Read Online Robot Trouble by Bruce Coville - Free Book Online Page B

Wendy. “And I don’t know if I agree with you. We’re playing in the big leagues here.”
    â€œAgreed,” said Roger. “But if the main thing on Black Glove’s mind is getting information off the island, then he or she can’t do much unless there’s information to get off. If something happened to one of us, even accidentally, it would blow this place apart. The least that would happen is that things would slow down. More likely it would actually cause some of the scientists to leave. I’m pretty sure Dad would want to get away from here if anything happened to Rachel or me.”
    â€œI think my folks would feel the same,” said Trip. “And that could bring the project to a standstill. These people are the best in the country—in the world, most of them. It wouldn’t be easy to replace them.”
    â€œMy point exactly,” said Roger. “I just don’t think Black Glove will want to take that chance.”
    â€œGreat,” said Hap. “That means if the enemy starts feeling cranky, I’ll be number one on the hit parade, since my folks don’t really make much difference to the success of the project.”
    â€œMaybe we should just drop the whole thing,” said Rachel, who had been chewing on the back of her thumb.
    â€œNo,” said Hap firmly. “We can’t do that, either.” He stood up and began pacing. “I’ve done a lot of thinking about this project lately. Frankly I’m not sure the thing is such a good idea to begin with; I get a little scared just thinking about what this computer might be able to do. But I doubt I could convince Dr. Hwa to call things off. So the odds are there really is going to be a computer that can think. If that’s the case, I sure don’t want it in the hands of G.H.O.S.T.! And since we can’t get anyone else to take this seriously, that leaves it up to us. Risky? You bet. But I don’t even want to think about the alternative.”
    â€œThen I’d say it’s time to get busy,” said Wendy. She pushed up the sleeves of her sweatshirt, then blinked and said, “What should we do first?”
    â€œFinish the optical scanner?” suggested Trip.
    â€œAlready done!” said Hap. “I finished it last night. Would have had it done earlier, but I had to cobble up some substitutes for the parts that we couldn’t get from the warehouse because of Brody’s robots.”
    â€œI hate to say this, but those robots should probably be our first project,” said Ray. “Until we handle that situation, we can be seriously slowed down any time we need a spare part.”
    â€œDon’t forget Dr. Weiskopf’s rocket,” said Rachel. “We promised to build that, too.”
    â€œI don’t know,” said Roger. “It seems to me that’s one project that can go on hold for the time being. We’ve got more important stuff to—” he paused, and a strange but familiar look appeared in his eyes. “Wait a minute! Stand back, everyone! I think I’m about to be brilliant!”
    The rest of the gang looked at him nervously. Roger’s brainstorms were known to be hazardous to other people’s health.
    â€œOh, this is great!” he cried, looking at the ceiling. Then, turning his eyes back to the others, he said, “It’s time we tracked down Black Glove and put a stop to this mess.”
    â€œBut that’s the purpose of Operation Sherlock,” said Hap.
    â€œI know,” said Roger. “And it was a darn good idea.”
    â€œYou’re only saying that because you thought of it yourself,” said Wendy.
    â€œHigh self-esteem is essential to a happy life. Now shut up and listen. Sherlock is supposed to crack the case and figure out who the enemy is. The problem is, we might all be dead before we get the program in shape to do that.”
    â€œI love an optimist,” said