"I don't love open house." Go Go was busy lugging her bike into an inconspicuous corner so that none of those little punks could get their sweaty hands on it. "Besides, half the kids will probably be dragged their by their parents."
Honey flung an arm around her friend. "Aw, come on, Go Go! It's such a great opportunity to inspire these kids. They'll come here, they'll be amazed at what they see, and then they'll enrol and grow up to change the world. Just like Hiro did! Doesn't that sound worthwhile to you?"
That managed to coax a half-smile from the Korean girl. "Okay, whatever. I'll do my best...not to scare them away."
"I'm sure they'll love your tech," Honey affirmed as she skipped back to her work.
The door to the lab swung open, and Wasabi entered, leaning back under the bulk of a few large boxes. Letting them slide to the floor next to his work table, he proudly patted the topmost one with a satisfied grin.
"What's in those?" Hiro asked curiously as he perched on Baymax's shoulders to tape up a poster advertising admission talks, steadying himself by digging his heels into the soft white vinyl.
"Safety goggles, gloves, hand sanitizer, free safety pamphlets..." Wasabi took inventory of the boxes as Honey giggled and Go Go raised an eyebrow. "And," he added, pressing a few buttons, "I've increased the magnetism of my work table temporarily so that they won't be able to take the tools off or mess them up."
"Why am I not surprised?"
"Hey," Wasabi said defensively, "if we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. Safety is our top priority here."
~~~
For the next few hours, SFIT was a whirl of activity as yawning students set up club booths, arranged chairs for the talks, practised performances, and whisked dangerous experiments out of the way. Hiro tried to park himself at the cotton candy stall, but Fred dragged him back to the lab--the school mascot given his friends a boost as a candidate for the open lab tours, much to Honey's excitement and Go Go's chagrin.
At eight, the school doors opened, and the visitors streamed in under the banner emblazoned with the words: "San Fransokyo Institute of Technology Open Day--Come and See how to Change the World!"
A few hours later, Fred managed to tear himself away from his adoring fans to get a soda. Then a breathless Professor Williams stopped him in the hallway.
"Fred!" the professor cried. "I really, really need someone to take this group around, but all the designated tour guides are gallivanting somewhere. Can you do it? Please?"
"A school mascot's work is never done!" Fred said cheerfully, taking the wide-eyed teenagers in tow as Professor Williams shouted a hurried thanks over his shoulder.
"All right, folks!" he said, clapping the clawed hands of his mascot suit together. He was met with blank stares. Then a tall, willowy girl let out a nervous giggle. Taking a breath, Fred realised he would have to up his game.
"You all have the extra-special privilege of being with the one and only Fredzilla today, so sit tight," he boasted, showing off some of his sign-spinning moves. "You're in for a wild ride!"
As it turned out, however, the labs and classrooms of SFIT spoke for themselves. At first the newcomers just kind of stood around awkwardly, despite Fred's best efforts, but he soldiered on through the winding corridors, and soon they were ooh-ing and aah-ing over all the cutting-edge tech. Except one. The school mascot grinned as the tall girl excitedly pointed out something to a friend, gesticulating wildly, but he noticed with a slight frown that even the delicious smells of cheese and sausage failed to drag one particular girl away from her cell phone.
Having piqued their interest, Fred decided the time had come to take the kids to the nerd lab, feeling sure that his friends would put up a fantastic show. Maybe their tech would even be good enough to drag pull that girl out of her shell. "Lab tours this way!" he called, and the now-enthusiastic teenagers trailed behind him, chatting animatedly. "You guys are lucky. You get to see one of the most awesome labs we have!"
Fred threw open the lab door and the teens let out a collective "wow," taking in the large, powerful machinery, the ping-pong playing robot, and the inflatable...shark? This didn't last long, however, because a yellow blur shot past them at death-defying speeds, causing them to jump back in fright.
Swerving dangerously, Go Go skidded to a halt, narrowly missing the cupboards that lined the room. She shook her purple-streaked hair out of her eyes as she dismounted and approached the students, who looked simultaneously terrified and awed.
"Hey kids."
The visitors glanced silently from the school mascot to the small--but obviously formidable--girl.
"Um...this is Go Go!" Fred said brightly, hoping that Go Go's intimidating entrance wouldn't undo his good work. Attempting to keep the ball rolling, he suggested, "Go Go, why don't you tell them about your bike?"
Grunting assent, Go Go hauled the vehicle nearer so they could get a better look. "Electro-mag suspension," she explained, not unkindly. "Makes for zero resistance, so it's a lot faster."
"Whoa!" One of the kids, a small, olive-skinned boy, stepped forward to examine the bike, though glancing anxiously at the bike's owner. Fred shot Go Go a dubious look when he ventured, "Can I...touch it?"
Then the usually protective girl said something that took Fred completely by surprise. "We can do better than that," she smirked. "I'll let you ride one."
"Ah, hang on," she qualified, as the boy's eyes widened in delight. "Not this one. It's too delicate and hard to handle." Go Go gave the bike an upwards boost so it attached itself to the magnetic holders that hung from the ceiling, then wheeled another one out, this time black with deep purple accents. "I'll let you ride this one. Only partial suspension, but speedy. Finished it up a couple semesters back. I hope you're a good rider. What's your name?"
"Tod," the boy said eagerly. "And I've done mountain biking! And won a couple of contests!"
"You should be fine, then," Go Go said, handing him the bike. "Just a quick spin, okay?" She leaned back as he found his footing. "Go on."
"Yeah!" Tod took off, a crazed grin on his face as he set off. He wobbled slightly at first, and almost crashed into a cabinet. Fred leapt forward in alarm, wondering if letting this kid ride Go Go's bike would end in disaster, but then Tod recovered wonderfully, and made a smooth semicircle around the lab, stopping easily at Go Go's feet.
"That was awesome!" he exclaimed. "The electro-mag thing really works! I barely had to pedal!"
The visitors clustered around him, clamouring to get a closer look at the risky new tech, running their hands over the smooth frame and marvelling as a slight touch sent the wheels spinning. Only the girl with the phone hung back, examining her perfectly manicured fingernails. Go Go took the opportunity to step back and nod at Fred. "How'd I do?"
"Fantastic," Fred whispered back. "And no one got killed."
Rounding a corner, Fred cautioned the visitors to stay behind the yellow and black safety line, knowing that his friend would appreciate the gesture. All he could see of said friend, however, was a mop of black dreadlocks, as Wasabi was crouched behind his table, digging through a cardboard box. (And replacing the contents in exactly the right places.)
"'Sabi! I brought some people to see you!" Fred called, just loud enough to alert Wasabi but not loud enough to startle him.
"Oh, hey. Didn't see you there." Wasabi straightened and grabbed a neat stack of pamphlets off his work desk, handing them out to the newcomers with an affable smile.
"Safety brochures!" he announced as the visitors took them from his hands somewhat hesitantly, his heart sinking as one girl only looked away from the screen of her cell phone long enough to wrinkle her nose and mutter, "that's lame."
Fred tapped his foot impatiently as Wasabi finished distributing the pamphlets and suggested the visitors get a dollop of hand sanitizer. Finally Wasabi picked up a pear from a fruit basket he had sitting on the table, shifting it a little in his hand.
"Ready for this?" he said, lifting an eyebrow with all the mystique of a magician.
"Yes!" the group (and Fred) chorused. If this was anywhere as good as Go Go's demonstration, it was going to be great.
Without a word, Wasabi tossed the pear towards the gathered students, between two mysterious devices that almost met his height. A couple of the teenagers flinched as though expecting to be hit, but then gaped in wonder as the pear split into paper-thin slices, floating gently to the ground. A girl with two bouncy ponytails caught a slice and crunched it between her fingers. "But there's nothing here!" she said, stepping forward. "How did you--"
Panicking momentarily, Wasabi threw out his hands to stop her. "Please!" he said sternly. "Behind the line!"
"Oops, sorry."
"And, to answer your question," Wasabi said, looking relieved and flipping a switch. Instantly, a network of parallel, glowing green lines appeared. "Lasers. Plasma-induced."
The kids all exchanged suitably impressed looks. Gratified, Wasabi added, "Right now, I'm working on a more portable, handheld model. I hope to get it made commercially before I leave college."
"Wow!" Even more impressed, the visitors speculated about the uses and potential dangers of such a product.
"You planning on moving on to Honey's station?" Wasabi asked Fred, who nodded.
"Then I suggest you take these," the physicist said firmly, plopping a bunch of safety goggles into Fred's hands. "Honey has some great stuff planned, but she isn't the best at lab safety. You'll need these. Avoid the lawsuits."
"Aw, man!" Fred protested. Usually he'd complain that Wasabi was a party pooper, but he had seen the mad glint in Honey's eyes when she started experimenting. Her own safety was one thing. These kids' was another.
Thus, as he so rarely did, Fred took the sensible route and bestowed each visitor with a pair of safety glasses, saving one for himself so he could lead by example. "Onward, troops!"
They had barely taken a few steps when Honey rushed over to them. Fred noted that she'd made the effort to put her hair in a safe bun, which she so often forgot to do--open days made everyone sit up a little straighter.
"Hi!" she said, beaming widely. "I'm Honey and I'm in chemical engineering! And boy, are you guys going to have a blast!"
At that telltale last word, Wasabi looked up in alarm. "Honey, what are you--"
"For our first experiment...something we call elephant toothpaste!"
That at least was fairly harmless. Wasabi turned back to his work.
Glowing with excitement, Honey shook the contents of four small vials into a large graduated cylinder as the visitors exchanged nervous glances. Suddenly a long tube of foam shot out, draping itself over the table like a giant spaghetti strand and settling into soft coils. Fred grinned widely as he noticed that Honey had upped her game by adding glitter and multiple food dyes to an experiment she had done many times before.
Before the visitors had time to linger long over the sparkling, rainbow-coloured foam, Honey was dragging them over to the next experiment. The hunk of dull metal sitting in the middle of the table didn't look nearly as interesting as the past demonstration, but the bubbly chemist was already spraying the block yellow and flipping a switch on the wall.
"Poke it," she said, staring at the metal with gleeful eyes.
"Wha-?"
"...If you're not afraid of getting yellow stuff all over your clothes, that is," Wasabi cautioned. He had worked next to Honey Lemon for too long to not know how many of her experiments either ended in disaster or an enormous mess (which to him seemed pretty much the same thing.)
His words split the group of teenagers up, with some hastily backing away and others moving closer. Finally one gave the metal an experimental jab with a pencil.
The results were instantaneous and spectacular as the tungsten carbide transformed into a cloud of bright yellow powder, floating down slowly onto the table and floor. Thanks to Wasabi's warnings, most of the students escaped the downpour, but Honey herself seemed unfazed at her white lab coat turning the colour of a ripe banana. "Last experiment!" she chirped, dragging a tank filled with water out of a corner and picking up a large chunk of dull silvery metal. "Everybody stand back, please! Behind the safety line!"
By the time Wasabi realised what Honey was going to do, it was too late. "Honey, wait, you can't--"
She dropped the metal into the water with a splash. It blew up. Flames licked the surface of the water as the explosion shook the sides of the tank. The students gasped in unison, their eyes taking on the gleam that explosions generally seemed to cause. Wasabi mopped his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief. "Please, nobody try this at home."
Fred frowned as he noticed that even Honey's best efforts had failed to impress that one particular girl, who now shook her hair out of her eyes as she fiddled with the keychain on her phone, but there was nothing to be done.
"Sodium in water, ladies and gentlemen!" Honey said cheerily, waving goodbye as the teenagers followed Fred to the last stop--Hiro's lab.
"You all have the extra-special privilege of being with the one and only Fredzilla today, so sit tight," he boasted, showing off some of his sign-spinning moves. "You're in for a wild ride!"
As it turned out, however, the labs and classrooms of SFIT spoke for themselves. At first the newcomers just kind of stood around awkwardly, despite Fred's best efforts, but he soldiered on through the winding corridors, and soon they were ooh-ing and aah-ing over all the cutting-edge tech. Except one. The school mascot grinned as the tall girl excitedly pointed out something to a friend, gesticulating wildly, but he noticed with a slight frown that even the delicious smells of cheese and sausage failed to drag one particular girl away from her cell phone.
Having piqued their interest, Fred decided the time had come to take the kids to the nerd lab, feeling sure that his friends would put up a fantastic show. Maybe their tech would even be good enough to drag pull that girl out of her shell. "Lab tours this way!" he called, and the now-enthusiastic teenagers trailed behind him, chatting animatedly. "You guys are lucky. You get to see one of the most awesome labs we have!"
~~~
Fred threw open the lab door and the teens let out a collective "wow," taking in the large, powerful machinery, the ping-pong playing robot, and the inflatable...shark? This didn't last long, however, because a yellow blur shot past them at death-defying speeds, causing them to jump back in fright.
Swerving dangerously, Go Go skidded to a halt, narrowly missing the cupboards that lined the room. She shook her purple-streaked hair out of her eyes as she dismounted and approached the students, who looked simultaneously terrified and awed.
"Hey kids."
The visitors glanced silently from the school mascot to the small--but obviously formidable--girl.
"Um...this is Go Go!" Fred said brightly, hoping that Go Go's intimidating entrance wouldn't undo his good work. Attempting to keep the ball rolling, he suggested, "Go Go, why don't you tell them about your bike?"
Grunting assent, Go Go hauled the vehicle nearer so they could get a better look. "Electro-mag suspension," she explained, not unkindly. "Makes for zero resistance, so it's a lot faster."
"Whoa!" One of the kids, a small, olive-skinned boy, stepped forward to examine the bike, though glancing anxiously at the bike's owner. Fred shot Go Go a dubious look when he ventured, "Can I...touch it?"
Then the usually protective girl said something that took Fred completely by surprise. "We can do better than that," she smirked. "I'll let you ride one."
"Ah, hang on," she qualified, as the boy's eyes widened in delight. "Not this one. It's too delicate and hard to handle." Go Go gave the bike an upwards boost so it attached itself to the magnetic holders that hung from the ceiling, then wheeled another one out, this time black with deep purple accents. "I'll let you ride this one. Only partial suspension, but speedy. Finished it up a couple semesters back. I hope you're a good rider. What's your name?"
"Tod," the boy said eagerly. "And I've done mountain biking! And won a couple of contests!"
"You should be fine, then," Go Go said, handing him the bike. "Just a quick spin, okay?" She leaned back as he found his footing. "Go on."
"Yeah!" Tod took off, a crazed grin on his face as he set off. He wobbled slightly at first, and almost crashed into a cabinet. Fred leapt forward in alarm, wondering if letting this kid ride Go Go's bike would end in disaster, but then Tod recovered wonderfully, and made a smooth semicircle around the lab, stopping easily at Go Go's feet.
"That was awesome!" he exclaimed. "The electro-mag thing really works! I barely had to pedal!"
The visitors clustered around him, clamouring to get a closer look at the risky new tech, running their hands over the smooth frame and marvelling as a slight touch sent the wheels spinning. Only the girl with the phone hung back, examining her perfectly manicured fingernails. Go Go took the opportunity to step back and nod at Fred. "How'd I do?"
"Fantastic," Fred whispered back. "And no one got killed."
~~~
Rounding a corner, Fred cautioned the visitors to stay behind the yellow and black safety line, knowing that his friend would appreciate the gesture. All he could see of said friend, however, was a mop of black dreadlocks, as Wasabi was crouched behind his table, digging through a cardboard box. (And replacing the contents in exactly the right places.)
"'Sabi! I brought some people to see you!" Fred called, just loud enough to alert Wasabi but not loud enough to startle him.
"Oh, hey. Didn't see you there." Wasabi straightened and grabbed a neat stack of pamphlets off his work desk, handing them out to the newcomers with an affable smile.
"Safety brochures!" he announced as the visitors took them from his hands somewhat hesitantly, his heart sinking as one girl only looked away from the screen of her cell phone long enough to wrinkle her nose and mutter, "that's lame."
Fred tapped his foot impatiently as Wasabi finished distributing the pamphlets and suggested the visitors get a dollop of hand sanitizer. Finally Wasabi picked up a pear from a fruit basket he had sitting on the table, shifting it a little in his hand.
"Ready for this?" he said, lifting an eyebrow with all the mystique of a magician.
"Yes!" the group (and Fred) chorused. If this was anywhere as good as Go Go's demonstration, it was going to be great.
Without a word, Wasabi tossed the pear towards the gathered students, between two mysterious devices that almost met his height. A couple of the teenagers flinched as though expecting to be hit, but then gaped in wonder as the pear split into paper-thin slices, floating gently to the ground. A girl with two bouncy ponytails caught a slice and crunched it between her fingers. "But there's nothing here!" she said, stepping forward. "How did you--"
Panicking momentarily, Wasabi threw out his hands to stop her. "Please!" he said sternly. "Behind the line!"
"Oops, sorry."
"And, to answer your question," Wasabi said, looking relieved and flipping a switch. Instantly, a network of parallel, glowing green lines appeared. "Lasers. Plasma-induced."
The kids all exchanged suitably impressed looks. Gratified, Wasabi added, "Right now, I'm working on a more portable, handheld model. I hope to get it made commercially before I leave college."
"Wow!" Even more impressed, the visitors speculated about the uses and potential dangers of such a product.
"You planning on moving on to Honey's station?" Wasabi asked Fred, who nodded.
"Then I suggest you take these," the physicist said firmly, plopping a bunch of safety goggles into Fred's hands. "Honey has some great stuff planned, but she isn't the best at lab safety. You'll need these. Avoid the lawsuits."
"Aw, man!" Fred protested. Usually he'd complain that Wasabi was a party pooper, but he had seen the mad glint in Honey's eyes when she started experimenting. Her own safety was one thing. These kids' was another.
Thus, as he so rarely did, Fred took the sensible route and bestowed each visitor with a pair of safety glasses, saving one for himself so he could lead by example. "Onward, troops!"
~~~
"Hi!" she said, beaming widely. "I'm Honey and I'm in chemical engineering! And boy, are you guys going to have a blast!"
At that telltale last word, Wasabi looked up in alarm. "Honey, what are you--"
"For our first experiment...something we call elephant toothpaste!"
That at least was fairly harmless. Wasabi turned back to his work.
Glowing with excitement, Honey shook the contents of four small vials into a large graduated cylinder as the visitors exchanged nervous glances. Suddenly a long tube of foam shot out, draping itself over the table like a giant spaghetti strand and settling into soft coils. Fred grinned widely as he noticed that Honey had upped her game by adding glitter and multiple food dyes to an experiment she had done many times before.
Before the visitors had time to linger long over the sparkling, rainbow-coloured foam, Honey was dragging them over to the next experiment. The hunk of dull metal sitting in the middle of the table didn't look nearly as interesting as the past demonstration, but the bubbly chemist was already spraying the block yellow and flipping a switch on the wall.
"Poke it," she said, staring at the metal with gleeful eyes.
"Wha-?"
"...If you're not afraid of getting yellow stuff all over your clothes, that is," Wasabi cautioned. He had worked next to Honey Lemon for too long to not know how many of her experiments either ended in disaster or an enormous mess (which to him seemed pretty much the same thing.)
His words split the group of teenagers up, with some hastily backing away and others moving closer. Finally one gave the metal an experimental jab with a pencil.
The results were instantaneous and spectacular as the tungsten carbide transformed into a cloud of bright yellow powder, floating down slowly onto the table and floor. Thanks to Wasabi's warnings, most of the students escaped the downpour, but Honey herself seemed unfazed at her white lab coat turning the colour of a ripe banana. "Last experiment!" she chirped, dragging a tank filled with water out of a corner and picking up a large chunk of dull silvery metal. "Everybody stand back, please! Behind the safety line!"
By the time Wasabi realised what Honey was going to do, it was too late. "Honey, wait, you can't--"
She dropped the metal into the water with a splash. It blew up. Flames licked the surface of the water as the explosion shook the sides of the tank. The students gasped in unison, their eyes taking on the gleam that explosions generally seemed to cause. Wasabi mopped his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief. "Please, nobody try this at home."
Fred frowned as he noticed that even Honey's best efforts had failed to impress that one particular girl, who now shook her hair out of her eyes as she fiddled with the keychain on her phone, but there was nothing to be done.
"Sodium in water, ladies and gentlemen!" Honey said cheerily, waving goodbye as the teenagers followed Fred to the last stop--Hiro's lab.
~~~
Fred flung the door open without bothering to knock, which caused the petite boy hunched over his work table to jump in surprise. As if in response, a handful of small black robots rattled the sides of their glass container.
"Fred! And hi, guys!" Hiro said, getting up from his seat.
"What are those?" a girl with two long braids asked, appraising the tiny bots.
"My microbots," Hiro explained, adjusting his headband and making them dance in a spiral within the glass cylinder. "I'm rebuilding them because they got destroyed, so they can't do very much now." He stayed quiet for a few seconds before shaking his head and straightening up, removing the transmitter so the microbots clattered to the bottom of their container. Then he bent down and hauled a box onto the table. "Why don't I show you something else instead?"
Opening the box, Hiro carefully lifted out an arm. A couple of the visitors grimaced.
It was a prosthetic arm, remarkably realistic, with an almost gruesome weight and feel to it. Hiro laid it down on the table and picked up a different transmitter.
"It's controlled by a combination of the myoelectric method--using the muscles left at the amputated area--and mind control." To illustrate this, the fingers waggled in unison without Hiro having to move a muscle. He then attached the arm to a bare metal structure so it hovered a few inches above the table. "I tried to make the joint movement as close to a human hand as possible, so it can perform tasks beyond those of current prosthetics on the market. Anyone have a pencil I could borrow?"
A kid with a buzz cut dug one out of his pocket and offered it to Hiro. "Nuh-uh," Hiro said. "Hand it to the hand."
"Ba dum tsh," Fred couldn't resist saying, and Hiro snorted, folding his arms as the prosthetic easily took the pencil.
"Whoa!" said the teenager, moving his hand back, surprised.
Then the hand lowered, and, within a few minutes, produced a very passable sketch of the buzz-cut kid. "You can keep it," Hiro said, picking up the paper and giving it to him.
"Thanks, man," said the teenager, who towered over the fourteen-year-old Hiro but suddenly felt very small.
"This arm," Hiro elaborated, taking it off its stand, "combines the best features of fully functional prosthetics and cosmetic ones. When I finish it, I plan on making it as close to an actual arm as it can get."
Then he dropped his professional demeanour, breaking into a gap-toothed grin. "It's gonna be pretty rad."
As Fred ushered the students out of the lab room, well satisfied with the outcome of his tour, someone accidentally bumped into the door with a sharp shout of "ow!"
It was that kid. She'd being staring down at her phone and hadn't been looking where she was going. Frankly, Fred didn't feel that surprised as he rushed over to help.
Then all eyes turned to the corner, as the room filled with a soft hiss and a giant, puffy robot rose from a red case.
"Hello. I am Baymax." the robot said. "I am a personal healthcare companion and was alerted to the situation by a cry of distress. What appears to be the matter?"
"What?" the girl asked, protectively cradling her injured elbow with the hand that held her sparkly pink cell phone.
"He's asking you if you're hurt," Hiro simplified, wondering if he shouldn't make Baymax's speech less...complex.
"No, it's just a scrape," she said, lifting her hand to reveal a red scratch, caused by the rough surface of the lock mechanism. "Ooh. There's blood."
"You should let him treat you," Hiro suggested.
She sized up the robot suspiciously before letting out a reluctant "okay," then watched nervously as Baymax stopped the bleeding, applied antiseptic spray, and added a band-aid with a practised hand. Once in a while she glanced out to where Fred was regaling the students with school horror stories as they waited.
"Wow. Thanks," she said as Baymax finished the job. "That's really cool. Did you build him?"
Hiro shook his head, smiling. "No. My brother did. He wanted to help a lot of people. Baymax has over ten thousand medical procedures, can diagnose illnesses, and provide appropriate treatment for many conditions. I'm working on getting similar robots in the market."
The girl looked impressed for the first time all day. "That's amazing. It really is."
"Fred! And hi, guys!" Hiro said, getting up from his seat.
"What are those?" a girl with two long braids asked, appraising the tiny bots.
"My microbots," Hiro explained, adjusting his headband and making them dance in a spiral within the glass cylinder. "I'm rebuilding them because they got destroyed, so they can't do very much now." He stayed quiet for a few seconds before shaking his head and straightening up, removing the transmitter so the microbots clattered to the bottom of their container. Then he bent down and hauled a box onto the table. "Why don't I show you something else instead?"
Opening the box, Hiro carefully lifted out an arm. A couple of the visitors grimaced.
It was a prosthetic arm, remarkably realistic, with an almost gruesome weight and feel to it. Hiro laid it down on the table and picked up a different transmitter.
"It's controlled by a combination of the myoelectric method--using the muscles left at the amputated area--and mind control." To illustrate this, the fingers waggled in unison without Hiro having to move a muscle. He then attached the arm to a bare metal structure so it hovered a few inches above the table. "I tried to make the joint movement as close to a human hand as possible, so it can perform tasks beyond those of current prosthetics on the market. Anyone have a pencil I could borrow?"
A kid with a buzz cut dug one out of his pocket and offered it to Hiro. "Nuh-uh," Hiro said. "Hand it to the hand."
"Ba dum tsh," Fred couldn't resist saying, and Hiro snorted, folding his arms as the prosthetic easily took the pencil.
"Whoa!" said the teenager, moving his hand back, surprised.
Then the hand lowered, and, within a few minutes, produced a very passable sketch of the buzz-cut kid. "You can keep it," Hiro said, picking up the paper and giving it to him.
"Thanks, man," said the teenager, who towered over the fourteen-year-old Hiro but suddenly felt very small.
"This arm," Hiro elaborated, taking it off its stand, "combines the best features of fully functional prosthetics and cosmetic ones. When I finish it, I plan on making it as close to an actual arm as it can get."
Then he dropped his professional demeanour, breaking into a gap-toothed grin. "It's gonna be pretty rad."
As Fred ushered the students out of the lab room, well satisfied with the outcome of his tour, someone accidentally bumped into the door with a sharp shout of "ow!"
It was that kid. She'd being staring down at her phone and hadn't been looking where she was going. Frankly, Fred didn't feel that surprised as he rushed over to help.
Then all eyes turned to the corner, as the room filled with a soft hiss and a giant, puffy robot rose from a red case.
"Hello. I am Baymax." the robot said. "I am a personal healthcare companion and was alerted to the situation by a cry of distress. What appears to be the matter?"
"What?" the girl asked, protectively cradling her injured elbow with the hand that held her sparkly pink cell phone.
"He's asking you if you're hurt," Hiro simplified, wondering if he shouldn't make Baymax's speech less...complex.
"No, it's just a scrape," she said, lifting her hand to reveal a red scratch, caused by the rough surface of the lock mechanism. "Ooh. There's blood."
"You should let him treat you," Hiro suggested.
She sized up the robot suspiciously before letting out a reluctant "okay," then watched nervously as Baymax stopped the bleeding, applied antiseptic spray, and added a band-aid with a practised hand. Once in a while she glanced out to where Fred was regaling the students with school horror stories as they waited.
"Wow. Thanks," she said as Baymax finished the job. "That's really cool. Did you build him?"
Hiro shook his head, smiling. "No. My brother did. He wanted to help a lot of people. Baymax has over ten thousand medical procedures, can diagnose illnesses, and provide appropriate treatment for many conditions. I'm working on getting similar robots in the market."
The girl looked impressed for the first time all day. "That's amazing. It really is."
~~~
Fast forward a few months, and the team were hanging out in the foyer on the first day of the new school year, wondering if they'd see anyone familiar.
'That kid--Tod--was a smart one," Go Go said, popping a new stick of gum into her mouth. "I hope he comes here."
"Go Go, literally all he did was ride a bike," Hiro said.
"Shush. I can tell."
"Hey, is someone waving at us?" Honey asked, sitting up straighter in her seat. "Yes, someone is!"
A girl with a long black ponytail ran up to them, waving, clutching a glittery pink phone. "Hey! I was here at the open house and went for a lab tour. Remember me?"
Fred stood up. "Yeah! So you're coming here? That's great!" Secretly, he felt a bit surprised, because she'd been by far the least enthusiastic visitor.
"I know I didn't pay much attention," the teenager admitted. "But that was because, well...I didn't really want to go here at first."
Wasabi pulled up a chair, and she took a seat. "My number one dream was medical school, but I didn't make it in. I was so disappointed. My mom suggested I come here, especially since I studied robotics in high school. I wasn't really interested, though, and I guess it showed." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and grinned down at Hiro. "Then I saw the limb you made, and your brother's bot. It helped me realise I could still heal people, just in a different way. It really got to me, and I applied for SFIT the day after. And, well, I'm here now!"
"Wow," said Hiro, smiling at how Tadashi's invention was still inspiring others.
"Wow is right," Fred said, giving her a congratulatory hi-five.
"We're so glad you're here," Honey said warmly
"Yeah," said the girl. "I'm glad, too."
Authorly notes:
Wasabi pulled up a chair, and she took a seat. "My number one dream was medical school, but I didn't make it in. I was so disappointed. My mom suggested I come here, especially since I studied robotics in high school. I wasn't really interested, though, and I guess it showed." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and grinned down at Hiro. "Then I saw the limb you made, and your brother's bot. It helped me realise I could still heal people, just in a different way. It really got to me, and I applied for SFIT the day after. And, well, I'm here now!"
"Wow," said Hiro, smiling at how Tadashi's invention was still inspiring others.
"Wow is right," Fred said, giving her a congratulatory hi-five.
"We're so glad you're here," Honey said warmly
"Yeah," said the girl. "I'm glad, too."
Authorly notes:
1. Is this too close to the nerd lab scene?
2. Ah well.
3. I feel like Wasabi goes HONEY NO a lot.
4. Information on prosthetic limbs found here. I'm actually learning from these fics, ha! But whether the writing is scientifically accurate is still highly dubious.
5. I KEEP SAYING RAD.
you have some really funny Authorly notes XD
ReplyDelete