5 Suitable Suits

Chapter Five Suitable Suits Finn secured Elias's helmet. Abigail made sure Vale's gloves were fully attached to the rest of his space suit. Foggy checked Finn's boots. It took a surprising amount of teamwork to put on all their gear. Finn fastened Elias's helmet and knocked three times. "Earth to Elias!" said Finn. "That's not annoying," said Elias. "What's up with you?" asked Finn. "Are you still thinking about your robot?" "Sorta," said Elias. "You're sorta thinking, or you are thinking but it's sorta about the robot?" asked Vale. "I'm lost." Elias shook his head. "It was supposed to be a surprise," said Elias. "I thought I could build us something that would really help us down on a planet. I know I'm not

that much help out there, but at least I could be helpful up here." "Not helpful?" said Abigail. "What are you talking about, Elias? You're part of the team." "It's fine," said Elias. "I don't really want to talk about it. Anyway, the robot was supposed to be a surprise. The first robot to have its own intelligence. Turns out my parents beat me to it with Voltronix." "I beg your pardon," said Foggy. When Finn had turned eight years old, his parents had given him Foggy. Finn had downloaded Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne onto Foggy's mainframe. Ever since, Foggy had always been up for adventure. "I like to think that I have my own intelligence." "No, that's not what I mean," said Elias. "I mean intelligence as a computing term. It means the way a computer thinks, not how smart it is." "DID SOMEBODY SAY INTELLIGENT?!" Voltronix Zu came around the corner. The light sparkled off his chrome body. "WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT ME? BECAUSE I AM THAT. THAT WORD YOU JUST SAID. I FORGET WHAT IT WAS."

Foggy sighed. "This guy, again," he muttered. Captain Caspian and Paige walked up behind Voltronix. "Explorers Troop 301!" said Finn's mother. "We are all excited for you to investigate this very unusual planet." "Can't wait!" said Paige. She pulled a space suit off a hook on the wall. "You're not coming," said Finn. "It's going to be so fun," said Paige, ignoring her brother. "Mom?" said Finn. "Who's going to help me put on my helmet?" asked Paige as she slipped one arm into a sleeve of the space suit. "Someday soon," Captain Caspian said to Paige. She reached down and pulled her daughter out of the space suit. But Paige still clung to it like a life raft. "For now, this planet is for Explorers Troop 301. And as you know, this could be a major find. It seems practically perfect. And yet, we see no signs of intelligent life."

"Speaking of which," said Finn. He pulled his mother to the side. "Mom, do we really need

Voltronix to come with us? He seems a little.... off." "OFF?" said Voltronix. "NO WAY. SEE THIS GREEN LIGHT RIGHT HERE?" Voltronix pointed to his left shoulder. There was no green light. "Wrong shoulder," muttered Foggy. "RIGHT!" said Voltronix. He pointed to his right shoulder. "THAT GREEN LIGHT MEANS I AM ON. VERY NOT OFF." "That's right, Voltronix," said Captain Caspian. She was talking to the robot like he was a little kid. She turned to Finn and frowned. "Be nice, Finn. Voltronix is still working out the kinks. That's why I think it would be great if you let him be a part of your team. Elias, you can be in charge of helping Voltronix learn." Elias was busy putting his space helmet back together. He had taken it off and pulled it apart to see how the visor worked, but was having trouble getting it to seal right. "Me? Why me?" asked Elias. "You're chief technologist," said Captain Caspian. "Who better?"

"Literally anybody," said Elias. "He smashed my robot!"