THE PHOENIX FACTOR
By Donald F. Gult & Douglas Booth
In another attempt to conquer Earth, Umbra tries germ warfare. He has his agents bring him a stasis capsule. The capsule contains a humanoid/cyborg scientist, Dr. Phoenix. 200 years prior, when relations between humans, robots and cyborgs was strained, the doctor had been shut down as punishment for his experiments in the creation of Mechanogen - a virus designed to attack electronic circuits. Now Umbra revives him. He sends the doctor to the “Danger Zone” - an area around a dead planet that the United Planets has set up as a depository of outlawed and dangerous scientific experiments and equipment. Umbra provides the doctor with a ship with a cloaking device so he can retrieve his Mechanogen.
On Earth, sensors pick up movement within the Danger Zone. Rondu sends Mighty Orbots to investigate. When they arrive, Rob separates the Orbots so they can search the field better.Phoenix finds one of the canisters of his viral stock. But as he retrieves it, the moving canister is seen by Tor and Bort. As they approach the cloaked ship, Phoenix starts up his thrusters, hitting another canister of Mechanogen. It ruptures, spewing the Beam
Car with its gas. Rob and the Beam Car are okay, but Ono takes a full dose, and becomes very ill. The Orbots are forced to abandon the search and return home, rather than chase Phoenix.Umbra takes the Mechanogen and mutates it so that not only does the virus destroy circuits, but those circuits that remain become servers of Umbra. He then sends Phoenix and his cloaked ship to Earth. There, Phoenix begins to douse the city with the mutated Mechanogen. The results are devastating. Machines go on a rampage, destroying and wrecking everything. Rondu orders an evacuation of the city, then places the effected areas under an energy dome.
Rondu reports to Rob that sensors are detecting an energy flux in orbit. The cloaked ship! Mighty Orbots is needed! Rob uses a stasis generator to stabilize Ono enough for her to activate Mighty Orbots. As soon as the gestalt is together, they chase after Dr. Phoenix and his ship. Cloaking themselves, then matching wavelengths with Phoenix’s ship, they soon find him. But can they stop him in time? It’s up to Rob to find a cure for both Ono and the effected machines. But can he get help from an unexpected source? Dr. Phoenix?
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