The Robot Olympics by Victor Appleton

Author:Victor Appleton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2006-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

7

Suspicions

The inside of SwiftBot’s trailer looked like a high-tech operating room or, maybe, a mad scientist’s laboratory. SwiftBot reclined atop an adjustable metal gurney, while Yo and I worked to get him ready for tomorrow’s big basketball competition. I was replacing the springs in his feet. The rubber soles of his feet rested on a counter nearby. I had already removed the spent-uranium plugs we had used to increase his mass during the weight lifting competition. A thin plastic cable led from a socket in SwiftBot’s neck to Yo’s laptop. She pecked at her keyboard as she made some last-minute tweaks to his b-ball software. A biometric fingerprint reader guaranteed that no one else could open her files.

“I’m going to delete his weight lifting routines for the time being,” she said. “That will free up more room in his hard drive for these new software patches.” She nibbled on M&M’s as she worked. “Plus, there will be less chance of the programs interfering with each other.”

“Sounds good to me.” I used a handheld tension meter to test the elasticity of the new springs, which were made of the same durable foam used in Formula One race cars. If there was time, I wanted to double-check the alignment of his infrared sensors as well, to make sure his depth perception was everything it should be. “Let’s leave his track-and-field programs intact, though. He’s going to need a lot of the same skills for playing hoops.”

“Roger that,” Yo said. Hip-hop music played over the trailer’s sound system and she bobbed her head to the beat. “Running. Jumping. I can see that.”

“FugBot has me worried,” I admitted. “Remember how amazing Andy’s robot was at the obstacle course?”

“It’s burned into my brain too,” Yo conceded. She scowled at the memory. “But, you know, basketball’s not entirely the same thing. And we’ve spent mega-hours making SwiftBot a wizard on the court. Just think of all those practice sessions in your lab!”

Let’s hope they paid off.

A knock at the trailer door interrupted my gloomy thoughts. I put down the used springs and went to the entrance. “Password?” I asked through the door.

“Give me a break!” Bud replied.

“That’ll do.” I threw open the door to let in Bud. He clambered into the trailer, a cardboard folder clasped beneath his arm. “So,” I asked him, “what’s this big news you couldn’t just IM to us?”

“Oh, this is too major not to deliver in person.” He sat down on a stool and nodded at Yo. “Hi, girl.”

I could tell from his grin that he had dug up some good dirt. My curiosity hit a whole new level. “You found out who bugged all the trailers?”

“I wish!” he said. “That’s still a mystery, but I did find out who that guy lurking outside FugBot’s trailer was.”

“Really?” Yo said, impressed. “How’d you manage that?”

He patted the folder on his lap. “I knew I’d seen that dude somewhere before, so I went digging through lots of old newspaper archives. Look what I found.

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