A rough draft featuring Tanner and the lava powered robots.
Just One Drop
In the town of ‘A Slumberous Mount’ Idaho, Tanner sat in Mr. Brom’s science class as he made the announcement that the annual science fair would be the up coming Saturday. Mr. Brom remarked that to receive a passing grade every student needed to participate.
Tanner had no worries about participating in the science fair since it built more excitement than Christmas. Participating in the fair since the age of 6, the fair gave a chance to create and test experiments he’d thought of to help his fellow man and planet. This year would be extra special.
Tanner reached into his back pack and pulled out a black covered book with white hand writing ‘Tanner’s Ideas’. Opening the front cover and flipping through the pages of sketches and blue prints drawn until he came to a blank page. The pencil hit the blank page and Tanner started drawing, making notes in the margins. Losing himself in his drawing, the end of day bell rang and his fellow students left for the day. Mr. Brom approached and tapped Tanner on the shoulder.
“Tan, school is done for the day” Mr. Brom said.
Looking around the room in disbelief than back at Mr. Brom who laughed.
“I have the most brilliant idea for the science fair! Guaranteed to win this year!” Tanner said with much excitement.
“Thats fantastic news and Im excited to see what you’ll bring this year. You are one of the top science students in this school and your ideas may change our world one day.”
Tanner smiled and threw his books in his bag and raced for the door.
“Bye Mr. Brom. See you tomorrow!
Tanner Tannerson biked home to the family farm with thoughts of his science fair project bouncing around his mind. Opening the front door of the house Tanner yelled
“MOM IM HOME GOING IN THE BARN!”
The Tannerson Farm was one of the largest potato farms in ‘A Slumberous Mount‘ and known for their extra large potatoes. The farm had a big farmhouse where the Tanner lived with his mom and dad, acres and acres of potato fields, and two barns; one small one big. The bigger of the two was used for farming equipment and tools; the smaller barn a birthday present to Tanner from his father. This small barn is where Tanner spent his free time when not in school or helping around the farm. In the small barn a work bench ran the length of the barn. A peg board held Tanner’s tools, a giant chalk board on wheels shown ideas Tanner wanted to work on. On the opposite side of the work bench sat Tanners most prized gadget he had built. A soap box racer modified into a sail wagon. It had the shape of a skinny horseshoe crab with a tin mast sticking up out of the center. Painted bright white with two small half cup shapes that held head lamps. Tanner would take the sail wagon out on windy days and drive it around the empty potato fields.
In the barn, Tanner removed his ‘Idea’ book and opened to this years science fair project idea. The sketch he had worked on in class, a most unusual elephant made of metal. The sketch showed where movable parts should go on the elephants trunk, legs and tale. Another sketch showed a circuitry diagram attached to a mesh basket under two doors on the elephants back. A pencil line extended from the mesh basket diagram with the words ‘power source?’ Pressing his lips together and shaking his head. It will come to me.
Placing safety goggles over his eyes and canvas gloves on his hands Tanner set to work. In a back corner of his barn a pile of cans, rinsed clean, for recycling sat. Picking out several soda cans he sat at his bench and began cutting the cans into squares, rectangles and triangles using tin snips. After cutting, he began forming the in his gloved hands. The soldiering iron was used to fuse the first two pieces together. A third piece added that made the knee. Next a pin inserted as a moving joint. Finishing one metal elephant leg, he moved on to the second then the third and fourth. The elephant legs were his world until mom called for dinner.
At the dinner table Tanner sat quietly thinking about his elephant. Occasionally eating a bite of fried chicken.
Tanners mom saw her sons face smiled and spoke “I know that look. Science fair coming up?”
Tanner laughed “Yes and I think I may win this year. The chicken is delicious tonight!”
Tanner went back to his thinking, staring at the mound of mashed potato’s on the plate that resembled a volcano. The gravy slowly flowed down the side of the potato volcano like lava. Lava, the word took Tanner away from dinner and back to a lesson Mr. Brom taught. Explaining how lava created an electromagnetic field.
“THAT’S IT!” Tanner yelled snapping back to the dinner table. Both parents jumped and looked in his direction.
“ May I be excused?” Tanner asked with excitement.
The next day at school, Tanner spent his day in the library researching lava and volcanos. The lava electromagnetic field is when the lava is in its molten state. The metal elephant would be no bigger than a shoe box.
“I would only need a drop of molten lava.” saying quietly to open book.
The research moved onto volcano locations.
Tanner returned home after school with a plan and to the barn. Construction on the elephant body finished as mom called for dinner. One last step, soldiering the trunk onto the head which could be finished after dinner. He paused before walking out of the barn and looked at the sail wagon. He smiled. After dinner the finished elephant lay sprawled on its belly on the work bench, the two small doors on the elephants back were open exposing a shiny metal mesh basket. Attached to the basket wires ran to a circuit board recycled from an old mechanical toy. The old toy also supplied a series of gears and tiny motors that now lived in the legs and trunk of the elephant. Just a drop of lava will give the metal elephant an infinite power source. The elephant will walk around the farm acting as a conductor for the electrical field creating a clean power source.
“I may win this fair after all!” Tanner exclaimed looking at the black eyes of the elephant.
Friday after school Tanner returned to the barn, opened the doors and pushed the sail wagon out into the world. The volcano research conducted showed Mount Saint Helens in neighboring Washington was the closest for a drop of lava. Mapping the route in an atlas, it would take three hours to get to Mount Saint Helens. Six hours round trip and home by midnight. Safely stowing the metal elephant in a storage compartment Tanner set off.
As the sail wagon approached Mount Saint Helens Tanner noticed a thin line of orange against the silhouette of the mountain. The sail wagon approached a safe distance from small flow of lava on the mountain side. Leaping out of the wagon, Tanner held a metal serve spoon in one hand and the elephant in the other. Setting the elephant on the ground with the doors open, he approached the flow slowly. Setting the spoon along the side of the moving flow the spoon filled with lava. Quickly spinning toward the elephant the spoon began to melt. The spoon passed over the elephant’s back just as a lava drop fell and came in contact with the mesh basket.
Immediately the circuit board lights inside the elephant began to blink in a rhythm. A front leg began to twitch then bend at its metal knee. The other three followed suit and the elephant stood on its own. The elephant raised its head sky ward and extended its trunk and a tiny trumpet noise was heard. At the same time the onyx eyes flickered to life in an electric blue reflecting Tanner who started to cry with joy.
At the science fair, Tanner explained to the judges what the metal elephant was capable of. The elephant stood in the center of the table, electric blue eyes reflecting its surroundings. On one side a tv, not plugged in, shown ‘The Incredible Hulk’ while on the other a table lamp, also not plugged in, illuminated brightly. Tanner explained to the judges how harnessing the power of lava could sustain human kind cleanly without destroying the planet.
