Alone in a room with walls of grey metal, Astro Boy was thinking of only one thing. He could not banish from his mind the image of the unfortunate Professor O'Shay, and his younger sister huddling to herself like a small frightened animal.

 

Quietly, without Dr. Tenma to put him on edge, Astro Boy finally managed to take a step back from the situation to announce the secret of his creation.

 

"After all," he said to himself, "Regardless of my origin, Tenma never did anything for me. Only Professor O'Shay raised me like I was his son. Who has devoted his time and energy? Who has always looked after me?"

 

The answer was clear. Having been constructed by another made no difference. Astro imagined what the Professor O'Shay had suffered, wearing this secret as a burden. He must have feared that Astro would learn, and come to hate him and run away. Astro was eager to tell him that it did not matter. The robot child even managed to smile on remembering his emotions the day when the teacher introduced him to his sister. The scientist had always worked for the good of humanity, but also for the happiness of those to whom he had given so much. Astro stood up straight. He knew now what he should do.

 

For the moment, the time was not for feelings but for rescue. Astro had to at any cost discover by what means Tenma was able to control his systems. With his internal computers, the small robot tried to analyse what had happened when he tried to fly and his reactors had refused to come on. His integrated diagnostic system told him that electronic orders issued by his central brain had been scrambled by an external wave. Astro tried to determine the nature of the wave. It took a few minutes to discover that in fact it was present throughout the complex, including the room where he was. That left plenty of time to study it...

 

About twenty minutes later, Dr. Tenma came into the room, and Astro understood what had paralysed him. With a frequency module Professor O'Shay had grafted into him a few months earlier, he had succeeded in an anti-wave point that nullified the effects of the other wave and restored all his powers...

 

"So, Astro, have you had time to think?"

 

This time, Tenma did not send his hologram. Certain he had convinced the young robot, he came in person.

 

"I know you're a smart boy," continued the doctor in a cajoling manner. "You have no trouble choosing between wealth and poverty, between fun and endless homework, between freedom and obedience..."

 

Very quiet, Astro looked at him and, playing him along, he said:

 

"I think you're right, Dr. Tenma. I always said I had great things to accomplish, and I think you give me the chance. "

 

"What a pleasure to see you respond so, my boy!"

 

On hearing this monster call him "my boy" Astro wanted to respond with disgust, but he controlled himself.

 

"I only ask one thing," resumed Tenma. "As a sign of your good faith and your commitment to my side, you're going to tell your decision to Professor O'Shay yourself. Then I send them back to Metro City. Without you, he can't do anything and his reputation will be destroyed. The whole world will know that he stole from you from me! Then I will give you a tour of my base and you will discover all my secrets... "

 

"As you wish, Doctor..."