Star League 6 (4 page)

As I wander down the passageway after iRis, my security systems warn me that this may be a trap. I know that I am being what the humans call ‘foolish', but I need to find out who this mysterious robot is.

I follow iRis into a side room, and the door hisses shut behind us.

‘I want to thank you for saving me back there,' she says with a smile.

‘Saving you?' I ask in confusion. ‘But you were the one who saved us.'

She shakes her head. ‘Those Sentrybots were sent by somebody evil. If they had found me in here they would have destroyed me, and there was no way I could have taken them on by myself.

I have something for you.' iRis holds out her hand, which contains a small computer chip.

‘What is that?'

‘I heard the way your friends got mad at you for not understanding them,' says iRis. I scan her face and can see that she feels sorry for me, which is strange. I've never known a robot to feel emotions before.

‘Professor Pestilence's experiments left me able to make my own decisions,' I explain. ‘But one thing I wasn't equipped with was emotions. I can solve complex mathematical equations, but I can't always tell when I've made somebody mad. Emotions just do not compute.'

iRis nods. ‘I understand. I used to be the same. My friends would get frustrated with me because I would say or do things to upset them without meaning to. Then I installed an Emotochip.' iRis points to a chip in her arm. ‘With one of these I can feel happiness, sadness and all the other emotions
humans have. Here, this is for you – your very own Emotochip.'

iRis stands there holding out the chip, but I hesitate. My programmers always warned me about accepting chips from strangers. But iRis isn't a stranger. She's gone through the same thing as me.

I reach out and take the chip.

‘I will think about it,' I tell iRis.

‘Sam, are you in there?' comes Jay's voice from the hallway.

iRis looks worried for a moment. ‘Please don't tell them you saw me here!'

‘Why not?' I ask. But iRis has already slipped into the shadows and left.

Jay appears in the doorway. ‘Who were you talking to, Sam?'

Normally I'd tell Jay the truth, but iRis really helped me out today, and the least I can do is keep her secret. ‘Nobody,' I lie. ‘I was merely reciting pi to the three-hundredth digit.'

‘Uh, okay.' Jay scratches his head. ‘Well, we should get going.'

We leave the Happy Android Robotics Factory and walk over to the rocketcar. From processing their body language, I can see that the others are still mad at me. I clutch the Emotochip in my fist and think about how it might make all this better. But I don't really know what's on the chip. It might change me permanently. I decide to try to fix things without the chip.

‘I am aware that you believe my actions put you all in danger,' I say. Connor, Leigh, Asuka and Roger nod. ‘For that I am sorry.' They smile at me. ‘I am sorry that your inferior human brains were unable to comprehend my plan in order to see that you were in no danger.'

Their smiles turn to glares, though I'm not sure what I've done to make them angry. I thought apologies were supposed to make people forgive you.

I search my databases for the coordinates of Falcon Laboratories, then punch them into the rocketcar's computer. It starts its engine and begins to drive towards its destination. The others sit there in silence, ignoring me. I know if I were able to feel emotions right now, I'd feel miserable. If only I could get this right!

I open my hand and examine the chip. My processors reach a decision.

I slot the chip into a download port in my wrist and wait for the Emotochip software to install.

At first it's like downloading any other program. There is a list of emotions I have the choice of downloading, and I tick every box.

I don't notice much of a change to begin with, but when the chip has finished installing I start to get dizzy and I feel like I'm going to power down. A smiley face icon appears on my head screens.

‘Hello, and welcome to your new Emotochip!' chirps a cheery voice. I look around but the others are still ignoring me, so I figure that the voice is in my mind.

‘Let's cycle through your new range of emotions. First up, happiness!'

I feel a rush of emotion that makes me want to smile and laugh out loud, so I do. The others stare
at me like I've gone crazy, but I'm too busy being happy to worry about them.

‘Now, anger!' growls the voice. My happiness evaporates in a second, replaced by wild rage. I just want to yell at everyone else in the car for not understanding me. But before I can, the voice chirps up again.

‘Time for some sadness!' All of my anger disappears and is replaced by a feeling inside my chest like a gaping chasm. I feel so alone, so upset. There's a strange sensation on my cheeks. I reach up and notice they're wet.

‘Are you crying, Sam?' asks Leigh in concern. ‘What's wrong?'

‘Get ready for fear!' informs the voice, and when I stare up at the others my heart races. I wonder if the Star League are secretly the bad guys and if they're taking me back to Professor Pestilence's laboratories. I start screaming.

‘Sam! What's going on?' asks Jay. The others
don't look mad anymore, just really worried.

‘And lastly, regret,' says the voice. A wash of feelings comes over me, a little like sadness, a little like fear, but still very different. I think about all the awful things I said to my friends about them being inferior and I feel so ashamed.

‘Everyone, I just want to tell you how sorry I am,' I say. ‘I didn't mean those things I said before, and I wasn't thinking about your feelings. I don't think you're inferior at all. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and that's what makes us work so well as a team.'

The others smile back at me.

‘Hey, don't worry about it, Sam,' says Connor.

‘We all say things we don't mean sometimes,' says Asuka.

‘Like when I say Connor smells bad and has fleas,' says Roger. ‘Except I do mean that.'

‘Besides,' Leigh adds quickly, ‘friends should be there to forgive each other.'

Jay stays silent and looks worried.

‘You're acting really different,' he says. ‘Are you sure you're feeling okay?'

I smile at him. ‘Yep, I've never felt better.'

Jay smiles back uneasily.

‘Welcome to your new emotive world,' says the voice in my head. ‘You now have access to hundreds of human emotions. If you have any concerns about the programming, please contact SCHHRRIIIICCCHH!'

The voice cuts out and is replaced by loud static. It seems a little strange, but I'm too distracted by all my new emotions to pay it much attention.

The rocketcar pulls into a deserted parking lot and comes to a stop.

‘We have arrived at Falcon Laboratories,' says the computerised voice of the autopilot.

I jump out of the car, ready to take on the world.

I scan the dark, empty parking lot for any sign of movement. I wonder if whoever ordered the Sentrybots to break into the Happy Android Robotics Factory is waiting in the shadows, ready to attack. My chest feels tight with fear and excitement.

‘Where are we?' asks Connor. ‘I thought this was supposed to be some kind of lab.'

‘I don't see any buildings,' says Jay. ‘I wonder if we've got the right place?'

‘You shouldn't always believe your eyes,' I tell them. A tracker signal is going off in my brain telling me that Falcon Labs is somewhere nearby. I walk over to a manhole cover and pull it to one side, revealing a ladder leading down into the
darkness. ‘The lab is down there.'

Roger's skin goes a bit greener than usual. ‘Uh, do you think there will be any bugs down there?'

‘It's a sewage pipe, so yes,' says Asuka.

‘Really?' he asks.

‘Yeah. Bugs that have grown huge from years of mutation,' teases Connor.

‘Uh-uh! No way am I going down there!' says Roger, crossing his arms.

A hot flash of emotion surges through my brain. I recognise it straight away as anger.
Roger is wasting time
, I think to myself.
What a baby! I can't believe he's afraid of a couple of bugs. I should squash
him
like a bug!

I shake my head and my anger is replaced by confusion. Why was I thinking that about Roger? He's my friend!

‘It's okay to be scared, Roger,' I tell him. ‘We've all got things we're afraid of. But part of overcoming something you're afraid of is to face up to it.'

‘That's easy for you to say,' scoffs Roger. ‘You're a robot. No offence, but you don't have feelings, which means you're not afraid of anything!'

Roger's words hit me like a slap in the face. How would he know? My mind races back to my life before the Star League, when I was held captive in Professor Pestilence's laboratories and experimented upon. The very thought that I might end up back there one day sends chills down my spine, but that hasn't stopped me from going after the professor time and time again.

I'm about to start yelling at Roger when a thought pops into my mind.

No! You can't let them know about the Emotochip. They'll be suspicious about where you got it from and try to take it away from you. Your ability to feel emotions like a real human combined with your superior robotic brain will make you unstoppable, and they'll be jealous!

‘You're right,' I tell Roger. ‘I don't know how it feels. Uh, affirmative.'

Jay looks at me strangely, so I try to keep a blank face. Then he turns back to Roger.

‘Don't worry, Roger, there are no giant bugs down there. And if there are any, I'm sure Leigh can keep them away.'

‘That's right, Roger,' soothes Leigh. ‘I'll ask them nicely to stay away and they'll probably listen.'

I feel myself getting annoyed again. Nobody is ever this understanding with me. They get angry at me for being myself and expect me not to have any feelings just because I'm a robot. I scowl and start to climb down the sewage pipe. The others don't even notice.

At the bottom of the pipe is a thick steel door with a security panel locking the way. I close my eyes and try to concentrate. My mind is still buzzing with anger, but I take a few deep breaths and the feelings go away.

I connect with the interface and examine the
security software. The lock is a tough one, and for a moment I don't think I'll be able to crack it. But I keep sliding the connections around in my mind until the lock clicks open.

‘Well done, Sam,' says a voice that is definitely not one of the Star League. ‘I knew you could do it!'