“A beamguide? Very nice.” Rovender hummed, eyeing the cube crystal. “Well, then, I am ready. Let us find your WondLa, Eva Nine.”

Otto nuzzled Eva’s hand.

“Otto says he’s ready too,” Eva said, looking over at Muthr.

The robot turned her gaze from the vast sea of sand and faced her. “I am here for you, Eva. Lead the way.”

End of

PART III

PART IV

CHAPTER 34: GREAT MIGRATION

A hot wind blew dusty gusts over the dark badlands as the procession began. Rovender was saddled on top of Otto, using the beamguide to navigate, while Eva rode along with Muthr in the Goldfish. Eva leaned back with her feet on the dashboard and looked up at the afternoon sky. She watched brilliant patches of blue begin to overtake the gray clouds that blanketed the atmosphere. Even though it was daylight, she saw a distant half-moon peeking down at her through the cloud cover, its face pocked full of craters.

They continued over the crescent dunes for several hours, stopping to refuel near a rocky ridge. Sweaty and nauseous, Eva exited the Goldfish and climbed on top of Otto. She sat next to Rovender as the water bear journeyed onward; their shadows grew long over the dunes.

“Feeling better?” Rovender asked as he watched the endless desert unfurl in front of them. “Your complexion has returned. You look more like yourself.”

Eva sipped her Pow-R-drink. “Yeah. Muthr said it was motion sickness.” She glanced down at the robot driving alongside Otto. “I think she’s happier with me up here on Otto anyway. That hovercraft may look like fun to ride in, but it’s a real clunker.”

“I am not one to trust a machine,” Rovender said, glancing down at it. “They are always limited by the hands that crafted them.”

Eva looked down at Muthr navigating the Goldfish. “I just want to find the hands belonging to a person that crafted anything.”

“Have you ever known another like yourself?” Rovender seemed relaxed on the makeshift saddle he’d created with blankets and bed mats.

“No.” Eva’s eyes scanned the bleak landscape.

“So then, tell me: Who built your home?” Her companion picked at one of his ivory teeth with his fingernail while he watched clouds drift by. “Who built Mother Robot?”

Eva finished her drink. “I . . . I don’t know, really. I’ve seen stuff in the Sanctuary that said ‘Made by the Dynastes Corporation,’ but Muthr said she knew nothing about that. All she knew was that I was very special. That I was part of a ‘future world vision for humankind.’”

“What does that mean?” Rovender looked at Eva sideways.

Eva shook her head, feeling hot. Feeling stupid. “I don’t know.”

“Well, perhaps we’ll find out soon,” Rovender said. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It will take a couple of days to get there, if I’ve measured the distance correctly.”

Eva nodded. “Okay.”