The Shrinking Race (4 page)

‘We cannot explain it,' said Blutor, rubbing his blue chin.

He's worried about the future of his people,
Kip thought.
Just like I'm worried about the
future of Earth.

At that moment, the sound of grinding metal pierced the air.

ER-RRRRRRRRRR!

It sounded like a rusty starship changing gears.

‘Put me down!' Blutor said quickly. ‘We must hide!'

Blutor and the other Baltians disappeared through their silver walls. Within seconds, the city was deserted.

ER-RRRRRRRRRR!

‘It's getting louder!' yelled Finbar, covering his ears. ‘Run!'

Kip thought ahead for a moment. It was a vital Space Scout skill.
If we run into
the buildings, we might crush a Baltian
, he thought.
Then they'll never want to share their
planet with us.

It was a risk Kip couldn't take. They had to find somewhere else to hide.

‘The sugarmelon field!' Kip yelled.

‘Look!' said Finbar, as they ran. He'd spotted a green shape in the sky. It was heading straight for them!

The shape got closer. Kip saw it had a beak and giant wings.

‘That's too heavy to be a bird,' Finbar said. ‘See how it swoops when it's flying?'

‘It's metal,' Kip yelled, noticing the creature's body glinting in the sun. ‘It's some kind of winged robot!'

The robot circled directly overhead. Its screech was ear-splitting and there were dagger-sharp claws on its feet.

Kip dragged Finbar towards him. Flicking on his SpaceCuff, Kip engaged the InstaShield mode. Lines of powerful electrical currents sprang from the Space-Cuff and arced above Kip and Finbar.

SpaceCuff InstaShield Mode

In nanoseconds, they were safe inside a bubble of electrical mesh. Just in time!

The winged robot dived down. It slammed into the electrical bubble. Sparks exploded.

ZZZZTT!!!

A burnt metallic smell filled the air. The winged robot crowed miserably. It flew off, spewing smoke.

When the sky was clear, Kip switched off the InstaShield. Across the field, the Baltians reappeared through their liquid-metal walls.

‘That's your second rescue in one day,' said a voice behind them. It was Blutor.

‘What
was
that thing?' Kip asked him.

‘An Aerobot. When we were big, we built them to hunt small creatures known as steak mice,' Blutor explained. ‘And we farmed vegetables ourselves.'

‘You stopped hunting and farming when the sugarmelon craze hit,' Finbar guessed.

A troubled look crossed Kip's face. ‘And when your people began to shrink, the Aerobots started hunting you!'

Blutor nodded. ‘We needed to reprogram them,' he said. ‘But we couldn't. Our people are simply too small.'

Unstoppable flying attack-robots. It sounded like a nightmare!

CHAPTER
7

Kip's mind turned all this over. If Cobalt was going to be Earth 2, he would have to find a way to deprogram the Aerobots.

Before he could work out how, something hit his helmet with a crack.

Colours exploded around Kip's head. He guessed what was happening. MoNa had fired him a NewsBomb!

A NewsBomb was a small, round ball with compressed news data inside. It broke open on impact, releasing a 3D holographic broadcast from Earth. It was like standing inside a TV.

Back on Earth, WorldCorp had called a Space Scout meeting for all those not on missions.

Now Kip found himself standing inside a live a holographic version of the meeting!

Space Scout meetings almost never happen
, Kip thought.
What's going on?

A holographic WorldCorp rep was talking. ‘Attention, Space Scouts! You've probably heard about Candy Montenegro's promising discovery in the Far West Quarter. WorldCorp's scientists have nearly finished studying her plant samples from the Crimson Planet. Nothing is confirmed, but signs indicate that Candy has discovered Earth 2.'

The hologram faded, leaving Kip white-faced.

Finbar came over, still holding Blutor.

‘Nothing's final,' Finbar reminded Kip. ‘You can't give up until you see the shield in Candy's hands.'

Finbar was right. Until that happened, there was still a chance… Kip put Candy out of his mind and focused on the Baltians' problem.

‘Deprogramming the Aerobots is the next step,' he said. ‘Wiping their memories is the quickest way.'

Back on Earth, robots had memory failure all the time. Their circuits over-loaded, or sometimes they just wore out.

An idea nagged at Kip. Something he'd heard back in Space Scout training… ‘Siberian robots wear out more often than others,' he said, thinking aloud.

Blutor and Finbar stared at Kip. It was a bizarre time to be babbling about Siberian robots!

‘The Earth's magnetic field is very strong in Siberia,' Kip continued. ‘WorldCorp's scientists think the magnetic field wipes the robot's memories!'

Kip turned to Blutor with a grin. ‘I happen to know of a very powerful magnet that might do just that for you.'

‘MoNa's new MagnaSweep!' said Finbar. ‘Brilliant idea.'

Kip looked down at his SpaceCuff. He tapped out a message.

There was a split-second pause. Then Kip's SpaceCuff buzzed furiously.

She's right,
Kip thought. He hated it when that happened.

But Kip now knew his deprogram ming plan wouldn't work without this important piece of information.

‘Where do the Aerobots live, Blutor?' asked Kip at once.

‘When the Aerobots grew powerful, they moved out of Cobaltville,' Blutor said grimly. ‘We don't know exactly where they live now. And our people have grown too afraid to leave the safety of the city.'

Kip could see that Blutor hated how weak the Aerobots had made the Baltians. Finbar gave Blutor an understanding smile.

‘There are rumours the Aerobots have settled in the Badlands,' Blutor went on.

‘The Badlands?' Kip asked.

‘The unexplored territory on the dark side of Cobalt,' Blutor said. He explained that a Baltian day was hundreds of Earth years long.

‘Which means the other side is totally dark,' finished Finbar.

Kip asked Blutor if he had information about getting to the Badlands.

‘They're on the other side of Shifting Flat,' said Blutor. ‘It's north of here.'

Kip flicked his SpaceCuff to Compass mode. He turned until the digital needle pointed north.

‘Ready?' asked Finbar, trying to sound cheerful.

Kip knew Finbar wasn't looking forward to meeting those screeching Aerobots again. But they had to get on with the scouting mission.

‘Let's go,' Kip said.

Finbar put Blutor down. He waved Kip and Finbar goodbye. They turned, crossed the sugarmelon field and left the city behind them.

Venturing into unexplored territory on an alien planet. Hunting for powerful winged robots in the darkness.

It sounded incredibly dangerous.

But Kip knew it was what he and Finbar had to do. For the sake of Earth's future – and Cobalt's!

CHAPTER
8

Outside the city, the sandy ground was bright blue. Lush sugarmelon bushes grew everywhere. Kip couldn't resist picking more sugarmelons.

But the further from the city they went, the fewer sugarmelon bushes they found. Soon, all Kip saw were dead plants.

He guessed that the plants would have once been fresh vegetables. Now they were brown and wilted.

Hiking to the Badlands will take ages
, Kip realised. He had heaps of energy from the sugarmelons, but Finbar didn't like them. For Finbar, the trek would be a struggle.

Time to test our new Hummingbird Pros!
Kip decided, reaching down to his boots.

The back of each pair of Hummingbird Pros was fitted with tiny, flexible wings.

They ran on rechargeable batteries in the boots' sole. The batteries would not stay charged forever. But they'd get Kip and Finbar some of the way at least.

At the touch of a button, the wings popped out. Suddenly Kip and Finbar were lifted a few centimetres off the ground. The boots' wings buzzed loudly and Kip and Finbar took off at top speed. They glided along like mid-air rollerbladers.

Soon, Kip noticed Cobalt's sun dipping low in the sky. The sky faded to black. They were nearing the dark side of Cobalt.

When their Hummingbird Pro batteries were flat, Kip and Finbar touched down. Blue sand stretched out in every direction. It was like a huge, blue desert.

On the gloomy horizon, Kip could just make out some twisted rock formations.

‘Think this is the Shifting Flat?' Kip asked.

But Finbar just stood staring at his feet. ‘Feel that?' he said softly.

‘What?' asked Kip.

Suddenly, a jet of sand shot a hundred metres straight out of the ground. It looked like water shooting out of a whale's blowhole.