"What made him blow his top?" Bud asked.
Then Tom heard a quiet chuckle from his father. "Actually, boys," the
elder scientist said, "I think we should be encouraged."
"_Encouraged?_" Tom stared at his father.
[Illustration
(Tom Jr. and Tom Sr. watch as Exman tries to climb stairs)]
Mr. Swift nodded. "Yes, the whole thing was rather a noteworthy
reaction. I believe Exman was displaying a fear complex about navigating
up those stairs."
Tom gasped, then broke out laughing. "Dad, you're right! I'll bet when
its body tilted over, the brain wasn't sure whether the gyro would keep
it from being wrecked. It just shows Ole Think Box is getting more human
all the time!"
Bud ventured to pat Exman on its "back." "Relax, kid," he said with a
chuckle. "You're among friends and we wouldn't dream of letting you get
hurt. You're too valuable!"
Mr. Swift stroked his jaw thoughtfully. "Valuable, yes, if we can only
get it to communicate. Tom, I believe the first project we should work
on is a way to make Exman talk."
After the debris had been cleaned up, the two scientists pulled up
stools to the workbench and began to discuss the problem. Bud, seeing
them absorbed, and realizing the discussion would soon be far beyond his
depth, snapped a grinning salute at Exman and quietly left the
laboratory.
"Dad, the toughest part won't be the speech mechanism itself," Tom
pointed out.
Pages:
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98