Robot Trouble Read Online Free PDF

“The robots were Sergeant Brody’s idea,” he said. A note of resignation colored his voice, as if he really didn’t care for the things himself. “He ordered them after last month’s security problems.”
    â€œNewest thing in protective services,” said Brody proudly. “Loaded with all kinds of sensors. ‘Deathmonger’ here can detect body heat from a hundred feet away. They have infrared devices to let them see in the dark, ultrasensitive sound detectors—”
    â€œDon’t they end up chasing rats?” asked Roger innocently.
    â€œBrody had better watch out if they do,” muttered Wendy. “He’ll be the first one they carry off.”
    Brody glared at the Wonderchild. He hadn’t quite made out her words, but he was sure that whatever she had said was an insult. He turned back to Roger. “No, they don’t chase rats. At least, not most of the time. The programming is pretty good at deciding which sounds are important.”
    â€œWhy are they so fierce looking?” asked Ray angrily.
    â€œIt’s psychological,” said Brody, puffing out his chest.
    â€œJeez,” whispered Wendy. “He learned a new word.”
    Roger elbowed her to be silent. “You mean it makes you feel better to have something that looks like that on your side?” he asked sweetly.
    Brody scowled at him. “No, it makes an intruder feel worse! You see something like Deathmonger rolling at you out of the darkness, and it’s apt to freeze you in your tracks for a minute.”
    â€œI can vouch for that,” said Trip. “I think the thing scared me out of a year’s growth.”
    Since Trip had already passed the six-foot mark, this complaint didn’t generate much sympathy—especially not from Wendy and Ray.
    â€œI don’t care much for it myself,” said Dr. Hwa. “I don’t like to see the noble science of robotics used in such a fashion. Unfortunately, after what happened last month, Sergeant Brody’s request seemed a necessary evil.”
    Roger felt sorry for Dr. Hwa. Clearly the man would prefer to concentrate on Project Alpha and ignore the problems with security. But as head of the project, he had no choice but to deal with these things.
    Too bad he got saddled with a beefhead like Brody to run security, thought Roger. According to what his father had told him, Brody had been part of the deal when the government agreed to turn Anza-bora Island over to Project Alpha. That wasn’t surprising; even though this was a private operation, the government was vitally interested in its outcome, and wanted the research kept secure. To get the island, poor Dr. Hwa had been forced to accept Brody along with it.
    â€œSergeant Brody has also requisitioned additional human guards for the island,” said Dr. Hwa dismally.
    â€œGot eight more men coming in today,” said Brody proudly. Glaring at the kids, he added, “That ought to take care of things around here.”
    At the very moment that Sergeant Brody was bragging to the A.I. Gang about his new security men, the weekly delivery plane was touching down on the Anza-bora airstrip.
    The plane carried the island’s usual supplies: food, various computer components, and a mass of scientific journals and papers detailing the latest findings in any area that might be of the slightest interest to the Project Alpha scientists. They came this way, instead of over the electronic web through which most computer scientists stayed in contact, because of the communications blackout.
    After all, no hacker, no matter how brilliant, could break into a computer that had no phone lines connected to it.
    The plane taxied to a halt in front of Warehouse Four, where a pair of robo-trucks began the unloading process.
    Normally this entire operation would be accomplished mechanically; security was so tight the pilot and copilot were not even allowed to