By Rachel Dib
“Are you still working on that thing?” Mauldin shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth and eyed the hunk of metal parts his brother was attempting to jimmy rig together.
“Yep.” Pablo paused and tilted his head. Pursing his lips, he bent his head the other way. After a moment, his face brightened, and he continued tinkering.
Mauldin cast a skeptical eye over the project as he picked a kernel from his teeth. “What’s it supposed to be exactly?”
“A robot.”
“We already have robots,” Mauldin snorted. “Real ones. From the store.”
Pablo shrugged. “We don’t have one that makes pancakes.”
Mauldin opened his mouth but slowly closed it again. Pablo was right. They had robots that cleaned, baked, kept things cold, held stuff, and performed outdoor tasks, but none of them made pancakes.
Pablo scratched his temple with the tip of his screwdriver. “I think it’s done.”
Mauldin eyed the contraption narrowly. “Sorry, bro, but I’m not sure this counts as a robot.” He poked the dome-shaped machine. “I mean, there’s no head.” He jiggled one of the wiry arms jutting from its side. “Also, it can’t move anything besides its arms.”
Pablo stepped between Mauldin and his creation. “Hey, are you the inventor in this family? No. Don’t diss my design.”
“Fine, but what good is a stationary robot, anyway? For that matter, what good is a robot that only makes pancakes?”
Pablo lifted a brow. “Do you like making your own pancakes?”
“Fair point.” Mauldin shrugged. “So, are you going to try it out or what?”
“I suppose that’s the logical next step.” Pablo hefted the robot in his arms. He grunted with every step he took toward the kitchen.
“Need help?”
“Could you… get… a bowl?”
While Pablo set up the robot, Mauldin bent to grab a mixing bowl from a low cupboard. As he rose, he smacked his head on the edge of the countertop and cursed. “You should’ve designed that hunk of junk to collect everything itself.”
Pablo frowned. “Yeah, I didn’t think of that.”
Once all the ingredients were in reach of the robot’s arms, Pablo hesitated, finger poised over the button.
“Well, push it!”
Pablo complied. With a low whirring, the robot jerked to life. Slowly but methodically, the arms repositioned everything to better suit its needs.
“How does it know what’s what?” Mauldin asked, wide-eyed.
“Material sensors in the base. It detects each object’s chemical makeup, then selects what it needs based on the preprogrammed recipe for making pancakes.”
“Nifty.”
Pablo grinned. “I thought so.”
As the robot dipped its arm into the bag of flour, the dome began to click.
Mauldin stepped backward. “What’s that?”
The noise switched to a squeal. Pablo shook his head. “Something not good.” He reached for the off button—too late.
With a pop and a spray of sparks, a scoop of flour flew into the air, creating a cloud that engulfed Pablo’s head. A louder bang resulted in everything to the robot’s right shooting across the countertop. That included the bag of sugar—which exploded, sending tiny crystals cascading across the entire kitchen.
When the haze cleared, Mauldin looked at the charred robot, the wrecked room, and his brother covered from head to foot in flour. Stepping forward, he patted Pablo on the shoulder. “Mom comes home in an hour. Have fun.”
Two weeks later, Mauldin entered the kitchen—and jolted to a halt. A bronze-plated robot—complete with head, legs, and everything in between—stood at the counter, measuring out salt into a mixing bowl. Though the robot seemed stable, Mauldin approached cautiously.
“You fixed it?”
Pablo glanced up and smiled. “Yes, and I added modifications. This version can collect all the pancake materials itself, like you suggested.”
“Nice.” Mauldin crept closer as the robot pushed the bowl aside. “It definitely looks better than that last scrap heap.”
The robot’s smooth motions lagged for a moment, but then it reached for another bowl. Next, it opened the egg carton, selected an egg and—lobbed it at Mauldin.
The shell stung as it smashed against his chest, leaving a gooey spot on his shirt before falling to the floor. Mauldin glanced up in time to see another egg flying toward his face. He tried to dodge, but it struck his shoulder.
“What’s going on!” An egg smacked against the doorjamb just as Mauldin ducked behind it. He risked a peek into the kitchen. The robot was reaching for another egg.
“I don’t know!” Pablo lunged for the robot’s power button. As the machine’s shoulders and head slumped forward, Pablo sighed. “Everything was going so well.”
“Not from my perspective,” Mauldin growled. “That hurt.”
When Pablo seemed moodier than usual, Mauldin thought he’d given up on his project. A month later, however, Mauldin found his brother in his room, a silver-plated robot with glowing eyes standing before him. When the robot’s green gaze flicked to meet his, Mauldin flinched.
“Hel-lo. Maul-din,” a robotic voice greeted.
Pablo turned around. “Great! You’re just in time for the demo.”
“Uh.”
Before Mauldin could escape, Pablo grabbed his arm and led him toward the kitchen. The robot waddled after them.
“How about you let me know when the first batch is finished?”
“Nonsense,” Pablo said as his robot toddled around, collecting supplies. “You’ve been with this project from the beginning. You should witness its conclusion.”
“That’s not necessary.” Mauldin winced as a mixing bowl clanged to the floor. The robot picked it back up.
“Don’t worry, I’ve worked out all the kinks. There won’t be any problems.”
Mauldin nodded, but didn’t relax until the robot flipped its last pancake onto a plate, added syrup, and powered down.
“They’re perfect!” Pablo handed Mauldin a plate before sitting at the table.
Mauldin waited for his brother to start eating before joining him. The buttermilk pancakes were soft and fluffy, just the way he liked them. “These are so good.”
“Yeah.” Pablo sighed, face glum. “But now I want doughnuts.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
the curse of inventors – doubting brothers… fun read.
I’m glad you enjoyed it ☺
Such a fun story and I love your sense of humor! Why have one robot do everything when you can have lots of robots do one thing? 😂 Hilarious!
Thank you ☺ I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I can only imagine the mess in the kitchen, but I’d love a robot to cook anything so I wouldn’t have to! Great story and such a real world ending!
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it 😁
Now *I* want doughnuts! And pancakes to boot!
What a great story. I loved the humor and the sibling relationship. <3
Lol yea I could totally go for some doughnuts right now too. I’m glad you enjoyed the story!
I want a cooking robot! The egg throwing was hilarious, like it had heard what he had said.
Good story!
Maybe he did hear 😏 Glad you enjoyed it!
Funny, I want a robot that can cook for me. I would like the final one as I know I would have ended up cleaning up the eggs thrown. Now have the robot make the donuts. Enjoy this one.
It reminds me to appreciate all of the hard work and effort that went into making many of the machines that we take for granted.
Lol – all that work to make a robot to make pancakes. Might be easier to just make the pancakes? 😂 But where’s the fun in that?