Solar Umbrella (Book 1)

Chapter 9: Deadline

IN THE FINAL month before the competition was over, the group started to see their plan come to fruition. All their planning and coding work was coming together. Their simulations were running flawlessly in the 3D environment and their code was bug free. Probably. As the final part of their project, they wanted to film their physical models in the community garden harvesting actual food. Their plan was to turn in the simulations running on a larger scale, the video of their robots working in the real garden and also send in the actual robots as the coup de grace. Their hope was that the combination of it all would be enough to win the competition. All four worked together to turn the mobile shelving unit into a true nest robot. It wasn't too complicated since the nest was designed to roll on generally flat ground and act as home to more complicated bots. A few motors, sensors they harvested from older bots, servos to open and close doors on the unit itself, backup batteries and some small computers running their code was all it took.

They collected all their bits and pieces and loaded it up in Ibrahim's parents' truck. His parents were higher ups at a huge manufacturing company. The company was responsible for a lot of the new alloys and special super strong glass that was being used both in space and to withstand extreme weather here on Earth. A lot of their material was being used to build the space elevator that was nearing completion. Ibrahim didn't talk about it often. The group's plan was to spend this penultimate week at the community garden troubleshooting and filming and save the final week for any surprises before they sent in their work. They also had a meeting with the principal of BT to look over their work, offer suggestions and assess their work for their school credits. Things were looking more than promising, and the finish line was in sight.

"Okay, I think we've got everything we need!" Kate shouted over the automated sprinklers. It was another hot day in the garden, the fifth in a row. Only the tinted greenhouse above them kept the true heat of the sun off of the plants, and off of them. There was an extreme heat warning again, earlier than usual this year.

Parker was filled with doubts—not about their project, but about the overall goal of this competition. The true goal of both components of the competition was to get plants growing and producing food out there in the real world. They had overcome a lot of obstacles and worked incredibly hard, but their solution really only worked for this garden. Sure, their model proved that it would be able to scale up to larger environments, but not on a day like today. Without the tinted glass, a lot of these plants would die, even with the watering. Still, one problem at a time. Focus on the present. "That last test went perfectly. The spider robot harvested twelve cucumbers, twenty-six apples and fifteen carrots. It accomplished it all using about ten percent of its battery, in about two hours," Parker told them as he looked over the code. The test was great and they captured it all on video. They started the test with the spider bot with a battery at two percent, so that it would show the process of returning to the nest to swap. They also purposely got in the way of the bot several times or picked the fruit it was going after. They also put in a few other obstacles to demonstrate the decision making ability of their system. They all agreed it had gone flawlessly.

"Hey, gather around you guys," Ibrahim told them as he helped pack up all the parts. "Thanks again for letting me join this group. I'm really proud of what we accomplished together. We all pulled our weight and got this done. Even if we don't win, I'll be happy with our accomplishments." He looked them each in the eyes and smiled.

"Don't forget the credits," DJ added with a smile of his own.

Parker laughed and chipped in, "I think we have a really good shot you guys. I don't know what other groups have come up with, but I think our setup has a real opportunity to win. I know it's not perfect, but I think it's the basis of a really useful system. Imagine what a team of professionals could do with this idea, better resources and more time."

"You never know," Kate smiled, "maybe we'll end up working on it again one day, but for a real job!"

They went on, cleaning up the site and getting everything loaded up. A few of the people who used the garden said their goodbyes and hoped to see the group and the bots again some time. As Parker finished strapping down the nest to the truck bed, he noticed Ibrahim and Kate walking hand-in-hand on the other side of the truck. Right, that whole thing.

The next week went off without a hitch. Their principal awarded them all full marks for their work towards their credit and only had a few minor suggestions for them to tackle. The rest of the week was a bit of a write-off with the group checking in occasionally with one another as they gathered everything up in a shipping container to send off to be judged. It ended up being a great week. Most of the kids Parker had known at Boulder Tech were heading off to college or university with a few jumping right into the workforce. Many companies and governments valued a highschool degree from their school as the equivalent to a higher degree, especially those run by former students who knew the dedication to even get into the school in the first place. Parker, too, was at a crossroads. He was only just 16, but graduation was around the corner. His grades were excellent and he had spent a lot of time thinking and talking about what to do next. While some of his peers would enter the workforce directly, it seemed strange to think about driving each day to work when he was still learning to drive. He had spent the past six years trying to prove to everyone at school that he was just like them, but he wasn't. Sure, he felt more than confident with the work tasks, but his social flubs with Kate and others proved he was still behind in the growing up game. After a long discussion with his parents, he decided school was the place he fit best and he would attend college for a while at least.

The team met one final time to send off their digital files and their crate of components to the competition committee. After that there was nothing to do but wait.

Three days later, Parker's tablet lit up with an incoming email. It was from the competition committee. Rather than open it, he sent a message to the group chat to see if the others had also received it.

PARKER: guys, I just got an email from the comp. committee. anyone else?

DJ: hey, me too

KATE: Nothing here yet. Oh wait. Just came in!

IBRAHIM: I opened it already. I will not say anything.

KATE: Ibrahim! You should have waited!

IBRAHIM: ...

PARKER: ok. open it now and let's talk.

Parker slid down his notifications bar and saw the email waiting. This was a big moment. Sure, he was proud of their work. He earned his credits and they produced something amazing. It was something he could use on school applications and the story would make for a great discussion point for any interviews. Still...actually winning? That made the whole thing incredible! Winning made all the other stuff sound a lot better and it would also get him to the moon! That was an experience he would probably never get otherwise. Sure, space travel was cheaper every year and the space elevator would knock it down even further, but it was still insanely expensive and there wasn't any real reason to go other than personal interest. This was a chance he might never get again. And, he would get to travel with his friends...as high school students...to space! The messages started dinging again, but he took a second to take a deep breath and open the email first.

Dear Parker Varia,

Congratulations! You and your team have won the...

PARKER: HOLY SHIT WE DID IT!

IBRAHIM: Yesssssssss!!!!

DJ: great work you guys. congratulations.

KATE: Ok, Ok! I'm guessing I'm the only one who read the whole email. It says they will send someone to school on Monday to meet with us and go over all the forms and stuff. Our parents and everyone needs to be there to sign off. Everyone make sure you sort that out, ok?

The group finalized their plans and each went off to let their families know the good news. They set a time to meet half an hour early before school on Monday to celebrate without their families or any official type people. They had done it.