The Search For WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi

find your robot mother.”
    Eva nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”
    With his walking stick supporting his weight, Rovender hobbled down past Eva, leading her into her Sanctuary.
    The stairs ended at the back wall of an empty white control room, Muthr’s quarters. Of course Eva knew of this room. Muthr had told her all about where she went at the day’s end, and the Omnipod had showed the room in its entirety when Eva had viewed the omniscient floor plan—but still, she’d never been in this room. Expecting an arsenal of high-tech equipment, Eva found only a damaged holo-puter projecting images of the many chambers in the Sanctuary. The images flickered in an unsteady rhythm as they floated in the center of the room.
    “How do you enter?” Rovender studied the locked door leading to the Sanctuary’s main hub.
    “Hold on,” Eva said, scanning the numerous displays. In these she was able to look into each room.
    Room 1: The Control Room. Eva could see the overhead view of herself and Rovender looking at the holo-images.
    Room 2: The Holography Chamber. Eva could see the main projector lying on the scorched floor. Pieces of it were scattered and submerged in puddles from the extinguishers.
    Room 3: The Gymnasium. The exercise equipment was toppled and thrown about. A sizable piece of debris was lying at the bottom of the half-drained wading pool.
    Room 4: The Greenhouse. This was black. The camera must not have been working for this room.
    Room 5: Eva’s Bedroom. This seemed the most damaged of all. Blackened and distorted clumps of the girl’s possessions were melted into a sprawling heap, while cooling pipes bled water everywhere.
    Eva stared at the projection in total shock. Is everything I own gone? She pulled her eyes from the appalling sight and continued her search for Muthr.
    Room 6: The Kitchen. This was also black. Eva assumed the camera was not working here either.
    Room 7: The Supply Room. This was ransacked. All the shelves were toppled, with the goods spilled out onto the floor.
    Room 8: The Generator Room. The other “no access” room was also black. Eva could see that the camera was working, but the lights were off in the room.
    “That’s where I left Muthr,” Eva said, pointing to the blank kitchen screen. “Let’s try there first.” She tapped the green glowing button next to the door, but the door did not open. Eva tapped it again, harder. Nothing.
    “Is it not working? Perhaps there is another way in?” Rovender asked.
    “Let me see if it is damaged.” Eva walked over to the holo-screen for the control room. She attempted to interact with the Sanctuary’s menus, but the Sanctuary would not respond. “That’s weird. It’s not letting me access anything,” she said. Eva looked up and announced in a clear voice, “This is Eva Nine. Are you there, Sanctuary?”
    The familiar calm voice of the Sanctuary replied. However, static was mixed into it, causing it to sound fuzzy and far away. “Earth in Vitro Alpha Nine, to reenter Sanctuary you must proceed with an authorization code.”
    “Code?” Eva looked up at the camera in the ceiling, the Sanctuary’s eyes. “I don’t know any code.”
    “Reentry into HRP underground facility five-seven-three is strictly prohibited without proper authorization,” stated the Sanctuary through the static.
    “Prohibited? I live here. You know that,” Eva said, looking around at the various screens. “Please let me back in. I need to find Muthr.”
    “Multi-Utility Task Help Robot zero-six is unresponsive. Therefore, her location is undetermined. The integrity of said Sanctuary has been compromised. Please return to the surface and send distress signal from Omnipod to HRP underground facility fifty-one,” the Sanctuary stated.
    “I did that already,” Eva replied, her tone stern. She waved the Omnipod at the camera. “But there are no humans out there. Instead there are monsters—giant sand monsters and trees that eat you. I need Muthr’s help.