4. Silicon Valley

4 Silicon Valley "It's the technology capital of America, and maybe even the world. Silicon Valley is where computers were born," Lily explained to Stanley the next morning. They were riding in the back of the van while their fathers rode up front. "Dad's best friend owns a company there. He has a whole team of people helping us." Stanley caught himself staring at Lily's feet. "Can I ask you something?" he said hesitantly. "Shoot," said Lily.

"What happened to your legs?" he asked. "Sorry," he added quickly. "You don't need to be embarrassed about asking." She shrugged. "I was born this way. I can't walk because my legs and my brain don't talk to each other very well." "Do you ever wish you could walk?" Lily smirked. "Do you ever wish you weren't flat?" "Sometimes," admitted Stanley. "But I don't really think about it that much anymore. It's just... the way I am." Lily smiled. "Exactly," she said. Stanley was expecting an office building like the one where his father worked. But when they arrived, he found a campus that reminded him more of the University of Texas at Austin, where he had recently visited his friend Eduardo. People were playing Frisbee on a sprawling lawn surrounded by glass buildings. They made their way to the biggest building, where Dr. Fox led them through a room filled with people at desks, Ping-Pong tables, and pinball

machines. A handful of employees in T-shirts were arguing and scrawling diagrams with Magic Markers on one wall.

Stanley's father murmured, "I wish I worked in a place like this."

"I wish we lived in a place like this," Stanley said. They came to a desk in the middle of the floor, where a man with a beard was staring intently at something on his computer screen. He sat on a giant inflatable ball. When he looked up and saw Dr. Fox, his face broke into a huge smile. "Theo!" he cried, grabbing his old friend in a bear hug. Then he saw Lily and said, "Lily pad!" "Hiya, Uncle Jerry!" said Lily, rolling over for a squeeze. "Jerry," said Dr. Fox, "I want you to meet Stanley Lambchop and his father, George." "We've been waiting for you!" said Uncle Jerry, pumping Stanley's hand. "Everyone's been working around the clock." He ushered them down the hall to a bank of elevators. Inside, Jerry punched B for basement. "Wait until you see what we've come up with!" The elevator doors opened onto a laboratory. People in white coats and sneakers were hurrying back and forth, but they all stopped in their tracks when they saw Stanley and Lily. "Team!" said Uncle Jerry. "Meet Stanley!"

Everyone called out welcoming words. "Stanley's just like us," he said. "He thinks Lily Pad here has a crazy idea. But you know the thing about crazy ideas? They're the only ones big enough to change the world. That's why he's agreed to be part of her plan. So let's do our part and give Stanley a boost, shall we?" Uncle Jerry pressed a button, and a big black screen rose up from a slot in the floor. In front of it hung a glimmering black jumpsuit stretched around a mannequin shaped just like Stanley. The suit covered everything except the eyes, like a ninja costume. Meanwhile, there was webbed fabric connecting the arms to the sides of the legs, almost like the wings of a bat.