Cast Of Characters:

Cody Jaxon Schroder - Mix of curiosity, mischief-maker, and a tad of altar boy tthrown in for good measure. Ward of Sheriff Brock Daniels and Beth Sorenson. Born in Palo Pinto. Now relocated to the small West Texas town of Astatula.

Brock Daniels - long time sheriff of the small West Texas town of Astatula and Cody's guardian

Buzz Cochran - Sheriff Daniels' closest associate

Matt Cochran - budding NFL Hall of Fame star quarterback, at least in his own mind, and Cody's best friend

Asher - robot in Cody and Matt's science class at Astatula Middle School


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Exalted on the bench overlooking the edge of the pier protruded out into Sullivan Lake, the charismatic Sheriff Daniels inhaled an exhilarating deep breath of fresh air. The cool breeze thrilled him with delight, and provided the lawman a regal feeling of magnificence and authoritarianism, though he would never surrender his personal freedoms. The sheriff treasured opportunities for rest and relaxation. Too often, in his line of work, they remained few and far between.

Restless, though unprovoked, Cody paced from one side of the dock to the other. He felt his temper grow short and fought to keep hostile behaviors bottled inside himself. Unsympathetic for the crawler's doomed fate, Cody baited a slithery worm on the metallic hook of his fishing rod. Frequenly, he referred to the spinning rod and reel combination as his "ugly stick." His distress did not abate. Cody yearned to hurl the contraption far across the lake.

When he purchased the fishing rod, the sheriff knew the reel contained glass-filled nylon, and featured a double-anodized aluminum spool for durability. The oxide layer provided Cody a little extra protective cover to help make the tool he employed last longer.

Out of the blue, and in an effort to ease some of his young charge's displayed uneasiness, Sheriff Daniels asked the bundle of nervous energy, "Wouldn't it be awesome to have a humanoid robot of your own to do all your chores for you?"

Evidenced by his facial expression, and the frown of displeasure that turned the corners of his mouth down, Cody disliked anything even remotely connected to artificial intelligence. His disposition sour, a disgruntled Cody snapped, "No!"

Not used to tempermental outbursts from Cody, particularly in fun-filled environments, Buzz and Matt Cochran studied one another.

Matt cast his line out in the calm water of Sullivan Lake he had swum in many times before and asked Cody, "Why not have your own robot?"

To this, Buzz added, "Robots are a decades-old engineering dream inspired by popular science fiction."

Cody looked at the sheriff. He did not have to search for his response. He said, "You're always telling me I watch too much television. Besides, my science teacher, Mr. Adams, told us in class the other day all the prototype robots built so far are nothing but clumsy, and impractical, wannabee humanoids. So, who needs them?"

The sheriff corrected his young ward, "Cody, current robot models are human-centric."

Fleeting words floated above the boy's head.

The sheriff noticed the impassive, matter-of-fact, expression on Cody's emotionless face and explained, "Human-centric is a big word. It means what robots are capable of doing, not what some people think robots are trying to be. I know you've heard of Tesla, and the multi-billionnaire Elon Musk. They're trying to build a robot humanoid they want to call Optimus."

Unbudged in his defiant attitude, Cody replied, "Mr. Adams told us their robot was way over-hyped and over-rated. And, it walked awkward, too. Kinda like a waddling duck. Mr. Adams also said their robot did not impress when it was demonstrated for the robotics community."

Fulfilling the specific function of making his point, Buzz cut into the conversation and stated, "For the record, you better watch out, Cody. There's a company a friend of mine over in Laredo informed me of called Apptronick, and they have a robot called Apollo."

Willfully contumacious, Cody's condescended response was a simple, "Maybe this Apollo will make like a rocket and blast off to the moon!" He rolled his baby blues in contempt.

Matt sensed the tension build. Excited by enthusiasm, and combustible with energy, he alerted the other three, "Hey, I got a bluegill!" He held the catch up to show the trophy dangling on the end of his fishing pole off. "Ain't it a big one?"

Sheriff Daniels listened to the exchanged conversation. Harmoniously, he chimed in, "Cody, walking is not the most difficult problem these robotics companies face in creating humanoid robots. Why, the other day on the news, I heard there's a company in British Columbia, Canada called Sanctuary AI."

Afflicted by the sheriff's revelation, the unhappy Cody slapped the palm of his right hand against his forehead. What was meant to be a joyous excursion to Sullivan Lake quickly grew worse by the moment. He exclaimed, "Not another robot!"

The sheriff smiled. "Yep, and the news reporter said the hardest problem with robots is actually getting these humanoids to understand the world and be able to manipulate their surroundings with their hands. Times are changing, my boy. Like them or not, robots are soon coming."

Cody's shoulders sagged in disappointment. He exhaled a heavy breath when he replied, "How sad."

It was Matt's turn to speak. He commented, "Some bipedal robots can unload delivery vehicles, stock shelves, and operate checkout registers. That's incredible!"

"Getting back to Elon Musk's company, Agility, they opened a factory up in Tangent, Oregon to mass produce robots," Sheriff Daniels remarked.

Cody knew the sheriff grew up in Portland, and though he'd never been there, he understood Tangent was only about an hour from the City of Roses. He glared at the sheriff, and like the little saucy impudent he could be when he took a notion to, wondered, "You're not a frigging robot. Are you?"

"Cody Jaxon! Watch your language!" Sheriff Daniels retorted sharply to counter the boy's direct vocalization. "Another thing about robots is many people simply will not work, and these robot builders could replace them with hard-working humanoids."

"Why? Is there a shortage of people running around this world all of a sudden?" Cody brusquely demanded, his tone curt.

"I think we've had enough of this discussion," the sheriff replied. "You boys get your gear together. It's time to call it an outing."

Cody and Matt stood off on the far side of the pier as a gull flew overhead. An irritated Matt reached down to pick up his tackle box. Exasperated by the abrupt ending of their fishing trip, he said, "Way to go, Cody. You blew this one!"

"At least there's one less robot in this world to worry about," Cody countered.

Immediately, Matt honed in on his meaning. "You're the one who murdered Asher? I should have known it was you."

Cody placed his finger to his lips to shush Matt. He admitted, "Yea, it was me. I hate robots!"

Inquisitive, and interested in what secret Cody would confide in him, Matt asked, "How did you kill Asher?"

"I trapped him in the science lab and turned the sprinklers on to short-circuit his wiring," Cody confessed.

Suddenly, a tight hand of authority grasped the top of Cody's shoulder. Without looking to see who nabbed him, he knew the gig was up.

Cody mouthed to himself, "Uh-oh!"

"Yes, uh-oh. A very big time uh-oh!" Sheriff Daniels replied. "March!"