beef.”
“Well, we’ll do it up right for the next holiday too. What is it? Earthday?”
“Easter,”corrected Mrs. Maxxim.
“Excellent,”said Dr. Maxxim. “We’ll put a big decorated egg in the center of the table and eat a bunny rabbit.”
After dinner, Astrid went for a swim and then curled up on the sofa in the family room with Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. She had read about thirty pages when her phone rang. She answered it to find Denise on the line.
“What’s up?”
“Do you want to come over and spend the night?”
“Sure,”said Astrid. “Why the late notice?”
“I’m just bored out of my brain,”said Denise. “My dads decided to go to a movie and Dennis is busy working on something for school.”
“Let me ask my mom and, unless you hear back from me, I’ll be right over.”
Astrid’s mother gave her consent, and when Astrid returned from packing an overnight bag, her mother was waiting to drive her to Denise’s house.
“That’s really not necessary, Mom. I’ve walked from here to Fourth Street a thousand times.”
“It will be dark before you get there,”replied her mother. “I won’t have you gallivanting all over town after sunset.”
“I doubt kidnappers will be waiting along the way,”said Astrid, but complied with her mother’s wishes and a short time later walked up to the front door of the Brown-Richards home. When she rang the bell, Denise’s older brother Dennis opened the door. Astrid gave the quick“all clear”wave to her mom sitting in the car, and then stepped inside.
Dennis, three years older than Astrid or Denise, was a senior at Rachel Carson High School and was one of the contenders for valedictorian. He was class president, captain of the debating team, and vice president of the environmental club. He was tall and muscular and played in just about every sport for which the school had a team, though his passion was swimming.
“Hello Astrid,”he said, closing the door after her. “I’m glad you’re here. Now Denise can quit bothering me.”
“I hear you’re working on a big project for school,”she said.
“Nothing too spectacular. I’m going to be one of the guides on your field trip so I have to make sure I know everything I can about the desert. It would be just my luck to have you or Christopher in my group asking questions I can’t answer.”
“Finally, you’re here,”said Denise, hopping down the stairs. “Quit wasting time talking to him and get up here.”
Astrid followed her friend up to her room and they immediately jumped into the video console edition of Dream Date. Whether he was a dream or a dud though, none of the dates, to Astrid’s way of thinking matched up to Toby, or even Dennis. Just before 10:00, Denise’s dads arrived home and they all gathered downstairs in the dining room for hot fudge sundaes. Afterwards, Astrid climbed into Denise’s bed while Denise climbed into her sleeping bag. They talked about school, boys, and hot fudge sundaes until they fell asleep.
The next morning over a breakfast of Spanish omelets, Astrid asked Mr. Brown how the prototypes for the new hover vehicle were coming along.
“Give me a chance to get started, Astrid,”he laughed. “I should have all of them ready by the week after next. We may have to tweak the design to get your control systems and servos mounted. Will
you have everything ready by then?”
“I think so,”said Astrid. “Do you think you could get one chassis ready by the end of this week, so I could see how the internal parts are going to fit?”
“I think so.” Mr. Brown replied. “Just remember, I’ve got work I need to do for your Dad too.”
“Thanks,”said Astrid. “I can’t wait till we can fly our hoverbikes all around town.”
“Don’t you think hovercycle sounds cooler?”asked Denise.
“It sounds faster and more powerful,”said Astrid. “but hoverbike sounds like something fourteen year old kids could ride. Besides, using the hoverdisks for both lift and acceleration, I doubt we’ll get higher than ten feet or so, or travel faster than about twenty miles per hour.”
“That’s good,”said Mr. Richards. “And you’ll wear a helmet too.”
They had just finished eating when the phone rang.
“It’s for you, Astrid,”said Mr. Richards.
“Hello,”said Astrid, putting the phone to her ear.
“Astrid, please you must come at once. We need you.”
“Mrs. Diaz? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Valerie,”replied her friend’s mother. “She’s very sick.”
“Did you call Dr. Lower?”
“No, no. It’s my other Valerie.”
“You mean Robot Valerie?”
“Aye, si,”said Mrs. Diaz. “She feels week and she won’t eat ever since you turned her into a robot.”
“I didn’t turn her into a robot!”said Astrid, exasperated. “She’s always been a robot.”
“Please come and help her.”
Mr. Brown gave Astrid and Denise a lift over to the Diaz home where they found Valerie and her mother wringing their hands as Robot Valerie lay rather stiffly across the sofa.
“I tried to get her to eat some chicken soup,”said Mrs. Diaz.
“She can’t eat,”said Astrid, more exasperated than ever. “She’s a robot.”
“But she’s so week and she feels so sick,”said Valerie.
“Did you plug her in?”
“What do you mean?”
Astrid lifted Robot Valerie’s right arm and pressed a small recessed button. A compartment door opened and she pulled out a retractable cable. Unlike the rest of the United States which used NEMA 1-15 two prong or NEMA 5-15 three prong electrical outlets, Maxxim City and Maxxim Industries used an Excalibur interface plug, a smart plug capable of channeling a wide variety of power levels and data at the same time. Astrid plugged the tiny square plug into a matching outlet on the wall of the Diaz living room, right behind the end table.
“I feel better,”said Robot Valerie.
“I’m surprised you managed to go this long without a recharge,”said Astrid. “Why didn’t you plug yourself in?”
“I didn’t know I had to.”
“I’ll put together a manual of all your components,”the girl inventor said. “In the meantime, remember the words of Mrs. Greene from Health Class last year?”
“Oh, yes,”said Robot Valerie. “It’s your body. Learn about it.”
Chapter Eight: Kidnapped!
By lunchtime, Robot Valerie felt well enough to join her flesh and blood twin at Denise’s house for lunch, though of course she didn’t eat. Mr. Richards whipped up an enormous stack of sandwiches and everyone else enjoyed a hearty mid-day meal. Astrid noticed that as they ate, Dennis stared almost continuously at her robotic friend.
“So Dennis,”she said. “How goes the desert research?”
“Huh? Oh, pretty good. I think I’ll be ready.”
“When will you find out which freshmen you’ll be guiding?”
“Tomorrow, I think.”
“I suppose you’re going to the lab this afternoon, Astrid,”said Denise.
“Yes,”replied Astrid. I’ve got to work on the components for the hoverbike, and I have some ideas I want to try out in the ceramics lab.”
“Astrid, you remind me more of your dad every day,”said Mr. Brown. “He used to spend every minute in his old lab when we were kids.”
“What are you guys going to do?”Astrid asked her friends.
“I’m going to spend my afternoon swimming,”said Denise. “Would you like to join me, Valerie?”
“I’d love to go swimming,”said Robot Valerie.
“I meant Regular Valerie. Can you swim? Should you be in the water?” Denise turned to look at Astrid.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea,”said the girl inventor. She looked at Robot Valerie. “You have a silicone safety coating that makes you water resistant, so you can be out in the rain, but I don’t think you should be submerged if you can help it.”
“I guess that’s why Poppy hasn’t let me take a bath. I’ve had to wash myself with kitchen cleaner.”
“Why don’t you come to the lab with me?”suggested Astrid. “You can help me with my experiments and then we’ll take a bike ride before coming home.”
“Promise you won’t experiment on her,”said Regular Valerie.
“Are you kidding?”said Astrid. “And have your mother after me? I don’t think so.”
The other two girls were already in their swimsuits and heading for the pool, when Astrid and Robot Valerie left the Brown-Richards home. They followed the same path that Astrid took on the way to school, passing Valerie’s house on the way downtown and to the monorail station.
“Do you need to stop for anything?”asked Astrid.
“I don’t think so. Say, have you noticed that car back there? It seems like it’s following us.”
Astrid glanced over her shoulder. A brown sedan was moving down Acacia Avenue toward them. The windows were heavily tinted, so they couldn’t see who, or even how many, were inside. It was rolling forward so slowly that one might have thought it was a parked car that someone had accidentally left shifted into neutral.
“They’re probably trying to find a house or something,”said Astrid. “Let’s cut through the block here and come out by The Bagel Nook, just to be sure though.”
They ducked between the large oleander bushes and walked briskly across the unfenced yards and back lots that lay between Fifth and Main, popping out right between The Bagel Nook and Dickens and Co. Books. Walking the length of Main Street, they glanced around several times but didn’t see any sign of the brown car. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon and few shoppers were in the stores. They didn’t see anyone at all near the monorail station, but just as she was stepping onto the escalator, Astrid was grabbed by rough hands and jerked backwards. She started to shout for help, but there was a horrible burning pain in her neck and then everything went black.
Astrid awoke in darkness. She had a pain in her neck that throbbed up into her head and down into her shoulder. Wherever she was, whatever she was in was moving. It was bouncing up and down.
“Oh,”she moaned, as she stretched her arms and legs.
“Astrid, are you awake?”
“Valerie?”
“Yes, it’s me. Astrid, we’ve been kidnapped. It’s just like they told us in third grade—stranger danger.”
“Where are we?”
“We’re in the trunk of a car,”said Valerie. “I think it’s that same brown car that we saw before. What do you think they want? Where do you suppose they’re taking us?”
“I don’t know,”admitted Astrid. “Do you have your cell?”
She checked her own pockets to find them empty.
“No, they took them.”
“If they still have them, our parents can track us down. The phones have GPS. I’ll bet they ditched them though.”
“What are we going to do?” Anxiety caused the pitch of Valerie’s voice to rise.
“Let me think. You have a GPS inside of you and a cellular connection to the Maxxim supercomputer.”
“I do?”
“Sure. There’s too much information in a human brain to fit into the memory inside you. How can we tell if you’re still connected though? Hav
e you forgotten anything lately?”
“I don’t know,”said Valerie. “I don’t think so.”
“Do you remember our fourth grade PE class?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember the kid that used to pee his pants every time we played dodge ball?”
“Sure. Ricky Peeplos.”
“I guess that proves it,”said Astrid. “That memory can’t be important enough to store onsite. It has to be in the mainframe. You must still be connected to our network. Can you turn around so that I can reach your back?”
Valerie rolled onto her left side, so that her back was facing Astrid. The girl inventor lifted up her robot friend’s blouse and pressed a tiny recessed button. A small door slid open.
“What are you doing?”
“If I can reprogram your network call settings to my cell phone number, my parents can find us using your GPS.”
It was a simple matter of changing a set of seven toggle switches and then typing the new number on the keypad, but the keypad was the size of a postage stamp and the toggle switches were about as big as grains of rice. In the darkened trunk, bouncing down the road, it took nearly thirty tries, but at last Astrid thought she had the number programmed in.
“Alright, they should be able to find us,”she said,“but I’m not waiting around. Who knows what these guys might do to us before our parents find us.”
“But they’re grown men,”pointed out Valerie. “And they had tasers. I saw one man zap you on the neck and then he zapped me. It hurt too. Plus they might have guns.”
“If they have tasers, then we need them too,”said Astrid. “Turn back around so that I can open the front of your arm.”
Valerie turned onto her back and Astrid opened the same compartment on the robot girl’s right arm in which she had found the charging cord the day before. Pulling out the retractable cord, she stuck the plug in her mouth.
“What are you doing?”asked Valerie.
“I’ve got to bite this end off. I need some bare wires.”
“Let me do it,”said the robot girl. “I think my teeth are stronger. Anyway, I don’t want to shock you.”
Astrid Maxxim and Her Amazing Hoverbike Page 4
