2
We did have one connection to Gregor Robotics here with
us. We had the daughter of the founder
of Gregor Robotics. Andrea Gregor was
Ivan Gregor's daughter, the inventor who founded the corporation. He was putting Huron on the map as a leading
center of scientific research. His
industrial robotic arms were now the standard in many factories throughout the
world. He would give lectures about the
coming of artificial intelligence in robots, and was experimenting with more
humanoid robot designs. Ones that could
move around and assist with many tasks, even adapt and interpret new data,
almost as if they had the ability to reason.
I pictured the animatronics used at Disney Kingdoms, but I imagine they
might look more like Robby the Robot from the TV show Lost in Space.
Many wondered if Andrea might know more about what was
happening than the rest of us did. Given
how people pushed me for insider knowledge that I did not possess, because my
Dad was Principal, made me sympathetic to her.
She was very stand-offish, anti-social, sort of living in her own
bubble, as if the rest of us were beneath her.
She could maintain this separation in part because she had something
none of the rest of us had.
A bodyguard.
Yes, I apologize for not mentioning this earlier, but we
did have one person in the Trap that was not part of student or staff. Andrea, given how rich her father was, and
subject to kidnap attempts, always had a bodyguard near her. Gary Jackson was the one unlucky enough to be
with her on the day the Trap fell. He
was a big black man; well over six feet and he had to be three hundred pounds
or more. The weight was mostly muscle,
presenting a large, imposing figure. He
was intimidating enough that everyone gave whatever space Andrea wanted. Not even Robert Pelly and his bully friends
bothered I couldn't recall ever seeing
interact with anybody. Gary Jackson insisted
to my father that Andrea sleep in a place by herself, but he wouldn't give in
on that. So Andrea slept in Mrs. Forsyth's room, along with other girls whose
names ended in G (and a few ending in H), while Mr. Jackson sat just outside
the room in a chair. I had no idea when
he actually slept. Maybe he didn't need
to. Maybe Ivan Gregor was farther along
than we thought, and Gary Jackson was a robot.
It seemed unlikely, but given the weirdness we were already surrounded
by, why not?
So imagine my surprise when in the middle of February when
the hulking Mr. Jackson approaches me in the cafetorium. He looked at me sternly. "Andrea would like to see you. Would you please come with me?"
The Artie gang, who was seated around me, looked
worried. "Exactly where would I be
going?' I asked.
He took no interest in my question. "Just come with me, Mr. Martin.
She will be much appreciative."
Robert Bond, who was seated right next to me, stood up and
faced the huge bodyguard. "I'll
come with him."
"No," answered the big man. "Just Mr. Martin."
Artie chipped in, "Go ahead, Lance. It'll be okay. We got your back." He nodded to me, and I knew. One or more of them would follow at a
distance, so at least they would know where I was going, and could jump in if
needed.
Larry Wiseman spoke up.
"Yeah, maybe she wants to give you some money, or offer you a job
in her Dad's company!"
Lindsay Starn shook her head. She had her own ideas. "She probably wants you t o write
something, Lance. From what I've seen,
she's gone through most of the books in the library."
Ginny Estill piped in.
"Maybe she's got a crush on you, you handsome hunk of
man!" Everybody howled at
that. Somehow I highly doubted that, but
if Andrea did, it was the last thing I wanted to deal with. It's not that she wasn't attractive. It just wasn't something I wanted to deal
with. What happened to Lisa still
haunted me. Even with everything that
happens, Doctor Duncan, it probably always will.
Mr. Gary Jackson had lost his patience. "Are you coming with me or not, Mr.
Martin?"
I got up to leave with him.
"Yes, I'll come with you.
And please, would you just call me Lance?"
He held out his arm, in the direction of exiting the
cafetorium. "Of course, Mr.
Martin. Whatever you prefer."
Good lord. Maybe he
was a robot.
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