Cragbridge Hall, Book One: The Inventor's Secret (7 page)

Almost instantly, Grandpa Cragbridge appeared on the screen behind Abby.

“Oh,” Ms. Entrese said. Abby saw her teacher’s face flash with surprise and then ... was it contempt? “He is definitely a scientist, just like our good doctor in the story. There are some who would disagree about his ethics and reputation, but this classroom would hardly be the place for that.”

Abby didn’t know what to think. Everyone she had ever met loved her grandfather and had nothing but compliments and praise for him. Ms. Entrese didn’t seem to be in that camp.

“Now,” the teacher continued, “you will not want to make him look like Oscar Cragbridge, so maybe change your doctor’s appearance.”

As Ms. Entrese spoke, Abby reformed her image. A younger doctor began to take shape. He looked taller and stronger than Grandpa.

“Very good,” Ms. Entrese said. “Now you may begin.”

As Abby read aloud, her doctor mixed a vial of liquid. It boiled and smoked for a moment before he grabbed it and swished it around. He waited until the smoke dissipated, exhaled, then downed the liquid in one long gulp. As she read on, the scientist hunched over, a grimace on his face. He clenched his teeth and tried not to scream.

“Very good,” Ms. Entrese said. “Now you’ll be reading about how the formula changed the doctor’s looks. So class, be patient with her.”

Abby read how the doctor felt evil, ten times more than before. She discovered as she read that he had actually
become
evil—that was what the experiment did. A good, respectable man transformed into the evil that had been hidden somewhere inside him. As he changed, he shrank and became demented. He also looked younger, his evil side being much less developed than his good. Abby imagined the man hunched over, his teeth yellow, and his hair long and wiry. Dirty stubble sprouted from his chin. Abby didn’t enjoy imagining the evil side of someone.

The class watched as Abby continued to read, imagining the hideous, evil form lurching over to a cabinet, drinking one more vial, and buckling to the floor. His legs flailed in every direction, his arms gripping his stomach. At last, his jerky movements slowed, and once more, he was the doctor she had pictured at the beginning—though much paler, and sweat streamed down his brow.

“Decent,” Ms. Entrese said. “This book is an allegory for the evil that lurks in even the very best of us. We all must fight to keep it contained. If we let our guard down ...” Ms. Entrese spoke slower. “If we ever let our guard down, it may catch us unawares.” She began looking above her students, avoiding their eyes. “And as you will see later in the book, it becomes harder and harder to leave that darker side alone. The evil will grow stronger.” As she finished her statement, her eyes glossed over for a moment. She blinked several times, then simply said, “It is a fine book.”

She turned to Abby. “As you continue reading, though, there is more to Mr. Hyde—that’s the name given to his evil side. He is a secret. The doctor wants to hide him, to control him. You may want to think of something in your life you would like to keep secret.”

Almost instantly a picture of a letter appeared. Abby panicked. Before anyone could read that it was a rejection letter from Cragbridge, she tried to think of something else—anything else. The locket her Grandpa had given her flashed on the screen. Not that. She shouldn’t show that, either. Abby cleared her mind, but out of the corner of her eye saw Ms. Entrese watching the screen intently.

“Sorry, Abby,” the teacher said. “I didn’t mean for you to picture them. That is a small hazard of the Chair. If it helps, I don’t think anyone in the room could tell what those things were. Use whatever it was you thought about to help you as you conjure up Mr. Hyde again.”

Abby returned to the book, but she couldn’t help but think of Ms. Entrese watching the screen and noticing the locket. It appeared on the screen.

“Are you distracted?” Ms. Entrese said. “I told you, none of us could recognize what you thought of.”

Abby tried to clear her mind, but she was afraid something had gone wrong. She remembered Grandpa telling her not to show the locket to any of the
teach
...

Abby stood up to cut off the Chair.

8

Squirrel Monkeys

Derick walked down the hall in the science building, his backpack over one shoulder. Brick walls gave way to large windowpanes, showing a room the size of a basketball court. As Derick looked through the glass, he saw something that could have been out of an African safari. The ground was sand and dirt. Several trees stood tall, with leaves that formed a tremendous umbrella for shade. A glass roof allowed the sunlight to shine on the entire room. His heart beat faster as he searched the room for movement.

There it was! A rhino shook its head to shoo a fly away. It lay like a large boulder near the pond. Another rhino rested against the trunk of a tree. Another one lazily moved toward an alcove in the corner of their large living space. A zoo inside of the school! And if the zoo was real, then ...

Derick quickened his pace down the hall. The next room looked like a jungle. Tree after tree filled the area, and trails and brush covered the ground. At least eight gorillas moved around the room, resting along the floor or climbing the trees. One sat with his large black back against the glass. They looked powerful, yet agile. Derick thought they would have to be some of the most intimidating creatures in existence. He rapped his knuckles against the glass. The creatures completely ignored him.

The next room held lions sleeping next to a pond. A giraffe habitat was in the following room, where they ate leaves from tall trees. Finally, Derick found a room with a series of three trees swarming with small monkeys. Their bellies were gray, but a bright, tannish yellow color covered their backs, arms, and legs. They scurried quickly from place to place and swung with agility from branch to branch. The tops of their heads and their snouts were a darker brown, but pink lined their eyes and ears. It was almost as if they were wearing light, furry goggles. Derick paused to look at a monkey eating some sort of small green fruit.

The moment Derick saw the next room, he stopped, his mouth gaping. The room looked like a large warehouse, with rows and rows of storage space, but instead of boxes, there were animals. Each lay lifeless in their sections, like merchandise ready to be sold. Rows of monkeys identical to those in the trees here stood on shelves. Lions stood motionless on all fours. They looked like stuffed beasts in a museum. Giraffes lined one column, and several massive rhinos stood along the back wall. Varying types of birds, squirrels, and other animals lined the next rows. Even a variety of fish lay on shelves.

“Avatars,” he whispered, and quickened his pace.

Derick walked between two large open doors, noticing what looked like a complicated locking mechanism on both of the doors. They were open now, but he could imagine they stayed locked up tight after hours. The avatar lab must have cost billions of dollars; of course the school took all possible precautions to keep it safe.

As Derick filed into a line, he could tell he had to enter through another set of doors. Each person in line had to answer several questions before continuing on into the lab. Derick had to wait. When no one entered the line behind him, he figured he’d probably spent a little too much time entranced by the animals and avatars.

“Hand up,” a boy said with a slight accent that Derick couldn’t place. The boy had olive skin and long, dark hair pulled into a ponytail. He was probably a few years older than Derick and was wearing a name badge that read “T.A.—Rafael.”

Derick raised his hand, and a beam scanned it.

“Looks like you’re clear,” the boy said. “Do you promise to follow all the lab rules?”

Derick hadn’t expected such a greeting, but responded with, “Sure.”

“If you break a rule, do you understand that you could be dismissed from this academy, and, depending on the nature of your behavior, even prosecuted by the law?”

“Really?” Derick asked.

“Yes,” the boy replied, not a hint of a smile or joke on his face. “Avatars can be weapons if used inappropriately. We have taken every precaution to keep them safe here. The glass you saw on your way in is several times stronger than brick, and it’s laced with alarms. You can only be allowed in if the professor or I let you in from the inside. Only those who are completely trusted have access.”

“You have that kind of clearance?” Derick asked. “Aren’t you just a student?”

“Yes and no,” the boy said. “I’m a ninth grader and the teacher’s assistant.”

“Give me a year or two, and maybe I can be an assistant too.”

The boy’s lips curled into a half-smile. “
Vamos ver
.”

Derick couldn’t understand the words, but there was something about the boy’s expression that gave Derick the impression that he had no chance of being a teacher’s assistant. “Can I go in now?” Derick asked.

“If you understand the seriousness of the responsibility,” the boy said, “you may enter. If you prefer not to, we can have a counselor transfer you to another class, like pottery or modern dance.” Derick thought the boy was just provoking him now.

“No, thank you,” Derick said. “I’m in all the way.”

The boy tilted his head to the side and let out a small huff. He flicked his finger across a screen, which made several clicks. The next set of doors opened, and Derick entered into a large classroom.

“Take your seats. Take your seats,” a man in slacks and a blue button-up shirt said. Derick couldn’t tell if the man’s short hair was blond or white—likely a decent mixture of both. “Pick any seat. You won’t be in it long.” He waited for all the students to sit. Derick picked the closest one he could find, which was at the edge of a middle row. “I’m Dr. Mackleprank, your zoology teacher.” He spoke casually and sat on top of a desk at the front of the room. “And you’ve all met my assistant Rafael, or Rafa, for short.”

He pointed to the boy who questioned Derick on the way in.
He’s Brazilian,
Derick thought.
That would explain why the initial “R” is pronounced like an “H.” I wonder what part of Brazil he’s from?
Derick had learned that pronunciation rule after watching Brazil play in the World Cup last year.

“Rafa took roll and made you agree to follow the rules before you could even come this far. Thank you, Rafa.” The boy nodded back at the professor.

“You’ll find that Rafa is somewhat of a prodigy in the subjects we’ll study in here. He can be of great use to you. I suggest you follow him very closely.” The teacher surveyed the room for a moment. “In this class, we will strive to make the world of animals come alive for you. To pass, you’ll need to know anatomies, behavior, habitat, and more for several species. You know, of course, that technology has given you a great advantage. You will have the chance to earn an opportunity to use the avatars and to interact with real animals. It is a scientist’s dream and your privilege here.”

Dr. Mackleprank swung his feet off the desk and moved toward the center of the room. “If the concept of an avatar is unclear to some of you, I will explain. An avatar is almost like another body for you, another form, which you control. In this case, we have made intricate robots to perfectly replicate animals. They move like animals. They imitate breathing and eating like animals. They can even make the same animal sounds. You control them from a lab, but when you are hooked up to our system, you see what they see, feel what they feel. Yes, the program is that accurate—for all intents and purposes, you become the animal.”

Derick had hoped the avatar rumors were true, but he felt shocked by the magnificence of it. He would even be able to feel what the robots felt—incredible.

Dr. Mackleprank continued. “You must pass thorough exams before ever being allowed into the animal habitats. Not only will you need intellectual knowledge, but you will also have to prove competency with your particular avatar. Real monkeys can pick out a clumsy fake any day, and they will treat you as an outcast.” Dr. Mackleprank paused. “I’ve decided that to help you begin, and to motivate you with your studies, we will start with an avatar experience today.”

This was going to be the best zoology class ever.

“You have probably seen the variety of avatars we offer here,” Dr. Mackleprank said. “But don’t get overly excited. They are very difficult to control, so you must start off with the easiest to move. For example, it would be nearly impossible for one of you to learn to fly an eagle as a seventh grader. Which do you think would be the easiest to learn how to use?”

Derick raised his hand, but Dr. Mackleprank called on a girl a few seats away. “The gorillas,” she guessed.

“Yes,” Dr. Mackleprank said. “As primates, humans and gorillas have similar movements. Gorillas will be much easier to learn to control than lions or giraffes. However, because you could do serious damage with a gorilla before learning good body control, you will begin with squirrel monkeys.”

A boy with red hair raised his hand. Dr. Mackleprank nodded, and the boy asked how fast they would likely be able to progress to using other animals.

“Good question, and a good one to get out of the way. As seventh graders, you will probably only gain experience with the squirrel monkey. It takes time to get used to controlling an avatar, and once you’ve mastered one, learning others becomes easier. After the monkey, gorillas are the next step. Then the four-legged animals, then those that swim, and finally, if you are especially proficient, years from now, you may begin flight.”

Derick imagined how amazing it would be to fly, even if it was through a robotic avatar. He didn’t care if it was with an eagle or a sparrow; he just wanted to fly. He vowed that he’d get there.

“The majority of students who begin flying do so only by entering the accelerated high-school program here at Cragbridge.”

Dr. Mackleprank clapped his hands. “Now before we get ready for your first experience in the lab, I must once again stress the importance of the rules. The mere invention of avatars is potentially dangerous. If the wrong forces could imitate our technology, they could work horror by stealth and disguise. A dog could be a spy, a bird an assassin. The main inventor of our avatar, the woman who worked with Oscar Cragbridge, is currently in a highly protected area because of her work. And Cragbridge Hall is well-secured for that reason. You all know of the heavy guard detail at every entrance and exit. The air space over the school is monitored and guarded. The government monitors our use of the avatars, which may be utilized only for educational purposes. For all of these reasons, you must obey completely. Understood?” Dr. Mackleprank waited for the students to nod. “Good. Now follow me.”