- Link for Chapter 1: A visit
- Link for Chapter 2: Alice’s caution
- Link for Chapter 3: What’s a strange phenomenon!
Alice has been working tirelessly since the outbreak of a mysterious dermatological disease. She needs to find a cure. She and her colleagues cannot determine why the disease is spreading. Every day, Alice comes home exhausted, her arms and legs aching.
“This disease seems to be caused by strong solar winds. Wait—solar winds?” Alice suddenly has an idea. She rushes to her library and searches for a book.
“Here it is!” Alice shouts with joy. She blows away the dust and reads the title: All About the Sun. Flipping to page 178, her eyes catch the heading Solar Wind. That’s exactly what she’s looking for. She reads aloud:
‘Solar wind consists of powerful rays from the Sun. It can harm human skin. Fortunately, Earth is protected by a magnetic shield.’
Alice quickly flips to the definition of magnetic shield.
‘The magnetic shield is generated by the movement of Earth’s outer core. Many animals, such as sea turtles and migrating birds, rely on the magnetic shield to navigate. Other creatures, including fish, gazelles, and cows, also depend on it.’
“Yes, that’s it!” Alice exclaims. “The shortage in the outer core has weakened the magnetic shield! That explains the strange behavior of turtles and birds in this morning’s newspaper.” She pauses, thinking. “James’s invention must be interfering with the outer core! That’s why the solar wind is harming people’s skin and why GPS systems are malfunctioning.”
The next day, Alice returns to MRP. She searches for James, but he seems to have disappeared. She asks a worker:
“Can I ask where Mr. Diggory is?”
“Oh, he was struck by that skin disease four days ago. He’s very sick at home.”
Alice sets out to find James Diggory’s house.
When she arrives, James look old and sad while Alice explains everything to him. James listens, realizing the gravity of his actions.
“What can I do?” James asks, his voice weak.
“Hmm… I’ll show you once we’re back at MRP.”
At the factory, James’s workers keep a safe distance from him. Alice feels a twinge of sympathy for him. She leads him into the laboratory.
“As you know, when salt reacts with metal, it forms new compounds. Why don’t we use this process to fix the problem?” Alice suggests.
They begin working immediately. Just as Alice predicted, they successfully separate the metal and create new salt. James loads the salt into a robot. Slowly, the machine begins to move.
“It’s working!” James cries out in relief.
“Now you have new robots. They may not be as strong as the old ones, but they will save the world,” Alice nods.
“Alice… Ms. Copperment?”
“When did you start calling me ‘Ms.’?” Alice frowns.
“Oh, I mean—thank you. You have saved the world!”
“Well, no problem! I could announce this discovery to the world… but I’ll keep it a top secret. Hope you recover soon!” Alice says goodbye and drives home happily.
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