Cole drone 2

  Cole took a step, and the harness shifted, allowing him to feel how the movement changed his balance. As Cole walked around a little and used his hands, he found that Hunter was right—operating the drone felt very natural. His body had become a big video-game controller, with the drone moving however he did.

  A variety of little bots scurried across the floor of the room. Some hovered. They began dismantling panels around a dark crystal door with a socket beside it.

  “Try jumping,” Hunter said. “The drones have pretty good hops, though you can’t go quite as high as with Googol’s battle suit.”

  Cole practiced jumping and punching and kicking. The ceiling wasn’t very high, so he couldn’t push the limits, but he got the feel of how much effort to put into a jump to go different distances.

  Across the room, the crystal door opened.

  “That was fast,” Cole said.

  “Clayton is the best at this kind of thing,” Hunter said. “At least he’s on my side this final time. I’ll take the lead.”

  Cole followed Hunter through the doorway and into a short hall. He was already starting to think of his drone as himself, and Hunter’s drone as Hunter.

Chapter 32