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"Well,
D Day might be just around the corner," Monty said
ominously. "The Army girls and boys have brought in some
new gear and a couple of their gizmos look scarier than Gort.
Some kind of laser cannons, I’d wager."
"They
wouldn’t shoot at the Chrome, not really, would they?"
"If
Dr. Crink and his band of merry men and woman doesn’t come up
with more information soon, the general says she has no choice
but to neutralize the thing. Neutralize…that was her word for
it."
Fear and
anger welled up in Alec and he immediately knew, with no
hesitation, that his path was clear and unavoidable. Maybe it
was his stick-to-it-ness, a trait that he remembered his
Grandfather Booner extolling in family stories around holiday
fireplaces. And partly, it was his keen and critical
intelligence that prodded him to anger over Dr. Crink’s myopic
theories. But, mostly, he felt a deep-down rightness about the
Chrome’s connection to him. He was not the kind of person who
would give up at a time like this.
"But
that’s not all of it Alec," Monty continued in a hurried
pace. "The Chrome appears to be getting weaker and weaker.
You know how it slows down when you’re not around, right?
Well, it hardly moves now at all and it flashes only a few colors every few minutes. I think it’s running out of
spunk."
"Does
it still use that small green cylinder? Does it still put it up
to its mouth?"
"Yes,
it’s been doing that more just the last two days. Looks to my
like it’s running out of its Gatorade. Or maybe it’s just
sleeping a lot with you being away and all. So, Alec, here it
is. They need you back here to see it wake up again. Can you do
it? Can you come in today?"
"Yes,
Monty, I am definitely up for it. But is it OK if I go to my
classes first? I’m way behind and I've got final exams today
and tomorrow."
"Absolutely,
Alec. I’ll tell the general to expect you this afternoon—usual
time."
"Boffo!"
"But…Alec…get
ready for the big Gort guns!" Then Monty switched off in a
sharp crackle of static.
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