“Slow down, Astro, slow down!” shouted the engineer. “You're going to blow it!”

 

On the treadmill in a lab, the robot child was running at full speed. One could not distinguish his legs: they were moving so fast they blurred like a fog. The bearings of the meter were overheated and the lights on the control console panicked. Grey smoke began to escape from the rubber mat.

 

The engineer in a white coat pulled at his hair. Seeing his worried face, Astro decelerated gradually.

 

“Don't worry, Dr. Shimo! You told me to run as fast as I could, and that's what I did!”

 

“I didn't think you would go that fast...”

 

“And still, I have power to spare!”

 

The scientist consulted the speed measurement dial and opened his eyes wide.

 

“135 kilometres an hour!” he exclaimed. “You're going faster than the Metro City subways! Looks like your new atomic fuel cell made the difference!”

 

“Professor O'Shay said it'll allow me to fly even faster,” clarified Astro, very proud.

 

“Then, you must be very careful. If you hit a tree or a building at that speed, you'll likely destroy it...do not forget that this equipment is still being tested. It may be that its operation is not yet perfect.” Dr. Shimo invited Astro to approach the control console.

'

“You see,” he said, pointing to the energy power chart, “There were two microbreaks during your most violent accelerations. Carried away by your enthusiasm, you surely didn't notice, but it means that your battery has misfired. If that happened to you in flight, you could, have a very unpleasant surprise...”

 

“I'll be careful, I promise.” Astro gave a big smile to the man in the white coat and asked:

 

“Now that I've finished my tests, I can go play with Zoran?” Dr. Shimo gave him a wink and replied laughing:

 

“If you still have energy, go have fun.”

 

“Thank you!”

 

***

 

Astro left the lab at the speed of lightning. He rushed into the long corridors of the Ministry of Science to reach the upper floors, where his sister was finishing her lessons. The idea of going to play with her made ​​him ecstatic. He adored their horseplay sessions. Everyone used all of their powers for great games. Today, Astro planned to offer Zoran a new kind of hide-and-seek.She would have two minutes to find a hiding place and he would hunt with his hypervision.Astro hoped this time to get permission to extend their field of play to the city park surrounding the Ministry of Science. He already imagined flying in search of his sister. He loved hearing her laugh when he chased and screamed like a big monster. Zoran was pretty good at that game. Throughout their games, she had learned to hide by using all the resources of their playing field. To hide her thermal imprint, she pressed against a radiator; to conceal visually, she based herself in flower boxes.

 

And arriving at the lesson room, Astro saw that the entry light was green. He pressed the button to open the door, and the metal panel slid aside.

 

He discovered Nora, the teacher-robot, alone, in the middle of sorting books.

 

“Hello, Astro!” she squawked, her voice a bit raspy, the dome of her head lighting up happy sparks. “You're early for your lesson.”

 

“Actually, I came to get Zoran...”

 

“She didn't come this morning. She had something to do with Professor O'Shay.”

 

“Really?” Astro was astonished. “I had no idea. Okay, I'll go to the professor's office. Thank you, Nora.”

 

“See you this afternoon, don't forget your review on hyperspace!"

 

***

 

The robot child went to the office of Professor O'Shay, but his assistant had not seen him since the night before. Astro checked the main laboratory, plus the archives and even in the energy room, but nowhere was a trace of his sister or the professor.

 

He frowned and decided to go check directly at the security office.

 

Few people were allowed to enter the office of Ministry security. Even researchers did not have access. Astro had never entered, he just knew that this ultra secure area was in the sixth basement. All defense systems and controls were directed to this stronghold buried under the building. To protect scientific secrets and inventions contained in the center, the guards had been given means both sophisticated and powerful. They were trained to address both attacks from outside and sabotage attempts from infiltrated spies.

 

Astro went down to the sixth basement. He approached the armoured door providing access to the security office and pressed the intercom. The shield was so thick that even his sensors were unable to get through. Right as he pressed it, a surveillance camera hanging from the ceiling swung towards him.

 

“Hello Astro,” said a deep voice. “What do you want? You know this is not a place to play... "

 

“I'm not here to have fun,” said Astro. “Looking for Professor O'Shay and Zoran...”

 

“They are certainly in the labs.”

 

“I checked, they aren't there. The professor's secretary doesn't know either where they may be. It's strange.”

 

“Indeed,” replied the voice, “Do not move, I'll check.”

 

The intercom was silent for a few moments. Astro really starting to get worried about his sister and the professor.

 

The voice spoke again, more urgent:

 

“Astro, we have a problem. I'll open the door for you.”