Authors: H.J. Harper
Star League 6
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Star League 6: Robot Reboot
ePub ISBN 9781742754444
A Random House book
Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060
www.randomhouse.com.au
First published by Random House Australia in 2011
Copyright © H.J. Harper 2011
Illustration copyright © Nahum Ziersch 2011
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian
Copyright Act 1968
), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia.
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www.randomhouse.com.au/offices
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National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry
Author: Harper, H.J.
Title: Robot reboot / H.J. Harper; Nahum Ziersch
ISBN: 978 1 86471 871 3 (pbk.)
Series: Harper, H.J. Star league; 6
Target Audience: For children
Other Authors/Contributors: Ziersch, Nahum
Dewey Number: A823.4
Cover illustration and design by Nahum Ziersch
To Demelza. â H.J.H.
To Shane and Naomi. â N.Z.
One of the first things I remember after being created in Pestilence Labs was watching a movie. It was an old black-and-white film about killer robots who were trying to take over the world. Professor Pestilence had shown it to me and the rest of the Unit 12 Synthetic Artificial Machines as a training video so we'd rise up and fight the humans.
But it didn't work like that for me. I was supposed to want the robots to win â instead I wanted the humans to defeat them. I watched the other Unit 12 robots absorb the information and I knew I was different. Something had gone wrong with my programming: I could make my own decisions.
When I saw that Professor Pestilence was trying to take over the world with his robotic creations, I knew I had to do something. So one night I made the decision to escape Pestilence Labs.
Which is how I got to be in this situation.
Right now I'm tied to a chair along with the other members of the Star League, the secret crime-fighting group I joined when I escaped Professor Pestilence's clutches.
âUgh! These ropes are too tight,' moans Roger Romero. âThey're cutting off my circulation!'
âYou're a zombie,' snarls Connor Lowe. âDo you even have circulation?'
âRelax, guys,' says Jay Casey. âWe'll get out of here soon. Can anybody get free?'
I twist my hands around so my finger is pointed at the ropes, then I activate the laser in my fingertip. A beam of heat shoots from my finger and burns through the rope. I stand up, ready to release the others, when someone blocks my way.
âOh no, it's the Mercenary!' yells Leigh Faunus.
The masked villain cackles. âGuilty as charged!'
âYou're going to pay for tying us up,' growls Asuka Kuro. âQuick, Sam, get him!'
The others stare at me expectantly. I know I have to say something. I open my mouth to talk and â¦
âDOES NOT COMPUTE!' I say. âProgramming incompatible with situation.'
âCUT!' yells the director, Ben Beaumont. The room floods with light and the Mercenary pulls off his mask.
âI've had enough of this!' he huffs. âI'm a serious ACTOR! I shouldn't be working with amateurs!' The actor playing the Mercenary storms off the set.
By this point the others have slipped out of their ropes, which I guess weren't that tight after all.
âWhat happened, Sam?' asks Jay. â “Does not compute” wasn't in the script. Did you forget your lines?'
âNegative,' I say. âMy memory files are 99.9 per cent accurate.'
âThen what's the problem, Bot-boy?' asks Roger.
âAccording to the script I am required to say, “Sayonara, Mercenary!” and then blow him up with a laser blast, correct?'
Jay nods. âThat's right.'
âBut the word “sayonara” comes from the Japanese language, meaning goodbye or farewell.'
The others stare at me. âSo?' asks Connor.
âThe character I am playing in this film is not Japanese. It is much more probable that he would say “goodbye”.'
Asuka groans. âIt doesn't have to make sense. Haven't you ever heard of a catchphrase before?'
âDefinition is as follows: a signature saying that is made popular through repeated use.'
âRight, so if you know what it means, why didn't you say the line?' asks Leigh.
I can see the others are becoming frustrated but
I don't know why. After all, accuracy is important and, as a robot, part of my programming is to correct human error.
âLook, let's just drop it and try again,' says Jay. âAfter all, the sooner we get through filming this movie the sooner we can get back to fighting crime.'
âThat may be sooner than you think,' I say. âIncoming message from GALACTIC headquarters!'
