Long ago in the far reaches of space…
Far away, deep in space, there was a planet called ISO. On the planet there lived a race of robot-like beings, the ISO bots, who spent their days gathering information and organizing it. One day the ISO leaders realized that their people had gathered all the information there was to find on the planet. They had nothing left to do!
As quickly as possible the robots built a fleet of spaceships. Then they chose teams of robots to fly the spaceships out into space to find new worlds where they could gather new information. After traveling for many years, one of the robot spaceships, the ISO11, came across a planet that was mostly covered with water, but that had land too. Using their technology, the robots studied the planet and they soon learned that a species that stood on two legs seemed to be in charge.
These creatures, humans, came in all colors and sizes, and some of the things they did made no sense. For example, they wrote things called books, composed music, and made art. No one told the humans to do these things, they just did them. Why?
The robots decided to send one of their team, Pon, to Earth to find out why and how humans were able to write stories, make up music, and create art. Pon decided to watch the little humans, who were less frightening. He was fascinated by them, but he couldn’t find the answers to his questions. Finally Pon decided to talk to the little humans and meet them in person. Maybe they would be able to explain why they did the things that they did.
Meet the Bots
Pon is courageous and confident, and he is the leader in his group. He is the ISObot who wants his kind to evolve by learning from the species that they encounter on their journey through space. He is the one who decides that the only way that the robots can better understand human beings is by visiting Earth to observe them. He then summons up the courage to talk to children and he starts to build relationships with them.
Amii is a sensitive, quiet, and gentle little ISObot and she has an interest in music. At first the music she creates is simply a math exercise, but after she comes to Earth she learns how to use her emotions to produce a different kind of music. She is inspired by what she sees around her and develops an interest in gardens. Over time Amii sees how gardens can make the world more beautiful. They also provide habitats for animals, and kitchen gardens give us the ability to grow food locally.
Poe is a thoughtful soul. His role on the ISO11 is to create images of things that the ISObots see on their journey. Like Amii, his artwork is very practical until he visits Earth. Then he starts to create landscape paintings, which he has never done before. He discovers that trees are beautiful things, and he decides that he will plant as many trees as he can to create beautiful landscapes that everyone can enjoy.
Bugg is a bouncy, energetic fellow who loves to organize and tidy things. He is thrilled when the ISObots start visiting Earth because he sees that so many people on Earth don’t seem to know how to keep their world neat and tidy. He takes on the anti-litter cause with a will, and comes up with lots of ideas to get people to stop littering.
Tyy is a very active robot who is very interested in health and wellness. Before coming to Earth he worked hard to make sure that his fellow ISObots on the ISO11 exercised to stay healthy. When he visits Earth he is rather upset to see how unhealthy our world has become because of pollution. Tyy sees the connection between pollution and cars and he tries to find ways to get people to use cars less in their daily lives.
Makk is Tyy’s best friend, and like Tyy he becomes very concerned about the health of the Earth. He sees that there are many environmental problems on the planet. He notices that some adult humans do a lot to try to solve these problems. Why shouldn’t children do the same thing, he wonders.
Togg is fascinated by science. More than anything she enjoys spending time studying scientific subjects, and solving the problems that she encounters. She is rather shy and is reluctant to visit Earth, but when she does, she becomes fascinated by the energy problems that humans have. How can humans save energy? She sets about trying to find out what they are doing now to solve this issue, and what they might do in the future.
On their journey across the universe Zopp was always making friends with the alien species that they encountered. On Earth she quickly becomes attached to the pets that she meets. She is horrified when she finds out that many cats, dogs, and other pets are homeless, or that they are not taken care of properly. She sets about trying to do what she can to address these issues. She also does her best to learn about what people can do to make the world safer for wild creatures.
Meep is fascinated by water. It is therefore not surprising that she decides to do what she can to conserve water so that the resource is not wasted. She studies water conservation methods that are used in countries around the world and shares what she has learned with others.
Biiz is Bugg’s best friend. Like him, she likes to be in a clean and tidy environment. She enjoys cleaning up messes and quickly sets about tidying up the messes she finds on Earth. She is a jolly, lively ISObot and she somehow always finds ways to enjoy everything she does.
Zedd is a very particular fellow. He likes everything to be just so and hates waste. When he sees how wasteful humans are he is appalled. He sets about learning all he can about recycling, composting, and how to use food wisely. Food waste drives him crazy. He comes up with recipes for how to use leftovers. Some of the dishes are rather strange but his ISObot friends never say anything because they care about him.