50 THE CONTROL ROOM

CHAPTER 50 THE CONTROL ROOM The control room was filled with computers that kept track of the Juggernaut's engines and machines and systems. Near the middle of the room was a table with an electronic screen built into its tabletop. The screen showed a map of the area, along with the latest weather information. As Roz continued examining the control room, she realized the station could do many tasks by itself, but it couldn't do everything, and signs of its human operators were all around. Jackets hung from hooks. Trash bins were filled with food wrappers. A pair of binoculars lay on a desk. Roz looked through the windows and down at the station's different features. At one corner of the station, a small airship sat on a launchpad. BOSUN robots patrolled the walkways. A large drone flew past the control tower and settled onto its landing platform on the roof of a lower building. Surrounding the Juggernaut, of course, was the ocean. To the south, Roz saw remote islands and

icebergs. To the west, she saw the setting sun. Everywhere else, she saw water and sky. What she didn't see was the poison tide. Even with her powerful vision, she couldn't spot any dust clouds in the ocean. Perhaps the humans were unaware of the damage they were doing. Perhaps they would shut everything down once they learned about the problem. Roz felt hope flickering inside her. But that flicker went out when she noticed a video screen in the corner of the room. It was showing live video of big billowing dust clouds, streaming away from an underwater mountain, like smoke from a chimney on a windy night. Every now and then, the clouds would recede, and a giant robot briefly came into view. Roz was now looking at the source of the poison tide. All the harm done to the ocean wilderness had started right there, by that deep-sea mining robot. The silence in the control room was broken by the hum of an elevator. A moment later, doors glided open and a woman walked out. She crossed the room and sat at a desk. The woman had no idea that a robot was hiding under the table behind her. From Roz's hiding place, she caught a glimpse of the woman's name tag. Akiko Fuji, Mining Station Manager. Akiko was in charge of the mining station, which meant she was responsible for the poison tide.