The Wild Robot's Mission -- A story inspired by "The Wild Robot", by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot’s Mission

By Agneya Dutta Pooleery

Chapter 1

There was a robot. Not a very special one. “Hello, my name is ROZZUM- unit 717, but you may call me Roz.” he said.

He was in a huge factory, where there were numerous robots hard at work. Suddenly, an announcement blasted through the comm. “ROZZUM-unit 717, please report to the office. Someone will see you shortly.” “What could it be?” he thought as his computer brain was deep in its thoughts. He marched down the corridor and into the office room at the center of the building. A man stood there waiting for Roz to arrive. The robot studied the man. He had a scar on his face. “What could it have been from?” he thought as another man marched in. “Hello Roz. I am here to give you a top-secret mission. My name is Max.” the man said. Roz asked, “What is the mission about?” “It is about the study of animals,” replied Max. “You will be stranded on a remote island to gather information about the animals and their habitats!”  “Okay I’ll do that!” said Roz. although he was not very interested in the mission!

Chapter 2

“That sounds fun!” thought the robot as he went back to his normal work of assembling the robots so his owners could make money. The work there was very harsh, but he didn’t mind it at all. He was programmed to obey orders and do all the dirty work that humans couldn’t have done. The robots thought humans were lazy and couldn’t do anything on their own. But our robot did not care at all! The day of the mission came and he slid down the rope reaching down from the helicopter.

Figure 1: the island

Roz dropped down and observed his surroundings. He thought it was interesting. He walked down to the shore and saw several ducks swimming in a small pool of water. He wanted to go in, but he knew that water could damage his sensors. Lots of animals crowded around him to look at the curious creature. After a while, he began to understand and speak the animal language. “Hello, Fox! My name is Roz the robot. What is your name?” asked Roz. “Uh, Hello Roz the robot! My name is Foxy. You don’t look like any of the animals on the island.” said Foxy. “I know. I was sent here by the humans to learn about the animals on this island.” said Roz. “Roz, I have no friends. Can I be your friend?” asked Foxy. Roz agreed, and the two of them set out to explore the island, Foxy being Roz’s guide. They climbed cliffs, went in the jungle, until it was growing dark. “Hey Roz, I have to sleep. You can stay at my cave until you need to go back to the city. ZZZZ!”

Chapter 3

Roz felt at ease. He turned off himself and lay down in the warmth in the cave. Foxy was already fast asleep. The robot wondered what would happen the next day while he lay in the darkness of the cave. The next day, Roz and Foxy went out to talk about the things they wanted to do and what they already did. They chose a mountain and hiked up to the top.

“How about we go back to my den to eat some food?” asked Foxy. “I do not need to eat, Foxy. Remember, I am a robot.” said Roz. He didn’t feel hungry, and even if he did, he couldn’t. There was a beaver hopping by the duo. The beaver stopped and stared at the curious sight. Then he said “Oh, you must be Roz! Nice to meet you! My name is Chopper.” “Hello Chopper! How are you doing?” asked the robot. “Very well. And you?” said Chopper. “I’m doing well too! This is my friend Foxy.”

Chapter 4

Their new friend Chopper knew the island grounds very well. They hiked through the mountains and leapt over puddles and jogged through the jungle. Roz knew that all the island animals would think of him a strange animal or one of those lazy humans. Roz decided to take a little walk while Chopper and Foxy rested. They were very tired. The robot never got tired, so he marched a little bit until he came to a cave like the fox’s caves. He wanted to peek in a little.

Chapter 5

Roz walked down the mountain and stared through the cave entrance. “Hello? Is anyone there?” he called. The cave seemed to be empty, so he hiked back up the hill to where Foxy and Chopper were. They were finished resting and so the trio continued with the cheery little hike. But something was waiting…… The travelers met many animals on the way. Some were tall and some were short. They met some bears, too! They sat and ate and told jokes to each other. “Why did the tiger throw the clock out the window?” asked Roz. “What’s a clock?” asked Foxy. “Oh, never mind.” said Roz. They sat up very late in the night.

Clang! Rumble! Something was rumbling in the night sky. What could it be? A ship passed by in the distance. A boat was being paddled by other robots. There were 3 of them. “ROZZUM-unit 717, how is the work coming along?” said the robots. “We are the WRECK. We are here to hunt some animals for food.” Roz was alarmed. “I will not let any of you hurt the animals on this island!” he said.

Chapter 6

The robots were angry. Roz did not want to let any of the animals get hurt. He convinced the WRECK robots not to hunt the animals. The animals were grateful to Roz. But they still were on their guard and more WRECK robots could come to the island. Turtles, beavers and raccoons and all types of animals on the island went about their normal things, like hunting and playing. The little ones stumbled around, ran after each other, and played their animal games. As time passed, Roz knew more animals on the island. He still had to carry out the mission, and he made a daily report to that scarred man. Once in a while, he saw a helicopter soaring through the sky. The helicopter had 3 robots. The robots were too high in the sky to notice the robot staring up at them from the island. A year passed, and everything was going on normally. Roz still played with Chopper and Foxy. He learned about all the animals, their behavior and activities. After a while, he began to call the island home. He made new friends like turtles and dolphins.

One day, a huge wave came splashing down beside Roz. A storm was coming. Roz and his friends huddled up in a cave. It was very windy. Whoosh! Whoosh! The winds blew high and low. It was very severe! But eventually, the storm died down, bit by bit. Finally, it was over. The animals had survived.

Chapter 7

A few days later, when the robot ran up the mountain he saw a plane in the sky. It was a fighter jet, and was soaring overhead. What would happen next? It looked like it was going to land. It swooped and made a bumpy landing on the ground. The animals scurried down to their homes. Some humans climbed out of the ship. One human approached Roz. “You have completed your mission. You have to return to the factory with us.” said the man. Roz tried to resist, but the humans pressed the button on the back of his head.

Click. The robot did not say anything. The humans put Roz in the airship. The animals peeked out of the hiding spots. “We have to save Roz!” they said. But the humans had taken him in the plane and flew him back to the factory.

What happens next? Wait until book two ….

THE END