47 THE FIGHT

CHAPTER 47 THE FIGHT The poison tide was the work of robots. That new information was a lot for Roz to process. She listened closely as the Ancient Shark explained further. "On the other side of this ocean, a robot is demolishing an underwater mountain. The robot doesn't look like you, Roz. He looks more like a giant crab. He tears rocks from the mountain, creating huge dust clouds that stream away on the currents. Those dust clouds are the poison tide. Other robots collect the rocks and carry them to a structure that floats on the surface. We don't know what happens in the floating structure, but we know there are humans aboard." "That must be a mining operation," said Roz. "The robots must be removing minerals from the underwater mountain. The floating structure must be the station where everything is controlled." Gurry nodded and said, "To stop the poison tide, we have to stop the mining operation. It won't be easy, but we'll have help. Ocean animals who abandoned the north are ready to return and fight alongside us. The

other animals and I will need to stay clear of the poison tide. It would be too dangerous to attack the mining site, in the deep. A better strategy is to attack the mining station, at the surface. That's where the humans are. Humans are weak and can easily be defeated. When I give the signal, the attack on the station will begin. My armies will attack from the outside, you'll climb up and attack from the inside, and together we will put an end to the poison tide." The robot's glowing eyes dimmed. "Violence is not the solution," she said. "There must be another way." "For some of us, violence is the only way." "I am not like you, Gurry. I am not a predator. I am not programmed to be violent." "How else can we defeat our enemies, Roz? We need to fight! You need to fight!" "This is how I fight!" said the robot. "I fight with my mind. I think and I plan and I find peaceful solutions to every problem." The shark's face twisted in confusion. "Are you telling me that if I attacked you right now, you wouldn't fight back?" "I would try to escape," said Roz. "But I am not capable of fighting." "I don't believe you," said Gurry. "Try to hit me. Don't worry—I'll be fine." "I cannot fight."

"Go on, hit me, Roz!" "I cannot fight." Gurry roared with frustration. Then she rushed forward, ramming into Roz. "Fight back!" hollered the shark. "I cannot fight!" hollered the robot. "They call you the wild robot! Show me how wild you really are!" The shark rushed forward again and opened her jaws and snapped them around the robot. Roz felt rows of razor-sharp teeth crunching against her sides. Her Survival Instincts blared in her head. If just one of those teeth were to pierce her body, water would come flooding in and destroy her. And that's when Roz did something impossible. She did something unthinkable. She fought back. Her powerful arm swung through the water and slapped Gurry right across the face. The shark went tumbling into the shadows, and her fish companions darted after her. Roz stared at her hand. She had never before hit anyone. How could she have hit Gurry? It went against her programming! She searched her computer brain for an explanation and realized, once again, that her new body was different from her old one. Her new body was waterproof, and her new body could fight. That might seem like an exciting development to you, reader, but it caused our robot to feel something like sorrow and loss.

What Roz loved most about herself was her peaceful temperament, and suddenly that had changed, forever. Gurry swam out from the shadows, chuckling to herself. "I knew you had it in you, Roz!" The shark stretched her jaws and exposed two missing teeth. "You're stronger than you look." Quietly, Roz said, "I am so sorry." "Don't ruin this nice moment with an apology!" said Gurry. "I wanted you to fight!" "But I knocked out two of your teeth!" "Oh, that's nothing. I've lost more teeth than I can count. They always grow back." "It seems that I am capable of fighting," said Roz. "But I can still choose not to fight. You said there are humans aboard the station. I will not fight them. I will reason with them." "We don't need reason," said Gurry. "We need revenge for all the lives lost to the poison tide! We need to make sure this never happens again!" "And that is what we will do," said Roz. "Point me toward the mining station, and let me try to solve this peacefully. If my way fails, we will try it your way." The Ancient Shark grunted. "Fine. But I'll be watching. And when you fail, my armies will attack."