by R M Scotford
A Good Cause
It had been an excellent day. They’d got the computer data they needed. Already Maximus had returned home to start writing the new software. Five out of the six-gang members sat around a big table. The twenty dollars they’d earned from washing the car was put to a good cause too; one large pizza and a pitcher of juice.
It’s A Kinda Magic?
Maximus watched the lines of code stream across the screen. Cracking into Grenwold’s database had proved much easier than he’d expected. In fact, he was surprised to find the software for the K-BOTS was incredibly simple, which was a worry. How could robots that ran on such simple algorithms be as convincing as human beings? It was virtually impossible. Maybe there was a more complex code hidden somewhere. No matter how hard he looked he couldn’t find anything else, plus the code all made sense. Brain functions, eye, functions, arm functions, leg functions were all there. All the code necessary to run a simple humanoid was there.
Each K-BOT functioned like a big remote control car or boat. Maximus thought back to the video he’d seen of Brigitte. She was a thoroughly convincing human. There was no hint that she was a robot; her movements were fluid, and her speech was coherent. Maximus tapped a few commands on to the keyboard and brought up the data for the K-BOT’s battery function. His jaw dropped open at what he saw. This only added to the puzzle.
“Six lithium Rp7’s and a platinum Z3000 booster,” he exclaimed in disbelief.
That was hardly enough power to keep them going for an afternoon. If that were the only power source, then they’d have to be recharged from the mains every couple of hours.
Something was greatly amiss. He was not seeing a big piece of the puzzle. The K-BOTS were barely viable as robots, yet they functioned in normal society convincingly as human beings. He tapped his finger nervously on his desk, either Grenwold was much cleverer than he’d anticipated and hidden the real workings of the K-BOT behind these childish programs or there was another power at work in the K-BOTS that was as yet unseen or unexplained.
Maximus shook his head; everything was explainable; even the powers that he had were explainable. Admittedly, he couldn’t explain them yet, but given enough time and enough evidence, anything could be explained by science. Magic didn’t exist. The idea that the K-BOTS ran on some supernatural force was absurd. He laughed out loud.
Hard facts, reliable data and logic were what mattered. Magic, wizards and leprechauns didn’t exist, except in children’s novels. The K-BOTS weren’t magic; there had to be a logical reason why they worked so well. But no matter how hard he looked he just couldn’t find it. Slowly but surely a thought crept across his mind like a cold shadow: maybe something more sinister was at work. He needed to talk to Douggie immediately.
Pen Thingy
Douggie held the small plastic device in his hand.
“Is this it?”
“That’s it.” Replied Maximus. “It’s pretty neat huh?” he said proudly.
Douggie examined the thin plastic tube more closely.
“So what do I do again?”
“It’s quite simple, the new program for the K-BOTS is stored in this area here.” He pointed to the tube. “On the day of the convention, you’ll need to get access to the device that Grenwold will use to upload the detonation software. Now, I’ve no idea what this device will look like, so I’ve made these multiple interfaces that screw onto the plastic tube like a pen top. It’ll be up to you to choose which plug to use.”
Bewildered, Douggie nodded and took the array of interfaces from Maximus. They looked like a jumble of odd pen tops attached to a key ring.
“So,” continued Maximus, “once you’ve decided on the right top, you screw it on like so.”
He deftly attached the tube to an interface.
“And you connect it to Grenwold’s device. The data will flow through the interface and voila, mission accomplished.” Maximus smiled. “Simple, huh?”
Douggie tapped the plastic tube again,
“So the data contained in this tube will override the K-BOTS?”
“Yep,” said Maximus.
“And it will shut them down for good?”
Maximus nodded but didn’t meet Douggie’s gaze. Douggie instantly sensed something was wrong.
“So what’s the problem Maximus? Are you telling me everything?”
Maximus looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet.
“Maximus; don’t hold out on me. I need to know everything,” Douggie insisted.
Maximus adjusted his glasses nervously.
“It’s probably nothing, maybe I’m just overreacting.”
“Overreacting to what?” Douggie was losing his patience.
“Well, it’s the K-BOTS. There’s something not right about them. They don’t seem to —” Maximus paused and rubbed his head.
“Go on; they don’t seem to what?”
“They don’t seem to operate within the normal realms of science,’’
Maximus blurted out the words like they were on fire and burning his tongue.
“Meaning what?” asked Douggie.
“Meaning...” Maximus replied. His face was ashen.
“Meaning...maybe we’re dealing with something else.... Something strange.... Something outside of science,”
Douggie frowned.
“Like what? What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I could find no logical reason why the K-BOTS worked, there seems to be some kind of magical influence. An —” he paused, “An unexplainable force.”
Douggie laughed.
“So this stupid, plastic pen thing won’t work. You can’t switch them off?”
Maximus looked at Douggie in shock.
“No. No. Not at all. I’m not saying that. The new software will work. It will shut them down. But... But... I just couldn’t find the reason why they work. Why they look so human.”
Douggie patted Maximus on the shoulder.
“Mate, who cares how they work? We don’t need to know how to fix ‘em. We just need to know how to break ‘em.”
“But that’s not the point. Whoever made them might have other powers; powers that we haven’t taken into consideration. It could be REALLY dangerous.”
Douggie shook his head.
“Right now Maximus, we only have one concern; to shut down this army of nursery teachers. Let’s deal with one problem at a time. If there are bigger bridges out there, then we’ll cross them when we come to them. We’ll think of something.”
“But what if there’s magic or it’s something even worse?” Maximus trembled.
Douggie gave Maximus a wicked smile.
“Maximus, I’m ten years old, I have amazing superpowers. I can bend people’s brains. I’m not scared of anyone’s magic. We ALL have amazing powers. I don’t know why yet. But if we all stick together then everything will be fine.”
Maximus smiled uneasily.
“I don’t really believe in magic, anyway,” he said shyly.
“There you go then,” Douggie said, smiling back.
The two boys began walking back up the garden to Maximus’ house. Douggie spun the plastic tube and the key ring around in his hands.
“So how does this pen thing work again?”
The Big Egg
A bird chirped innocently in the trees, disturbing Maggie’s sleep. The first rays of sun filtered up from the horizon, escaping from other distant countries. Across the world, a new day began. In some countries, the day had already finished.
For Maggie and the other Scanner Kidz, this was no ordinary morning. There would be no time for watching Saturday morning TV or lazing on the couch eating junk food. No time to go to the park or the library or anything that regular kids did at the weekend.
Today was altogether different. It was a special day for six special kids. Maggie rubbed her puffy eyes and reached for her clock. It was 6:30 a.m. Time to get up. The Kiddy-Care Convention started at nine. The Scanner Kidz were meeting at eight
; there was no question of being late. There were no second chances. This was for real. It wasn’t like handing your homework in late or forgetting your sport’s kit. It was a one-time deal not to be missed. Who knew when the scientist planned to install the detonation software?
Despite the enormity of the task resting on Maggie’s shoulders, she felt relaxed. She rubbed her hands through her thick, wavy hair and shook her head vigorously to shake away the last remaining sleep. Outside, the sun filled her backyard with an inviting yellow glow. She kicked off the duvet and rolled out of bed. She would get up and text the others to make sure they were up. She didn’t want anyone oversleeping.
8:00am
Maximus trudged up the street to meet the rest of the gang. He was trying not to think about what might happen later, so he decided to see how high he could count using prime numbers. As he turned the last corner, he was pleasantly surprised to see that everyone had arrived on time. Maggie’s numerous texts had obviously worked. He looked at the others. Their eyes all looked sleepy — it was really early for a weekend. But hidden under their sleepy eyes was nervous excitement. Maximus felt his stomach turn.
There was little time to lose, and plenty of things to sort out. He reached into his bag and took out the Convention I.D. cards. Jimmy eagerly snatched up his card.
“Cool,” he cried. “Where did you get these from?”
“I made them,” replied Maximus.
“So will they work? I mean...I mean...” Kimiko said, nervously.
“Of course they’ll work. They’ll get us in. I just added our names to the guest list for the convention. I have all of Grenwold’s passwords. It’ll be fine. You guys have to learn to trust me.”
“We never doubt you, Maximus. You are the glue that holds this whole gang together,” Douggie said proudly.
Maximus beamed.
“Ok, if anyone asks any questions then let me speak, we don’t want to blow our cover. Oh,” he looked round at the others, “and we’ll all need to wear these to make our disguises convincing.”
He reached into his bag again and pulled out a bundle of white plastic packages. He threw one to each child, and then tore open his package.
“Come on,” he urged. “Rip them open. No time to waste.”
There was a mixture of laughter and surprise when the children realised what they were.
“White jackets?” exclaimed Abu.
“Are we gonna pretend to be doctors?” Kimiko asked.
“We’ll never pass as doctors. Look at us! We’re kids, you berk,” Abu retorted.
Maximus waved his hands to calm everyone down.
“It’ll be fine. I’ve asked you to trust me.”
Jimmy took a closer look at his I.D card and read it out loud.
“Doctor Jimmy Tucker. Oxford University. Psss-why-cholo-jist.” He looked up confused. “What does that say?”
Maximus adjusted his glasses.
“It’s psychologist, Jimmy. Let’s not worry about the small details. We’ll get in, I promise.”
Douggie glanced at his watch.
“We need to move boys and girls. It’s time to save the world. Everyone put on your white jackets. We’ve also got clipboards and reading glasses in this bag so grab them too.”
Abu shook his head and mumbled to himself.
“This is so dumb. Small details, my foot. Who ever heard of a bunch of kid doctors? We won’t get in. We’ll get arrested, or worse.”
Maggie frowned at Abu.
“Always with the negative waves, Abu, always with the negative waves. Have a little faith.”
She fastened the last button on her white overcoat.
“There, perfect,” she said, patting her chest.
Abu looked at Maggie dressed as a phony doctor. The flimsy white jacket was so long it touched the floor. He shook his head.
“You’re so lame.”
The convention centre was an impressive structure. Its huge, white dome facade dwarfed the surroundings buildings. It looked like a ginormous egg had fallen from the sky and landed on a soft patch of soil. Local people referred to the building as The Egg. The shiny outer shell glistened in the early morning rays of sun.
The children walked quietly, one behind the other. From a distance, they looked like a line of doctors busily on their way to somewhere important. It was only when you saw them up close that their disguises failed.
The convention centre’s car park was a hive of activity. All around them lines of nursery teachers filed off rented buses in a quiet, orderly fashion. Dressed in their best pink outfits, with immaculate hair and nails, they were the perfect poster girls for a seemingly perfect company.
Maximus stared as a line of nannies walked right past them. They looked so real. How could they possibly work? Kimiko shoved Maggie in the back, with her clipboard.
“Psssst, Maggie. I can’t believe how many nursery teachers are here. There are thousands. Are they all robots?”
Overhearing her comment, Douggie span round and glared at Kimiko.
“Shush. What, are you crazy? No one talk. Are you trying to blow our cover, or what?”
Kimiko screwed up her face.
“Sorry, Douggie.”
“SHUT UP,” snapped Douggie.
After that, the six children walked in complete silence. They all looked very serious and sullen as they approached the entrance. Blocking the enormous chrome doors to The Egg was a tall man wearing a blue uniform. He was desperately trying to keep track of everyone who tried to enter. Nursery teachers approached from every direction and he was working himself up into a sweat making sure that everyone got ‘bleeped’ with the barcode scanner. The children each sucked in a deep breath and quietly said a private little prayer. Maybe they could somehow slip past the security guard without him noticing.
In reality, there was fat chance of that happening. Bob the security guard was taking his new job very seriously. He’d recently got this job after the TV store closed down. It was better pay than cleaning, but it could be quite demanding at the start of the day. He swiveled his barcode reader in his hand as though it were a gun. No one was getting past him unless their names were on the computer. He looked suspiciously at the single file of tiny doctors.
“So,” he asked sarcastically. “What have we got here? A Congolese, Midget Delegation?” He chuckled at his own bad joke.
Maximus smiled a confident smile.
“Morning officer, I’m Doctor Chan, and these are my colleagues: Doctors Harrison, Chase, Izumi, Tucker and Ismael.”
As he spoke, he pointed assertively at the others. The children waved back nervously. Bob gave them a sympathetic smile.
“Of course you are, and I’m Doctor Spock. Now, stop playing me for a fool. Otherwise, I’ll have to call Captain Kirk.”
Maximus chuckled.
“Hah, hah. A man with sense of humour, I like that, and so early in the morning too. Now if you wouldn’t mind we’ve important matters to attend.”
Maximus held out his I.D. card. Bob pursed his lips and squinted at Maximus. Was this some kind of sick joke? Was he being pranked? He glanced around to see if he could spot any hidden cameras.
“Please,” Maximus insisted, thrusting the I.D card at Bob. “We don’t have all day. The convention is about to start.”
Reluctantly, Bob lifted up the barcode reader and pressed it against the I.D card. He gave the line of mini doctors another stern look before slowly squeezing the trigger.
BEEP
To his complete surprise, the computer registered the name. Startled, Bob twisted his head and read the name that had appeared on the computer screen:
Maximus Chan
Child Psychologist
PhD. MSc. BSc.
Slowly Bob read what was on the screen.
“So, you’re a child psychologist?”
“Indeed I am,” replied Maximus.
“But you’re so young.”
“Officer,” Maximus sighed, “what did you expect a child
psychologist to look like?”
Bob shook his head and squinted suspiciously at the small boy. He’d seen it all now. He quickly beeped in the other doctors and waved them on.
“Ok. Doctors, go through the foyer and into the main hall.”
After they’d left, Bob lifted up his hat and rubbed his sweaty head. Their names were on the computer, that’s all that mattered. It was no concern of his really. Or was it? He scratched his chin like a confused chimp.
The children could barely contain their excitement as they walked through the foyer.
“That was intense!” exclaimed Abu.
“Dude, I almost filled my pants.” Jimmy sniggered. “I was Turtle Head I was so scared.”
Douggie grabbed Maximus by the shoulders and gave him a friendly shake.
“I’m gonna call you Mr. Ice-Man from now on. That was so COOL.”
“I’m sure we can get away with anything after that,” added Kimiko.
Douggie stared at the foyer. It was magnificently decorated with columns of marble and colourful mosaics.
“This is an impressive place. It’s so big,” he gasped, “and just look at that fish tank! It’s as big as a swimming pool.”
All the children turned to stare at the showpiece of the convention centre foyer, an enormous saltwater aquarium.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,” Maggie jabbered. “This isn’t a school trip to the zoo, you know. We’ve got work to do if you haven’t already forgotten?”
She reached into her bag and pulled out the walkie-talkies.
“We’ll be on channel five. Right, let’s do a sound check and get on with it. No time to waste.”
The audacious plan was finally happening! As they pushed through the large doors to the main hall, they were almost overcome by the immense throng of nursery teachers that had gathered. There were thousands upon thousands of them. They filled every seat all the way up to the top levels, and their voices filled the air like the sound of a million chickens all cooing and clucking at once.
“There’s so many of them,” whispered Kimiko to Maggie.
Maggie took Kimiko’s hand and squeezed it tightly.
