sorry the VERY late update! more chapters coming soon
Brian AKA Alex's POV-
We headed to the bed. I helped Madison into the bed and went back over to my side of the bed. She lay silently. She looked so peaceful.
"Mads?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm really sorry."
"Alex, it's okay. This isn't the worst. Remember the car crash. That was way worse than this."
"Mads! I thought I killed you!"
"Oh."
I sighed. This is going to be a rough night.
Madison's POV-
I got up out of Alex's bed and went to his desk. I picked up a screwdriver and a drill and started thinking. I like to stress invent.
A rocket.
"Alex, do you have some cardstock?"
"Yeah. Here."
He knows I like to stress invent. I've been doing it for forever. I started folding. By the time it was finished it looked like a popsicle.
"Where do I test this? According to my calculations it should go to the edge of the atmosphere."
"Umm... outside?"
"Oh yeah. That would make sense. I need a drone that can go the edge of the atmosphere too."
"Uh... we don't have one. Can you build one?"
"Probably. Do you have an actual lab though? I'm gonna need way more materials than you have."
"Um okay, follow me."
Alex lead me to yet another room. It was filled with pretty much everything imaginable in a robotics school. There was an empty station with nothing but a nameplate. And it had my name on it. It was pretty small compared to what I'm used to. A tool set was in one drawer and a bucket full of old scraps. It was pretty much perfect. It's like my lab at home just a much smaller scale. I took out the bucket of scraps and dumped it out onto a tray. Some metal scraps and a few nuts and bolts.
I can work with this... I hope. Nevermind I can't.
Alex sat on a chair eating an apple while I worked on the drone. I pulled a disk out from my pocket. I threw it onto the counter. It expanded into a bigger circle than projected a holographic work space. It's like a phone, laptop, tool box, paper, pen all in one. I can't even count how many uses it has. I sat on a chair and designed the drone. It could withstand space like conditions... hopefully. By the time it was done from the 3D printer, it was already night. The perfect conditions. Completely forgetting about my injuries, I grabbed Alex's hand and raced outside. I controlled the drone equipped with a camera with a game controller. I flew it up to the edge of the atmosphere and waited until it was stable. I grabbed the paper rocket and added a few adjustments. I took a collapsable 3D printer out of my pocket and printed the rocket. There were 4 panels arranged in an "X" connected by springs and a paper thin, metal tube. I pinched two panels together and let go. By compressing the springs, it creates potential kinetic energy which will cause it to fly upwards at a high speed. I pinched two panels in each hand. And sure enough, it shot upwards. I looked at the image projected from the disk. The drone followed the rocket. The rocket was holding form as the elevation increased. The tip of the rocket touched the very edge of the atmosphere then slowly began to fall. I took the disk and pulled it apart into a universal control panel. I flew it slowly back to Earth and to my surprise, it wasn't damaged. I picked it up off the ground and handed it to Alex. He took it without hesitation. We walked back to the laboratory to look at the footage from the drone. The footage was as expected. The drone was perfect. I flew the drone wherever we went. It would make a map of the campus and then would be able to fly anywhere without being remote controlled. So basically the first step to artificial intelligence.
"So? How was that invention?"
"Amazing, Mads. You should show that to Michael. He would be impressed."
"Are you kidding me?! That guy freaks me out."
"Mads," he put his hand on my shoulder,"This organization has never even seen anything like this."
"Ugh! Okay. But I'm doing this for you."
I had forgotten my injuries and was feeling like a normal human being again. It was the best feeling I had ever had in awhile. We walked to Michael's office and found staring at a desk. Alex knocked on the door lightly to get his attention. Michael looked up.
"You got a minute?"
"Sure, yeah. What is it?"
"An invention by Madison."
Brian AKA Alex's POV-
She handed the rocket to Michael. He took it and examined it carefully. He turned it on its sides, looked at it from above and below. Madison was nervous. She started to chew her bottom lip and tapping her finger against her leg. We waited patiently for Michael to finish examining the rocket.
"Impressive. I see you you built a drone as well," he said pointing to the drone in my hand.
"Yes, sir," Madison responded.
"Anything recorded?"
"Yes, sir," she said once again.
Madison handed the flash drive to Michael who then inserted it into his laptop. The expression on his face was hard to read. It was a mix between... well, it wasn't really a mix of anything, We waited as he watched. No sign of disappointment or impressment. My super hearing detected the loud heart beat from Madison as we waited impatiently. Michael finally looked up and to my surprise, was actually dumbfounded. It looked like he didn't know what to do.
"So?"
"Madison? How would you like to become a technological engineer here?"
"Well I would be honored to do so, sir."
"Good. You start now. You'll be given an assignment. Check in with Kathy."
This was the first time he was impressed by something invented by someone other than himself. Every prototype presented, he was thrown it and crushed it to pieces on the floor or he just responds by saying 'Go manufacture this and give me xxx amount'. Madison had done the impossible.
