78 THE SPEECH

CHAPTER 78 THE SPEECH After spending a little time with her grandgoslings, Roz was ready to address the crowd. She stood on a ledge and faced the animals. Nearby, a wave crashed, spraying mist high into the air, and a rainbow briefly appeared above the gathering. Roz waited for the rainbow to fade, and then she started to speak. The robot's voice boomed across the shore as she described her northern adventure. She wowed her audience with tales of amazing creatures and places. She recalled each detail that you already know about, reader, but she eventually got to details you do not yet know about, and this is what she said. "There I was, on a deep underwater mountain, gripped in Crusher's claw. And then we saw the Juggernaut. The mining station was sinking toward us, and it was guided by an army of giant creatures. The Ancient Shark had found a way to destroy the mining robot, and by the time she realized I was in his grip, it was too late. I do not blame her for risking my life. She was doing what needed to be done.

"The station sank faster and closer, and at the very last instant, Crusher let me go. I started swimming away, but I did not make it far before the Juggernaut crashed against the mountain. I heard a terrible blast of noise. Metal groaned and screeched as the whole massive station broke apart. Hulking pieces of wreckage were falling all around. I saw a building toppling toward me. Quickly, I scanned the area for any kind of escape, and I spotted a small cave in the rock. Just as I was diving in, the building slammed to the ground behind me, burying me inside. I waited in that cave as the station continued crashing. It seemed like it would go on forever. Gradually, though, the mountain stopped shaking, the noise died down, and I knew the crash was over.

"It took me a week to climb out from the rubble. I crawled up through the mess, squeezing through crumpled structures and pushing through piles of smashed equipment. Finally, I heaved aside one last piece of debris, and I was free. "Before me was a scene of total destruction. Buildings and platforms and walkways and machines were twisted together in a heap that sprawled across the mountain. One of Crusher's claws was sticking up from the rubble. The rest of his body had been flattened. The Ancient Shark's plan had worked, and the poison tide had come to an end, at last. "I never saw the Ancient Shark again, although I did search for her. As I stood there, I let out bursts of clicks

and listened for an echo shaped like a shark. What I heard, instead, was the faint sound of motors, and soon lights were shining down. "I hid beneath a mangled machine as a crew of cleanup robots descended. The robots began scooping the rubble into enormous bins. I was afraid of being discovered, so I stayed hidden, and I was scooped up along with the rubble. Everything was hauled to the surface and dumped into robotic barges, and then the fleet of cleanup robots sailed away. "Only days earlier, those waters had been filled with the poison tide. It had rushed between islands and slowed in the open ocean. It had spread through calm seas until the next current whisked it in a new direction. Flowing swiftly here and drifting gently there, the

poison tide meandered farther and farther to the south. The fleet of cleanup robots traveled that same path, removing the toxic dust as they went. Progress was slow, but what they left behind was a clean ocean, ready for life to return. "For days and days, I stayed hidden in the back of that barge. Then, yesterday, I carefully peered ahead and saw our island in the distance. I was almost home! I waited until none of the robots were looking, and then I dove into the waves. Once the fleet had passed our island, I swam to shore, where I found all of you.

"The humans promised to clean the ocean, and they are following through. They also promised this would never happen again, and I believe them. My friends, I am happy to say that the poison tide is gone for good, and we have survived. Life will never go back to exactly how it was, but in time, we will move on from this tragedy. Old friends will come home. Fields and forests will regrow. The ocean will thrive again. Our island is already beginning to heal, and so are we."