Last week, as you recall, a pirate visited the Robinsons and befriended Will, but was soon gone. Then an invisible form wrecked havoc in the Robinson camp and Dr. Smith insisted it was the ghost of his Uncle Thaddeus, but it was proven that it was an indestructible energy form that returned to its bog before causing permanent damage. Now Will has found an abandoned robotoid…
War of the Robots (Written by Barney Slater)
"Dear Joan,
Will found a Robot, I mean robotoid, and got it working. It's incredible. It can fix things just by waving its hands over it. Our Robot has been acting strangely, though. It's almost as if its feelings are hurt because we've been using the robotoid for so many things. Dr. Smith keeps saying that he wants to take our Robot apart to make a 'motor vehicle' for himself. I hope he's kidding, but you never know with Dr. Smith. As helpful as the robotoid can be, I still love our own Robot.
After the robotoid demonstrated how useful it could be by fixing Maureen wrist watch, Don said, "He sure will come in handy in the Chariot. I've got some parts held together with glue."
Judy teasingly asked, "I wonder if the robotoid can darn socks."
"You need only to bring them to me," the robotoid answered. "I will be most pleased to help you."
That evening, after the family was asleep, the robotoid went off on its own and communicated with an image of 'its master.' The aliens to whom the robotoid belonged had vacated the planet decades ago, but the 'master' was pleased to hear from its subject and was quite interested in the fact had landed Earthlings there. They were in need of more subjects for their experiments and the master directed the robotoid to secure them. The robotoid agreed and said that it would communicate with its master once they were "rendered harmless." The master said that it would come and take them when contacted again.
"Dear Joan,
The robotoid continues to take over many of our chores and has become almost indispensable. Don said that he was setting a speed record for fixing the Chariot.
Will is upset, though. He's the one who fixed the robotoid, but he got mad at Don when he said that the robotoid is superior to our own Robot. I mean, the robotoid is doing things without even being asked to. Dr. Smith told Don that the Robot went into the wilderness. As helpful as the robotoid is, I miss our Robot. We can't just let him sit out there and rust himself to death. Mom said it's almost as though our Robot has feelings, and I'm beginning to agree with her."
The family finished dinner and the robotoid proceeded to clear the dishes. "Well, since we have some extra time tonight, how about a long walk, Judy," Don asked.
"Can we look for the Robot while we're out?" she asked.
"I don't want you two going too far from the ship, Judy," John interjected. "From what Dr. Smith told us, the Robot doesn't want to be found right now and might be in some dangerous areas."
"I'll go out and look for him in the Chariot tomorrow," Don said.
"Can I come too?" Will asked.
"Sure. If the Robot will come back for anyone, it would be you," Don replied. He stood and offered his hand to Judy, who took it and they sauntered off to their usual star gazing spot.
Don leaned against the rocks and pulled Judy to sit in front of him. He kissed her neck, but she was too distracted to respond. "It sure is a beautiful night, isn't it?" he asked her.
"Yes, but… I can't stop thinking about the Robot out there… alone," she responded.
"Ah, Judy… that's one of the reasons I love you."
"What reason is that?"
"Well, as aggravating as it can be sometimes, especially when you're defending Smith, I love your caring for others… even our mechanical man."
"That's just it, Don. He isn't just mechanical… it's almost as if he's a 'man' too." They sat in silence for a few more minutes. "I know Robots aren't programmed for emotion, but, do you think our Robot is developing them?"
Don chuckled. "If you had asked me that when we were in training, I'd have said, 'That's scientifically impossible.' Now, I'm not so sure. There is one thing I do know, however…"
"And what's that?"
"That this 'man' is very much in love with this 'woman' and would like to show her…"
"Is he now?"
"Well?"
"Well, what?"
"Does this woman have any more response than, 'Is he now?'"
She turned her head and smiled. She loved it when he wanted her… "How's this for a response?" She parted her lips and raised them to his.
'Mmmmm…. This is going to be a good night,' Don thought as he returned her 'response' with considerable pleasure.
The next day did not start well. When Don got ready to prepare the Chariot to look for the Robot, he found that their weapons were gone and important parts of the Chariot were missing. John reported that an essential component of the force field was not in place, and that the robotoid was nowhere to be found. Dr. Smith mentioned that he was not to blame for the problem, and Will commented, "No one's to blame except me."
The family comforted him by telling him that they had all been taken in by the robotoid and Don suggested that they go out and find it, but that wasn't necessary. The robotoid shuffled up to them and stated, "I am now in command here," and demonstrated his power by blowing up a nearby rock. "You have been warned," the robotoid stated. "You are weak and vulnerable creatures, but there are those who have need of you… and they will come for you."
"You monster!" Judy exclaimed as she held onto Don's arm for protection.
"I am only a humble, mechanical servant," the robotoid replied.
Dr. Smith tried to negotiate with it, but the robotoid stated, "Do you think I am to be taken in by your clumsy attempt at subterfuge? You are all to go into the spaceship at once."
"We could rush him," Don whispered to John.
"All right. We'll look for an opening," John replied.
Will had heard them and took off running away from the group. The two men attacked the robotoid, but it cast them both aside like they were toy action figures. The women ran to their men and helped them up.
"Fools! Did you think to overpower me? I have the strength of a hundred like yourselves. Next time, I will not be so lenient. Go into the spaceship before my control unit weakens."
The robotoid approached the spaceship and spoke to its master through a communication device. He reported that his mission had been successful and that he would send a homing signal for the aliens to come take the Earthlings. Then Will and the Robot approached the ship. As Will joined his family, the Robot offered his services to the robotoid, but the robotoid did not trust him. In the ensuing fight, the Robot let out a blinding cloud of dust and dodged the robotoid's laser. The Robot moved around to the back of the robotoid and sent a burst of electricity into its circuits and robotoid was disabled.
The family welcomed the Robot back and John commented that the Robot was more than a machine and Will stated, "You're our friend." Later that afternoon a cosmic storm erupted and the cosmic radiation gauge was going wild. Dr. Smith was supposed to have installed 'arrestors,' but Judy told her father that she saw them in a pile underneath a bush just that afternoon. When Don checked on the children, he realized that Will was on the ship, but Penny was still outside. The storm worsened and John, Maureen and Dr. Smith went out to look for Penny.
Don and Judy had been told to watch the ship and they stood together by the viewport as the others went out to look for Penny. "I hope she's all right," Judy stated.
"If she's near any of the arrestors, she should be fine, but I wish she had come back to the ship as soon as the storm came up," Don said.
What are the arrestors for?"
"They act like lightening rods and draw the cosmic energy into the ground."
"Don, Dr. Smith didn't install those arrestors."
"What! That no-good, lazy…"
"Don…"
"Don't defend him again, Judy. He's useless! He's worse than useless, if something happens to Penny…"
Dr. Smith found Penny and Debbie playing with a large mirror framed with platinum animal images. They hid under the mirror as the storm worsened. A thunderbolt came close to the mirror and the eyes started to glow…
The Magic Mirror (Written by Jackson Gillis)
"Dear Joan,
Penny found a large, full length mirror and I love it. I tried to get Penny to take a good look at herself and think about make-up and new hairstyles. I'm afraid I made her feel badly. She said she might cut her hair off and look like Will. I told her, "All right, be ugly." That really upset her. I tried to make it up to her. She really is growing up into a beautiful young lady. It didn't make her feel better. She said that she wanted to stay the way she is and ran off, but then, she was absolutely fine a little bit later. I guess it's those adolescent mood swings.
I put my hair up and asked Don how he liked it. He had no idea what I was talking about. Later he asked me if he had said something wrong. I told him that it was what he didn't say. He finally noticed that my hair was different, but he said, "You cut your hair. That's it." Really, Joan, what makes men so dense?"
Later that evening, Don took Judy for a walk to make up for his faux paux earlier in the day. "You know, Don, Penny worries me so much. She must be so lonely to come up with such a fantastic story about falling into another dimension behind the mirror," Judy said. "And then to say that she met a boy there who never wanted to grow up…"
"Maybe she's the one who doesn't want to grow up?" Don replied.
"She did say something about never changing, but I thought it was growing pains. She is such a pretty girl. I just wish she'd fix herself up and not be such a tomboy."
"Why? I mean, there's nobody here for her to impress."
Judy sighed. "I know. I actually feel guilty sometimes."
"Guilty?"
"Well, I have you. Suppose Penny never has a chance to meet someone and fall in love?"
"Yeah, I guess I'd feel guilty too, but there's nothing we can do about it tonight."
"Maybe I should spend more time with her… give her more attention." She raised her eyebrow at him. "And speaking of attention…"
"Now what did I do?"
She pulled a few pins from her hair and it cascaded to her shoulders. "I did not cut my hair."
He laughed. "Judy, you could shave your head, and I'd still think you were beautiful."
"Hm… maybe I'll try that some day?"
"You're kidding, right?"
She let him sweat a minute, and then laughed. "Would you even notice?"
He stopped walking and turned to face her. "As long as I can see into those pretty blue eyes, it wouldn't matter." His lips met hers and she curled her arms around his neck. She pressed up against his body and he held her tightly. He wanted more, but he bit his lip. "Judy… we should go back."
"We should." She continued to hold him and neither one moved. "I love you."
He whispered back into her ear, "I love you, too."
"Dear Joan,
Don and I had a beautiful walk tonight. I'm beginning to feel guilty that we haven't done much more than kiss. We haven't really talked about it, but I know he wants more. If I'm honest, I'd say that I do too, but, I don't know, Joan. Sitting out there on a rock… it's not the most romantic… or comfortable setting. What is wrong with me, Joan? Am I a coward?
There's not much else to report, other than the fact that vegetables have been disappearing from our garden. Dad thinks an animal has been taking them, but Dr. Smith insists that someone is stealing things because Don's hunting knife is missing too. He set up an alarm system to catch the thief. I doubt that he'll catch anything more than a small lizard or rabbit. Oh, the alarm is going off now…"
To be continued…
NEXT WEEK!
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