From Alba's diary
Rowan: (to himself) Mum really gave us a large area to clean up this time, at this rhythm we probably won't manage to finish before sunset...
The weeks pass, but our job always remains the same: to stop the pollution of the archipelago. Now the whole family works on it, with me on the front line, Olivier pulling the reins of the administration, and Rowan who has finally obtained the much-wanted hat of team leader and who takes the scouts group to clean the beaches at least three times a week.
We have greatly expanded our monitoring network, installing several cameras around the island and hiring one new field operator and two analysts. But all we have in our hands now is a pile of fused electronic scrap constantly needing to be replaced, unreadable recordings, and fifteen field workers who spend all day inspecting the island without ever noticing anything suspicious. For all we know, the waste could be teleported here from who knows where, because it just seems to appear out of nowhere.
And this idea isn't encouraging at all, how could we stop a teleport machine pointed towards Sulani, without any other information?
It is now clear that we are missing a detail, something fundamental to find the solution to this absurd situation. And, even if we have to search these beaches inch by inch, we must be able to find it!
------------------------------------------------------------------
From Rowan's diary, a few hours later
We had recently finished retrieving the garbage hidden under the sand in the sector we were assigned for today, the other scouts had already returned home while I had decided to go for a swim while waiting for mum to finish her work too. We had decided to do this so we could go home together for dinner, but I didn't expect her to take so long... What was keeping her?
She couldn't be too far away, so I started looking around for her.
Ah, there she is. I was about to call her out loud, when I noticed that there seemed to be something off. Who was she talking with? And why did she seem so angry? Out of caution, I preferred to hide at a distance that would allow me to follow the scene without being noticed.
Yes, something was clearly off, but I would probably have needed to get a little bit closer to understand what was actually going on...
------------------------------------------------------------------
A few minutes later, from Alba's diary
For a moment I felt a bit confused, was it really that late already? Today I probably spent too much time in the sun, I had such a headache, that was probably the reason why I lost track of time... It happened quite often in that season, I was no longer as resistant to that climate as when I was a girl, I guess. In either case, I've already wasted enough time, I better hurry up and find Rowan so we can go back home.
Rowan: (worried) Mom, are you okay?
Alba: Yes, don't worry.
I looked at him better, he seemed worried like I had never seen him, scared even. What had happened to make him react in that way?
Alba: (perplexed) Did something happen? What worries you?
Rowan: (upset) They were talking to you until a second ago, and then... (Gasping) Don't tell me they erased your memory, did they?
I continued to stare at him, more and more confused. He saw someone talking with me? What was he referring to, I didn't remember speaking to anyone at all. And the thought made my blood run cold: what if they really had erased my memories, to make me forget whatever was making Rowan so worried?
Rowan: Maybe we should call Mrs. Kate then, and then...
Alba: Okay. But in the meantime, why don't you explain to me what you saw that was so worrying?
Rowan: Sure. However, in the meantime, let's get moving and get home. They might still be around, just in case they decide to finish the job…
So we entered the water to swim towards the shore of the main island, a few hundred meters away. Swimming may not be the best activity to do while talking to each other, but I couldn't help but wince at the sight of what was in front of us.
Alba: But how? Until yesterday the water here was normal, but this...
Rowan: I'll explain in a moment, but let's hurry now!
The entire archipelago, even points where the water was crystal clear until yesterday, were full of that phosphorescent substance that we had not yet fully identified. More and more scared, I increased the pace of my strokes to follow Rowan, I wanted to understand as soon as possible what the hell had just happened.
---------------------------------------------------
Olivier: (worried) You've finally arrived! But what happened, why is everyone here?
Rowan: It's a big mess, we…
Kate: (interrupting them) We're better not to waste time chatting, if you want to retrieve that memory in full detail.
Kate: I mean, I shouldn't dig in anyone's mind in my free time, but this is an emergency situation, I don't think anyone would complain. As long as you agree, I mean.
Rowan: Of course we agree, this seemed very important!
Alba: Yes, I don't see alternatives.
So, putting together what Rowan saw and the memories Kate managed to retrieve, we were able to reconstruct the weird events of that afternoon.
A few hours earlier….
Alba: Hey, what are you doing here?
The first thing I remembered was the feeling that the situation immediately seemed totally off. Robots were a very rare sight in Sulani, especially such suspicious and menacing-looking robots.
Alba: What are those devices you carry around with you? Those are modified teleport machines, aren't they? Please note that here in Sulani such practices are strictly forbidden!
Robot 1: You're really a big nuisance, why do you always need to be around?
Alba: What do you want to do? Are you the ones spilling around that phosphorescent stuff?
Robot 2: (ignoring her) She's indeed a real nuisance, it's such a waste of time to erase her memory every single time
Alba: (confused) To do... what?
Robot 2: This.
Robot 1: Are you sure the voltage wasn't a bit too high?
Robot 2: With her I always have to turn the power output up to the maximum, she has a quite sturdy mind.
Robot 1: Rather, let's hurry up with that fuel, we're late on our schedule.
Kate: So the culprits of the waste dumping here in Sulani were some robots, and you never noticed before because they kept erasing your memory with electronic devices suspiciously similar to the prototypes created and tested by Drew. That's remarkable, no doubt about it...
Helios: And, in practice, you only realized it because they were the ones who made a misstep, if Rowan hadn't seen the whole scene from behind a palm tree...
Kate: That was indeed a very lucky occurrence, yup.
Mirko: You've already notified the police, right?
Alba: While I was calling you all, Rowan phoned the police, soon I think they'll come soon to question us.
Lily: (incredulous) That's just ridiculous, an organization of criminal robots...
Lily shook her head, she looked so tired. And I totally agree with her, why does trouble always have to come looking for us like this?
But he must have still had a doubt in her mind, because she soon added:
Lily: However, I was wondering... Do you think Techna may know anything about it?
Yikes! Poor Alba. It's shocking (in more than one way) that robots were erasing her memory. It's good that Rowan caught them. Hopefully, this can help them keep Sulani in a better state more easily. It's sweet how Alba moved there, then Olivier followed ... and now the whole family is dedicated to keeping the islands safe/clean.
ReplyDelete