Page 48 of Steinbeck
“I like”—she shrugged—“this day.”
He made a soft hum, deep inside, and nodded.
They walked past Kidway, with its amusement-park rides and a giant Ferris wheel, and overhead, a skyride carried yellow and red cars along a cable.
“What is this exhibit Declan is doing?”Stein asked Austen as they passed a giant karaoke area.
“He’s been working with a robotics department at a local college on a project aimed at meeting the need for service animals for the vision impaired.The students are trying to earn a grant to develop the program.”
“Using Declan’s AI program, Axiom?”
“A version of it designed for this project.”
They entered a building on the far side of the fairgrounds, more of a warehouse, but with booths hosting various college-led technology projects.Emberly spotted Declan standing off to the side as a handful of students set up animal prototypes—two dogs and a monkey.
The tech billionaire was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, like just a guy hangin’ out at the fair.
Austen walked up and took his hand, rose on her toes, and whispered into his ear.
Probably something along the lines ofDon’t panic, but Phoenix is here.
It didn’t work.He turned, and his mouth gaped a second before he sighed and then...smiled?
What?
They walked up and he held out his hand.“Stein.Phoenix.”
Stein shook it.“We need to talk to you when this is over.”
He nodded as the exhibition started.A small crowd had gathered in the space, industrial fans whirring to keep everyone cool.Emberly noticed a display not far away that advertised robotic fish.A few kids stood around a small pool, watching and pointing, others directing the fish on tablets.
She was missing the presentation and turned back to it just as a big dog, built to look like a friendly Labrador, navigated an adult through an obstacle course.The students reset it, and the AI dog went again.
“The dog can be trained to respond to voice commands, of course, but the best part is that it can predict danger, like a real trained service dog.”
They’d set up a racecourse with battery-operated cars circling around the dog.The man urged the animal to move, but it waited, pressing against the trainer’s legs in warning, then walked the subject through the maze of objects.
Applause.And then the dog barked.
It sounded so real, the crowd stilled.
Then it turned,growled, and launched itself at its trainer.
Screams as the man went down and the dog, toothless but still powerful, locked onto his arm.
The man howled, and Emberly probably just imagined hearing a bone snap with the chaos erupting from the crowd.
Steinbeck bolted, plowed into the middle of the mess, and launched himself onto the animal.
Man against dog machine?Emberly sprinted into the fray even as the dog turned on Steinbeck, obviouslythinking,reacting, and clamped down on his knee.
Stein grabbed its throat, trying to tear it free, and Emberly kicked the robot’s head.
A grunt from Stein as the clamp dislodged, and then Emberly seized the dog by the neck, the robot writhing in her double-fisted grip.“Help!”
Stein scrambled up, nabbed the robot’s tail.
Declan showed up, threw his arm around the dog’s neck, clamping it to his body.
