The Wild Robot Protects, page 12
“The station sank faster and closer, and at the very last instant, Crusher let me go. I started swimming away, but I did not make it far before the Juggernaut crashed against the mountain. I heard a terrible blast of noise. Metal groaned and screeched as the whole massive station broke apart. Hulking pieces of wreckage were falling all around. I saw a building toppling toward me. Quickly, I scanned the area for any kind of escape, and I spotted a small cave in the rock. Just as I was diving in, the building slammed to the ground behind me, burying me inside. I waited in that cave as the station continued crashing. It seemed like it would go on forever. Gradually, though, the mountain stopped shaking, the noise died down, and I knew the crash was over.
“It took me a week to climb out from the rubble. I crawled up through the mess, squeezing through crumpled structures and pushing through piles of smashed equipment. Finally, I heaved aside one last piece of debris, and I was free.
“Before me was a scene of total destruction. Buildings and platforms and walkways and machines were twisted together in a heap that sprawled across the mountain. One of Crusher’s claws was sticking up from the rubble. The rest of his body had been flattened. The Ancient Shark’s plan had worked, and the poison tide had come to an end, at last.
“I never saw the Ancient Shark again, although I did search for her. As I stood there, I let out bursts of clicks and listened for an echo shaped like a shark. What I heard, instead, was the faint sound of motors, and soon lights were shining down.
“I hid beneath a mangled machine as a crew of cleanup robots descended. The robots began scooping the rubble into enormous bins. I was afraid of being discovered, so I stayed hidden, and I was scooped up along with the rubble. Everything was hauled to the surface and dumped into robotic barges, and then the fleet of cleanup robots sailed away.
“Only days earlier, those waters had been filled with the poison tide. It had rushed between islands and slowed in the open ocean. It had spread through calm seas until the next current whisked it in a new direction. Flowing swiftly here and drifting gently there, the poison tide meandered farther and farther to the south. The fleet of cleanup robots traveled that same path, removing the toxic dust as they went. Progress was slow, but what they left behind was a clean ocean, ready for life to return.
“For days and days, I stayed hidden in the back of that barge. Then, yesterday, I carefully peered ahead and saw our island in the distance. I was almost home! I waited until none of the robots were looking, and then I dove into the waves. Once the fleet had passed our island, I swam to shore, where I found all of you.
“The humans promised to clean the ocean, and they are following through. They also promised this would never happen again, and I believe them. My friends, I am happy to say that the poison tide is gone for good, and we have survived. Life will never go back to exactly how it was, but in time, we will move on from this tragedy. Old friends will come home. Fields and forests will regrow. The ocean will thrive again. Our island is already beginning to heal, and so are we.”
CHAPTER 79
THE STRANGE FAMILY
Autumn was at its peak, and the island was turning deep shades of yellow and orange and red. Leaves dropped from their branches and floated to the ground. Some leaves landed on the pond and became snacks for the beavers who were busily preparing for winter.
Brightbill glided through the crisp morning air and splashed down in the pond. The water rippled beside him, and Roz’s head poked up. Then the two of them went for a swim. It was a lovely start to the day, but something was on Brightbill’s mind.
“I’m sorry, Ma,” said the goose. “You’ve just met your grandgoslings, and tomorrow I have to take them away.”
“Please do not apologize,” said the robot. “I know you must fly south for winter. I will miss you all very much, but I am excited for the goslings to go on their first migration.”
“They’re excited too. They kept me up late last night with questions about the journey.” Brightbill opened his mouth and yawned. “It’s a good thing I’ve got Glimmer. I don’t know how you raised me by yourself.”
“I was not by myself,” said Roz. “The geese offered parenting advice. The beavers showed me how to build a home. The deer gave me gardening lessons. Each of our friends helped us in their own way.”
Brightbill thought for a moment and said, “Now that I’m a parent, I see how lucky I was to have you as my mother. You taught me things I couldn’t have learned from anyone else. I wouldn’t be me without you. Thank you, Ma.”
“Oh, Brightbill,” said Roz. “Your sweet words would make me cry if only I had tear ducts.”
A smile spread across Brightbill’s face, and he broke into laughter. And then came giggles as the goslings flew over, with Glimmer close behind.
Roz spent that day with her family, exploring the island and answering questions from the curious goslings.
When they passed under an old oak tree, Roz explained that old trees could support a broad swath of forest. “Underground, their roots entwine with the roots of their neighbors,” she said. “Through that connection, they share water and nutrients and even information. The forest is a diverse community of living things which is linked together by old trees, like this oak.”
“Grandma, you have a lot in common with that oak tree,” said Quickwit.
“Yeah, you’re always helping others and bringing everyone together,” said Moontail.
“Maybe this tree is a grandma too!” said Widestride.
Roz patted the tree trunk, and said, “Grandmother trees. I like the sound of that.” Then the robot began climbing the tree. Leaves gently shook as she climbed higher and higher. She found a sturdy branch and sat with her legs dangling. There was a flurry of wingbeats, and the geese fluttered up to join her. Before long, Roz and Brightbill and Glimmer and the goslings were all perched near each other in that old oak tree.
“We’re a strange family,” said Lighteyes.
“Yeah, but I like it that way,” said Cloudfeather.
The whole strange family nodded in agreement.
CHAPTER 80
THE FUTURE
Our story ends at dawn. The eastern sky was growing brighter, and the last few stars were fading fast. Around the island, animals were heading for the Great Meadow. After months without a Dawn Truce, they had resumed their old tradition. Bears and frogs and owls and beavers and turtles and hares and moose and groundhogs and squirrels and woodpeckers and otters and foxes and mice and badgers and snakes and deer and weasels and vultures and many other creatures were going to meet up with their friends. But on this particular day, they were mostly going to say good-bye. You see, the geese were about to leave on their winter migration.
The meadow buzzed with excitement as families of geese crowded together. While the adults discussed the travel plan, the youngsters discussed how to properly fly as a group. By sunrise, the flock was ready, but their leader had one last thing to do.
Brightbill gathered Glimmer and the goslings, and they all waddled over to Roz. The family members hugged each other tight and wished each other well. Then the geese waddled back to the flock.
It was time to fly. Brightbill took a deep breath and honked loudly, and suddenly all the geese were flapping. A cloud of feathers floated down as the flock rose into the sky. At first, they flew in a disorganized jumble, but each goose slowly drifted into place until the flock was flying in perfect V formation, with Brightbill at the point.
On the ground, everyone watched and waved as the flock turned to the south. And then Roz started walking, and then trotting, and then running. Following the flock, she raced across the meadow and into the forest. She ducked under branches and hopped over shrubs, catching glimpses of the flock through the treetops. She burst out from the forest and ran as far as she could go, to the very edge of the island, where a small cliff dropped down to the rocky coast.
Our robot stood there as the flock grew smaller and smaller and vanished into the distance. In the weeks to come, the geese would fly above oceans and mountains and farms and cities. There was a big, beautiful, complicated world beyond the horizon. When the time was right, when the island had recovered, the wild robot would venture out again.
A NOTE ABOUT THE STORY
Honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d ever make another Wild Robot book. The second book has a very satisfying ending, and for a while I thought it might be best to leave things there and focus on creating other stories. But my imagination kept coming back to Roz. She’s such an intriguing character, and through her I can explore so many fascinating subjects, that I couldn’t stop myself from writing more about her.
There are a number of important themes running through the Wild Robot books, and one of the most important is the idea of home. In the first book, Roz makes a home for herself on the wild island. In the second book, Roz escapes from her new life and finds a way back to her island home. When I started working on this third book, I knew only that it would involve Roz protecting her home. But protect it from what? Humans?
Other robots? Something else entirely? After considering many possibilities, I set out to write a thrilling adventure in which the wild robot goes to extraordinary lengths to protect her home from a mysterious form of pollution, known to the animals as the poison tide.
From the beginning, I had big plans for this story. I wanted to show the interconnectedness of life in the water and on land and in the air. I wanted to introduce a new cast of animal characters and show how they struggled in different ways with their changing environments. I wanted to show Roz methodically solving what seems like an unsolvable problem. Above all, I wanted to make readers care deeply about everything that was happening, and to do that the story had to be believable. There could be no easy solutions and no clear villains. Real life is complicated, and this story needed to reflect that truth.
The toughest challenge was finding balance. There would have to be lessons woven into this story, and yet I didn’t want it to feel moralistic. It would deal with heavy subjects, so I had to make sure there were also moments of lightness. It would include a variety of unfamiliar technology and settings and situations, but everything had to make sense to readers of all ages.
I have to admit, this book was surprisingly difficult to make. But after several years of researching, thinking, planning, writing, sketching, illustrating, and a whole lot of revising, the story finally took shape. I sincerely hope you enjoyed The Wild Robot Protects.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The fact that you’re reading these acknowledgments says a lot about you. And it makes me think you might have read the acknowledgments in the two preceding Wild Robot books. If that’s true, then many of the names you’re about to read will be familiar. It takes a big team of hardworking people to bring any book into the world, and I’ve been lucky enough to work with many of the same people on each of the books in this series. I owe a great debt to the following people for helping me with The Wild Robot Protects.
I met Susan Fang when I was finishing up book one of this series, The Wild Robot. At the time, I was so frazzled from working on my very first novel that it’s a miracle she didn’t run away. Since then, she and I have gotten married, adopted a dog, and moved to a house in the woods. Now, Susan is writing and illustrating children’s books of her own (under the name X. Fang). She’s been an incredible partner and cheerleader and adviser, and I couldn’t have completed any of the Wild Robot books without her.
Paul Rodeen is my trusted literary agent who’s helped guide my career since the very start.
My publisher, Little, Brown and Company, remained patient and understanding with me even when I couldn’t meet the original deadline. They also provided me with a team of incredibly talented professionals who each played an important role in this book’s publication. That team includes Ruqayyah Daud, Crystal Castro, Andy Ball, Jen Graham, Barbara Bakowski, Prashansa Thapa, Virginia Lawther, Emilie Polster, Bill Grace, Andie Divelbiss, Marisa Russell, Cassie Malmo, Kelly Moran, Victoria Stapleton, Christie Michel, Shawn Foster, Danielle Cantarella, Jackie Engel, and Megan Tingley.
David Caplan has been the creative director on each of the Wild Robot books, and I’m so fortunate to have his experience and expertise.
Alvina Ling is my longtime editor who gives me more creative freedom than I know what to do with, which is just about the best problem an author could have.
To all who have helped and tolerated me as I made this book, thank you.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PETER BROWN is the author and illustrator of many bestselling children’s books, including the Wild Robot series, Fred Gets Dressed, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, and The Curious Garden. He is the recipient of a Caldecott Honor (for Creepy Carrots!), two E. B. White Read Aloud Awards, a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award, and a Kid’s Book Choice Award for Illustrator of the Year. Peter invites you to visit his website at peterbrownstudio.com.
Peter Brown, The Wild Robot Protects
