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the computer, which in turn relayed signals to and from the robot body. In my mind, there was no difference between handling the robot and handling a virtual-reality program like any kid on Earth. Except for the fact that the X-ray frequency for the robot had a lot longer range. Like a remote control that could penetrate walls and rock and anything that might get between the computer here and the robot body.
    Blindfolded and in the silence of the headset, I waited for a sensation that had become familiar and beautiful for me. The sensation of entering the robot computer.
    My wait wasn’t long.
    In the darkness and silence, I began to fall off a high, invisible cliff into a deep, invisible hole.
    I kept falling and falling and falling. …

CHAPTER 12
    Directly beneath the platform deck, the robot’s four video lenses opened. Light patterns were translated digitally and became electrical impulses that followed the electronic circuitry into the computer drive of the robot. From there, they were translated into X-ray waves that traveled to the receiver above. The receiver then beamed to the wires of my jumpsuit, which were connected to the antenna plug in my spine. The electrical impulses moved instantly up the nerves of my spinal column into my brain, which translated the light patterns into images—the same thing it did when light entered my real eyes and hit the optical nerves that reached into my brain.
    Although the lenses didn’t blink, in my mind, it felt like I blinked into focus.
    The monstrous tires of the platform buggy filled most of my view. I saw the lightweight titanium and graphite support beams of the underside of the platform.
    The sound of wind and sand drifting across sand reached the robot’s intake microphones and translated into sound in my mind.
    I thought about moving the robot arms. And instantly it happened. I brought both titanium hands up in front of a video lens and flexed the robot’s fingers, wiggling them to make sure everything worked properly.
    Everything did.
    The robot body hung in a suspended cage. I pushed the button that lowered it. When the cage gently rested on the ground, I pushed another button that opened the door and rolled the robot onto the surface of Mars. The platform buggy was like a giant wagon above me, so I moved away, out from under the wheels and storage compartments, far enough to be able to see the entire minidome.
    I waved upward at Rawling and Dad, who were looking for me.
    It was weird, seeing them wave back down while only a few feet from them my actual body was motionless on the bed.
    I knew how the robot body looked to them. The lower body is much like my wheelchair. Except that instead of a pair of legs, there is an axle that connects two wheels. The robot’s upper body is merely a short, thick, hollow pole that sticks through the axle, with a heavy weight to counterbalance the arms and head. Within this weight is the battery that powers the robot, with wires running up inside the hollow pole.
    The upper end of the pole has a crosspiece to which arms are attached. They are able to swing freely without hitting the wheels. Like the rest of the robot, they are made of titanium and jointed like human arms, with one difference. All the joints swivel. The hands, too, are like human hands, but with only three fingers and a thumb instead of four fingers and a thumb.
    Four video lenses at the top of the pole serve as eyes. One faces forward, one backward, and one to each side.
    Three tiny microphones, attached to the underside of the video lenses, play the role of ears, taking sound in. A speaker on the underside of the video lens that faces forward produces sound and allows me to make my voice heard.
    The computer drive of the robot is well protected within the hollow titanium pole that serves as the robot’s upper body. Since it is mounted on shock absorbers, the robot can fall 10 feet without shaking the computer drive. This computer