Are You Smarter Than A Flying Gator? (4 page)

But it wasn't all work and no play for Sarabiskota. They found time for long bike rides, boat rides, lots of beach time on Siesta Key, even some time to go to Busch Gardens and the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa.

No matter what they were doing, though, their huge project was always on their minds. Could they possibly get it all done before some of them had to head back to Bismarck?

As the project went from planning stage to construction phase, the pace picked up and the activity around Prez's workshop became more intense. Numerous trucks arrived and delivered supplies.

Prez was surprised that none of his suppliers would charge him for anything he ordered. They had all heard of Prez and his friends before because of the famous treasure chest incident a year earlier. The suppliers all seemed honored to be part of whatever the nine precocious teens were working on this time.

Sarabiskota kept that a secret, though. Not even their parents knew what they were working on.

By the last day of July, the project was almost ready for testing outside the lab. In Prez's workshop,
Kevin and Prez were testing a few computer functions, while Jessie stood with a small paint brush in her right hand. She applied a few last strokes of orange paint to the object in front of her.

“I think that's it!” Jessie announced proudly.

Kevin and Prez joined the rest of Sarabiskota who stood back and admired their finished work.

“What a fantastic job!” KT said with pride.

“It's unbelievable!” Nick exclaimed.

“You guys all did great!” Prez said. “Now, I just hope it works as well outside the workshop as it did in the computer simulations inside.”

Kevin giggled. “Thomas Edison would be proud of us.”

“I wonder what Dr. Phil would think,” Doc asked, trying to sound serious.

“What were you thinking?” Mike said, doing his best impression of Dr. Phil.

“I'm thinking we're ready for our first test flight tomorrow morning,” said Prez. “We'll invite our parents, and we can send live video and audio feed to the parents back in North Dakota. They can watch it on their computers.”

“Are you going to call any news media or anything?” Kari inquired.

“No,” Prez replied. “They're probably going to find out about this soon enough.”

That evening, the nine excited teens went for a long boat ride. After that, they watched a movie and went to bed.

The boys lay in their beds in the dark with only the faint glow of Nick's night light in the corner of the room.

Kevin said, “I wonder how this compares with the way the football players feel the night before the Super Bowl. It's hard to imagine being more pumped up than I am right now.”

“No doubt,” said Nick. “Although I'd rather compare it to the night before I drive in my first Daytona 500. How exciting would that be?”

Prez said, “All I know is, everyone's done such a great job on this project—except Chad, of course,” he added jokingly.

“Prez, are you nervous at all?” Mike wanted to know.

“No doubt,” Prez replied. “But it's a good kind of nervousness.”

“I wonder if the girls are getting any sleep,” said Chad. “If not, what do you think they're talking about right now?”

Nick giggled. “I can pretty much guarantee they're not talking about the Super Bowl or the Daytona 500.”

“I'll bet they're talking about boys or shopping,” Kevin guessed.

“There's only one way to find out,” said Mike. “I'll call Kari.”

Mike dialed Kari's cell phone number and she answered her phone on the first ring.

“Hi Kari. It's Mike. Are you girls getting any sleep?”

“Only Jessie. She can sleep through
anything.
The rest of us are talking and watching the movie
Where the Red Fern Grows.
How about you guys?”

“Not any sleep going on here, Kari. Too excited.”

“Do you guys feel confident about everything?”

“Yup. Uh ... we've got a little bet going here. May I ask you what you girls were talking about when I called?”

“Yes, you may ask, but no, I'm not going to tell you. Just kidding. Actually, we were just debating
who should have won
American Idol
this year. Doc admitted she liked the cute guy with the purple Mohawk hairstyle.”

“That surprises me,” Mike said, laughing. “I would've thought she liked the bald guy with the mustache.”

“Mike, do you guys want to go for a walk on the beach tomorrow morning before we go to Prez's workshop?”

“Sure. What time?”

“Maybe seven?”

“Sounds good. I'll tell everyone else.”

There were only three minutes left on the large digital countdown clock on the wall in Prez's workshop. Prez was running down the final checklist as his eight friends worked at their stations.

Prez called out, “All computer systems OK?”

“Computer systems are go,” Kevin replied, looking at his computer monitor.

“Propulsion systems?” Prez asked.

“Propulsion systems are all ready,” replied KT.

“Is the
Rough Rider
out in the bay and ready for filming?”

“Yes, Prez,” Chad's dad responded from out
on the boat. “We can't wait to see what you've been working on.”

“Mike, are you in position on the roof for filming?”

“I'm up here and ready,” Mike announced.

Prez looked at one of the eight large TV monitors on the wall. He could see Mike standing on the huge Super Bowl XL logo painted on the roof of the workshop. Mike was holding the camera, ready to film.

“Nick, are you ready to send video to all the parents in Bismarck?”

“I'm ready, Prez.”

“Bismarck, can you hear me now?”

“We hear you loud and clear,” Jessie's mom replied from her home in Bismarck. All the parents from Bismarck were gathered at the Angel house and were watching and listening with great anticipation.

“Bismarck, are you receiving the video feeds?”

“Yes, we are. Good luck everyone down there in Sarasota!”

“Thank you. Doc, you may begin opening up the roof.”

“Will do,” said Doc.

Doc pushed a red button on the wall, and the
domed part of the roof slowly opened above them.

“All systems seem to be go as we approach the final countdown!” Prez said excitedly.

The countdown came down to the final ten seconds. “10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4...
3... 2... 1!”

“Lift off!”

Suddenly, a beautiful, wonderful, unusual craft rose into the air from within Prez's workshop. It hovered briefly in the opening in the roof, then exited the building near the spot where Mike was standing. The craft rose another 50 feet straight into the air above the building and hovered there for several seconds.

Mike stood on the roof pointing the camera up in the air at the fantastic flying craft. The parents out on the
Rough Rider
and the parents in Bismarck watched in disbelief! Prez's dad was so surprised he almost dropped his camera into the Gulf of Mexico.

Several people walking the beach on this Saturday morning looked up at the flying thing and their jaws dropped. A little girl who was being pushed in a stroller pointed up into the sky and yelled, “Mommy, it's a flying
alligrator!
”

“Oh, my! You're right honey!” her mom exclaimed. “It's a huge flying alligator!”

The little girl continued pointing and talking excitedly. “It's blue and orange and green and white. It's a pretty
alligrator.
It's a really pretty
alligrator!”

The little girl's mother was speechless as she stared at the 40 foot alligator in the sky in front of her.

Prez gave a simple voice command into the microphone on his headset. “All right,
Gator Mikey.
Let's fly flight plan number 58.”

At this point, the flying alligator rose to an altitude of 150 feet. As it was doing this, its big eyes were blinking and its enormous tail was moving from side to side. The next instant, Gator Mikey turned and started flying out over the water toward the
Rough Rider.

Gator Mikey flew quietly and gracefully over the
Rough Rider.
Then he turned toward the north, flying at a slow speed parallel to the beach, approximately half a mile offshore.

“Dad, this is Prez. Please follow Gator Mikey and continue filming.”

“Will do. Uh ... Son?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“You kids have outdone yourselves. I never would have guessed your surprise would be a gigantic flying alligator named Gator Mikey!”

“Thanks, Dad. You'll never believe what else Gator Mikey can do.”

As Gator Mikey continued flying north, with the
Rough Rider
in close pursuit, Prez said, “All right. Let's test some of Gator Mikey's capabilities. KT, turn on Gator Mikey's cameras.”

KT hit a few keys on her computer keyboard and suddenly two TV monitors on the wall showed the view from Gator Mikey's eyes.

Prez said, “Let's rotate the left eye camera so it's pointing toward the ground more ... Good ... Now the right camera.”

“How's that?” KT asked.

“Great, KT. Now let's test the sound system on board Gator Mikey. Testing ... one, two, three. Dad, can you and the other parents hear me clearly on the boat?”

“Loud and clear.”

“All right,” said Prez. “Now, let's see if Gator Mikey can do what we really built him for.”

Prez typed on his keyboard and Gator Mikey dropped down to an altitude below 100 feet. He flew closer to the beach where many people were now standing and watching in complete amazement.

“Hi, I'm Gator Mikey!” the flying gator spoke for the first time. His voice sounded just like the President of the United States! “I'm here to promote the learning of history and geography in Florida.
Are you smarter than a flying gator?
Try to answer my question if you can. I'll make it multiple choice so anyone can make a guess.

“What large body of water am I flying over right now? Is it A, the Gulf of Mexico; B, the Atlantic Ocean; or C, the Missouri River? I'll repeat the question and then give you ten seconds to think about it.”

Gator Mikey repeated the question and then played soothing music for ten seconds. After that, he said, “I hope you made your guess and you get it right. The correct answer is A, the Gulf of Mexico. If you got it right, at the count of three, you can yell
I'm smarter than a flying gator!
1 ... 2 ...
3!”

“I'm smarter than a flying gator!”
yelled most of the people down on the beach.

“That was great! If you got it wrong, don't worry. I have another question for you now. It's a much harder one, though. Here it is: Siesta Key Beach has some of the softest, whitest sand in the world. The sand never gets hot, no matter how hot and sunny the weather is. What substance in the sand makes this
possible? Is it A, uranium; B, quartz; or C, thermos?

“Once again, I'll repeat the question and give you ten seconds to respond.”

Gator Mikey repeated the question, then played some more soothing music for ten seconds.

“The correct answer is B, quartz. The sand is made of mostly quartz which reflects the heat. I hope you got it right. If you did, you know what to do at the count of three! 1 ... 2 ...
3!”

“I'm smarter than a flying gator!”
about half of the people yelled.

“If you didn't get it right, don't worry,” Gator Mikey said, sounding just like the President of the United States. “I'll be asking many more history and geography questions in the future.”

Prez said, “Good job, Gator Mikey. Time to return to the workshop. Let's try out your singing ability on the way back.”

Gator Mikey had been programmed with many songs, many of them Elvis Presley songs. The flying gator's theme song was a special version of the famous Elvis song, “Hound Dog.”