The Robot Ransom

  “What are you doing at the conference?” Rico asked.

  Mr. Thompson’s face went red, and he clenched his ID badge tightly. “I can be here. They might have fired me from coaching, but they can’t keep me from attending the Robot Roundup.”

  Rico hunched his shoulders. “I didn’t mean it that way. I wondered if you were doing a demonstration or anything.”

  “Oh, yes.” Mr. Thompson waved toward the other side of the room. “I’m showing a new drone I developed. I guess you’re competing without me this year.”

  “Yes,” Naomi said.

  After a long, awkward pause, Mr. Thompson said, “Well, good luck.” He sighed and walked away.

  When he was out of earshot, Naomi said, “He didn’t seem happy to see us. And I don’t think he really cares if we win or not.”

  “He must still like the Greenfield team,” Violet said. “Why else would he be wearing your tee shirt?”

  “I don’t know,” said Henry. “And I don’t know how he knew our names. That whole conversation was pretty strange.”

  Trouble at the Trials

  The children went on to the food court and found a table. Several robots moved through the room. The tops of the robots looked like androids, but instead of legs, they had wheels. One robot came over to the table where the children sat. It spoke in a high, cute voice. “Would you like to order?” It moved its arms as it spoke, and its eyes flashed green and blue. A computer screen on the robot’s chest showed the food they could get. Everyone ordered sandwiches and drinks. Then the robot asked, “Would you like to charge this to the Greenfield STEAM Team account?”

  “All these robots know who you are!” said Benny.

  Rico said, “It must be reading the chips in our ID badges, like SARA did.”

  “Please put the team orders on that account,” said Henry. “Can I pay cash for our visitors?”

  “Of course.” The robot took the money, bowed, and rolled away. A few minutes later, it returned carrying a tray. The robot delivered the food, bowed again, and went to help other customers.

  “This is so neat,” said Benny. “All restaurants should get robot waiters!”

  “Maybe someday they will,” said Rico. “Some countries already use robot waiters—even robot cooks!”

  They finished eating and put their garbage in the trash and recycling bins. Henry said, “Some of the teams are competing today. Let’s watch.”

  The group moved to the big room that held the high school competition. Lines made from tape divided sections of the floor. In each section, groups of teenagers and adults gathered. The children paused to watch the first group. Large sheets of black paper were taped to the floor. A plastic block sat in one corner of the paper.

  “What’s going on?” Benny asked.

  Jessie stepped closer to her brother and lowered her voice. “The robot has to move through the rooms of the house and collect something. The black paper acts like the rooms. The robot needs to go get that plastic block.”

  The robot, about a foot high and two feet long, moved across the paper with a whir of its motor. When it got to the edge of the paper, it backed up and turned. The robot explored the entire area. Finally it reached the corner with the plastic block.

  The robot lifted its arms and squeezed them together. It lifted the plastic block and backed up. The robot headed back to the entrance with its prize. A judge announced the time the robot had spent on the challenge. The team members cheered and clapped.

  The children moved on to the next group. Jessie told Benny, “Remember the theme, When Disaster Strikes? In a real disaster, robots can go places that aren’t safe for humans.”

  “Because the robots are so little?” asked Benny.

  “That’s part of it,” said Jessie. “Small robots can get through narrow places. If a building is damaged, the robots could go in first to study the area. Video cameras could show people what it looks like inside. In some cases, the robots might even be able to fix problems. They could move debris or cut through walls. Once it’s safe, the people can go in.”

  “Could DogBot do something like that?” Benny asked.

  “Not really,” Jessie continued. “For this competition, the robots do pretend activities. Our goal is to get DogBot to go over or around objects. This teaches us how robots work. Maybe someday we’ll work on real rescue robots. For now, the contest is about working together, solving problems, and having fun.”

  They watched another high school test. For this one, black tape made lines across a white floor. The lines turned and curved. A robot tried to follow the lines. Naomi explained, “This robot has sensors that can see the line. See the green squares in the corners? Sensors in the robot can see the color. The green tells the robot which way to turn.”

  The robot went off course and bumped into a wall. The judge picked up the robot and placed it back at the start. “Let’s try again from the beginning,” she said.

  The teenage team members whispered encouragement to the robot. An adult wearing the team T-shirt stood back, watching quietly.

  As the children moved on, Jessie said, “Everyone is so nice. Even the judges are helpful. They want everyone to do well.”

  Rico said, “And there aren’t a lot of parents yelling and telling their kids what to do.”

  Naomi nodded. “Adults aren’t allowed to help in any way. Coach helped us prepare, but during the contest, we are in charge.”

  “How do they decide who wins?” Benny asked. “Is it the fastest robot through the challenge?”

  “That’s part of it,” said Naomi. “For the student competitions, the judges look at the design of the robot, how well the robot handles the problem it is given, and teamwork. The judges watch how well we work together. They make sure everyone shares their ideas with respect.”

  “I’m glad!” said Jessie. “It’s nice to work with a team that’s respectful.”

  “That’s something Logan doesn’t understand,” said Naomi. “By being so competitive, he hurts his team. They always have a good robot. Last year their robot did the course faster than ours. He’s right about that. But the Silver City team argued during the competition. I think that’s why they didn’t win.”

  Henry said, “That must be why Logan says the Greenfield team was scored wrong.”

  “Right,” said Naomi. “He thought their better time from the challenge meant they won. He was really upset when they announced us as the winner.”

  “I wish we could help him understand what really happened,” said Jessie.

  They watched several groups take on the challenge. Then they wandered farther into the room. “Oh, look!” said Jessie. “Here are the middle school teams competing today.”

  In this test, the robots had to go over or around obstacles. The test area had walls, ramps, and dozens of plastic balls rolling around. “In a disaster, the robot has to get through rough terrain,” Naomi explained. “This tests the robot’s ability to do that.”

  The children crept closer to watch the group compete. Rico whispered, “This team took third place last year. Look how well they’re doing!” The team members wore T-shirts that said, “Monroe Robot Wranglers.” They cheered as their robot turned through a doorway. Then it headed up a ramp. Its large rubber wheels gripped the surface. The robot was almost too wide for the ramp.

  “They’ve made it!” Jessie whispered excitedly.

  Just then a wheel fell off the robot, and it tumbled off the ramp while the wheel bounced away.

  The Monroe team groaned. So did many of the people watching. “That’s too bad,” said Rico. The others nodded.

  The judge picked up the robot and the stray wheel. He brought it back to the Monroe team as they gathered around. “I don’t understand it!” a boy said. “I tightened all of those connections this morning. How could it come loose so quickly?”

  Jessie nudged Henry. “Look!” She pointed across the challenge area. Logan was standing on the other side, half hidden between a couple of othe
r watchers. He grinned and pumped his fist as he watched the Monroe team.

  Henry frowned. “Do you think Logan did something to their robot?”

  “Would he really go that far?” Jessie asked. “Would he sabotage a robot to win?”

  “I don’t know,” said Henry. “Let’s follow him and see where he goes next.”

  They turned to the rest of their group. Before they could speak, Benny said, “Is it time for a snack? My tummy says it is!”

  “We want to follow Logan,” said Henry. “He looked a little too happy about that wheel falling off.”

  “You two go ahead,” said Naomi. “I’m thirsty, so I’ll take Benny to the snack area.”

  “I want to watch this next group,” said Rico. “Let’s meet in the snack area in half an hour. Then we’ll have another half hour before we meet your grandfather. We can look at some of the other displays on the way out.”

  Everyone agreed, so Henry and Jessie hurried after Logan. “He was heading toward the main entrance,” said Jessie.

  “I don’t see him,” said Henry. “Wait, I think that’s him.”

  They were careful not to get too close. They followed him to the staging area, where they had left their robot. “What is he doing?” Jessie asked.

  “He seems to be arguing with SARA, the guard robot,” said Henry.

  “I wonder what they’re saying,” Jessie said. “If we get any closer, he’ll see us. What’s that he’s holding? Is it a laptop?”

  “I think so,” said Henry.

  Logan turned and stormed away. Henry and Jessie ducked behind the edge of a booth. Then they looked at each other. Henry said, “He didn’t get past SARA.”

  “Maybe she can tell us what he wanted,” Jessie suggested.

  Once Logan was out of sight, they crossed to the doorway where SARA waited. The robot said, “Greetings Jessie Alden. Greetings Henry Alden.”

  Jessie asked, “SARA, will you tell us what Logan wanted?”

  SARA blinked her yellow eyes. “It is against my protocol to give that information.”

  Henry said, “I guess that means no. Well, we can check on our robot.”

  He tried to step past SARA, but the robot moved in front of him. She said, “You may not enter with electronic devices.”

  “What?” Henry asked. “Do you mean my phone? But I came in with it this morning.”

  “The competition has started,” said SARA. “Electronic devices are no longer allowed. Team members may not change or update their robot’s programming. It could give an unfair advantage.”

  Jessie said, “That makes sense. We’ve seen some of the challenges. It wouldn’t be fair if we made changes based on what we saw.”

  “All right,” said Henry. “We’ll leave our bags by the door.” He smiled at SARA. “You will watch them, right?”

  The robot nodded. “All items are safe with me.”

  Henry and Jessie checked on their robot. It looked fine. They tugged on the wheels to make sure none had been loosened. Finally Henry shrugged. “I still think we should keep an eye on Logan. And we should double-check our robot before we compete on Sunday. But we can’t do anything else now. We still have a lot to see.”

  “It’s time to meet the others soon,” said Jessie. “Maybe Coach has arrived!”

  “I hope so,” said Henry. “That would be one more thing we could stop worrying about.”

  But when they got to the snack room, their teammates were alone. No one had heard from Coach at all.

  GoneBot

  In the morning, they still had not found Coach Kaleka. He did not answer his phone or return calls. Jessie said, “Where could he be? I hope he’s all right.”

  “We can compete without him if we have to,” said Naomi. “But I don’t think he’d want to miss our trials. Surely he will show up for our competition.”

  “Maybe something happened to his phone,” Henry said. “He might not have received any of our messages. Where would he go if he didn’t know where to find us?”

  “He might go to the place where we left DogBot,” said Naomi. “Coach would know we’d go there at some point.”

  Grandfather dropped them off at the convention center, and the children went straight to the middle school robot area. “Good morning, SARA!” Jessie said. She tried to look past the robot to see whether Coach Kaleka was in the room. It was too crowded to see everyone.

  “Good morning, Jessie Alden,” said SARA. She greeted the others as well. “Please leave your electronic devices outside.”

  Henry gave his phone to Violet. “We’ll only be a minute,” he said.

  Henry, Jessie, Naomi, and Rico went into the room and looked around. They did not see their coach, so they went to the table where they had left DogBot.

  The robot was gone!

  The team stared at the empty table. “What happened to DogBot?” asked Jessie.

  They hurried back to the doorway. Benny and Violet waited nearby. Henry went over to SARA. “Our robot is gone,” he said. “Do you know where it is?”

  SARA’s yellow eyes blinked. “The Greenfield robot did not leave this area.”

  “Maybe someone moved it,” Naomi suggested. “That is the kind of joke Logan would play.” The children went back inside and searched all the tables. Then they met up by SARA.

  “Our robot is not in this room,” Naomi said. “SARA, our robot was stolen.”

  “That is not possible,” said SARA. “This room is monitored at all times.”

  “Who monitors it?” Henry asked.

  “I do,” said SARA.

  Henry turned to his teammates. “SARA must have missed something. But how could anyone walk out of here with a robot? With all the people around, someone would notice.”

  “What about at night?” Naomi asked. “The place must be nearly empty at night.”

  Rico groaned. “A thief came in the night and stole our robot!”

  Henry turned back to SARA. “Did anyone enter or leave this room at night?”

  “No one entered or left this room last night,” SARA said.

  “Did anything unusual happen?” asked Henry.

  “I do not understand the question,” said SARA.

  Henry tried to think of a way to ask the question so the robot would understand. Finally, he said, “Did you record any noise or action between midnight and seven o’clock?” The convention center should have been closed during those hours.

  SARA’s yellow eyes blinked a few times. She said, “My records indicate a noise at twelve forty-three. I checked the room. No humans were inside.”

  Jessie asked, “What if the person did not have a name tag? Would you know they were here?”

  “Yes,” SARA said. “No humans entered this area last night. Only robots were present.”

  Violet frowned at SARA. She still did not quite trust a machine that knew so much. “Did you steal the robot, SARA?”

  “My current programming does not allow me to steal,” SARA said.

  “So you never left this area?” Naomi asked. “Not even for a minute?”

  “I am here at all times,” said SARA.

  “She doesn’t need to eat or go to the bathroom,” Jessie observed. “She has no reason to leave.”

  Benny looked at his brother and sisters. “Do we have a mystery?” he asked, grinning. He wasn’t happy about the lost robot. But he loved a mystery!

  “If we didn’t before, we do now,” said Jessie. “Let’s look for clues.”

  The team members went back into the room. Jessie crouched to take a closer look around their table. “I found something!” She grabbed a small, crumpled piece of yellow paper. “It’s another sticky note. It looks like it fell off the table.”

  Jessie smoothed out the paper. The teammates leaned in to read the small writing.

  ROBOT RANSOM:

  Place $200 in a paper bag on the bench by the fountain at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

  “I can’t believe it!” said Rico. “Someone took our robot, and now w
e have to pay to get it back!” He was breathing fast.

  Naomi bit her lip. “Our challenge starts at noon tomorrow. If we don’t get DogBot back by then, we will miss the competition.”

  Rico kept muttering, “I can’t believe this is happening. We don’t have two hundred dollars.”

  “Maybe we can figure out who did this,” Jessie said.

  “It must be Logan,” said Naomi.

  “We don’t know that for sure,” said Jessie. “And if it was Logan, we still have to find our robot.”

  Henry nodded. “The note is on yellow sticky paper, like the one we found here yesterday. It has the same red ink, and the handwriting is the same too. The letter i has a circle instead of a dot on top. Rico, do you still have that note?”

  Rico stared at him for a moment before answering. “I might have stuck it in my backpack.” He dug through his bag and pulled out the other note. He placed it on the table next to the ransom note.

  “It is the same handwriting,” said Jessie.

  Naomi frowned. “I think I recognize that writing.” She scratched her head. “I can’t place it, but I feel like I’ve known someone who dotted i’s like that.”

  “The ransom note had fallen beside the table,” said Jessie. “The one yesterday was stuck to the table. Why didn’t the thief place this note on the table?”

  “Maybe someone knocked it off the table by accident,” Naomi suggested.

  “Maybe,” said Jessie. “But a sticky note should stick to the table. Also, the ransom note was crumpled into a ball. Yesterday’s note did not get crumpled until we picked it up.”

  “It all seems very strange,” Naomi agreed.

  “I threw away the note from our hotel room,” said Henry. “But I think that writing was different. I’ll see if anything else is under the table.” He got on his hands and knees. It was pretty dark down under the table, so he felt around with his hands.

  A minute later Henry stood up. He held several pieces of plastic.

  Rico gasped. “Those look like pieces of DogBot!”

  Henry nodded. “I think they are. They must have gotten knocked off and bounced to the floor.”