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"The Robot", by Harry Malachowsky
Copyright ©, Age 80 +
The Fifth Avenue bus came out of Central Park headed south, and stopped in front of the Plaza Hotel. Three passengers entered the bus - one male and two females. The male passenger seated himself in back of the bus driver. For lack of reading material, my eyes glanced at the male passenger who had just entered. I was amazed at the facial features of this passenger - never had I seen anybody like this individual. His eyes were recessed into his head, his nose was flat into his face. I couldn't understand what type of person he looked like.
He noticed my looking at him and out of fear I turned my head away from him. The bus continued until it reached the Empire State Building. I was glad to see this odd individual get up and get off the bus. The bus did not move and as I glanced to the front of the bus, I was amazed to see the odd individual standing in front of the bus.
After several minutes the people in the street noticed what was happening. They called for the police and two officers arrived. One officer started towards the odd individual and when he was six feet from him he suddenly dropped to the ground. The other officer pulled him from the ground to the sidewalk. At the same time, hundreds of people started to come out of the Empire State Building, screaming that the elevators were not working. The passengers in the bus were getting nervous. They couldn't open the windows, the driver couldn't open the door, and the air in the bus was getting stifling.
By that time, telephone calls were made to police headquarters, the fire department, the FBI and the Mayor. After a meeting of the agencies, it was decided they would call General Motors, the manufacturer of the bus. Fifteen minutes later, a General Motors engineer arrived and pulled out the plans of the bus. After studying the plans, the engineer told the Mayor and the FBI that there was a chance that something could be done in the rear of the bus. It seems that when the bus was built, there was a miscalculation and an eighteen-inch square plate was put in to fill the opening. The individual standing in front of the bus would not be aware of what was being done in the rear. The GM representative pulled out the plate and a call was made to the Red Cross for food and water, a small air conditioner, and a hose. In the meantime, the CIA was also present and determined that a large trailer should be brought to Central Park. They were afraid this individual would have the power to listen in on the conversations.
After the passengers were made comfortable, a call was received from the United Nations. They had received some information about a robot. It seems that the same robot was shipped into another country ten months ago. The other country told the CIA that the robot was destroyed in the Red Sea, but that they did not want to make the incident public. Since the other country had experience with this problem, they arranged to have an engineer sent to the United States to meet with the Secretary of War.
When the engineer arrived, he told the Secretary of War about two scientists who had recently invented steel that could withstand dynamite of any strength. The Secretary of War called the two scientists to arrange for them to come to the United States. He explained the situation to them, and they agreed to load a large plane with steel plates and fly to Kennedy Airport. The next day, the plane landed in a remote area of the airport. Waiting for them was a large truck, and twenty skilled workers who were there to assemble the steel plates.
The two scientists were introduced to the US Secretary of War. They immediately headed for the city, and into the Empire State Building. One of the scientists removed a telescope from his briefcase and focused the telescope on the robot. After about a half hour, he called for a helicopter to fly over the robot's head. He ordered the pilot to stay about ten miles from the robot, and then decrease the distance gradually until he was two miles away. All this time, one of the scientists was focusing a camera on the robot.
There was also a call from people in the bus who found it difficult to sleep and a doctor was called in to provide medication for them.
After going back to the airport, the films were developed and the two scientists were happy with the results. The one thing they feared, was that the robot would hear the noise above and he would destroy himself and cause death and destruction to others.
There was immediate action in the Kennedy workshop. The steel plates were welded together into a box twice the size of the robot. The army supplied a helicopter and the box was tied under the bottom of it. The next morning all traffic was stopped on Fifth Avenue and people for several blocks were detoured. At 10am there was the sound of the helicopter noise growing louder. Exactly at 10:30, there suddenly appeared a large steel box right over the robot's head and it hit the target without a sound.
In seconds, the bus driver was able to open the door and the passengers came out. Relatives and friends were overcome with happiness. The president of the United States thanked the two scientists, who were my daughters.
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