71 THE TRUTH

CHAPTER 71 THE TRUTH Crusher gripped Roz in his giant claw and looked at her weak little body. He could easily squeeze the life out of her and rid himself of the pest. Motors hummed as he tightened his grip, but he stopped when our robot started speaking. The attempt to confuse Crusher with lies had not gone well, so Roz spoke the truth instead. "I lied to you earlier," admitted Roz. "The truth is that I was not sent here by the Juggernaut. I came on my own, to stop you. I meant you no harm. I was only trying to protect what I love. What you do not know is that the runoff from this mine is damaging a vast area of ocean wilderness, including the island where I live. It does not matter what you do to me, but I am begging you, Crusher, please stop mining. You have the power to save many lives." Crusher was designed for a single purpose: to mine deep-sea minerals. His computer brain was not equipped to handle such a strange situation. The mountaintop was quiet as he studied Roz and tried to

decide what to do with her. The quiet was interrupted by sounds from above. Whistles and moans and a clickety clickety click! Crusher pointed his headlights up toward the sounds and his light beams faded into darkness. Everything was still. Until, high overhead, a whale passed through the beams of light. Then another whale passed through. Three giant squid passed through, followed by two sharks. More large ocean animals passed through the light, and then something else emerged. It was big, really big, and it seemed to grow bigger as it descended into the light. The mysterious massive object was shaped like a barrel topped with a platform and a jumble of structures. As you might have guessed, that mysterious massive object was the Juggernaut. The mining station had been sinking for hours. It sank slowly at first, held up by the air trapped in its compartments. Gradually, those compartments flooded with water, and the station gained speed on its way to the bottom of the ocean. This had given the Ancient Shark an idea. She wanted to crush the mining robot beneath the sinking station and finally put an end to the poison tide. Of course, for her plan to succeed, the shark needed help. She needed Roz to keep Crusher distracted. And she needed an army of mighty animals to guide the sinking station so it would crash down onto the mining

robot. Gurry was asking a lot of the animals. The work was exhausting. The poison tide could start flowing. The giant squid and the sharks had no problems diving deep. However, some of the whales were running out of breath. But whenever a whale headed back to the surface, another one took its place. The Ancient Shark raced around, shouting out commands. "We need more animals over here! Quickly! All right, everybody, get ready to push against the station in three, two, one, push!" The animals whipped their tails and flapped their fins, pushing hard against the station while it sank. They groaned from the tremendous effort, but together, they slowly muscled the massive thing into position, and aimed it directly at the mining robot. When the station was on course, the Ancient Shark called out, "Let it go!" All at once, the army of animals withdrew, and the Juggernaut continued sinking straight toward its target. Nothing could stop the station now. The mining robot was doomed! The poison tide was doomed! But there would be no celebration, because just then a fish swam up to the Ancient Shark with terrible news. He announced that Roz had been captured by Crusher. In that moment, everyone realized the wild robot was also doomed. They couldn't watch what happened next. So

the sharks and the whales and the squid and the fish all turned and swam away. If you're slightly confused by these events, reader, you're not alone. Crusher was confused as well. None of this made any sense to him. Roz, on the other hand, had no trouble understanding. She understood what the Ancient Shark was doing. And she understood that neither robot would survive. Roz gazed into Crusher's eyes and said, "I am very sorry it has come to this. You were simply doing your job, as was I." The Juggernaut hurtled downward, closer and closer. It seemed to fill the entire ocean. Crusher released Roz and raised his claws to brace for the impact. And then the station came crashing down upon them.

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