“I know,” Garry replied. “Have her lift up Patch.”
Patch backed off hastily. “Oh no you don’t!” he objected.
The master of the Carefree laughed. “Be a sport, Patch. She’s very gentle. She won’t hurt you,” he said.
Patch thought a moment, then replied, “Okay, if you promise it will be all right.”
“I promise,” the captain said, and he set to work.
He brought out tools and equipment of every kind. Then he removed some plates from various parts of the robot’s body. But instead of tinkering around inside, as he had done before, he opened up a big chart and began working from it, using pencil and paper.
“What are you doing, Captain?” Garry asked after a few moments.
“This is a map of Katrinka’s system, like the diagram of a radio or TV,” was the reply. “I have to figure out what connections I must bring together. You see, I must give her several actions that make up the command we have given her. There must be the action of walking over to Patch, of bending certain parts that serve as her muscles, and finally the action of lifting him up. Then I must activate these through the use of spoken words.” The captain worked for about an hour. The last thing he did was to take a small disk out of stock and drill holes in it at very carefully measured positions. Then he slipped the disk into place inside the robot.
“Now let’s try her out,” the captain said.
Captain Eaton faced the robot and spoke in a loud clear voice: “Lift.”