At the edge of town, where the houses stopped and the countryside began, was a small train station. Two platforms sat on either side of the tracks. Humans and robots were standing around, waiting for the next train to arrive. Nobody paid any attention to our robot as she calmly marched past. When Roz was safely out of sight, she slipped into the woods where Brightbill was hiding.
The goose opened his mouth to speak, but the station bells started ringing. Speeding down the tracks was a passenger train. A whistle blew, the train gently braked, and a minute later it came to a smooth stop at the station.
Passengers burst out of the train cars while others stepped aboard. The first nine cars were reserved for humans and had wide windows and comfortable seats. The only robots allowed in those cars were service robots, who brought food and drinks to the human passengers. All other robots were confined to the windowless car at the end of the train.
“Where’s it going?” whispered Brightbill as he peeked out from the brush.
“The sign says this is the express train to the city,” whispered Roz.
The goose turned to his mother. “We have to go past the city to get home. This train could save us a lot of time. We should hop on!”
The robot turned to her son. “I do not think that is a good idea. It is too risky.”
“Ma, I watched you walk through town, and no one even noticed you. We’ll be fine! Let’s follow those robots into the last car, I’ll find a hiding spot, and we’ll be in the city before you know it!”
Roz had questions. “How large is the city? Do you know where to go? What if we get lost?”
“Relax, Ma. My pigeon friend, Graybeak, lives there. She’ll be happy to help us.”
A voice called out from the loudspeaker, and the last couple of passengers hurried along the platform.
“I’m going to check it out!” said Brightbill. With a quick flurry of wingbeats he fluttered out from the brush and onto the roof of the last train car. The goose lowered his long neck and looked through the open door. Then he looked back and waved for his mother to join him. A whistle blew and Brightbill waved faster. Roz had little choice, so she slipped out of the trees and marched onto the platform.
“In here, Ma!” Brightbill pointed down to the doorway beneath him.
Everything about this situation made our robot nervous. Her Survival Instincts were tingling. Roz looked up at her son on the roof. And then she stepped through the train door. But before Brightbill could flutter in behind her, the door slid closed and the train began to move.