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Robots on the Hill
On a bright spring day, some schoolchildren on a field trip passed near the Observatory on the Hill. The large, gleaming building was an architectural wonder, with tall towers reaching toward the sky, silver domes shining in the sun, and gigantic telescopes protruding like curious eyes, always ready to explore the universe. It was the first time they had seen it up close, and to their eyes, it appeared as the wonder of wonders.
Back at school, the children couldn't stop thinking about that mysterious place, and during the remaining hours of lessons, they frequently raised their hands to ask questions. But the teachers' answers were vague, and their doubts remained unresolved. To be honest, not many in town knew much about that building. It had been there for so long that no one paid much attention to it anymore. Maybe it had always been there.
Among the students in that class were a brother and sister, who were perhaps a little more curious than the others. When they got home, they decided to visit their grandmother, who, more often than not, knew how to answer their strangest questions: "Grandma, you who always tell us memories of the past, and that a merry-go-round and a music box were your favorite games to play, could you tell us something about the future? What secrets are hidden in the sky? What happens in the great Observatory on the Hill?"
Grandma smiled, and her eyes lit up with a mysterious sparkle. The two grandchildren, by the way, were sure that their grandmother was hiding some secret in her super-private garage. In fact, Grandma wasn't just passionate about stories from the past: she read a lot, listened to the radio, and often, at night, she observed the sky with peculiar tools. And it was in the sky that she had a dear friend, the Wizard of Knowledge, with whom she had often collaborated in the past to decipher the mysteries of the universe and the future.
Without hesitation, Grandma decided to call him on the radio, so that he could answer her curious grandchildren. After a few moments, the Wizard of Knowledge appeared with his shimmering spaceship. Floating next to him was a magical book, which opened and closed on its own, revealing strange symbols, ancient formulas, and secrets.
The Wizard turned to the children with a wise smile and told them that the Observatory on the Hill is open 360° to the world, made of glass windows with an infinite view, from where you can study the entire universe. Some robots, coming from distant planets, discovered it while wandering on Earth. To conduct their studies as astronomer scientists, it was the perfect place.
The robots that lived there and were in charge of the research project had particular names:
ASSO, the Robot best at organizing things, was the head of the expedition.
CONNI, the Explorer Robot, who was connected to the universe and understood it better than anyone else.
UNO, the Math Genius Robot, who counted the stars and all flying celestial bodies, including meteors and shooting stars.
SALUS, the Researcher Robot, who was knowledgeable about Planet Earth, observed all its inhabitants, and tracked every change, from ecosystems to biodiversity.
AUDIO, the Artificial Intelligence that was invisible but responsible for all space communications and coordinated discoveries between the various planets.
After explaining, the Wizard of Knowledge invited Grandma and the grandchildren to board his spaceship, and together they floated slowly toward the observatory. Gravity seemed suspended, and everything around them shone with a magical light.
The Wizard offered them colorful balloons that lifted them into the air, and through the open roof of the spaceship, they were transported to the glass windows of the Observatory.
What a wonder! There were hundreds of instruments and many robots of different sizes, all busy with their tasks. Among them stood out for size, shape, and color, Asso, Conni, Uno, and Salus. They looked up, surprised and amazed at the sight of the visitors, and didn't know how to react. The children sent kisses and greetings, but the robots, who didn't understand affection, exchanged only light signals and went back to work as usual. Who knows what thoughts they had and what secrets they hid in their electronic brains.
Once back home, they were happy about the adventure, but their curiosity had grown even more. The robots' work would continue, but in their opinion, it was necessary for them to interact with humans to share their discoveries and collaborate for a better world.
The robots they had seen through the glass were of few words and too absorbed in their tasks to chat with them. But perhaps what couldn't be seen was the solution: AUDIO, the Artificial Intelligence!
To contact it, they needed a genius idea: Grandma's radio could be what they needed. But it required some changes. They immediately fitted it with super-powerful antenna and microphone. Without hesitation, they tried to get in touch with AUDIO, explaining their idea. But no response came. They changed frequencies and tried for several evenings, but without luck.
One day, Grandma, while cooking spaghetti with tomato and basil, was listening to news about the universe, tuned to a new local radio station called Space Station. By chance, there was an interference and, between one forkful of spaghetti and another, as she adjusted the tuning, she intercepted a metallic voice that seemed to want to communicate with her grandchildren. There was no doubt: she realized that the transmission came from the Observatory on the Hill and that it was AUDIO!
Grandma immediately informed her grandchildren and all the children in town, who happily gathered every day after school to talk to AUDIO. They talked about all sorts of things, and while they were learning a lot, so was he, and so were the other robots, with whom AUDIO could act as a translator.
Time passed, and many pieces of information and discoveries continued to arrive from the observatory. After a year of knowing each other, the children asked AUDIO: "Can we celebrate with a cake with candles?"
AUDIO replied: "I have no age, and time makes no difference to me. Besides, to be honest, sugar is bad for gears. You eat the cake and let the wind blow out the candles."
The children smiled, realizing that their curiosity had truly opened a window to the future.
"Look!" they exclaimed joyfully, "AUDIO and his friends are one of the wonders of the future."
Grandma, on a day of rain and sunshine, took her mini spaceship out of the garage, quickly started it up, and after a refueling stop on the rainbow, reached the Planet of Wisdom at incredible speed for a greeting and afternoon tea with her friend, the Wizard.
She returned home before dark, and after parking her mini spaceship in her secret garage, she relaxed in the garden. While she was sitting in her rocking chair, her grandchildren arrived and asked her:
"What are you looking at?"
"I'm observing the sky, you know, it's crowded with astronauts in spaceships, some headed for the Moon, others for Mars, and even beyond."
"You know a lot, Grandma," they said, smiling. "The merry-go-round and the music box were your past games to play, now you know the secrets of the future. Well done! And if one day you fly again, let us know; we'll watch you along with the robots and our friends. Maybe one day we can join you on one of your space adventures. What do you think, Grandma?"
Grandma smiled, and looking at the starry sky, replied:
"Who knows... maybe one day..."
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