Maxwell Huxley's Demon Read Free Page B

let you have it . Two, ” Dr. Hanson pointed around the lab. “ Motion sensors, door sensors, heat sensors, video cameras. I’m disappointed in both of you . Not because you broke in here, b ut because you broke in , and it only occurred to you to pick the lock. We’ve talked about this in class. You have to consider all aspects of a security system and disable them all before considering an intrusion. E ven the lock had a sensor on it. A s soon as it opened at this time of night , it triggered an alarm . What about fingerprints , did you consider fingerprints? If you had made it out , don’t you think we would have looked for fingerprints on the lock mechanism that you so conveniently left hanging by some wires in the corridor so that we would know where to look for fresh prints? ” Dr. Hanson stood up. Max heard footsteps in the corridor outside the lab.
    “The worst part,” Dr. Hanson continued. “Is that the security systems that caught you , informed quite a few people .”
    Dr. Concilian entered the lab with two security guards following him. “Max,” Dr. Concilian said, “you’re with me. Keith , you follow the guards.”
    ---
    Thinking about that day while walking to Dr. Hanson’s lab , Max still doesn’t understand why they punished Keith and not him .
    Max walks past lab after lab. Physics, chemistry, robotics, material science, biology, each one filled with kids engaged in advanced practical experiments. He hears a sound and looks behind. Indigo , one of the six-year-olds, approaches. Max waits for him.
    They walk the long hallway together, their footsteps echoing along the smooth walls and polished stone floor . Max asks Indigo why he’ s out of class. Indigo tells Max he was at the clinic.
    Max looks o ver at Indigo . “Right, your cast is gone. Does your arm feel weird now?” Even though Max is three years older tha n Indigo , Max is not much taller. Max can tell that when Indigo gets older he will be another of the kids who is faster and stronger than him.
    “ Ya , a bit .” Indigo scratches at the recently exposed skin. “So why are you out of class?”
    “Dr. C.” Max shrugs. T hey scan through a set of door s and continue past more labs. Metal working, wood working, weapons manufacture . . . The end of the corridor is still a long way forward. A window , bright with sunlight , frames the end of the hallway , m any more labs and classroom s line the hall .
    “What class you going back to?” Indigo asks.
    Max points at a door on their right. “Mechatronics.”
    “ I’m back to Self Defense . See ya , Max.”
    “See ya , Indigo .” Max presses his hand on a scanner and pauses . I can’t stay. I can’t. It only takes one Raven.

Chapter 2 –Mechatronics
     
    Dr . Hanson pauses as Max enters the mechatronics lab. He looks at Max with a warm smile and waves him over to his usual seat. “Who can tell me what Mechatronics is?”
    A girl in the back raises her hand , eager to answer. Dr. Hanson signals for her to proceed . “It’ s the study of combined m echanical e ngineering and e lectrical engineering. ”
    “ Not bad.” He moves to the board, c halk on his pants and both of his sleeves already .
    “ Let’s see what we are going to make in this lab and maybe we can come up with a better definition .” Dr. Hanson click s on his laptop , and the overhead comes alive. T he assembly instructions for a n amateur radio tower appear . “No, no, no, that’s not right.” He clicks through three more diagram s until he finds the right one. Flushed , he laugh s to hide his embarra ssment , then moves over to the chalk board and start s the detailed lab explanation of how to build a walking video camera.
    Walker leans over. “So I have a first cut of a coded electron,” he whispers . He brings up the code on Max’s touchscreen desk so Max can see.
    Max se e s a wicked bit of code. Walker is the best at this sort of thing. A twist ed little snippet of code that spins and changes