Page 56 of Chaos Theory
‘Oh no!’ I crouch to inspect the damage. ‘Are you okay? Shane, help me get him upright.’
Kobi is heavy, but we manage to restore him to some dignity. All his lights flash on, then off again. His head droops. ‘Talk to me, Kobi,’ I say, circling him to examine his exterior. I can’t see anything amiss.
‘Processing,’ says Kobi, raising his chin. Lights flicker on. I hear the soft hum of systems coming back online.
‘Phew,’ I say. The relief brings me mild elation. ‘What are we going to do with you, Kobi? I know you’re a bit slow, but I thought this would be okay. Josh said you were good at all types of terrain. I mean, there are robots on Mars right now.’
‘Those robots are little more than remote control toys,’ says Kobi, somewhat defensively in my opinion. ‘Furthermore, you may have noticed that they all possess one thing that I do not – wheels.’ At least his cognitive faculties seem to be intact.
‘I’m very glad you’re okay. I’m not sure what to do now though…’ I look at Shane and shrug, frustrated. ‘We’re supposed to be walking to the open farm at the end of this trail. The host is expecting us. Maybe we should go back to the car, find another way around? D’you think JP will mind if we skip this bit of the “Clare experience”?’
‘Wait,’ says Shane.
‘What?’
‘Kobi, you’re after giving me an idea.’
‘What idea?’ I say.
‘Just – wait here.’
He hurries away, towards the car.
‘I’ll be back. Just hang on!’
THIRTY-TWO
10:30am
Kobi runs a full systems check while we wait for Shane to return. The analysis confirms that all is in order, but Kobi seems disappointed in himself.
‘Maeve, I must apologise for my suboptimal performance. From a visual scan, the surface looked broad and open and flat. But the moment I set foot on it, countless tiny ridges confused my foot grip and I could not maintain balance.’
‘It’s okay, buddy,’ I reassure him. ‘I know you’re more used to factory floors. And this terrain is challenging, even for humans.’ Josh definitely overestimated Kobi’s mobility, or at least oversold it to me.
‘Shane returns,’ Kobi says.
We watch him park the car again, then get out and walk around to the boot. A moment later he’s walking towards us, pushing a wheelchair in front of him.
‘Well, what d’ye think?’ he calls out. ‘Kobi, your chariot awaits!’
With this, he pushes the chair towards us and it rolls off on its own, gathering momentum. Kobi and I hustle inopposite directions to get out of its way. It comes to a bumpy stop at the edge of the rocky Burren field.
‘Shane, what the…?’ is all I can think of to yell.
‘You’re welcome!’
‘How did you…? I mean, where did you…?’ There are so many questions, I’m having trouble prioritising one over another. ‘I mean…who owns that? And do they not need it?’
‘I also have questions,’ Kobi chimes in. ‘But I fear I already know the answers.’
‘Got it from the hotel,’ says Shane, triumph in his voice. ‘They were only delighted to lend it to me. They had it spare, lying around. We can bring it back whenever.’
By now he’s reunited with the wheelchair. He wheels it over to Kobi, handling it a bit more carefully this time. ‘So, will we take it for a test drive?’
I look at Kobi. I look at the Burren. I shrug for my answer.
‘At least give it a try,’ says Shane.
