“I’ll have another talk with Robert Turnbull,” he told his son. “It’s possible that Raymond may communicate with him. I must admit, Tom, I won’t feel comfortable until he’s back at Blackstone.”
TWIN TROUBLE 173
“Do you think we should delay putting the pile into operation until we do know where he is, Dad?”
“I can’t do that, Tom. It may be months or years before Raymond is located, and we can’t postpone the official opening.” Then he changed the subject, asking, “In the morning, will you find out about the two cybernetic arms and hands that are scheduled for shipment out here tomorrow?”
Mr. Swift was referring to the large mechanical sets which he had designed himself for use at the Citadel. Compared to similar ones on the market, however, these were smaller and lighter, yet equally dexterous. They would be suspended from an overhead rail at the point where radioactive slugs came from the oven.
The hands would seize and pile them, ready for processing by Tom’s giant robot.
“I’ll do it first thing tomorrow,” Tom promised.
At ten the next morning he was calling back. “Dad, the sets are being loaded on two planes right now,” he reported.
The cargo ships were warming up on separate runways. The second set of the mechanical arms and hands was being run out to its plane on a flatcar.
“Take-off time is in ten minutes,” Tom told his father. “Slim Davis is piloting one plane, Binky Jones the other.”
“I’ll keep in touch with them,” said Mr. Swift, signing off.
After the take-off, Tom went to his lab to make final adjustments to the lens mirrors of the giant ro-174 TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT ROBOT