The Wild Robot Protects

Roz meets an angry sea turtle who tells her to turn around to avoid the poison tide. Roz explains that she is immune to the tide, and the turtle snaps back, “Well, aren’t you lucky? The rest of us are fighting for our lives, and you’re just going for a pleasant stroll!” (68). Roz says she will find the Ancient Shark and solve the poison tide. The turtle apologizes for being rude and explains that he just witnessed thousands of sea turtle eggs destroyed by the poison tide. This makes Roz sad, and she pledges to help all the sea turtles. The turtle says he will spread the word that someone is trying to help.

Roz spends her first night underwater and witnesses the “great vertical migration” (72) of microscopic organisms that rise to the top of the ocean each night, turning the water into a kaleidoscope of different colors.

While Roz admires a beautiful school of fish, a boat appears above them. Roz warns the fish to swim away as the ship drops its net. The net scoops up all the fish, leaving the water empty.

Though she can’t see them, Roz hears the whale song lamenting the coming disaster of the poison tide.

As Roz continues to walk, she realizes she is following a road, and floodwaters wholly submerge the town. Seeing the signs of civilization reminds Roz of the farm where she lived with the Shareef family. She is thankful to the children, Jad and Jaya, for helping her escape the farm and return to her island.

Roz discovers a flooded grocery store. She meets a hermit crab named Scoot, who uses a tin can for a shell. Zap, the electric ray stuns her, and for a moment, the electric shock scrambles her circuits. Scoot apologizes for Zap’s defense response. The creatures think Roz is a “sea monster,” but she explains that she is a robot programmed to feel like a female human. Scoot introduces Roz to Ripple, a Gobie fish that changes from a female to a male. Ripple explains that gobies and some types of frogs can change genders. Roz enjoys meeting creatures that are different from her, “And just like that, our robot felt more connected to the natural world” (84). Zap has heard of the Ancient Shark Roz is seeking and claims she has spies there. Roz must keep going north to find the Shark and bids goodbye to her new friends.

This chapter is written in verse and lists everything Roz witnesses under the sea, including shipwrecks and plastic pollution.

Soon, Roz finds herself back in the cloud of the poison tide. The water gets shallower, and waves wash Roz ashore on a deserted island. It is flat and rocky, unlike her island, but the poisoned tide has killed all its vegetation. Roz spots a patch of mushrooms and notices that the soil underneath is healthy. Her database tells her that mushrooms can help heal the land of pollution, and she feels hopeful that she may have found a way to help her island.

Roz returns to walking on the seafloor, but a raging thunderstorm forces her to dive deeper into the ocean to avoid the lightning.

Roz descends into the darkness of the deep ocean, and she must use her light to navigate. The seafloor is covered with many strange creatures. Roz sees a sea slug that her database can’t identify and realizes she has discovered a new species. The slug begs her not to eat it, and Roz explains she is traveling to find help for the poison tide. Seeing all the unique creatures of the deep inspires Roz to move faster to find help to save all the ocean’s inhabitants.

After traveling for a month, Roz reaches the far north where the sun doesn’t set. Her Survival Instincts tell her she is descending too deep and the pressure is too great, so Roz swims upward to a safer depth. The swirling ocean debris reminds her of snow, and she thinks of all the people on land she loves and appreciates. She silently thanks Dr. Molovo for giving her a watertight body.

Roz hears a strange “Clickety click!” (98) sound and runs into a sperm whale hunting squid. The whale bites Roz, who is mistaken for a squid. Roz asks the whale if it knows Coral, the whale who saved her life after he escaped from Hilltop farm. The whale doesn’t know Coral but says the poison tide makes it harder to find food because all the animals are leaving. Doubtful Roz can stop the poison tide, the whale laughs at her mission but says she might have a chance with the Ancient Shark’s help.

Roz tries the echolocation technique she learned from the whale, hoping another creature will hear her call. She only sees a jellyfish, which waves its tentacles at her. Roz experiments with turning off her headlights and navigating the dark only using echolocation.

Despite her clicking, Roz feels alone until she realizes she is floating in a current of bioluminescent plankton, like a night sky full of stars.

As her journey seems endless, Roz keeps moving north without stopping to rest.

Roz’s battery is solar-powered, so she must rise to the surface to recharge.

As she continues to practice her echolocation, Roz attracts a pod of dolphins who think she is a sea turtle. Roz tries to leap out of the ocean like the dolphins, but her heavy body causes her to fall back into the water. The dolphins are swimming away from the poison tide, but they tell Roz that the Ancient Shark lives in the northern ocean and that she must travel west to get there. Using a technique where they blow bubbles to catch a swarm of fish, the dolphins attract seabirds that can help Roz navigate on land.

In the feeding frenzy of birds, Roz meets a puffin named Kerplunk, who agrees to help her find the Ancient Shark. Kerplunk points to the coastline, where Roz must follow a stream to a glacier. Kerplunk adds, “[D]o us all a favor and stop the poison tide, would ya? Life is hard enough out here as it is” (119).

Back underwater, Roz navigates through stalks of kelp full of creatures. Roz uses camouflage to hide in the kelp when she sees a strange shadow. The shadow is an octopus named Limber. Limber demonstrates her skill at camouflage by blending in seamlessly with the reef, to which Roz says, “I have never seen a better display of camouflage […] not in the ocean or on land” (122-23). Limber latches onto Roz with her tentacled arm and helps her move past the dangerous breakers near the shore. Roz learns that after Limber lays her eggs, she will die, and she worries about the future of her hatchlings with the oncoming poison tide. Roz promises Limber that she will do everything possible to secure a better future for her hatchlings.