concrete dripped from its wheels. On the side of its head were the numerals
zero nine, the robot that had delivered the bathroom package. Obviously in his
haste he had not considered the weight of the robot over the still curing
concrete driveway. He gave a long suffering sigh, and then ordered another
robot to tow the stuck one to the courtyard area.
It took a lot of work with a
crowbar, hammer, and chisel to get the wheels and tracked unstuck. He finished
just as the first dropped of rain began to fall once more. Glaring at the sky,
he gave a rumble of frustration.
He pushed the robot into the hall
area, and then dug through the boxes, spooking an armadillo into a hasty
retreat. He found a spare drive motor, and swore under his breath as he pulled
the burned out one out and bolted the new one in.
When the rain began to pour a
short time later he sighed and stretched. The robot repair was complete, it ran
a diagnostic, reported all was okay, then shut down until he could get it out
to the charging station.
The Andy robots had completed the
layout of the first floor; he was amazed at the progress. It only took a few
hours to go behind them, making connections to wire the bedrooms. Once the easy
rooms were done he went back and finished the laundry area. He would have to
wait to get a pallet for each of the other bathrooms.
He checked the animals, and then
took a lunch break, flipping through an electrical manual while he watched the
rain. A spider rat startled him; the thing had no fear approaching him. One of
the Mini-Me robots chased it off. He was going to have to do something more
about pest control. He watched an armadillo come in and began to root around in
the corner.
The rain began to slow; he hoped
he would catch a break... At least long enough for him to check things outside.
A wet crunch in the corner made him turn. The armadillo was tossing its head
back and forth, crunching away at a thrashing scorpion. “Well, you're okay,”
Mitch said. The armadillo finished its meal and wandered off. He turned to look
outside. The sun began to peek out of the skies, lightning his mood a little.
After an hour of periodic stops
to check the weather he gave up and went outside. The rain had stopped, but the
weather had not cleared totally. Off in the south west above the line of
mountains he could still see darkness. He decided to chance it, ordered the
GP’s to fetch the bathroom pallets for the five remaining ground floor
bathrooms, then the kitchen gear. He made sure to route the damn thing around
the courtyard this time.
He took the command Hummer out to
the fields, dodging around the occasional pothole. Mud and muck splattered the truck,
but he was only interested in getting out to see how things had held up.
He checked the combine, finding
it sunk into the soil a bit, but okay. The fields were still a bit wet, but he
could see the sprouts of plants still poking up. He hoped he didn’t lose a lot
of fertilizer or seeds in that mess.
It would be a while before he
could set up the synthesizer for ammonia with the liquid hydrogen, nitrogen,
and argon he was getting from the water and air compressors. Fortunately the
fields he had planted were thick with nitrates and nitrogen. Hopefully it would
be enough; the Terran plants were fertilizer hogs.
The fence had a few holes; a few
poles had come down or were leaning down. They had been driven into the ground
over a meter, but a few had crossed dry shallow gulley’s... Which were not dry
or shallow any more. Water gushed through them, heading to the river nearby.
Concrete footings would be needed, as well as drainage ditches. He made a note
in the log. The perimeter was secure; one of the Ed’s was splattered with mud.
He checked the log, apparently it had fallen. The diagnostics on the machine
were green though. He knew he would have to clean it up and do a manual check
as soon as possible. He logged that too.
He got back to base just as the first
drops of rain
zero nine, the robot that had delivered the bathroom package. Obviously in his
haste he had not considered the weight of the robot over the still curing
concrete driveway. He gave a long suffering sigh, and then ordered another
robot to tow the stuck one to the courtyard area.
It took a lot of work with a
crowbar, hammer, and chisel to get the wheels and tracked unstuck. He finished
just as the first dropped of rain began to fall once more. Glaring at the sky,
he gave a rumble of frustration.
He pushed the robot into the hall
area, and then dug through the boxes, spooking an armadillo into a hasty
retreat. He found a spare drive motor, and swore under his breath as he pulled
the burned out one out and bolted the new one in.
When the rain began to pour a
short time later he sighed and stretched. The robot repair was complete, it ran
a diagnostic, reported all was okay, then shut down until he could get it out
to the charging station.
The Andy robots had completed the
layout of the first floor; he was amazed at the progress. It only took a few
hours to go behind them, making connections to wire the bedrooms. Once the easy
rooms were done he went back and finished the laundry area. He would have to
wait to get a pallet for each of the other bathrooms.
He checked the animals, and then
took a lunch break, flipping through an electrical manual while he watched the
rain. A spider rat startled him; the thing had no fear approaching him. One of
the Mini-Me robots chased it off. He was going to have to do something more
about pest control. He watched an armadillo come in and began to root around in
the corner.
The rain began to slow; he hoped
he would catch a break... At least long enough for him to check things outside.
A wet crunch in the corner made him turn. The armadillo was tossing its head
back and forth, crunching away at a thrashing scorpion. “Well, you're okay,”
Mitch said. The armadillo finished its meal and wandered off. He turned to look
outside. The sun began to peek out of the skies, lightning his mood a little.
After an hour of periodic stops
to check the weather he gave up and went outside. The rain had stopped, but the
weather had not cleared totally. Off in the south west above the line of
mountains he could still see darkness. He decided to chance it, ordered the
GP’s to fetch the bathroom pallets for the five remaining ground floor
bathrooms, then the kitchen gear. He made sure to route the damn thing around
the courtyard this time.
He took the command Hummer out to
the fields, dodging around the occasional pothole. Mud and muck splattered the truck,
but he was only interested in getting out to see how things had held up.
He checked the combine, finding
it sunk into the soil a bit, but okay. The fields were still a bit wet, but he
could see the sprouts of plants still poking up. He hoped he didn’t lose a lot
of fertilizer or seeds in that mess.
It would be a while before he
could set up the synthesizer for ammonia with the liquid hydrogen, nitrogen,
and argon he was getting from the water and air compressors. Fortunately the
fields he had planted were thick with nitrates and nitrogen. Hopefully it would
be enough; the Terran plants were fertilizer hogs.
The fence had a few holes; a few
poles had come down or were leaning down. They had been driven into the ground
over a meter, but a few had crossed dry shallow gulley’s... Which were not dry
or shallow any more. Water gushed through them, heading to the river nearby.
Concrete footings would be needed, as well as drainage ditches. He made a note
in the log. The perimeter was secure; one of the Ed’s was splattered with mud.
He checked the log, apparently it had fallen. The diagnostics on the machine
were green though. He knew he would have to clean it up and do a manual check
as soon as possible. He logged that too.
He got back to base just as the first
drops of rain
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