

Mr. Planemaker's

Flying Machine

Shelagh Watkins

MP

Mandinam Press

~~~~

Copyright © Shelagh Watkins 2009

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Also by Shelagh Watkins,

Published at Smashwords:

Literature & Fiction Interviews Volume I

Literature & Fiction Interviews Volume II

The Power of Persuasion

Forever Friends

All rights reserved; no part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Cover design by Shelagh Watkins of Mandinam Press

ISBN: 1-4137-7136-X

Published by Mandinam Press

www.mandinampress.co.uk

Dedication:

To Philip

,

CHAPTER 0NE

Mr. Planemaker's Project

"What is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or

conversations?"

– Lewis Carroll, _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_

Emmelisa Planemaker was sitting silently on the floor with a sketchbook on her lap, surrounded by coloured crayons and felt tip pens. Drawing pictures, colouring and painting were Emmelisa's favourite activities. She'd started to draw a picture of her mummy, her daddy, her brother and their house at number one, Fern Bank Road, Leftington, near Pierton, Lancashire.

Outside, it was pouring with rain.

On wet Sunday afternoons, Emmelisa's brother would normally watch the cartoon channel on the wide screen television, but that afternoon, he was upstairs in his bedroom playing a computer game that he'd downloaded from the web. He'd agreed to stay in his room until teatime because his father was resting on the sofa downstairs in the same room as the television.

Before his big operation, two years ago, Mr. Planemaker had been a very handsome man of medium height with broad shoulders. He had a fine head of thick, brown, curly hair, but his most outstanding features were his dark blue eyes, surrounded by long, dark eyelashes.

As a baby, his hair was a mass of blond, not brown, curls. His almost black eyelashes that nearly touched his cheek when he was asleep in his cot were frequently admired and envied by his mother's natural blonde friends, who had to rely on mascara to achieve the same effect.

Often, they would remark, "It's so unfair. Boys with blond hair shouldn't be allowed such naturally long, dark eyelashes!"

Mr. Planemaker's eyes had not changed and he was still handsome but his face was much thinner and had a more angular appearance. Also, his arms and legs were leaner and less strong than they had been before the operation and, because he'd lost weight and his body was slimmer, his clothes did not fit as snugly as they used to.

As well as the changes in his physical appearance and his loss of strength, he often felt tired because he had much less energy than before the operation and he needed to rest during the day.

Since he was no longer able to go out to work, he spent most of his time at home, where he frequently rested in the afternoons. On the rare occasions that he did venture outside, he either went to see his doctor or he visited the hospital for a check-up.

When their daddy was at home, Emmelisa and her brother were no longer allowed to run around and shout a great deal. This proved to be quite a problem for Emmelisa, who was too young to show the same consideration as her older brother.

That Sunday afternoon, she had been permitted to stay in the living room with her daddy, on the strict basis that she must play quietly. Although she tried to be good, because she knew that her daddy was very poorly, she didn't always succeed. Sometimes she would forget to be quiet, provoking a thoughtful reminder from her mummy.

Keep the noise down. Try not to disturb Daddy."

Mr. Planemaker appreciated that, for an eight-year-old boy and an almost seven-year-old girl, it was quite a burden to ask them to hush up all the time. This thought was on his mind as he fell asleep and began to dream.

In his dream, two small children, a boy and a girl, were trying to find a house at the end of a long garden path that was bordered on both sides by a sea of pale blue and violet flowers. As the two children reached the front door, they were startled because the whole house became invisible. They immediately turned around and ran back to the gate at the end of the path leading to the house, but before they opened the gate, they heard a loud THUD! as the house reappeared.

The first time this happened, the two children laughed and ran back along the path towards the front door but the house disappeared again.

When they reached the gate a second time, they heard another THUD! as the house reappeared.

Whenever the children approached the house, it disappeared. They were no longer amused by the time the house had vanished three times, and they began to look a little anxious and lost.

Suddenly, a man appeared in the dream with a key in his hand. As the man beckoned to the children, the small girl called out, "The house keeps disappearing."

At the same time, Mr. Planemaker could hear someone calling gently. He recognised the voice―it was his little daughter saying, "Daddy, are you asleep?"

"No poppet," her father said as he awoke from his short nap. "No, I'm awake, did you want me?"

"I can't find my picture," his little girl said sadly.

"Which picture?" her daddy asked.

"The one with the new house. The new, red brick house I drew yesterday. I can't find it."

"Draw another one, I'll watch you," he suggested.

"No, I want you to draw one," whined Emmelisa, as she held out a pencil and a piece of paper.

Before he could reach for the pencil, Mrs. Planemaker appeared in the doorway and spoke to Emmelisa, "Teatime, sweetheart. You can leave your crayons. We'll tidy them away later."

Emmelisa knew better than to argue with her mummy, although she was clearly displeased. She pulled herself up off the floor and slowly walked towards the lounge door, gently kicking one of her crayons in the process.

"Okay," she murmured with a screwed up face.

"It's your favourite," her mother hinted with a smile.

Emmelisa whooped and, with an enormous grin, skipped out of the room.

That night, Mr. Planemaker tiptoed into the bedrooms of his two children, who were in bed fast asleep, and was captivated by the angelic faces of his innocent son and daughter. Holding back a tear, not of sadness but of joy at such a lovely sight, his heart filled with love as he gazed at each child.

Minutes later he was lying in bed, drifting into a deep sleep with a picture of the two sleeping babes in his mind. He began to dream about the vanishing house from his afternoon nap.

The man with the key was looking for the two children who had wandered off through the garden gate, away from the house. Unable to find the youngsters, he'd decided to approach the front door to see if the key would fit the lock.

Before he reached the door, a smartly dressed, very well-groomed lady suddenly appeared on the doorstep. She had sleek, chin-length, dark brown hair, and she was wearing a charcoal grey, pin-stripped, designer trouser suit with an open-necked white blouse. Her make-up, which was immaculate, neither too little nor too much, accentuated her dark eyes and high cheekbones.

The man was wondering if he should say something when the smart young woman said, "Hello."

As she extended her right hand towards the man with the key, he could see that she was holding a gold-edged business card, which the man took and held in his left hand. At the top of the card, the company's address:

Dream Homes Incorporated,

Heaven's Gate, Land of Angels,

Principality of Just Rewards

was printed in gold letters. The name in the centre, Ann R. Keytect, was printed in embossed black type with the words "Member of the Angel's Guild of Chartered Surveyors and Architects" printed immediately below in the same gold lettering as the address. She obviously belonged to a very well-respected, professional organization.

While he was still looking at the card, Ms. Keytect added, "Welcome to the Dream House. I hope you like it. I designed it especially for you."

"You designed this house for me?" the man asked as he looked firstly towards Ms. Keytect then towards the house and finally to the key in his hand.

"Is this the key to the house?" he enquired.

"Yes," she replied. "But it will only fit the lock if you know the secret number of the house."

"Oh, I don't know anything at all about the house. I found the key in my toolbox. I hadn't seen it before and I'd no idea where it came from. As I touched the key, this house suddenly appeared. Two children were trying to open the door but the house kept disappearing and they've disappeared, too."

"Don't worry about the children, they'll come back again. Children usually do reappear, even when they run off for a short while."

"Yes, they do. They're like boomerangs. They run off in one direction and return from another!" the man said in agreement.

Holding up the key, he added, "This is of no use to me. I don't know the number of this house."

"Do you remember the number of the house in which you were born?"

"Yes," replied the man.

Ms. Keytect stood aside to allow the man to step forward as she invited him to try the key, saying, "Insert the key in the lock and whisper the number of the house of your birth."

Even though the man was a little unsure, his natural curiosity urged him towards the door. He put the key in the lock and turned it as he whispered a number. His face was crestfallen. Nothing happened. Although the house didn't disappear, the door didn't open either.

When he tried to remove the key, which remained stubbornly in the lock, he wasn't strong enough to pull it out.

"I can't budge the key. It's stuck in the lock," he said, adding, "should I just leave it for someone else who knows the secret number?"

"Ah, this is a very special key. Try again. The number you whispered is correct. Except, this time, turn the key anti-clockwise and repeat the number," suggested Ms. Keytect.

The man grasped the key with his right hand, turned it anticlockwise and whispered the number again.

Immediately, the door didn't just open―it disappeared completely.

He heard Ms. Keytect ask, "Do you remember my name?"

The man replied, "Yes, you're Ann R. Keytect."

However, when he turned towards her, she was gone―completely invisible.

Mr. Planemaker was still half asleep when he eventually woke and heard the bubbling sound of two young children laughing, inter-mingled with an adult's voice issuing orders about school bags, woollen hats, mittens and all the paraphernalia associated with a Monday morning.

He realised that soon the children would pile into their mother's car and then be ferried safely to the local school, Leafy Lea Primary. A few minutes later he heard his wife calling, "We're about to leave. I've some shopping to do. I'll see you later."

Her two exuberant, chanting children drowned out her words, as they sang, "Bye, Daddy. Bye."

When Mr. Planemaker tried to recall last night's dream, it seemed far away. He scratched his chin, which was badly in need of a shave, before he stopped thinking and started the slow process of showering, shaving and dressing. These days everything seemed to take twice as long as usual.

He glanced at the kitchen clock as he made his way down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Although he knew that the clock was ten minutes fast to allow Mrs. Planemaker extra time to make sure that the children were never late for school, it was still nearly an hour since he'd first opened his eyes and looked at the bedside clock.

But the morning pattern was becoming familiar to Mr. Planemaker, who had formed a routine that suited him. He was a builder by trade and he'd created quite a successful business over twenty-odd years. When he was a working man, he'd been too busy to spend much time preparing breakfast, but his dear wife always made sure he ate a healthy cooked meal every morning before he left the house for work.

Mr. Planemaker knew that he would need all the energy the early morning breakfast provided, because building site work was very hard work and he would burn off all that energy by midday.

There were benefits in the hard, physical work. Men in the building trade were fit, healthy and well-muscled. Consequently, Mr. Planemaker's illness, two years ago, came as a big surprise to everyone because he was permanently tanned from working outdoors and, physically, he was very strong from all the heavy lifting that was necessary to do the job.

He was very surprised when he first became aware of pains in his chest, that he thought were mild and nothing to worry about, because he was normally so fit and strong. However, after visiting the doctor and seeing a specialist in the nearby hospital, it became evident that the problem was much more serious than he could have imagined.

The consultant at the hospital told him that he would need to undergo a lengthy operation and, if it went well, he would be able to return to full employment.

After the operation, because he slowly made a complete recovery, he returned to work and he hadn't experienced any more chest pains until recently.

The first suggestion that he should no longer work full time came from the doctor, who explained that the illness ran in the Planemaker family. Although not all the males in his family would suffer from this illness, Mr. Planemaker was one of the unfortunate few who did.

The medical explanation was long and detailed but the advice from the doctor was quite simply, "You need more rest and less work. I think you should consider retiring."

To which he responded, "Retire. You think I should retire. I'm only forty-three."

The doctor agreed that this was very young to be taking such an important step and yet, by continuing to work, Mr. Planemaker would be putting himself at great risk of becoming gravely ill in the very near future.

After speaking with the doctor, Mr. Planemaker discussed the problem with his wife. Together they sat down to work out whether or not Mr. Planemaker could afford to retire.

The initial shock of the illness was beginning to wear off and the whole situation didn't look quite as bad as it first seemed to be. However, even with a certain amount of cutting back on their spending and selling part of the business in order to invest the money from the sale, they would still need to be careful.

After everything had been taken into account, they concluded that it would be possible to manage on less without becoming very poor, so the decision to retire was made.

Once the decision was made, as with all decisions, Mr. Planemaker started the process of fulfilling the plans for their future. He spoke to the partners in his company and they agreed to buy out his share of the business.

Within a matter of weeks, Mr. Planemaker had completely retired from full-time employment in a thriving business. Had he not been feeling so permanently tired, he would've regretted the decision. As it was, he accepted, without argument, that life would be much easier in the future.

Nowadays, time did sometimes stretch out and seemed to last much longer than it did when he was working. This extra time to reflect led to thoughts about involving himself in some kind of project.

Everything that came to mind seemed to require too much effort, and even just thinking about some of the things tired him out.

Today, during his light breakfast of cereal and fruit juice, he was giving some more thought to how he should set up something worthwhile.

For the rest of the day, he considered any number of projects that might be within his ability. Eventually he gave up because none of them was exactly what he was searching for. By the time he went to bed he was completely worn out.

When he started to think about a plan he hadn't previously considered, he was so tired he immediately fell asleep and began to dream.

The same man he'd dreamed about previously was standing in front of the Dream House wondering whether he should walk inside, because there was no longer a front door to the house, only an opening into the dimly lit hallway.

This dark entry wasn't very inviting and the man was unsure if he should make his way into the house when, before he could move, a tall, thick set man, dressed in workman's clothes appeared in front of the doorway and said, "Hello, I'm A. W. Dare. I don't use my first name. My second name is William but everyone calls me Bill. Bill Dare. How do you do?" he enquired as he held out his hand and shook the man's right hand firmly. "I see you managed to open the door."

"The door disappeared," the man replied.

"Oh the door is still there even though you can't see it."

"If I tried to walk through the door, would I feel it?" asked the man.

"No," grinned Mr. Dare. "But it's a good question. Walking into a solid door would be pretty painful!" he laughed.

"Why did the door disappear if it's still there?"

"Well," said Bill Dare as he scratched his balding head, "You can't see the door, so you'll be able to walk straight into the house. The folk, who can see the door, won't be able to walk through a solid door, will they...makes sense doesn't it?" he laughed again.

Although this seemed like a riddle, it did make some kind of sense.

Even so, not enough sense to satisfy the man, who asked, "Do the people who live here leave the door open permanently then?"

"No one lives here," was the quick reply.

"No one has ever lived here," confirmed Mr. Dare.

The man was mulling this over, when he suddenly remembered Ann R. Keytect saying that she'd designed the house for him, which prompted the next question, "Have you met Ms. Keytect? Ann R. Keytect?"

"Sure I have," replied Mr. Dare. "She designed the house for you and I built it."

"Oh you're a builder!" the man exclaimed.

"I am indeed. I'm Bill Dare the builder!" Mr. Dare exclaimed and then added, "Well now. Would you like to see inside the house?"

From where the man was standing he could just about see through the open doorway and not much further. The poorly lit hallway looked very eerie and uninviting―enough to send a shiver down the man's spine.

"I'm not sure," he said nervously.

"What are you afraid of?" Mr. Dare asked.

"I don't know. Something seems to be holding me back. I'm not sure that I'm ready to step inside this house," the man tried to explain.

"Well maybe today isn't the right time for you. One day soon, I dare

say it will be. But then again I would dare to say so. I'm Bill Dare," he said, full of laughter.

Mr. Planemaker could hear the laughter although he was no longer dreaming. The sound of laughter came from his two children, Emmelisa and Dylan, who were busily putting together all their school stuff ready for the car journey to Leafy Lea Primary.

The noise from downstairs didn't abate until the front door opened as the children chorused, "Bye, bye, Daddy!" and somewhere amongst their singsong voices their mummy was saying, "I'll see you later."

As the door closed behind them, Mr. Planemaker knew that it was officially time to make his way to the bathroom and go through the same routine as yesterday.

In the kitchen, he made a pot of tea, poured some cereal into a bowl and added some cold, semi-skimmed milk, while at the same time he started to think about the future.

As he poured himself a second cup of very weak tea, he was still thinking about how he was going to spend his time over the following weeks, in order to produce something meaningful. None of yesterday's ideas had improved with age, so they didn't need any further consideration.

Instead, he decided to do a thorough search through all the magazines he'd collected over the years, which he kept stored for his retirement, without realising how soon that would be.

He set about the task with enthusiasm but, by lunchtime, he was losing interest rapidly. After lunch, he rekindled his interest and made another attempt at looking through the pile of magazines that remained but he had no more success than in the morning. In the middle of the afternoon, because he was so disillusioned, he fell asleep on the sofa and very soon, he was dreaming.

Although the Dream House and the same man were in the dream, Mr. Dare wasn't. The man walked forward and was standing in the doorway, when he was made to take a step back. A wiry young man with black hair and a black moustache, dressed in a white overall had suddenly appeared in the doorway and, for a moment, their noses were almost touching.

The fright of seeing someone so close up had startled the man into taking a step backward. The young man noticed the alarm he'd caused and spoke out immediately in a light-hearted way to put the man at his ease. "Hi there," he said, smiling. "You seem surprised to see me!"

"Well, I was a little startled. You suddenly appeared from nowhere!" the man exclaimed.

"No need to worry. Sorry if I made yer jump. I'm A. D. Orator. Don't use my first name. My second name's Derek but everyone calls me Dek. Dek Orator. "How yer doin'?"

The words, although in a different accent, sounded very familiar. Then the man remembered Bill Dare and asked, "Do you work with Mr. Dare, Bill Dare?"

"Yep," Mr. Orator replied. "Mr. Dare built this house for yer and I did all the painting an' decorating."

"So you're the decorator?" the man asked.

"That's what I said, I'm A. Dek Orator," answered Mr. Orator, roaring with laughter.

"Mr. Dare didn't use his first name either and it began with A. like yours..."

Before he could say anything else Mr. Orator interrupted and said laughingly, "Oh, there's lots of us!"

"Lots of you?" the man enquired.

"Yeah. All me mates. All the men, who helped to build the house, have names beginning with A."

As he spoke, a group of men and one woman suddenly appeared on either side of Mr. Orator. They wore a mixture of blue denim jeans with chequered, open-necked shirts, T-shirts, blue overalls, heavy boots, trainers, hard hats, bobble caps, jackets with reinforced shoulders and elbow pads, single gold earrings and a gold neck chain.

After Mr. Orator had introduced them all, they chorused a welcome in complete harmony to the man for whom they had spent many, many hours constructing a home.

"Hello" they said with warm smiles.

The man, who was so pleased with such a friendly greeting, said, "Hello, It's really good to meet you!"

"Well, ye've met the team," Mr. Orator said. "I suppose ye'd like to check out their workmanship?"

The man was suddenly jolted out of his present, pleasant frame of mind because the question baffled him totally. When Mr. Dare had offered to show him inside the house, he'd felt a little afraid at the suggestion. He was just as apprehensive about commenting on the appearance of the house standing before him because it was the most ordinary building he'd ever seen.

For a start, the house was built of grey bricks and had only four small glazed windows at the front with wooden window frames that had been painted with grey paint.

The fact that the front door was no longer there didn't help―it made the place look a little bit derelict and, if the roof had been covered with orange or red tiles, at least they would've added a bit of colour.

Alas, no, the house had a grey slate roof and a grey brick chimney.

The expectant looks on the faces of the happy crowd of people facing him, filled him with trepidation as he said slowly, "I don't know what to say."

"You don't know what to say? Don't know what to say! Goodness me. There's a thing...a man who doesn't know what to say. Bless me. I always have something to say. My, oh my yes. Never lost for words...words tripping over themselves to get out and be spoken. But then, I'm an orator. That's me. Dek Orator."

Throughout this outburst the only thing in the man's mind that he felt he could say about the house was, "It's grey."

The words echoed in Mr. Planemaker's head as he slowly came out of his dreamlike state. He eventually opened his eyes and looked across the room, where he could hear his wife, who was standing by the large picture window in the lounge, saying these very same words.

On a sunny day, because the room faced south, the sunshine would stream through the window adding warmth and brightness. Today, however, the sun was completely hidden by a thick blanket of clouds, giving a very bleak and dull outlook.

"It's grey and dull," repeated Mrs. Planemaker as she turned to look at the pile of magazines strewn around the sofa, where her husband was

resting.

"Any luck with the project?" she asked.

Mr. Planemaker was about to say no, no luck, instead he said, "What was that you said about the weather?"

"I said it's grey. The sky...it's grey."

_Yes the sky is grey,_ Mr. Planemaker thought as he began to think more clearly.

Things that fly in the sky are often grey too. Immediately, as if he'd always known, he knew exactly what he was going to do.

He was going to build an aeroplane.

CHAPTER TW0

Computer Whiz-Kid

"Curiouser and curiouser!" cried Alice.

– Lewis Carroll, _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_

During the night, a strong westerly breeze had blown away the blanket of clouds and, by the following day, the early morning sun was already dazzling brightly in a clear blue sky.

That morning, Mr. Planemaker was up early. As he carefully descended the stairs, he noticed the slanting rays of sunshine that lit up the lower staircase and the front hallway. When he turned on the half landing, the strong light streaming through the stained glass window made him look away.

As he averted his eyes, he glimpsed a ray of twinkling light catching the edge of the hallway mirror like a prism and bouncing back onto the white walls in a spectrum of rainbow colours.

Emmelisa, who heard her daddy's footsteps on the stairs, ran from the kitchen into the hallway. When she came into view, Mr. Planemaker said, "Look how the sunlight has split into all these coloured speckles on the wall. Watch."

He held out his hand between the mirror and the ray of light, blocking the light ray and stopping it from landing on the mirror's edge so that the coloured fragments disappeared.

Emmelisa, who loved colours, called out, "Bring them back!"

Mr. Planemaker removed his hand and the refracted kaleidoscope of dappled light reappeared.

"Let me do it," Emmelisa demanded, climbing the stairs and holding out her arms towards her daddy, who scooped her up and gave her a kiss on the top of her soft, light brown hair.

"Good morning!" Mrs. Planemaker exclaimed, as she appeared from the kitchen. "There's tea in the pot. Would you like me to pour you a cup?"

"Thanks. Yes please," her husband replied as he carried his precious daughter down the stairs.

Mrs. Planemaker did not say anything more although she knew the reason her husband was up earlier than usual—Mr. Planemaker simply couldn't wait to start his new project.

In the kitchen, she said, "I'll take you," as she lifted her small daughter from her daddy's arms. "Time for school."

On school mornings everything was such a rush; making sure the children had some kind of breakfast, even if it was only toast and marmalade; finding all the school things they needed and checking that their shoelaces were tied properly. There was no time for any idle chatter that might hold up things and make them late for school.

Mr. Planemaker knew better than to try to distract his wife's attention away from her usual routine. He busied himself preparing breakfast, as the rest of the family were donning outdoor clothing and filling schoolbags. Eventually, they were ready to leave and chorused their usual morning farewells.

After they left, Mr. Planemaker was deep in thought as he sipped a second cup of tea. He started to think about how difficult it might be to build a scale model aeroplane that was capable of flying.

He had been a builder for more than half his life. By the time he'd completed his builder's trade apprenticeship, to become a fully qualified builder, he knew everything he needed to know about how to build a house.

His limited understanding of how to build a model from a kit was based on the little experience he'd gained as a young boy.

At the age of eleven, he'd received a kit from his father for Christmas—not for an aeroplane but for a model boat. When the boat was finally assembled, his father had felt extremely proud of his son and, after careful examination, he'd said that the boat was very well made and was ready to be tested on water.

His father had helped him through some of the difficult stages, without being too intrusive; knowing how important it was for his son to feel that he'd succeeded mainly due to his own efforts.

As a boy, he'd been willing to take his time and be very patient. He never tried to rush to finish any of the jobs that needed to be done because he grasped the importance of allowing all the glued items time to set to ensure that the boat would be watertight.

His mother, for fun, had often teased her son by asking, "Is that boat not finished yet?"

Her son's only reaction was simply to shrug his shoulders, as if to say to his father, "Women. What do they know about building model boats?"

His father would respond with a knowing smile without saying a word.

As soon as the boat was finished, however, his mother could not hide her admiration—the boat was a masterpiece of patience rewarded.

On the Saturday of the boat's first launch, father and son walked to Pierton Park in expectation of seeing this tiny boat floating and bobbing about on the pond inside the park. It was difficult to say who was the proudest when the boat touched the water and gracefully stayed above the surface. Very few words passed between father and son, but it was a memorable day.

The memory still lingered and was partly the reason for Mr. Planemaker's interest in model aircraft. He had not failed on water, now he wanted to see if he could succeed in the air.

He knew that, in order to ensure success, he would need to find a specialist supplier, who could provide him with easy to follow instruction manuals which left nothing to chance for the type of model aircraft he had in mind.

He didn't have any specialist tools, so the kits would have to provide precisely interlocking parts that would need no adjustments.

After he had given considerable thought to the problem of acquiring the type of model aircraft kit he was looking for, he realised that, before he did anything else, he would have to learn how to use his son's computer. Then he could search the World Wide Web on the Internet—to find out everything that he needed to know about model aircraft kits.

By the time he finished breakfast, he had a plan, in his mind, of all

the things he was going to do that morning. After washing up the breakfast dishes and tidying the kitchen, he walked through the hallway, up the stairs and into his son's bedroom.

The room was reasonably tidy with just a few scattered toys and a Manchester United football shirt lying at the foot of the bed. There were posters of the Manchester United football team on one wall and two posters of Ferrari formula one sports cars on another. Although Dylan was a keen football fan, his greatest passion was formula one racing.

Dylan's computer was under the bedroom window, on top of a small computer workstation. Mr. Planemaker sat in front of the screen and turned on the computer.

Nothing happened.

He checked the socket switch by the plug to see if it was in the on position. The socket was switched on but the computer was lifeless.

He decided to unplug the computer so that he could remove and check the size of the fuse.

Downstairs, in the garage, he found a packet of fuses and a screwdriver.

Back upstairs, after changing the fuse, he tried the computer again but it still did not work. He searched around to find the computer manual and instructions that gave advice about things to test if the computer didn't work properly. He tried several of the suggestions in one of the instruction booklets but the computer refused to come to life.

When there was nothing else he could try to make the computer work, he looked for a list of repair shops in all the computer booklets. He was about to abandon his search when he noticed a small label on the side of the monitor with the following words printed in gold lettering:

Whiz Kid Computer Maintenance,

Virtual Realty,

Cyberspace Road,

Pierton WH1 IZZ

Telephone: 0100 000 000

Mr. Planemaker decided to give Whiz Kid Computer Maintenance a call to ask if they could repair the computer. He dialled the number and, after just one ring, he heard a young man say, "Hello, Whiz Kid Computer Maintenance. Can I help you?"

After Mr. Planemaker had explained the problem he was having with his son's computer, the young man said, "Bring it in so that I can take a look at it."

Mr. Planemaker had lived in Pierton all his life but he had never heard of Cyberspace Road, so he asked, "Could you give me directions from Fern Bank Road, please?"

"Sure, no problem," the young man replied obligingly, giving very clear instructions.

To Mr. Planemaker's amazement, he knew the directions very well, but he could not picture Cyberspace Road in his mind.

He assumed it must be a new road leading to the small Industrial Estate on the outskirts of Pierton.

It was several weeks since Mr. Planemaker had been out and, although he was feeling much better, he was unsure if he would be well enough to drive. Ever since he became ill, his brother had made regular visits so that he could do all the odd jobs that needed to be done around the house.

He was considering whether he should wait to ask his brother to drop the computer off for him or take it himself, when he heard his wife downstairs.

Mrs. Planemaker had completed the school run and returned straight home.

"I'm back," she called out.

As Mr. Planemaker made his way down the stairs to the kitchen, he started to explain that Dylan's computer was out of order, but instead of using Dylan's given name, he used the name his daughter had coined when she was a baby. Emmelisa had shortened the two names of her brother, Dylan Elliot, to Dell, and the name had stuck.

"Dell's computer isn't working. I've already phoned someone. They should be able to fix it...thought I might have a ride out."

"Do you feel up to it?" his wife asked, showing concern.

"Maybe a change would do me good."

"Would you like me to go with you?" Mrs. Planemaker offered.

"No...but thanks anyway. Unless you want to?" her husband replied.

"You go. Do you good. Change of scene and all that," she said encouragingly.

By the time Mr. Planemaker was sitting at the wheel of his car, he wasn't sure if he had enough energy to complete the journey.

Even with the help of his wife, packing the computer into the boot of the car had been very tiring. He wondered if he should've decided to wait for his brother but when he looked towards his wife, who was waiting patiently to wave goodbye, he felt that it would be more difficult to change his mind than to make the journey.

As he turned the key in the ignition to start the engine, he felt a little better as he backed his car slowly out of the garage and onto Fern Bank Road.

Twenty minutes later, he approached the small roundabout close to the new Industrial Estate. The young man on the telephone had said to take the left exit onto the freeway. A mile along this road he would meet another, bigger roundabout, where he should take the left exit onto Cable Drive, then first left onto Optical Fibre Drive and Cyberspace road was first left.

Mr. Planemaker was unaware that there was a road immediately on the left and, if there was, he thought, _Wouldn't I be coming back on myself? All these left turns seem to form a complete circle._

This thought was only fleeting because the last two left turnings came so suddenly that there was little time to think about anything but driving.

There was only one building in Cyberspace road—it was built of grey bricks with a grey slate roof, a grey brick chimney, a doorway without a door and four small windows with grey painted window frames.

Over the doorway, there was a square, grey stone with the words:

Virtual

Realty

2002

chiselled out of the stone. The sign looked real, but it was really a digital display screen, which was embedded flush with the wall, so that the surface of the screen was exactly level with the surface of the wall.

As he locked his parked car and walked towards the building, he looked up at the sign and saw the image change with his approach as the angle from which he viewed the sign changed.

By the time he reached the open entrance, the sign looked like a row of bricks exactly in pattern with the surrounding wall and completely matching the rest of the building.

A young man, who appeared in the doorway, saw Mr. Planemaker looking up at the sign and said, "Hi there, I'm Mr. Kidd. Can I help you?"

"Interesting sign," Mr. Planemaker replied. "Very clever, but shouldn't it be virtual reality?"

"Oh!" laughed Mr. Kidd. "It's the name of the building. We decided to keep the name when we rigged up the sign."

Being a businessman, Mr. Planemaker knew that catching the public's attention was a big part of advertising. He smiled and said, "Don't tell me. Everyone mentions it, so it must be working."

The young man nodded and winked.

"I'm Mr. Planemaker, I spoke to someone on the phone about my son's computer."

"I remember...I spoke to you. Pleased to meet you," Mr. Kidd smiled and held out his hand.

The two men shook hands before Mr. Kidd offered to help to lift the computer from the boot of the car—an offer that was gratefully accepted. As they passed through the front entrance, Mr. Kidd, who was carrying the computer, said, "Sorry about the front door. All this recent rain caused the wood to swell. The door kept sticking. Should be fixed by the end of this afternoon."

The doorway led to a small open area with a counter in the middle and a side door on the left. Mr. Kidd placed the computer on the counter before saying, "Sorry about the mess. Got the decorators in. Should be finished in a couple of weeks."

The mess he referred to was a jumble of dust sheets, step ladders, toolboxes, bottles of turpentine, paint brushes, paint rollers and tins of paint, which were scattered around a much bigger area on the other side of the counter.

It was clear that Mr. Kidd had left all the work to the professional decorators because there was not a spot of paint on him. His rugby shirt, which seemed at least one size too big, baggy blue denim jeans and thick-soled, black shoes were all care-worn but paint-free.

He even went so far as to say that he had considered doing the decorating himself but he was too busy because recently they'd taken on quite a large amount of repair work.

"Well," he said. "I'll have a quick look. See if I can find the fault."

After he'd checked over the outside of the computer he said, "I see it's one of ours. Shouldn't be a problem. Could probably fix this while you wait."

"Do you make computers, then?" asked Mr. Planemaker, puzzled.

"Oh, we're not manufacturers. More your bespoke computers, if you understand what I mean. We make them to order. I can see from your face that you didn't order this one. Customers often wonder how personal computers designed just for them end up in their possession. Especially if they didn't order them."

"Are you saying that this computer was designed just for me?"

"Without a doubt. See, look here. These initials T.H.P. on the back of the computer. They're yours, aren't they?"

"Well yes, they are."

"And the number of this computer is 321. Does that mean anything to you?"

"Yes, it does. It's the number of the house I was born in."

"The serial number is 25 06 58. Is that connected to you?"

"It's my date of birth," Mr. Planemaker said with astonishment.

"I would definitely say that this computer has been tailored especially for you," responded Mr. Kidd, who didn't seem in the least bit surprised. "We should have spare parts for the 25 06 58. I'll just check."

Then he walked through the side door on the left, into what appeared to be a stock room. A moment later he returned, saying, "Got the parts. If you care to wait in the car, I'll have this fixed in no time."

The way he said he would fix the computer in no time suggested that he already knew the exact problem, without doing anything more than examine it from the outside.

"Do you know what's wrong with it?" Mr. Planemaker asked.

"Oh, I think I've a very good idea. No problem. Leave it with me," the young man replied.

He seemed so confident, there seemed little point in arguing, so Mr. Planemaker agreed to wait in the car.

He had only just seated himself inside his car when he saw Mr. Kidd carrying the computer across the car park.

"I'll pop this in the boot for you," the young man said.

He put the computer in the car boot, slammed it shut and walked round to say goodbye to Mr. Planemaker, who wound down the car door window on the driver's side.

"All done. You shouldn't have any more problems. No charge. Special order computers are repaired free. Any problems; give me a call."

"Thanks a lot, Mr. Kidd. I didn't expect that, but thanks again, anyway."

"My pleasure. I'm Wizard, by the way...but call me Wiz. Safe journey," Mr. Kidd said as he waved goodbye and walked towards the open doorway.

Mr. Planemaker could hardly believe the computer would actually work once he connected it up at home because everything had happened so quickly, but he was so pleased the problem had been solved with such little fuss, that he decided not to worry about it too much. He simply wanted to drive home and take a rest.

When he turned into the driveway of number one Fern Bank Road, twenty-five minutes later, he was very relieved. He decided to leave the computer in the car until after lunch because he was feeling tired.

Inside the house, Mrs. Planemaker was in the kitchen making homemade soup. As soon as she heard her husband open the front door, she called out, "Everything go all right? Computer fixed?"

"Yes. It was amazing. A young man repaired it in about ten seconds flat," he replied. "And guess what? You won't believe this but his name is Wiz Kidd!"

Then he added, "Curious, isn't it? Even more curious...he said the computer had been custom-made for me."

"Custom-made for you? Why did he say that?" his wife asked, perplexed.

"Three things. On the back of the computer, there are the initials T. H. P. The number of the computer is 321, and the serial number is 25 06 58. That's my initials, the number of the house I was born in and my date of birth," explained her husband. "I'll show you later."

"It's just a coincidence," Mrs. Planemaker stated, assuredly.

"Knew you would say that," he replied, putting an end to the conversation.

Mr. Planemaker was looking forward to telling his son about meeting Mr. Kidd. He knew Dell would not be able to resist saying, "You're kidding!"

Mr. Planemaker would then play dumb and pretend that he did not see the pun, to provoke the predictable next question, "Don't you get it? Wiz Kidd...kidding. Get it?"

To which he would respond, "Oh yes, very good!"

Then father and son would enjoy laughing together—just for the fun of it.

CHAPTER THREE

Puss in Boot

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,

It isn't just one of your holiday games;

You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter

When I tell you, a cat must have THREE different names.

– T S Eliot, _The Naming of Cats_

Mr. Planemaker was feeling much better after a delicious lunch of pea and ham soup with crusty, wholemeal bread. He was about to take a short nap when an unprovoked thought came into his mind, suggesting that he should collect the computer from the boot of the car.

He tried to push the thought away, but it refused to budge; like a phrase in a song repeated over and over again on a damaged compact disc. The quickest way to remove the thought would be to give in to it; so he did.

As he walked towards the car on the driveway, he heard a tiny noise that seemed to be coming from the back of the car.

He pressed the button, with the boot symbol, on the remote control, which responded with a high pitched bleep, before he heard the thudding sound of the boot door unlocking. This was followed by another tiny sound, similar to the first one. It seemed to be coming from either inside the boot or under the car. So, instead of opening the boot, he checked the underside of the car to see whether there was anything underneath.

He was careful to look behind the back wheels, as well as under the car. He didn't see anything, although he did hear the same sound again, and it was definitely coming from the boot of the car.

_That's strange_ , he thought as he lifted the door at the back of the car and peered inside the boot.

Although the computer was sitting undisturbed and undamaged, something next to it was stirring and making tiny mewing sounds.

The sound came from a round basket with a fastened down lid. He carefully undid the fastening and slowly lifted the lid.

Inside, an extremely small, black kitten with fluffy, white paws nestled among the purple silk lining of the basket. The curled-up, soft bundle of fur, with tightly closed eyes, seemed to be only a few hours old.

_Goodness me!_ Mr. Planemaker thought. _Where did you come from?_

He closed and fastened the lid, then moved the basket slightly so that he could lift and carry the computer into the house, without disturbing the snoozing cat.

"Need any help?" his wife called from the kitchen.

She was standing in the kitchen doorway by the time he replied, "No, thanks. That's okay. I'll take this upstairs. Then I'll bring in the rest."

As he climbed the stairs, he wondered what he was going to do with this sudden and unexpected arrival in the boot of the car.

After he'd deposited the computer in Dell's bedroom, he remained deep in thought as he returned to the car. His mind asked questions and tried to answer them all at the same time—to such an extent that he didn't have a clue what he was going to do next.

His mind was still in turmoil when he descended the stairs after the second trip upstairs with all the extra things belonging to the computer. His wife reappeared at the kitchen door and was about to say, "That it, then?" but instead said, "Everything okay?" because she noticed the perplexed look on her husband's face.

"Better step outside and see," he replied, as he reached the hallway.

Mrs. Planemaker's first thought was that the car might have been involved in an accident and her husband was building up the strength to tell her. She looked in his direction for a sign or more information, but when none came, she followed him out of the house.

By the time she reached the car on the driveway, she'd steeled herself for the worst. She was too busy checking the car for bumps and scratches to notice her husband bending, and lifting a small basket into his arms, at the back of the car.

Finally, she turned and saw, under the raised lid of the basket, a tiny ball of velvety black fur with four minute, snowy paws in a cloud of purple silk taffeta.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, with all thoughts of car crashes gone. "What a tiny kitten!"

Immediately, this cute, cuddly, captivating kitten enchanted her and held her spellbound as a slight smile spread across her face.

Mr. Planemaker saw the smile and warned, "No!"

"No?" his wife responded. "But I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't need to. It's written all over your face."

"Did you not buy the kitten for us?" she asked, crestfallen.

"I didn't buy the kitten!"

"The children would love a kitten!" she pleaded, before he continued, "Shouldn't you be asking me how this kitten arrived here?"

"Oh! Where did you find the basket? Does the kitten belong to someone else?"

"No! I don't know! When I opened the boot, this was inside," he replied, holding the basket in his wife's direction.

As he spoke, they both looked at the helpless kitten and seemed to think as one. If the basket had been in the boot of the car for over an hour, then instead of standing arguing, they should find out if this tiny creature needed feeding.

Mr. Planemaker handed the basket to his wife saying, "Here. You'd better see if the kitten will take a little milk."

In the living room, two hours later, Mr. Planemaker awoke from a dreamless nap. He glanced at the kitchen clock, as he wandered into the kitchen looking for his wife, and realised that she must be on her way to collect the children from school.

The cat basket was in the corner of the room, on the floor, close to the central heating boiler and away from any cold draughts. The kitten was fast asleep.

He made a pot of tea, poured himself a cup and sat at the kitchen table. He was undecided about keeping the kitten, although seeing the basket again did remind him of the peculiar circumstances in which he found this surprising gift—if it was a gift.

By the time he'd finished his tea, because he was still unsure about the kitten, he thought he should telephone Mr. Kidd to ask whether he knew anything about the basket and its contents.

He made his way to the phone on the breakfast bar and pressed the buttons on the number pad from memory. The number, 0100 000 000, was easy to remember and needed no checking.

Immediately after he entered the number, he heard a continuous buzzing sound suggesting a disconnected line. He replaced the receiver and went to Dell's bedroom to check the number on the side of the computer, but the label was missing.

He returned to the phone so that he could contact directory enquiries.

When a young man answered, the following conversation took place:

"Directory enquiries. Which town, please?"

"Pierton,"

"What name, please?"

"Whiz Kid Computer Maintenance."

"Do you have an address, please?"

"Virtual Realty, Cyberspace Road."

"Sorry. I don't have anything listed under that name and address. Do you have a different address?"

"No," Mr. Planemaker said, feeling a little uneasy. "No, sorry. I don't."

After he replaced the receiver, he started to feel slightly foolish. He was no closer to finding out about the kitten and he was beginning to wonder if the computer would work at all.

He would've preferred the opportunity to return upstairs to test the computer before Dell arrived home from school but he was too late. He could already hear the sounds of bubbling laughter from his two young children and car doors slamming shut in the driveway.

"Hi Dad!" Dell declared as he entered the house and saw his father, before he threw down his schoolbag, just missing the cat basket, without even seeing it.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Emmelisa sang out as she ran into the kitchen waving a brightly coloured picture. "Look what I have painted for you."

The picture showed a big blue sky with white, puffy clouds and a pink aeroplane with a man, wearing goggles, perched on top.

"That's you in your aeroplane," she explained.

"It's the most beautiful picture I've ever seen," her daddy said softly, as he took the token of love from his little daughter.

There wasn't a chance to say anything more because the two children were running out of the kitchen, through the hallway and up the stairs to their rooms.

Mr. Planemaker sat and waited for his son to call down, "Dad, why is my computer in pieces?"

Long explanations seemed unnecessary, as father and son went about the process of setting up the computer. By the time the computer was eventually switched on, everything had been checked and rechecked. It worked! What a relief!

By then, Mr. Planemaker's idea of joking about Wizard Kidd had long gone stale although he was feeling more generous about him. At least he'd fixed the computer, even if he'd disappeared without trace and, maybe, deposited an unwanted kitten.

The moment of alleviation was short though, as Dell tried to make a connection onto the Internet.

When his Uncle Hugh upgraded to a more expensive computer system, he gave Dell this computer with the Internet software already installed.

Uncle Hugh had entered all the details to set up a new account and email address for his nephew, and the computer's internal modem allowed a direct connection with the telephone line. Normally, if Dell clicked on the electronic mail icon or the Internet icon, the server number was dialled automatically to make a connection.

Dell had already tried several times to connect onto the Internet, but each time a dialogue box appeared on the screen with the message: "The modem could not detect a dial tone. Make sure your telephone line is working and is connected to the modem."

Although the telephone extension wire was correctly plugged in to the computer and the telephone point, the same message kept showing on the screen.

Mr. Planemaker was rapidly losing interest in computers! He told Dell he would telephone Uncle Hugh later that evening to seek his advice.

After speaking with his brother, Hugh, he wondered how anyone had the patience to persist with the Internet—apparently, this type of problem happened all the time and yet people did persevere until their Internet connections were up and running without any hitches.

Hugh said not to worry and suggested contacting the server provider on a free-phone number, which Mr. Planemaker wrote down with the intention of telephoning the following day.

Before he'd spoken with his brother, Mr. Planemaker had been relieved to hear his wife announce from the hallway that tea was ready and waiting, which now gave him the opportunity to abandon Dell's computer.

As father and son descended the stairs and walked through the kitchen door, they could hear squeals from Emmelisa, who had already responded to her mummy's call to come downstairs for tea.

"Can I stroke it?" she was asking, as she crouched by the side of the cat basket.

Dell walked over and peered into the basket over his sister's shoulder.

"Wow!" he said. "A kitten. Is it ours?"

Mr. Planemaker felt three sets of pleading eyes landing on him in great anticipation. He looked completely undecided as he replied, "We don't know anything about the kitten. It just turned up out of the blue. We'll have to wait and see."

"Oh! Please, please, please! We can keep the kitten, can't we? We can, we can, we can," coaxed Emmelisa.

Dell had learned that "wait and see" from his father was probably as close to a yes as you could be; but Emmelisa had yet to learn.

Their mother also knew that her husband's reply was as good as a yes, so she silenced her little daughter and ushered her to join her brother, who was already sitting at the table.

After tea, both children were allowed to help their mummy tempt the newly found pet with a little milk. The process took a great deal of time, as the children fought each other for their individual turn to stroke the kitten gently.

By the time the children were tucked up in bed, Dell had forgotten all about the computer. His mind was busily working on a name for the kitten.

"Can we call the kitten Spartacus?" he asked his mummy, as she kissed him lightly on his forehead.

"Go to sleep now. We will discuss it tomorrow. Sleep tight," she ordered, but Dell replied, "Read to me, please."

She picked up a book and started to read until her young son was fast asleep. Softly, she closed the book and tiptoed out of the room.

Later, as she fell asleep, she thought about her two children and the small, unnamed cat.

The next morning, thankfully, Dell did not raise the subject of finding a name for the kitten because there was no time. School mornings followed the same rushed pattern and, until the children called out to their father as they left the house, this morning was no different to any other.

After the children and their mother had left for school, Mr. Planemaker, who had already showered and shaved, made his way downstairs to the kitchen.

Although he noticed the morning mail on the breakfast bar, he ignored it until he'd prepared and finished his breakfast.

He tidied away and washed up his dishes. He was about to leave the kitchen when he noticed the unopened mail again. Among the bills, there was a package that seemed to contain a round, flat disc. On the outside of the package, the company name "Celestial Communications" was printed at the top left-hand corner of the package that contained a compact disc with information about free access to the Internet:

USE THIS DISC TO GAIN FREE, UNLIMITED

ACCESS TO THE INTERNET.

NO BILLS. NO DIALLING. 24 HOUR ACCESS.

UP TO TEN EMAIL ADDRESSES

FREE ACCESS TO THE WORLDWIDE WEB

The additional information explained that, by paying for an extra telephone line at a very low rental rate, using the line was totally free. Although Mr. Planemaker wondered if this was a genuine offer, he thought that there would be no harm in ringing the free phone number to find out more.

He picked up the telephone and, instead of dialling the number given to him by his brother, Hugh, he dialled the number in front of him.

"Good morning. This is Celestial Communications. How can I help you?" a cheerful young woman asked.

"I received a compact disc in the post this morning with information about free access to the Internet," Mr. Planemaker stated.

The young woman then explained how, by giving name, address and telephone number, an appointment could be made for a telephone engineer to visit and install a new, additional telephone line for a small charge. This would give unlimited access to the Internet plus the advantage of freeing up the existing line for ordinary telephone calls.

The young woman was very pleasant and spun her magic sales technique until Mr. Planemaker was totally sold on the idea of a separate line with no charge for using the World Wide Web.

Happily, he gave all the requested details to the young lady, who said an engineer would call back within the next two days to arrange a suitable time for installation of the new telephone line.

He replaced the receiver and picked up the bills, which he then decided to leave for his wife to deal with. He also placed the "Celestial Communications" information prominently on the breakfast bar for his wife to see as he whistled and walked through the hallway to the living room.

After the reassuring telephone conversation, he felt that he could forget all about computers until the telephone engineer contacted him—hopefully not until tomorrow! He looked forward to the chance of spending the rest of the day peacefully recovering from the previous day's unexpected events.

As he reclined on his favourite easy chair, reading the daily newspaper, his wife returned unheard from the morning school run.

The first time he became aware of her presence, she was standing in front of him saying, "Did you want me to read this?"

She was holding the opened package from "Celestial Communica-tions."

"Yes," her husband said as he glanced over the top of his newspaper. "I've already phoned the company, this morning. Someone will phone back to arrange a time to fix up a new telephone line."

Because Mrs. Planemaker knew that her husband's project depended upon gathering information from the Internet, she decided not to say any more than, "Fine. If someone calls, I'll pass the caller on to you. Now, I think you should take things easy for the rest of today."

This was a very welcomed suggestion—he was very happy to leave his wife in charge of everything that needed to be done for the remainder of the day.

The late afternoon arrival of the children from school was as boisterous as usual—but all the fuss and noise was about the cat!

No mention was made of the computer because Dell and Emmelisa were locked in an argument over the kitten's name with their mother acting as referee—not very successfully.

Eventually, she suggested that they should write the three names they liked best onto small pieces of paper, which they should then fold and put into one of their daddy's golf caps. If they asked their daddy to pull out a name from the cap, they would solve two problems at the same time.

By agreeing to assist in the choosing of the name, their father would, almost certainly, be agreeing to keep the cat, and the draw would put an end to the arguments between the two children.

At first, they were reluctant to choose a name this way.

Eventually, they agreed but only after their mother hinted that, if they did not consent, then maybe their father would decide not to keep the kitten.

The first name pulled out of the golf cap was Cosmos. The two children squealed with delight and shouted together, "I chose Cosmos!"

As they argued furiously, their father shook out the five remaining slips of paper from the cap and read the names. The name Cosmos was written on one of the slips.

He held up both pieces of paper with the same name and said, "Quiet! You both chose Cosmos."

Dell turned to his mummy and said, "I chose it first!"

"Did not!" was the indignant response from his little sister.

Their mother quickly intervened and said, "Well, if you both tell the kitten the name you've chosen, at the same time, then it won't matter who chose it first."

Emmelisa was twisting the hem of her skirt and murmuring something, while Dell approached the living room door and challenged his sister, "Race you!"

Emmelisa reacted immediately and chased her brother out of the room.

By bedtime, when the children kissed their daddy goodnight, before they went upstairs to bed, all the arguments were forgotten.

Later that evening, as the house fell silent, everyone was asleep: Mummy, Daddy, Dell, Emmelisa and Cosmos.

After the children had bid their good-byes and finally left for school, the silence that returned to the house the next morning was broken by the ringing sound of the telephone.

Mr. Planemaker picked up the receiver and said, "Hello."

He heard a man's voice reply, "Good morning, Mr. Planemaker. I understand you've agreed to the installation of a new telephone line by Celestial Communications."

"Yes," Mr. Planemaker confirmed that he'd requested a new line.

After a short conversation between the two men, an arrangement was made for the new telephone line to be installed.

"Today's Friday," the telephone engineer explained. "We don't work at weekends, except for emergencies. Would eleven o'clock Monday morning be a suitable time?"

"Yes, that would be fine," Mr. Planemaker replied.

So, the time and day were agreed to. By midday Monday, the Planemaker family would have free access to the World Wide Web.

CHAPTER F0UR

Search Me

"Search me." Art studied her curiously. "I never could keep track of

what you thought and what you meant."

– B M Bower, _Jean of the Lazy A_

On the following Monday morning, at eleven o'clock, the sound of a blue transit van pulling into the driveway of number one Fern Bank Road announced the arrival of the telephone engineer.

Mr. Planemaker was very impressed by such punctuality, and had said as much when he'd answered the door to a dark-haired, slightly balding man in his mid thirties, who was wearing clean denim jeans and a navy blue jacket, with the company logo on the left chest pocket.

But the first thing both men said was, "Good morning!"

Then Mr. Planemaker stepped aside to allow the telephone engineer to enter the house.

"Beautiful day," the engineer announced as he walked into the hallway.

"Yes it is," Mr. Planemaker agreed, because it was a wonderful spring day. The kind of day that made you feel so full of good humour you could sing aloud without feeling silly.

"Could you show me where you want the new telephone point, please?" the engineer asked when he was finally inside the house.

"This way," Mr. Planemaker indicated in the direction of the staircase.

The two men, one following the other, then climbed the stairs up to Dell's bedroom, where the engineer immediately saw the existing telephone point that was already connected to the computer.

"I can see the existing line. This won't take very long. I'll just get my tools from the van, if that's okay?" the engineer said as he made his way from the bedroom to the stairs.

Mr. Planemaker followed him saying, "I'll leave you to it. If you need me, I'll be in the living room. Give me a shout."

Mrs. Planemaker was in the kitchen with the kitten for company. After the school run, she had completed the first shopping trip of the week and returned home.

She was pleased to leave her husband to deal with the telephone engineer, because she was busy unpacking the shopping carrier bags and there was a mountain of Monday morning washing to be done.

Less than half an hour after the engineer had arrived, the computer was connected to the new telephone line, and the engineer's footsteps could be heard as he descended the stairs.

Mr. Planemaker was in the hallway at the foot of the stairs ready to meet him.

"That's your new line installed. I've left your computer switched on and connected to the new line. The disc you received in the post will get you onto the net. The instructions are easy to follow. If you have any problems use the free phone number and they'll sort out everything for you," the engineer explained as he was about to leave. "By the way, I'm Spacey, Space for short. Here's my card. If there are any problems with the line, give me a call."

"Thank you," Mr. Planemaker replied, as he took the card.

As the engineer drove away in his van, Mr. Planemaker glanced at the card with the company name, "Celestial Communications", printed at the top. The name, Mr. S. Satellite, above "telephone engineer" in italic print, was printed in the centre of the card.

Mr. Planemaker wondered whether Mr. Space Satellite was any more real than Mr. Wiz Kidd!

He was beginning to doubt if the telephone line would work properly. As he collected the disc from the kitchen, he decided not to voice his fears to his wife, when she asked if everything was all right.

"We'll soon see," he replied good-heartedly, as he pushed the doubts aside and made his way up to Dell's bedroom.

He inserted the compact disc into the computer, which made a whirring sound, like an electronic fan—almost a whoosh.

Then the screen was suddenly filled by two large, silver C's— "CC"—on a midnight blue background. In the centre, the words "Click here to Install" appeared under a small silver star.

He used the mouse to move the pointer on the screen over the star. Then he clicked on the mouse to install the software from the inserted disc.

A tiny light on the computer started to blink and a narrow white bar appeared on the screen.

As the computer made chugging sounds, a silvery grey band crept along the bar like mercury in a thermometer, until the bar had completely changed colour. Then the words "Installation Complete" appeared on the screen with a silver arrow pointing to the right of the screen with the words "click here to continue".

When he clicked on the silver arrow, the screen filled with instructions about how to set up free access to the Internet.

Mr. Planemaker followed these instructions and entered his personal details in the spaces provided.

He made several mistakes, which he was allowed to correct. Every page allowed him to either proceed to the next page or return to a previous page to amend his errors.

A small, silver rectangular box, with the word "End" appeared on the last page with instructions to click on the box when all the information had been properly entered.

Mr. Planemaker clicked on the "End" box and waited. The midnight blue screen disappeared.

He'd read in the installation instructions that an icon with a large "A" would appear at the left of the screen: he clicked on it.

Amazingly, the computer screen responded immediately.

A web page filled the screen: it was the Celestial Communications Home Page. He was instantly connected!

The words "Shelsoft Internet Astronaut" appeared at the top of the screen, under which the Celestial Communications web site address appeared below a row of icons: Back, Forward, Stop, Refresh, Home, Favourites, History, Search, Print, Mail and Preferences.

Mr. Planemaker thought that the "A" icon he'd clicked to open this web page must stand for Astronaut as he pondered on what to do next.

Eventually, his eyes rested on the search icon, which he decided to click. As the home page disappeared, he thought he might fall off his chair!

A strange looking man suddenly appeared on the screen and said, "Can I help you?"

Mr. Planemaker was too stunned to do anything.

The man talking to him had a long face, arched eyebrows, pointed ears and a bald head. He was wearing a cape-like garment, with wide shoulders and a high-winged collar, which was made from soft, shiny, silvery material.

"Here is a request box," the odd looking man added, pointing to a narrow, white rectangular box, with a cursor on the immediate left. "Enter your question and I will try to find the answer."

Mr. Planemaker's mind was completely blank because the sudden shock had cleared all his thoughts. He typed into the box the only question he could think of: "Who are you?"

"Oh! You are new to Celestial Communications! I am your personal search engineer, A. Leon Spaceman."

All the dreams about the vanishing house meant that Mr. Planemaker was familiar with first names beginning with an "A," so he didn't think it was worth asking about. Instead, he typed the question, "Can you find anything?"

"I will do my very best."

Mr. Planemaker's mind was beginning to think more clearly, as he typed the next question, "Can you find information about model aircraft?"

"Model aircraft coming up."

The screen cleared and was replaced by a web page showing a small passenger plane. In front of the plane, the aircrew of two pilots and a stewardess were standing on the runway.

At the top of this window, the words "more like this?" were written underneath a small circle containing a question mark.

This was not the type of aircraft Mr. Planemaker was interested in—he certainly did not need to see any more!

Although he wanted to ask another question, it took several minutes before he realised that he needed to click on the "Back" icon. When he did click this icon, a smiling Mr. Spaceman reappeared.

I don't know what you're smiling about, Mr. Planemaker thought as he typed in, "model aircraft, not real aircraft."

"I gave you model aircraft. The flight attendant was a model before she became a stewardess. The aircraft is a passenger plane. There were lots more aircraft if you had looked through all the different pages."

"Not that kind of model. A model aircraft," Mr. Planemaker typed furiously.

"Oh! You mean a phrase. You should have said. I was treating each word separately. Let me try again."

Mr. Spaceman disappeared and this time a picture of a Supermarine Spitfire model aeroplane appeared on the screen.

_Wonderful_ , Mr. Planemaker thought as he admired the crafts-manship of this beautiful scale model flying machine.

He stayed on this page and read about the materials used in the construction of this aircraft and the type of engine required to fly a model weighing between twenty and thirty pounds.

Then he noticed the small circle containing the question mark, at the top of the screen and this time he definitely wanted to see more.

He clicked on the circle and a scale Hawk 100 appeared next. What a plane! He read that the model was extremely true to scale and it flew superbly.

He continued to read that the engine for the Hawk 100, a SIMJET DFMS 75N+ turbine had replaced a JPX T240 turbine because it produced a better performance.

There was also a list of all the kit's components, plans and instructions and a "Gallery page." He clicked on the words "For a picture of the Hawk in flight click here" and opened the Gallery page, which showed thumbnail pictures of a Hawk T/1a in the Red Arrows Colour scheme.

One of the pictures showed the Hawk in flight. By clicking on a thumbnail, he was able to see a bigger picture, which provided more detail. Mr. Planemaker was mesmerised.

He did not hear his wife, because this web site was so engrossing,

until she was standing beside him, saying, "I see the computer is working."

"Oh yes!" he said triumphantly. "It's amazing. There's a man who helps with searches. I'll show you."

He clicked on the "Back" icon several times and the screen changed to the Celestial Communications Homepage. There was no A. Leon Spaceman, so he clicked on the search icon but only the long, rectangular box, with the cursor, appeared on the screen.

As he waited for Mr. Spaceman, a small square window opened at the bottom right of the screen with a computer generated figure of a man in a space suit, who waved his arm to attract attention. Then a white bubble with the words "You seem to be stuck with your search. Can I help you?" appeared, next to the man dressed as an astronaut.

"Oh! A spaceman is offering to help you," Mrs. Planemaker said amusedly.

Mr. Planemaker wondered if he had imagined A. Leon Spaceman. Clearing his throat, he said, "Em, think of something you would be interested in knowing more about."

Without too much thought she asked whether it would be possible to find out about kittens. Mr. Planemaker typed the word kitten in the search box. He clicked on the "search me" box and a miniature satellite began circling the world globe in the tiny window at the top right of the screen.

In 0.14sec, a message appeared saying that the search had produced 4,990,000 matches to the word "kitten." The first ten of these appeared directly below the message. Mr. Planemaker scrolled the screen, so that they could read all ten of the listed web pages.

"Well," he laughed, "that's the first ten, only 4,989,990 to go!"

His wife was just as amused as her husband was. She was beginning to understand how much information there was floating around in space. In her mind, she pictured all these web pages attached by an imaginary electronic line—like multicoloured, patterned T-shirts pegged on a washing line that stretched all the way around the world.

"Do you think we can get through them all before lunch?" she joked.

"Is lunch ready?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Do you want to open any of these web pages before lunch or after?"

"Oh...I'm not that bothered...I only said the first thing that came into my head. I don't really need information about kittens...but it was amusing to see the number of people in the world who are interested enough to write about cats on the web," she responded. "I suppose you would find just as much information if you typed in the word, fishing."

"We'll definitely leave that 'til after lunch!" Mr. Planemaker joked. "I'll close this down, for now."

Then he tried to remember the instructions about how to close down "Shelsoft Internet Astronaut" that he'd been given when he signed up with Celestial Communications.

Mrs. Planemaker left her husband performing this task while she made her way downstairs to check that everything was prepared for lunch.

After she'd gone, Mr. Planemaker pulled down the File menu at the top left of the screen and scrolled down the menu to highlight the word "quit".

He expected the window to close down completely. Once again he nearly fell off his chair because Mr. Spaceman reappeared and said, "Well, search me! Where are you going, without saying goodbye?"

Mr. Planemaker looked, but could not find the narrow white box with the cursor.

"Oh! I keep forgetting. You're new to Celestial Communications!" Mr. Spaceman exclaimed.

"You can only type in questions. When you quit, you have to say goodbye. How else will I know that you have really reached the end of your search?"

Mr. Planemaker thought this was a load of nonsense and ignored the request. Instead he pulled down the File menu and tried again to quit.

Mr. Spaceman reappeared with a big grin. "I told you. Unless you say goodbye, you cannot get rid of me."

Mr. Planemaker remained silent for a few seconds, thinking, then

he said, "Bye."

Mr. Spaceman disappeared. Mr. Planemaker, for the third time, pulled down the File menu to quit.

He still expected to see A. Leon Spaceman jump back onto the screen, but instead the window closed down and the web pages went back onto the cyberspace superhighway ready to be retrieved again with the click of an "A".

When Mr. Planemaker entered the kitchen, he heard the kitten purring contentedly after being fed with warm milk.

After a splendid lunch of Lancashire hotpot with pickled red cabbage, Mr. Planemaker felt like purring too!

The day was turning out to be quite normal, despite meeting Mr. Space Satellite and seeing Mr. A. Leon Spaceman on the computer. He was still unsure about the reality of A. Leon Spaceman, and he was certainly not going to tell his wife that he'd spoken to the computer in order to quit the Internet.

He had a nagging feeling that, in some ways, he was slowly beginning to lose control of his life. As though he were being prepared, in a weird kind of way, for something to happen over which he would have no control.

He sometimes experienced the same kind of fear the man in the dream experienced, when he was invited to step inside the Dream House. But he was not yet ready to discuss these fears with his wife, and pushed them to the back of his mind.

Although he was pleased with his success using Dell's computer, today had been too eventful and tiring, so he decided to go through to the living room to take a short rest. He hadn't been lying on the sofa long before he fell asleep and started to dream.

It was days since he'd dreamed about the vanishing house, but today the same dream returned with the man from the previous dreams, standing in front of the grey building.

The man was alone: no Ann R. Keytect; no Bill Dare; no Dek Orator. The man remembered Mr. Orator had invited him to look inside the house. An invitation that, for some unknown reason, made him feel afraid. He was trying to pluck up enough courage to step inside the Dream House, when a young woman appeared with a warm greeting, "Hi, I'm Joy Nair."

"Don't tell me; you're a joiner?"

"Yes. I helped to build this house."

Joy Nair wanted to be as good a joiner as her father, who had taught her everything he knew. She was twenty-three, and looked remarkably similar to Mrs. Planemaker, who had first met Mr. Plane-maker at the same age.

She had amazingly blue eyes and long, silky reddish-brown hair tied back in a ponytail.

As she walked towards the open doorway, her poise and graceful movement reminded the man of a young gymnast—her feet seemed so light on the ground that she almost glided like a light aircraft.

She beckoned the man to step forward to join her inside the Dream House.

When he looked inside the dimly lit hallway, the man could see a much softer light, shining gently through from a room beyond the hallway.

As Joy Nair entered the house, she turned and smiled. Although it was such a lovely, welcoming smile, the man did not move.

He wanted to follow her into the house and enter the softly illuminated room in the distance, but the thought of passing through the gloomy hallway held him back.

Joy Nair, once more, invited him to join her but still the man stood firm.

"What are you afraid of?" Miss Nair asked.

"I'm not sure," the man replied. "Something seems to be missing."

Suddenly, the man remembered the two children—the young boy and his little sister—who ran away because the grey house kept disappearing.

"The children, where are the children?" he asked.

In a half awake state, Mr. Planemaker could hear his wife saying, "The children, have you seen the children?"

"No," her husband said sleepily. "I was asleep."

"I called in at the pet shop with Dylan and Emmelisa on the way

home from school. They wanted to show you the things we bought for the kitten. I told them you were in the living room," his wife explained.

Before she could say anything more, the two children bounded into the room, as Emmelisa called out, "Look, Daddy...look what we've bought for Cosmos." Emmelisa was carrying a carrier bag full of playthings for the kitten and a cat collar with a bell. Then, as quickly as she had entered, she ran out of the room with her prize possessions.

"Is the computer working?" Dell asked his daddy.

"Oh, yes..." his father was about to continue, but Dell was practically half way up the stairs.

CHAPTER FIVE

Planning the Future

It is a bad plan that admits of no modification  
– Publius Syrus (42 B.C.), Maxim 319

Later that evening, Mr. Planemaker telephoned his brother, Hugh, to tell him that the computer was up and running and he'd successfully completed his first search on the web.

He avoided mentioning A. Leon Spaceman because he had yet to be convinced that there was such a person as a personal search engineer.

Even if there were, he was feeling confident enough about searching the web not to need any further help.

He did, however, need some advice from his brother.

Although he knew how to search for and find all the information he required for a model aeroplane, before he did any more searches he needed to make a plan.

The phone call to Hugh was to ask about using a word processor.

Hugh explained that double clicking on the Shelsoft Wordwriter icon "SW" on the left of the computer screen would open the word processor, showing a blank document on the screen.

Then it would be possible to produce a simple document using the word processor like a typewriter. After completion, the document could be saved and stored in the memory of the computer.

"It's too late now to talk you through, but I'll be at home until lunchtime tomorrow. Give me a call if you need some help. It will be easier for you to explain any problems if the word processor is on the computer screen in front of you."

After breakfast the following day, as he climbed the stairs up to Dell's room, Mr. Planemaker wondered if he would remember everything that his brother had told him when he eventually sat in front of the computer and tried to use the word processor.

He wasn't feeling too confident as he clicked the mouse to bring the computer to life before he scanned the screen and double clicked on the "SW" icon.

The word processor looked the way Hugh had described—a blank page beneath a row of small icons that could be used to format the document.

He typed the word "plan" and then started to think about the kind of plan he had in mind. As he sat thinking, the screen suddenly changed.

A lady with dark brown hair and a face not unlike Mr. Planemaker's appeared on the screen. She was wearing a smart grey suit with a cream, polo-necked sweater and a necklace made of small, shiny, square cut, silvery-grey stones.

She was smiling warmly, as she asked, "You seem to be making a plan, can I help you?"

Mr. Planemaker looked for, but did not find, a long narrow bar so that he could type in a question or make a comment.

The lady on the screen seemed to be aware of this and asked, "Are you looking for a question box? This is all new to you, isn't it? I'm your personal planning assistant, Felicity Sistair...everyone calls me Fils."

_Fils Sistair_ , Mr. Planemaker thought as he considered whether all software packages, and not just Shelsoft, included personal assistants to help the user.

His thoughts were interrupted as Fils Sistair added, "I can help you by making suggestions...maybe a few hints about the best way to set up a plan."

Mr. Planemaker was slightly irritated. He really didn't want this kind of interference—even if it was offered kindly. He was wondering how to remove this lady from the screen, when she said, "I'll only offer advice if you seem to be having problems," and then, to his great relief, she disappeared.

After she'd gone, Mr. Planemaker began thinking more clearly. He had been unsure about the title for his plan, but decided to name the file "First File" as this was his first document using a word processor. Making this decision helped him to choose the plan's title. He inserted the words "First File" and changed the "p" in plan to a capital letter: First File Plan.

After he'd spoken to Hugh on the telephone, he'd considered the contents of the plan and compiled a list of sub-headings. On separate lines he typed in:

Types of model aircraft

Kits

Manufacturers

Suppliers

Parts and Accessories

Mailing Lists

Flying Clubs

Mr. Planemaker read through the list of sub-headings and started to consider the types of model aircraft he found the most interesting.

He was about to enter a list of things under the first sub-heading, "Types of Model Aircraft," when he heard his wife calling to say that she'd made coffee.

He quickly saved the document he'd just created under the file name, "My First File," and went downstairs to join his wife for morning coffee and a biscuit.

He told his wife that he'd successfully created and saved a document on the computer, and he was feeling quite pleased.

When he returned to the computer, he was perplexed because he couldn't find the file he'd stored before the mid-morning break for coffee. He looked through all the files in every folder and was about to give up when his mind forced him to have one more try.

The file "My Future Life" was stored at the very bottom of the "My Files" folder and, for some unexplained reason, his mind told him to open this file.

He clicked on the file and saw the document he'd just created. He worked out that he must have typed "future" instead of "first" and typed the "f" and "l" in the wrong order, so that "file" became "life".

Whatever he'd done, at least the file was still there, so he read

through the list of sub-headings and started to consider the different types of model aircraft for his list.

Fils Sistair interrupted his thoughts once more. "I see you've made a start. Have you forgotten anything? Several things seem to be missing."

Mr. Planemaker read through the list of sub-headings again but was unable to think of anything else.

"Are you a millionaire? Is the cost of this venture unimportant? Shouldn't there be a sub-heading, 'Cost'?"

Mr. Planemaker was most certainly not a wealthy man. Normally, costing building projects was extremely important. He could hardly believe that he had overlooked such an important point.

"Thanks," he said to himself because Fils Sistair was no longer on the screen.

The list had reappeared, so he inserted the word "Cost" on a new line below the word "Suppliers."

Fils Sistair had said there were several things missing, although she had only suggested one. He read the list a second time but he couldn't think of anything to add, so he sat and waited for Fils Sistair to pop up again.

He decided she wasn't going to reappear. After waiting for a few minutes, he placed the cursor at the end of the first sub-heading, "Types of Model Aircraft," and was about to press the "Return" key on the keyboard when she suddenly appeared on the screen.

"You certainly have had long enough to think of something else!"

_You left me long enough to think, more like!_ thought Mr. Planemaker

"What about the children?"

He couldn't imagine how she thought a plan for a model aeroplane should require a sub-heading for his children.

"Don't you think they would be interested in helping you with this project?"

Of course he did; he expected Dell would be very interested and, with a little encouragement, so would Emmelisa.

"And your wife? She might appreciate being involved at some stage."

Mr. Planemaker thought that his wife might show an interest in helping to choose colours, although he doubted if she would be interested in anything more. Yet, when he gave the idea some thought, he realised that, with the same amount of encouragement, she might be just as interested as the children.

"How about a sub-heading, 'Family Involvement'?"

Mr. Planemaker was too distracted reconsidering his wife's likely involvement to notice that Fils Sistair had disappeared.

The sight of the list of sub-headings, back on the screen, captured his attention before he typed in the last sub-heading: "Family Involvement."

Mr. Planemaker read through the list a third time but couldn't think of anything to add, so he sat and waited for Fils Sistair to pop up again—and she did!

"I've one final suggestion."

Mr. Planemaker never trusted women when they said, "I've only one thing to add," but he was willing to listen.

"Have you considered your new pet, Cosmos?"

Mr. Planemaker almost burst out laughing.

_Why would anyone, who was planning to build a model aeroplane, include a kitten?_ he thought.

"Black cats are lucky," Fils Sistair said before she finally disappeared.

Again, she was replaced by the list of sub-headings. This time, Mr. Planemaker didn't notice the list because he was lost in his thoughts, reconsidering how Cosmos could possibly be involved in the project.

Then an idea came into his mind and he typed an extra sub-heading: "Logo."

Black cats were supposed to be lucky, so maybe a logo based on a cat would bring good fortune.

When he moved the cursor to the end of the first sub-heading, Fils Sistair did not reappear.

In case she decided to add something else to the list, before he pressed the "Return" key, he waited for a few minutes but she didn't show up.

Mr. Planemaker thought, _That's the list complete, then_ , before he pressed "Return" and began to type under the sub-heading "Types of Model Aircraft":

Find reviews on model aircraft kits.

Find out about levels of skill required to build the individual kits.

Collect information about size, weight, and types of materials.

As he typed in the rest of the plan under the sub-headings, the time passed quickly. He read the completed plan and waited for Fils Sistair to return to the screen to make some final suggestions, but she did not show.

His mind was too tired to remember anything else that he might need to include, so he decided to save the file. He was especially careful to type "My First File".

Then he pulled down the file menu and scrolled down to highlight the word "Exit."

He was not surprised to see Fils Sistair reappear to say goodbye. He knew by then that he was expected to reply. He said, "Bye," before her happy, smiling face disappeared.

Mr. Planemaker pulled down the File menu and this time the word processor closed down.

Over the following months, Mr. Planemaker gathered all the information he needed about model aircraft kits. He lost count of the number of web-sites he visited. A. Leon Spaceman offered advice occasionally about how to find new web addresses. He made a useful suggestion about finding the "Links Page" on the web-sites. This speeded up his search because he could go directly from one web address to another.

During this period of searching, he learned a great deal about the different types of model aircraft kits.

He slowly worked through his "First File Plan" and collected all the information he required that would help him to make up his mind about the type of model aeroplanes that interested him most.

When he finally selected out the type of aircraft he was looking for, he added the name of this kit to a list in a file he'd created named "Model Aircraft Kits."

The list showed the type of model aeroplane, size of the finished model, manufacturer's suppliers and the cost of each kit.

Eventually, when the list contained ten types of model aircraft, Mr. Planemaker decided to stop collecting any more information and to select out the best kits.

He managed to reduce the list to five planes. These five kits would be easy enough to assemble; could be supplied by companies trading on the Internet; had parts and accessories that were available from a number of different suppliers; and the total cost of building the kits was within Mr. Planemaker's budget.

He checked through all the sub-headings in his Plan. He had gathered everything he required on:

Types of model aircraft

Kits

Manufacturers

Suppliers

Cost

Parts and Accessories

Mailing Lists

Flying Clubs

Then he came to the sub-heading "Family Involvement".

Dell had been interested from the beginning and had spent many hours with his dad searching the Internet, looking for pictures of fantastic model aeroplanes.

Mr. Planemaker thought that his wife and little daughter might appreciate being involved in the final choice, so he printed off the web pages showing pictures of, and describing, the final five model aircraft kits.

He collected all these printed pages together and took them into the kitchen, where the whole family sat around the table and discussed the five different model aeroplanes.

Emmelisa liked all the pictures and changed her mind several times. Mrs. Planemaker chose the two that she liked the most and Dell chose one.

Although they succeeded in narrowing the choice to two, they hadn't totally agreed on just one type of model aircraft. They opted for a vote but the outcome was a draw—two votes for each of the selected model aeroplanes.

They were considering voting again when, unnoticed, Cosmos suddenly jumped up onto the table. He prowled around the tabletop. Then he gently pushed one of the final two choices onto the floor with a front, white paw.

They all burst out laughing.

"Well!" Mr. Planemaker said. "It looks as though Cosmos has made the final choice!" as he pointed to the model aircraft page that remained on the table.

It was also Dell's choice: the Flying Machine PH1.

Mr. Planemaker was delighted with this choice.

The Flying Machine PH1 was manufactured by Deus Flying Machines, who made fibre glass aircraft kits for enthusiastic modellers.

A local supplier, Heavenly Fliers in the small Lancashire town, Great James, stocked the kits for the Deus Flying Machines Company.

Mr. Planemaker found the web site for Heavenly Fliers. Then, using the email order form and his credit card, he ordered the kit for the Flying Machine PH1.

Three weeks later at quarter past eleven, a large, white van pulled up outside number one Fern Bank Road.

By the time the driver and his passenger had both closed the doors at the front of the van, Mr. Planemaker heard the voices of two men and the sound of a door opening at the back of the van.

He'd being feeling unwell that morning and was already resting in the living room when he heard a knock at the front door that was answered by his wife. She spoke to the driver of the van, who was standing on the doorstep, before she walked into the living room and told her husband that a large package had arrived from Heavenly Fliers.

Because he was feeling too tired to deal with the delivery, he asked

his wife to tell the deliverymen to put the package inside the garage. Mrs. Planemaker asked the two men, who were waiting on the doorstep, to leave the package in the garage. The men took a great deal of care as they stored the package safely inside the garage. After she'd thanked them, she returned to speak to her husband.

"Do you need anything? A drink? Anything to eat—you didn't have any breakfast this morning."

"No, thanks," he replied. "I feel a bit sickly this morning."

Mrs. Planemaker was extremely concerned. Her husband did not look very well.

"I could sit with you, if you like?"

"Yes," he said. Mrs. Planemaker sat with her husband until he fell asleep.

It was well past lunch by the time he awoke, but his wife was still sitting with him.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked.

"No, not really," he replied, and drifted back to sleep.

Mrs. Planemaker decided to call the doctor. Then she telephoned one of her closest friends, Melody, who had two children at the same primary school as Emmelisa and Dell. She told Melody that she was very worried about Mr. Planemaker and that she'd telephoned the doctor, whom she was expecting to arrive soon.

"Would you please collect the children from school?" she asked Melody, who said she would be only too glad to help.

Soon after the doctor arrived, the children entered the house with Melody.

Mrs. Planemaker thanked her friend and spoke quietly to the children. She explained that daddy was very ill and the doctor had called to see him.

She asked them to go up to their rooms and make as little noise as possible.

Then she had a quick word with her friend, who offered, "If you need me, you only need to ask. You know I'll always be there for you."

Mrs. Planemaker had known Melody for such a long time, and she knew that they would always be there to offer support to one another.

Although no words of thanks were necessary, as Melody left the house, Mrs. Planemaker thanked her again.

Mr. Planemaker was unable to speak to the doctor because he was in a deep sleep. He was dreaming about the grey house. All the people from the previous dreams were there inside the house—in the distant room, bathed in a soft, warm light. They were smiling and seemed very happy and carefree. The man searched for the children but he couldn't find them.

"Where are the children?" he wondered aloud.

A voice from somewhere above him said, "Don't worry about the children. I will look after the children. No harm will come to them. Now it's time for you to enter the house."

The man looked inside the hallway. It was no longer dull and gloomy. The light was bright and welcoming.

As he stood in front of the Dream House with the open doorway, the man felt no fear. He walked towards the door and took his first step inside the house.

From the outside, the hallway had appeared small. To the man's amazement, from the inside, the hallway was huge. The surrounding walls were sky blue and, in the centre of the hallway, there was a magnificent, grand staircase with a golden carpet, which seemed to rise up forever into the distant sky, because the house had no roof.

The man walked to the bottom of the staircase and began to climb the stairs.

This time Mr. Planemaker did not wake from his sleep. That afternoon, he gently drifted away in his sleep and died.

Mrs. Planemaker had returned to the living room and she was with her husband when he died.

The doctor told her that he was very sorry that he could not have done anything more to help Mr. Planemaker, and left her to sit with her husband until she was ready to tell the children.

After a short time, she climbed the stairs to seek her children to explain the sad news.

Before she was able to say anything, Dell met her at the top of the stairs and said, "Mummy, the computer has broken down. I can't get it to work."
CHAPTER SIX

Bully for You

Take sides. Neutrality helps the aggressor, never the victim.

Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

– Elie Wiesel, _Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech_

Three years after Mr. Planemaker died so suddenly, ten-year-old Emmelisa still attended Leafy Lea Primary but Dell, who had recently celebrated his twelfth birthday, was in his second year at the local Shawley Beacon School and their mother was working part-time at the local Healthcare Centre.

After their father died, Emmelisa and Dell had gradually begun to adjust to the new family set-up. During the years that followed, they spent almost as much time with Uncle Hugh as they had done with their father, and their grandparents gave all their spare time to their two grandchildren, who were as happy at school as they were at home.

But when Dell moved to his new school, Emmelisa slowly became very isolated and lonely at the school she used to love. These days, every school morning brought a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. As she thought of school, she rarely finished breakfast and by the time she left the house, she looked pale and wan as the flush of colour quickly drained from her cheeks.

Mrs. Planemaker was increasingly concerned about her daughter, and yet she was afraid to say anything because Emmelisa became so anxious if her mother offered to help or intervened in any way.

Two of Emmelisa's childhood playmates, Myna, who was a year older than Emmelisa and Mayja Troublemaker, who was a year younger, had been her friends even before they started primary school.

Over the years they'd known each other, the three girls had become very close friends, spending most of their playtime together at home and in the school playground.

Although they were good friends, after the death of Emmelisa's father, Mayja had increasingly become much more hostile towards Emmelisa. She often used silly excuses to cause arguments between the three girls but Emmelisa always had the courage to stand up for herself because Dell was always there to protect her.

Mayja was intimidated by Dell, so she was careful not to confront Emmelisa too often when he was around, but the girls in the rest of the school fared less well, as Mayja set about forming and leading her own gang.

Myna did not share Mayja's aggressive behaviour but their mother did. Mayja's head was filled with stories of how her mother, Mega Troublemaker, had terrorised the whole school, boys as well as girls, when she was a schoolgirl.

Mayja wanted to be just like her mother. She loved to listen to her mother telling tales of how she would fight and win against the toughest boys in the school—making it easier to instill fear in the girls.

Fighting boys was too tough a proposition for Mayja but she didn't fear a single girl in the school, including all the older girls. She wanted to control half the school as much for greed as for power.

Mayja's family was quite poor and the Troublemakers couldn't afford spending money for either of their daughters. At home, her mother bullied her father, who was a slightly built man and no match for his wife. Not long after they were married, Mrs. Troublemaker had demanded that her husband should hand over his weekly wage so that she could have complete control of all their expenses. Although Mr. Troublemaker received spending money from his wife, mostly for beer and cigarettes, the Troublemaker daughters did not.

At school, most of the children would bring either money to spend at the tuck-shop or a snack for the mid-morning break. Mayja soon realised it would be much easier to frighten the feeblest girls, whom she could force to hand over their money and snacks, than it would be to intimidate the strongest girls in the school. She also knew it would be difficult to form a gang by picking fights with girls who would be hard to conquer.

Over a number of weeks, she gained influence over those girls in the school who had a tendency to bully and slowly built up her "mafia" gang that became her "family." The gang would meet in the washroom of the girl's lavatory to intimidate the weaker girls and collect their spoils, which were handed over to Mayja, who would ration the booty—making sure she received more than her fair share.

Mayja was extremely careful to ensure that there was a conspiracy of silence among the gang. Academically, she was not very bright, but she was very cunning and an ardent schemer.

Part of her scheming involved picking on, and threatening to throw out, the weakest gang members. Then she would issue a warning that the rest of the gang would make life unbearable for any gang member, who as much as whispered, to anyone, about anything that went on in the washroom of the girl's lavatory during the morning break.

The conspiracy of silence protected Mayja from the teachers and ensured that, although she belonged to a less well off family than the rest of the gang, who were too frightened to disobey her, she never appeared to be poorer.

Mayja was not interested in having Emmelisa, or anyone else, in her gang, who would contribute little but would have to be included in the share out.

Although the Planemaker's had been reasonably well off, when Mr. Planemaker was alive, since he died, they had to live on a much tighter budget and neither Dell nor Emmelisa received any spending money.

After Dell left Leafy Lea Primary to attend Shawley Beacon School, Emmelisa became the target of Mayja's desire, not for more money but for more power.

Emmelisa was popular with all the children in the school, and she was well liked by all the teachers. This was a very sore point with Mayja! With Dell out of the way, Mayja could use Emmelisa, who was such a favourite in the whole school, to intimidate more of the girls than she already did, and so Emmelisa became the school bully's next victim.

A fight between two girls is not a pretty sight: it involves spitting, hair-pulling, kicking and biting.

None of the crude clashes between Mayja and Emmelisa that took place in various parts of the school, away from the classrooms, produced a winner. Both girls knew that they would be in serious trouble if the fights were brought to the attention of the Headmistress. The scuffles always resulted in a draw, as both girls limped off with tufts of hair missing, bite marks and bruised shins.

The provocation always started with Mayja taunting Emmelisa with the same words, "Emmelisa Planemaker's short, fat and ugly." A phrase she would repeat over and over without riling her opponent until she finally added, "And her brother's just as short, just as fat but even uglier."

Before she could finish this last insult, Emmelisa would be so angry she felt she had enough strength to take on both sisters at the same time because, although Myna never said anything, it was plain whose side she was on.

The rest of the girls in the school, who were not members of the gang, would merely look on. They never took sides—they were too afraid. Secretly, they wanted Emmelisa to stand up to the school bully. Someone had to refuse to be pushed around, otherwise every single one of them would eventually become a victim and Mayja would practically run the school.

The burden of being such an enemy of someone who terrorised half of the school led to almost complete isolation for Emmelisa because the girls, who had been her friends, were too weak to show their support.

In many ways, it would've been easier to give in to Mayja although Emmelisa knew that, by doing so, she would be letting down the rest of the school and she would lose her self-respect.

When he was still alive, her father sometimes became exasperated by Emmelisa's stubbornness, but he was secretly full of admiration— she was such a determined little girl. He knew from her personality that she would never be bowed by anyone and this would lead to fierce battles that he would not be around to fight for her and yet he felt proud to think that he had produced such a strong and fearless daughter.

Emmelisa maintained the faith her father held. But, although she never lost a fight with her arch-rival, the conflicts wounded her fighting spirit. Also, she failed to hide her unhappiness from her mother and her schoolteachers.

One day, she was sitting alone on a wooden bench in the playground away from all the other children. This was the third day running that she had been unable to eat her school lunch, because she couldn't force herself to swallow the food that stuck in her throat.

The teacher on dinner duty that week was Emmelisa's class teacher, Miss Kindheart, who had been on the staff for more than six years and knew most of the children in the school. Over the last few days Miss Kindheart had noticed that Emmelisa was not eating very much, so she approached her in the playground, and asked, "Hello Emmelisa...are you feeling unwell? I noticed you haven't been eating very much this week."

Although Emmelisa was full of emotion, she didn't want to cry, so she shook her head. Miss Kindheart could see the pain in the little girl's eyes and wanted to reach out and cuddle her, but instead she said, "Would you like to go home for something to eat?"

Emmelisa could imagine the way Mayja would use this against her if she dared to run home during the day, and yet this offer was so tempting. Until, that is, she thought of all the questions her mother would ask, so she shook her head again.

The teacher thought that there might be problems at home because Emmelisa was part of a single-parent family, although secretly she knew that Emmelisa was being bullied but she didn't know how to deal with the situation.

"If you need to talk to someone about anything...anything at all, I'm always here to listen," Miss Kindheart offered, as she walked back towards the school building.

Eventually, when the bell rang for the start of the afternoon classes, Emmelisa was relieved that playtime was over and she could seek the sanctuary of the classroom.

During the afternoon, after the final lesson of the day, she sensed that something awful was going to happen. Emmelisa was always the last person to enter the cloakroom to collect her coat. She stayed in the classroom to allow all the other children time to put on their coats and leave. Most often, by the time she arrived in the cloakroom, her classmates had already left.

Today, as she entered the cloakroom, there was no one within sight of her classroom but the atmosphere was different—it was eerily silent.

She looked around, as she walked across the floor towards her coat peg, when she heard the door slam behind her.

WHAM!

The next thing she felt was a scarf being pulled tightly around her neck as Mayja Troublemaker screamed in her ear, "SNEAK! LITTLE, UGLY SNEAK!"

Emmelisa was gasping for air and couldn't say anything, when she heard the door to the washroom crash open as Mayja's gang hurtled into the room screaming, "TEACHER'S PET! TEACHER'S PET!"

"WE SAW YOU IN THE PLAYGROUND SQUEALING TO MISS KINDHEART. YOU KNOW WHAT WE DO TO LITTLE, FAT, UGLY GIRLS, WHO TELL TALES, DON'T YOU?" Mayja threatened with a menacing grin.

Emmelisa could hardly breathe, as she tugged furiously at the scarf to allow more air down her windpipe.

Emmelisa's fear of not being able to breathe turned to sudden anger that welled up inside her and exploded as she spun around, ripping the scarf out of Mayja's hands.

As Mayja grabbed a handful of Emmelisa's hair the gang started to chant, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Both girls started to kick and bite each other in a frantic attempt to cause as much pain as possible. Two dogs, in a fight, would not inflict as much damage as these two small girls were prepared to do before either one of them would back down.

The gang could see blood, spittle and strands of hair flying but, instead of trying to pull these opponents apart, they were hysterical and called for more, as the cries of the contestants were drowned by the racket coming from the spectators.

The two fighting girls reeled around the room, as they collided into lockers, scraped their elbows and knocked their heads against the walls of the cloakroom. Neither girl gave in but the fight had to end when they had no energy left to carry on.

The crowd backed off and left the cloakroom. Some members of the gang were laughing and one or two bumped into Emmelisa in an act of bravado as they walked past.

Myna put her arm around her younger sister and escorted her out of the cloakroom, while Emmelisa made her way to the washroom—to wash away the blood and saliva.

As she tided her hair, Emmelisa looked into the mirror and glimpsed her swollen face. She wondered how she could possibly think up an excuse for her battered appearance that would satisfy her mother.

No doubt Mayja would lie to her mother and boast that, at last, she had beaten Emmelisa Planemaker. After all, one day, Mayja Troublemaker, who was willowy thin, blonde and blue-eyed, was going to be a model, whereas, Emmelisa Planemaker, who may be very clever, was a short, dark, ugly troll and would be a spinster all her life. So Mayja thought.

Emmelisa thought that Mayja would make a better model aeroplane, with her long arms and hooked nose, which reminded Emmelisa of the nose on Concorde.

This was the last bitter contest between the two girls, whether Mayja lied to her mother or not because, the following day, the whole school knew about the final showdown—including the Headmistress.

The head of the school was not interested in hearing any excuses from either girl and issued stern threats about measures that would be taken if she as much as heard a whisper about any more of this unfeminine, unruly behaviour.

The headmistress seemed to be more concerned about the reputation of the school and less concerned with finding the root cause of the conflict between the girls.

Everything quietened down for a short time, making Emmelisa feel that she might be able to rebuild the friendship of her former schoolfriends.

However, this respite was very short lived. The schemer was planning a way of dealing with Emmelisa away from the school and, unfortunately, Mayja lived close enough to her rival to exact precisely the kind of torment she had in mind.

So far, being brave enough to stand up for herself in school had caused Emmelisa a great deal of trouble. The next stage in the vendetta, which involved Emmelisa's whole family, was almost unbearable.

Mayja needed a mobile phone so that she could set up, and issue orders to, a long trail of snoops to spy on Emmelisa. She forced one of the gang members to hand over her mobile phone and then she put her plan into operation.

Whenever Emmelisa left home, the gang followed her. The gang members took turns to hang around outside number one Fern Bank Road, so that they could listen and watch the Planemaker family. Every time Emmelisa left the house, one gang member would use her mobile phone to warn another member of the direction in which Emmelisa was travelling, and whether she was alone or with either her mother or her brother.

During the times when Emmelisa was alone, the gang members would try to break her stride as she walked and pulled their faces into sneers or they would bump into her. The meddlesome members of the group were relentless, as they tried to wear down Emmelisa.

Over the following weeks, Mrs. Planemaker began to worry enormously about her daughter, who had changed from a happy, smiling, loving child into a sad, morose, little girl.

Although Emmelisa was unhappy, she still did well in her schoolwork. When she was in the school classroom, she felt at ease and able to put Mayja and her silly pack of hounds out of her mind. Outside the classroom, however, things became much worse.

Someone had reported to the Headmistress, Mrs. Wise, about seeing a number of girls, from Leafy Lea Primary, loitering in Fern Bank Road. When Mrs. Wise questioned all of the girls in the school, they were uncooperative because they were too afraid to either lie or tell the truth. However, she soon realised who was responsible for all the trouble: Mayja was the ringleader. She spoke to Mayja again and then set up a meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Troublemaker to discuss the problem.

If Emmelisa had been asked, she would have pleaded with the Headmistress not to speak with Mrs. Troublemaker, whom Emmelisa suspected would make everything much worse out of spite—and she did.

Mrs. Troublemaker's brother-in-law, Verry Boringman, was unemployed. He was fascinated with electronic gadgetry and, when he was made redundant, he used the money he received to buy all kinds of high tech surveillance equipment. He filled his long, empty days spying on and listening in to people he envied—and he envied more people than he liked.

After Mrs. Troublemaker had been forced to attend Leafy Lea Primary to listen to the headmistress complaining about her younger daughter, she added the Planemaker family to her brother-in-law's surveillance list.

Emmelisa had been bullied at school by a younger schoolgirl and she'd lost most of her school-friends. She'd been followed around for months whenever she left number one Fern Bank Road and nowadays she had to suffer the interference of adults, with whom she had no argument, simply because they enjoyed bullying people who were smaller and weaker and could not fight back.

She often thought, _Pity the Troublemakers don't have something better to do with their time._

The Troublemakers, no doubt, thought that Emmelisa Planemaker should keep her thoughts to herself. As far as members of the Troublemakers were concerned, outsiders' opinions were not welcome and they were best ignored.

If the Troublemakers seemed to be boring to the outside world, then it was only because the rest of the world was not nosy enough! The Troublemakers, who didn't know how to make life interesting and enjoyable, felt that following people around and listening in to conversations that they were not a part of was simply their way of having fun. They didn't care if this was at someone else's expense.

Anyway, if Mrs. Troublemaker's brother-in-law really enjoyed eavesdropping and spying on people, then no one was going to stop him. He didn't even need a reason. He was quite happy to spy on anyone.

His sister-in-law had asked him to spy on a neighbour and he was more than pleased to be given an excuse to spend hours and hours taping tedious conversations between ordinary people in the privacy of their own home.

When she first became aware that Mayja's uncle was listening to the Planemaker family talking to each other in number one Fern Bank Road, Emmelisa was in the school playground. Two of Mayja's gang members walked past Emmelisa very slowly as they repeated a conversation from the previous evening between Dell and his mother.

Mayja, surrounded by her groupies, who were giggling and sniggering, was watching this from the opposite side of the playground. Mayja simply looked smug. From the reaction of all the other schoolchildren, it soon became obvious that everyone had heard the taped conversation.

Emmelisa just felt guilty when she first realised that the whole school knew everything that was said in the Planemaker household—she knew that Dell and her mother had done nothing to deserve this treatment.

She also knew that, although it would be extremely difficult, she would have to tell Dell, but she couldn't face the thought of explaining everything to her mother.
CHAPTER SEVEN

A Unique Computer

...Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.

– J. F. Kennedy, honouring the astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr

By the time Emmelisa had plucked up enough courage to tell Dell about Mayja Troublemaker, school was over for the Easter Holidays. Early on Good Friday morning, two of Dell's friends, Justin and Asif, walked into the driveway of number one, Fern Bank Road. Both boys were casually dressed. Justin, who was of stocky build with a rugged complexion, was wearing blue denim jeans, trainers and a dark blue fleece over a light grey T-shirt. Asif, who was slim and athletic, wore light-coloured, cotton drill trousers and a black sweatshirt.

Justin was less of a favourite with Mrs. Planemaker than Asif, whose father was a doctor. Mrs. Planemaker thought Asif, who was a very quiet, well-mannered young boy, was "a perfect young gentleman." Unfortunately, because of this, Justin and Dell would occasionally torment Asif for being a "mummy's boy."

These taunts were lost on Asif, who was too good-natured, so the teasing rarely lasted more than a few seconds.

Justin knocked on the front door, and waited until Mrs. Planemaker, who opened the door and greeted the two boys warmly, invited them to step inside the house.

"Dell is upstairs, if you want to go up," she suggested.

As Justin and Asif climbed the stairs, the sun, which streaked through the stained glass window on the half-landing, highlighted both boys' hair.

Asif had a shock of jet-black hair, which glistened in an array of blues and purples as the sun's rays bounced on the top of his sleek head. In contrast, Justin had a thick mop of blond hair. The tips of his hair on the sun-drenched staircase were almost white and shone like platinum.

Dell's light brown mass of curls, which were flattened on one side of his head, looked as though he had just tumbled out of bed when the two boys entered his bedroom. He was sitting in front of his computer, playing with a new computer game.

"Cool! This is a great game," exclaimed Asif when he saw Dell.

"Hi!" Dell said, without interrupting the game.

"Is this Dragonian III?" Justin asked. Without waiting for a reply, he added,

"My dad promised to buy me this. It's all sold out. Not a single game left in the whole of Pierton."

Dell and Asif knew that this was a standard excuse from Justin, who always wanted to give the impression that he was one of the first to receive the latest of anything that was the most "in-thing" at the time. So they said nothing.

Sometimes, Justin could be quite a pain, but he was quick witted enough to read the minds of his two closest friends, Dell and Asif, and he realised when it was best to shut up. The three boys seemed to understand each other well, and were very good friends.

"Here," Dell said, as he rose from his chair. "You have a go, Justin."

"Thanks," Justin replied as he jumped into Dell's seat and started to attack the menacing, armour-clad "dragonians" on the computer screen.

For the remainder of the morning, Dell, Asif and Justin took turns playing Dragonian III, as they competed to see who would be able to reach the highest score. Asif, who had far less to say than his two friends, won.

Justin was keen to beat Asif. However, he decided he would increase his chances of winning, if he could play one of the games with which he was more familiar.

"Do you have a copy of Druid Warrior II?" he asked Dell.

"Yes," Dell replied, then he opened a computer folder, so that he could find and load Druid Warrior II.

When he tried to load the game, however, it would not work properly. A message appeared on the screen stating that, in order to play this game, a particular piece of software, Bodea, would need to be installed on the hard disc drive of the computer.

Although Dell thought that the software was already on the hard disc, when they looked through the stored files, they couldn't find it.

Asif and Justin lost interest in playing any more computer games and suggested a game of football in Pierton Park.

As Dell agreed to go with his two friends, he was still feeling irritated because he could not find "Bodea" in any of his computer folders.

Asif and Justin were too impatient to wait any longer, so the three friends made an agreement to meet later, in the early afternoon, on the playing field in Pierton Park.

After the two boys left, Dell continued to make one final search.  
Eventually he stopped looking when he realised that, somewhere, he still had the compact disc with the Bodea software: if only he could remember where!

Emmelisa, who wanted to talk to Dell, heard Justin and Asif leave. She thought that now would be a good time to explain about Mayja Troublemaker and her gang. When she looked for Dell in his bedroom, she could not find him, so she went downstairs to ask her mother whether Dell had gone out with his friends.

"No," Mrs. Planemaker replied. "I thought I heard the sound of a ladder upstairs—maybe Dell is looking for something in the loft."

Dell had not been in the loft for very long because he knew exactly what he was looking for and he'd quickly found it.

When Emmelisa returned upstairs, Dell was back in his bedroom and she could hear the sound of something being moved around.

As she entered his room, Dell said, "Hi, Lisa. Give us a hand, will you?" as he pointed to an old dusty computer.

Emmelisa recognised the old machine that had been stored away after their father died.

"What are you doing?" she asked Dell. "That old thing doesn't work."

"Oh, I know," Dell replied. "You know...when Dad died, Mum was too busy to be bothered with it. Uncle Hugh bought us the new computer...the old one got shoved in the loft."

"It won't work—so why did you bring it down?"

"Well, I can't find the compact disc with the software I need for a computer game. It's definitely on this computer, though. I remember playing this game loads of times."

Emmelisa thought her brother was mad. The old computer would have to work so that he could transfer the software to the new computer.

"Do you think you can fix it?" Emmelisa asked, not expecting a positive reply.

Dell didn't seem to mind, as he responded, "Don't know. Worth a try though."

When Emmelisa realised that Dell would not give up, she set about helping him.

"I need to move this," Dell said, as he tugged at a set of drawers.

"Why?"

"Cos the telephone point should be behind here," Dell explained.

"Why do you need to connect to a telephone line?"

"There are lots of web site addresses stored in the history file for the net. I don't need all of them—I'll have to download the web pages to see which ones I want to keep."

As far as Emmelisa was concerned, none of this made any sense, so she decided to ask less and help more.

However, her curiosity overcame her disinterest, "Does the telephone line still work?"

"I don't know." Dell was fed up with all these questions!

Dell was unaware that Uncle Hugh had tried to connect the new computer onto the Internet, using this telephone point, without any success. He'd found a card with the name of the telephone engineer, Space Satellite, in one of the desk drawers. Although there was a telephone number on the card, when he tried the number, the line was disconnected. He contacted directory enquiries but they didn't have a telephone number listed for Celestial Communications.

Emmelisa was equally unaware that her uncle had already tried to use the concealed telephone point, but she still thought, "Why is it that boys can be so determined to do something, without applying any common sense?" However, instead of making any more comments or asking irritating questions, she helped Dell to slide the drawers along the carpet, in order to reach the telephone point.

Together they disconnected the new computer, which they lifted onto the set of drawers and replaced with the old computer.

When the old computer was set up and plugged into the wall socket, a tiny green light lit up on the computer.

"Look," Dell said to his sister. "It might work."

Before Dell had time to switch on the computer, he heard Mrs. Planemaker call to say that lunch was ready. "Wash your hands, before you come down," she added.

"In a minute," Dell responded.

Emmelisa was aware that Dell's minutes could last for half an hour, so she said, "I thought you were going to meet your mates this afternoon—for a game of football."

"I am...So?"

"What time are you supposed to be meeting?"

"Half past one."

"Well. If you play with this computer much longer...by the time you've had lunch, you'll be late for your game of football."

"Okay," Dell shrugged. "I'll try this later."

"Did you hear me?" their mother called, a second time.

"Coming," Dell replied.

Dell and Emmelisa didn't wait any longer as the savoury aroma of sizzling hot pizza wafted upstairs past their noses and tempted them downstairs.

After he'd finished his lunch, Dell had less than twenty minutes to find his soccer boots and then take out his bike from the garage and cycle to Pierton Park.

He arrived at the gates of the park, with enough time to chain his bike to the park railings, without being noticeably late. Asif and Justin, who had joined in with a group of schoolmates, were already kicking around a football, when he arrived at the large playing field in the park.

Dell had an enjoyable afternoon, charging around the field as his

foot made little contact with the ball and his shins suffered a great deal of contact with most of the other players' boots!

When he arrived home in time for tea, he was dirty, tired, bruised and very hungry.

At the sight of her son's battered legs, dirty face and rumpled hair, Mrs. Planemaker said, "I see you lost!"

"I scored a goal!" her son announced triumphantly. Then he added, more honestly, "They said I could have it, anyway—it came off a defender..."

Although this additional piece of information meant little to Mrs. Planemaker, she didn't need an explanation about the "why and why nots" of scoring goals in a game of football. Instead she said, "Wash your hands and face. Tea's ready."

After tea, he went up to his room and the first thing he saw was the old computer. The green light was no longer lit up, even though the plug was still in the socket. He tried switching on the computer— nothing happened.

"Lisa!" he called out, but there was no reply. He found his sister watching television in the living room.

"While I was out this afternoon—did you do anything to the old computer?"

"No," Emmelisa replied defensively. "I haven't been near your room since you left. I went shopping with Mum this afternoon. I'm not interested in your old computer!" Emmelisa looked hurt. She felt her brother was accusing her in some way, with no good reason for doing so.

"There was a green light lit up on the computer. It's not on now and I can't get it to come on. I've tried switching the computer on—it still won't work."

Showing his disgust at this interruption, Cosmos, who had been curled up on the sofa next to Emmelisa, jumped off the sofa and slowly strode out of the room.

Emmelisa seized the excuse to go after him and walked past Dell, without saying a word.

By the time she reached the hallway, Cosmos was almost at the top of the stairs. As she followed him, he headed straight for Dell's bedroom.

When she entered Dell's room, Emmelisa did not look towards the old computer. She only became aware of the green light shining on the computer when Cosmos sprang onto the workstation top.

"Dell!" she called out to her brother. "Come and see this!"

From the sound of his sister's voice, Dell knew that something had happened in his bedroom, so he ran upstairs to see what was going on. He arrived just in time to see four white paws gently touching the keys on the keyboard, as Cosmos strolled softly across the front of the screen of the old computer.

Before Dell or Emmelisa could do anything, the screen suddenly came to life. The computer did not perform the usual process of loading software into the memory of the computer. Instead, the children thought the computer was about to explode, because the screen was radiating a brilliant, white light.

Their mouths dropped open when a spaceman with a long face, arched eyebrows, pointed ears and a bald head appeared on the screen.

"Hello! I'm A. Leon Spaceman. You must be Dylan and Emmelisa."

Dell and Emmelisa were too amazed to respond.

"You seem surprised," A. Leon Spaceman continued. "Let me explain who I am. I am a search engineer. I knew your father—I helped him to search for the information he needed to build his model aeroplane—the Flying Machine PH1."

Dell turned to his sister, and said, "I'd forgotten about Dad's model aeroplane."

After Mr. Planemaker died, because there were so many things to do and arrangements to be made, Mrs. Planemaker forgot that a large parcel had been delivered on the morning he died.

Mr. Planemaker's brother, Hugh, had kindly offered to escort his sister-in-law to all the places she needed to visit, to make the necessary arrangements.

Several days passed before she eventually entered the garage, to drive out, what was now, the family car. She didn't look for the stored package. It was weeks later, when she finally realised that the model aeroplane kit was missing and was no longer in the garage.

Initially, she thought the kit had been stolen. Although she considered mentioning the problem to Hugh, she didn't want to burden him. Also, she considered contacting the police but, before she did, she decided to make one or two checks.

She knew that Mr. Planemaker had ordered the kit through the Internet, and he'd used his credit card to pay for the order.

She found her husband's credit card accounts and searched to find an item of purchase listed for "Heavenly Fliers;" but found nothing.

When the kit was delivered, she had vaguely remembered signing a receipt. The company address and telephone number would be on the receipt—if she could find it!

She did a thorough search of Mr. Planemaker's saved bills and receipts. At first, she thought the receipt must have been lost but, as she was about to give up, she found the lost receipt. It had been accidentally attached, by a paper clip, to another bill. There was an address and a telephone number on the receipt.

However, when she tried to telephone the company, the line had been disconnected and directory enquiries had never heard of "Heavenly Fliers."

Contacting the police about a non-existent package from a company that did not exist seemed to be pointless. So, unless she received a bill requesting additional payment, she decided to forget about disappearing packages.

The children knew nothing about either the delivery of a large parcel or their mother's attempts to trace "Heavenly Fliers."

"I don't remember Dad building a model aeroplane," Emmelisa thought aloud.

"He didn't," Dell responded. "You don't remember 'cos you weren't interested...you only became involved when there were some pictures to look at."

Emmelisa still wasn't interested, and decided not to continue the conversation.

"Hello!" A. Leon Spaceman intervened. "Dell—I think your sister has had other things on her mind—especially since you left Leafy Lea Primary."

Dell and Emmelisa were stunned at this remark.

"How does he know about Leafy Lea?" Dell asked Emmelisa.

Instead, A. Leon Spaceman answered, "I know a great deal about the Planemaker family. For instance...maybe Dell can recall his father telling him about Whiz Kidd Maintenance."

Dell couldn't remember, exactly, although the name did sound familiar.

"Remember...Mr. Kidd said that this computer had been specially customised for your father. This is a unique computer. Everything about the Planemaker family is stored on the hard disc—you could say that it is a blueprint of your family history."

"Do you know everything?" Emmelisa gasped.

"Oh!" A. Leon Spaceman said. "Do not worry. None of the information stored is personal. The computer cannot read your thoughts or follow you around—being followed around bothers you Emmelisa."

Emmelisa was feeling very uneasy; she half glanced at Dell, who was showing very little concern because he didn't know what the spaceman was referring to. She was wondering how A. Leon Spaceman knew about her problem, so she asked him directly, "How do you know so much if you don't follow me around?"

"I am your personal search engineer. For the last three years you have not needed my assistance—now you need some help. That is my job. When any member of the Planemaker family has a problem—I am here to assist."

"But how do you _know_?" Emmelisa asked.

"How do I know that you need help? How does the sun know how to rise each morning? How do rivers know how to reach the sea? How do babies know how to breathe when they first enter the world? Some things occur so naturally...there does not need to be a reason or an explanation."

"You just know?" Emmelisa inquired curiously.

"The world is full of all kinds of things. Some of these things are good and some are bad. When you are surrounded by goodness in your life—you do not need to seek help or advice. But if evil forces surround you—you may not find the help you seek."

"So when you can't find the help you're looking for..." Emmelisa pondered.

"Then you might find guidance in the most unlikely places," A. Leon Spaceman finished the sentence for her.

"So _you_ found _me_?"

"Yes, Emmelisa...I found you...I will guide you in your search for happiness and allow you to be the person you want to become."

Then A. Leon Spaceman disappeared. The screen went blank and the computer closed down.
CHAPTER EIGHT

A Game of Cat and Mouse

It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.  
– Deng Xiaoping, _Daily Telegraph 1997_

Dell tumbled out of bed the next morning. He stretched his legs, before he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and glanced in the direction of the computer.

The green light was still on.

He wondered if the odd-looking man with the pointed ears, who was wearing a silver space outfit, was part of a dream. He considered standing still for a while to see whether the spaceman would suddenly reappear but instead, he sauntered across the bedroom floor towards the computer and pressed the on/off switch.

The computer went through the normal process of checking the hard disc drive for faults and loading software into the computer's memory.

Dell was reassured that everything was working properly, and there were no talking aliens lurking inside the computer as he pushed away all thoughts of strange men in space suits.

The desktop of the computer was exactly the way he remembered when he clicked on the icon to open the window for the web. Then he tried to connect onto the Internet, but a dialogue box on the screen said that the modem couldn't detect a dial tone.

Although Dell was half asleep and still wearing his pyjamas, he was awake enough to realise that the telephone line wasn't working. The telephone lead was still inserted into the telephone point that had been concealed by the chest of drawers. Dell disconnected the lead, which he then inserted in the original telephone point that he used for the new computer.

When he tried to connect to the Internet again, he realised that he should have used this telephone point the first time because a connection was made immediately.

As he was about to search through the History File, he heard his mother yell, "Dell, are you up? Uncle Hugh will be here in five minutes. He's taking you and Emmelisa swimming this morning. Remember?"

Dell had lost track of the days. Yesterday's Good Friday holiday had seemed like a Saturday. When his mother mentioned swimming, he suddenly realised that this was a Saturday morning.

"Down in a minute," he responded, trying to sound as wide awake as possible. He switched off the computer and headed for the bathroom.

Saturday mornings were always a good excuse for avoiding too much contact with soap and water—he would be wet enough in the swimming pool.

Less than five minutes later, he was back in his bedroom, pulling on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt and his favourite trainers. He looked around the room, which was reasonably tidy, for his swimming trunks. Unfortunately, the tidiness was disorganised. Although his mother would tell him to "tidy up his room," he knew that he never succeeded in convincing her that he'd obeyed her request in an orderly fashion.

"Tidying up" was time consuming and the room didn't stay tidy for very long, anyway. Dell had managed to satisfy his mother's demands for a neat appearance by stashing away the clutter in any available space: drawers, cupboards, and wardrobe.

Dell was in a hurry this morning and wished he'd been better organised.

_I'm sure my trunks are around here—somewhere!_ he thought, as he desperately opened drawers and rummaged through their contents.

He was about to call out, _Mum, have you seen my swimming trunks?_ which wouldn't have been a good idea, when he noticed a pile of football kit, on the floor, close to the set of drawers. He lifted the assorted items of crumpled sportswear and spotted his blue swimming trunks.

"Found 'em!" he murmured.

"Did you hear me?" his mother shouted from the bottom of the stairs in the hallway.

"Coming!" Dell responded, as he retrieved his trunks, which he wrapped in a towel that he grabbed from the bathroom, before he made his way downstairs.

By the time he reached the kitchen, Uncle Hugh had arrived and Emmelisa, who was practically drumming her fingers on the breakfast bar, had a bored expression on her face.

"Sorry I'm late," Dell said to his uncle. "I had to close down the computer."

Emmelisa didn't respond to the remark about the computer though she was reminded of the strange man with the bald head and silver cloak, who said that he was going to guide her away from her problems. At least, she thought that was what he meant.

"Drink this," his mother said firmly, as she handed Dell a glass of freshly poured milk.

As soon as Dell had finished drinking, Uncle Hugh said. "Got everything?" and then walked out of the house to his parked car. Dell and Emmelisa followed immediately behind.

On the way to the local swimming pool, Dell explained to his uncle about the old computer. He didn't mention either the spaceman or the disconnected line.

Emmelisa, who was listening to the conversation, began to wonder if the weird looking spaceman was in her imagination, because Dell gave the impression that the computer had worked straight away, without any problem and, if that was the case, then she had definitely been dreaming!

At the pool, no more was said about old computers. Some of Dell's friends were already in the pool as Dell and Emmelisa dived in to join them.

Emmelisa loved Saturday mornings because the swimming pool was a Mayja-free zone. None of the Troublemakers was in the least bit interested in swimming. The friends Emmelisa met soon forgot about school, as they had fun and enjoyed each other's company.

That morning the time spent in the pool raced by and they were disappointed when it was time to leave. By the time they returned from the swimming pool, it was well past midday so Uncle Hugh stayed for lunch.

Before he left, in the early afternoon, he asked Dell, "Do you need any help sorting through the old files on the computer?"

Dell thanked his uncle, but said that there wasn't a problem.

"Well, if there's anything you can't solve, give me a call," he offered as he left.

After he'd gone, Emmelisa shadowed Dell, as he went up to his bedroom.

"Does the computer work properly now?" she asked.

Dell considered the question carefully because he was uncertain whether he should mention the spaceman, who might or might not have appeared on the computer screen last night.

He knew that he would receive one of his sister's pained expressions that meant she thought he lived on another planet, if he'd been dreaming. Even the idea of having to suffer one of those looks was enough to stop him mentioning anything as out of the ordinary as a talking spaceman on an old computer!

So, he simply answered, "Yes," before he added, "I'll show you."

Dell sat in front of the computer, while his sister stood next to him, as he reconnected onto the Internet.

"This is the History File," Dell explained.

He pointed to a list of web site addresses, saying, "I need to go through these—I can save the addresses I want—then transfer them to the new computer."

"You said you wanted to transfer something else for one of your computer games. Have you already looked for it?"

"No, not yet," Dell replied, without adding that he'd almost forgotten that finding the Bodea software was the main reason for bringing down the computer from the loft.

He was lost in his own thoughts and didn't realise that Emmelisa's question concealed her true intent—she was cleverly holding something back, until Dell had finally succeeded in transferring all the files he needed. She was up to something, but Dell was past wondering about his sister's ploys.

Whatever she wanted, she was determined not to spoil her chances by being too inquisitive.

To avoid upsetting her brother, she said, "I'll see you later."

Dell was glad that she'd decided to leave. He searched through the stored folders and found the Bodea File. Then he began to sort through the History File.

Emmelisa went down to the living room and switched on the television. She was kneeling on the sofa and not paying very much attention to the television when her mother appeared in the doorway.

Emmelisa saw that her mother was dressed to go out. She was immaculately made up and she was wearing smart, camel trousers with her shiny, leopard skin print raincoat and a matching silk scarf.

Her beautiful hair, which was swept up in a mass of auburn curls, framed her attractive face. When she glanced at her daughter, Mrs. Planemaker's azure blue eyes sparkled as she smiled and asked, "I'm going over to see Melody—do you want to go with me?"

"No, thanks," Emmelisa replied. "I'm watching a video."

"See you later," her mother said.

After Mrs. Planemaker had gone, Emmelisa moved from the sofa and walked over to the television. She browsed through the videos, which were stored on a shelf, underneath the television.

As she looked through the titles of the video recordings, she suddenly heard something that sounded very familiar. The words and phrasing were exactly the same as her mother's, but the voice, which belonged to a young woman on the television, was different. It made Emmelisa feel quite odd.

She sat on the floor and listened. The woman was talking about the weather. Emmelisa looked at the television screen, and saw a map of the British Isles covered in small clouds with raindrops.

The weather woman, who seemed to be in her mid thirties, was standing in front of the map. As she described the pattern of weather for the rest of the Easter break, she pointed occasionally to the rain clouds. Although the weather outlook for the spring bank holiday was bleak, she still managed to smile every time she faced the viewer (and the cameraman).

She had short, blonde hair and a long, thin face with a slightly protruding chin. Her nose, between her pale blue eyes, which were slightly crossed, was long like her face and hooked. She wore a skimpy red dress with a scooped neckline that showed too much pink skin—she reminded Emmelisa of a lobster.

As she talked about "lows" and the direction of the wind, she started to phrase her words differently; she sounded like Mrs. Planemaker. Emmelisa was beginning to wonder if she'd imagined that this woman sounded just like her mother when she heard the following words: "The weather will be changeable over the next twenty-four hours, The wind will be chasing the clouds, without actually blowing them away. You could say the wind and the clouds will be playing 'a Cosmos and mouse game'..."

Emmelisa thought she was hearing things: "a Cosmos and mouse game?"

Though the phrase was very familiar, it wasn't from hearing those words spoken on the television.

Dell would tease Emmelisa, whenever she wanted to borrow something belonging to her brother, which caused arguments and tears. He would play a game of "now you can have it, now you can't," causing Emmelisa to cry and complain to her mother.

Dell knew that this game provoked a great deal of frustration and, although he never meant to hurt his little sister, he also enjoyed tormenting her. Unfortunately, Emmelisa never seemed to learn that if she lost interest in whatever it was she wanted, then Dell would become bored just as quickly. Instead, she would seek the support and comfort of her mother, who once referred to this as a game of "Cosmos and mouse," which made Emmelisa smile.

Nowadays, the phrase was used whenever Dell went too far. Although Emmelisa was familiar with hearing personal, family phrases repeated in the school playground, she doubted if she'd really heard her pet's name on the television; surely it must be in her imagination.

She knew that her mother would think she was being fanciful, and Emmelisa was afraid that her family would think she was ill if she said that she'd heard someone on the television talking just like her mother. Even Emmelisa knew that people watched television; not the other way round.

She'd listened to enough, but as she picked up the remote control and switched channels, to her horror, the channel she'd chosen was showing a commercial advertising cat food with three people who looked and behaved exactly like her mother, her brother, and herself. Also, there was a black cat with four white paws!

The setting for the commercial was a kitchen, which looked remarkably like the one in number one Fern Bank Road. Everything seemed to be over familiar—even the bowl containing the cat food was exactly like Cosmos's dish.

The voice-over for the commercial was coordinated with the cat, to give the impression that the cat was having a ridiculous conversation with the three people in the advertisement.

For a moment, Emmelisa stared at the screen—at a boring commercial, with three very stupid people and a cat, mimicking the Planemaker family.

It would be difficult to prove, but she knew that the Troublemakers and Mr. Boringman were at the root of this. They weren't content with bullying Emmelisa at school; their intention was to discredit and embarrass the whole family.

Emmelisa was beginning to feel like a small mouse in the game of Cosmos and mouse. Mayja Troublemaker's lies had led to a group of malicious busybodies following Emmelisa around for their own personal enjoyment. They were eager to make fun of a ten-year-old girl and her one parent family. Emmelisa felt sick.

Apparently Cosmos was not very impressed either.

Earlier, when her mother appeared in the doorway to the living room, Cosmos had strolled past Mrs. Planemaker and gently rubbed his head against the back of her legs, before he sprang onto the sofa and curled up beside Emmelisa.

Soon after the commercial had appeared on the screen, Cosmos showed his disgust by walking across the remote control that was lying on the floor at Emmelisa's side. Immediately, the screen went blank as Cosmos successfully switched off the television and strode out of the room with his tail held high in the air.

Emmelisa gave a wry smile, as her eyes followed her pet's disdainful exit. Then she remembered Cosmos walking across the keyboard of the old computer, which reminded her of the spaceman. He'd said that he was going to help her. Well, she certainly could use some advice. She would need to find a way of acquiring the old computer. Meanwhile she wouldn't say anything at all, to either Dell or her mother.

She skipped out of the room, bounded up the stairs, strolled into her bedroom and found one of her favourite books to read.

During breakfast on Sunday morning, Emmelisa made several attempts at explaining what was on her mind. Dell hadn't been listening and Emmelisa hadn't spoken clearly enough to make any sense.

"What is it you're going on about, Lisa?" Dell said in an exasperated tone.

"Oh, well!" Emmelisa exclaimed. "I...I just wondered what you were going to do with the old computer, that's all."

"I'm not going to do anything with the old computer. I told you...I've finished...I've transferred all the files—so I suppose I'll put the computer back in the loft."

"Can I have it?" Emmelisa blurted out.

"What?" Dell asked.

"Can I have the old computer...please?" Emmelisa replied in a calmer voice.

"You've never shown much interest," Dell responded.

"Please Dell—can I?"

"What's all the fuss about?" Mrs. Planemaker intervened.

"Emmelisa wants the old computer," Dell said flatly.

Mrs. Planemaker was feeling relieved at the thought that perhaps her daughter had found a new interest. It was true that Emmelisa had shown very little interest in anything at all over the past few months.

Although this sudden fascination with computers was unexpected, Mrs. Planemaker was willing to be as helpful as she could to bring a smile back to her daughter's lovely face.

Her daughter's sadness was very worrying; it pained her mother to see such a pleasant child so permanently anxious and worried at such a young age.

When she was born, Emmelisa had a small round face, blue eyes, a tiny, snubbed nose and a beautiful smile, but she'd lost much of her plumpness and her face was thinner. Her limbs were lengthening and, because she ate so little, she'd lost a few pounds in weight.

Emmelisa went swimming every Saturday and after school on Wednesdays, she attended ballet classes. Although she'd lost weight, the weekly exercise gave her muscles a well-defined appearance and Emmelisa looked healthy and remained an extremely pretty, attractive, little girl.

Mrs. Planemaker recognised a sparkle in her daughter's eyes that had been missing for far too long, and she wasn't going to let the opportunity slip by. If this was a way of making Emmelisa happy, then she was going to give her as much encouragement as she could.

"Ask Uncle Hugh," Mrs. Planemaker said to her daughter. "Ask Uncle Hugh to help you set up the computer in your bedroom."

"You can't use the 'net," Dell interrupted.

"I don't need to use the 'net," Emmelisa said confidently. She remembered that the spaceman appeared on the screen without even being connected to the Internet; without even being switched on!

"What are you going to use the computer for?" Dell enquired.

Emmelisa refused to answer the question. Instead she said, "I don't need to ask Uncle Hugh. Dell can help me to carry the computer into my room. I won't need any more help."

"All right, Lisa, I'll help you," Dell relented and decided to be kinder to his sister. He didn't understand why she was so touchy these days but he was sensitive enough to understand she must be upset about something. Since he left Leafy Lea Primary, Emmelisa had slowly changed and she wasn't the happy-go-lucky sister he once knew.

Emmelisa smiled at her brother and sighed inwardly, although she didn't know why she was beginning to feel so much better.
CHAPTER NINE

Questions and Answers

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to

be master—that's all."

– Lewis Carroll, _Through the Looking-Glass_

By Sunday lunchtime, Dell's old computer had been transferred into Emmelisa's bedroom, which now had a completely new appearance.

After breakfast, Mrs. Planemaker had telephoned Uncle Hugh to explain about the old computer. She'd asked him if he would help her to move around a few pieces of furniture to make room for the computer in her daughter's bedroom.

When Uncle Hugh said he would be over by mid morning, Mrs. Planemaker wondered how she would manage without him because he was always so willing to help at a moment's notice.

By the time he arrived, Mrs. Planemaker had already started to pack away some of the things in the small guestroom that had been Mr. Planemaker's study, which remained precisely the way he'd left it. Even the stacks of magazines, collected over many years, were piled on the floor exactly as Mr. Planemaker had placed them.

Over the years, Mrs. Planemaker had occasionally dusted around the room without disturbing anything. The family photographs, the glass paperweight and the desk set of pens and pencils on the mahogany desk with the green leather inlay, hadn't moved more than an inch from their original positions. The golf trophies in the bookcase with Mr. Planemaker's collection of books were dusted without being moved at all.

After such a long time, the decision to disturb anything in the room had been difficult, but Mrs. Planemaker had finally decided to move her husband's desk into Emmelisa's bedroom.

To create enough space for the desk, a chest of drawers under the south-facing window in the bedroom would have to be moved first.

She felt sad as she began emptying the contents of the desk drawers but, before any furniture could be moved, all the drawers had to be removed so that, with Uncle Hugh's help, she could lift and carry the desk into Emmelisa's bedroom.

When Uncle Hugh arrived, Dell was in the kitchen having a drink of water.

"Hi Uncle Hugh, you'll find Mum upstairs in Dad's old study. She's packing away some of Dad's stuff. I'll come up after I've finished this," Dell said, as he raised the glass of water, as if he were about to give a toast.

Dell's uncle had a quick word with his nephew about Manchester United and then made his way upstairs.

"Hello," he said to his sister-in-law, when he appeared in the doorway of Mr. Planemaker's old study. "Can I give you a hand with that?"

The two adults, with the assistance of the children, moved the chest of drawers and transferred the heavy desk to its new location.

When the desk was carefully placed close to the window in Emmelisa's room, and all the drawers were put back in place, Mrs. Planemaker was quietly pleased that the desk was about to be used again.

The rich mahogany desk, with the brass handles on the six drawers, added elegance to the room and made Emmelisa feel very grown up. The matching Captain's chair with the green leather upholstery was too big for the room but Emmelisa was content to see her dad's desk in her own room.

When the computer was placed on top of the desk, the room seemed to shrink but Emmelisa was too excited to notice or care.

Mrs. Planemaker said, "Is this okay?" as she nodded towards the new arrangement.

"Oh, yes!" her daughter responded as she thought to herself, "This is very okay!"

"Do you need any help setting up the computer?" Uncle Hugh asked his niece.

"No, Dell said he would help me," Emmelisa replied.

"Good. I'll leave you and Dell to set it up. If it doesn't work, I'll check it over for you."

The two children looked at each other with expressions that said, "We'll fix it!"

Mrs. Planemaker and Uncle Hugh left them to it.

Dell connected all the leads and pushed the plug firmly into the electric wall socket, but when the power was turned on, the computer remained lifeless.

Emmelisa knew that Dell would say the computer was useless so, before he could make any suggestions that might cause an argument, she quickly reminded him, "The computer didn't work the first time you set it up in your room. Remember?"

Without waiting for a reply she added, "Maybe it needs to settle or something. Maybe we should just leave it for a while."

Dell thought this was a typical remark from someone who knew nothing at all about computers. Of course he remembered that the computer didn't work.

When Cosmos jumped onto the mouse and the computer burst into life, he naturally assumed that there had been a loose connection and the cat had connected the computer by accident by pressing against a loose wire.

"Don't be stupid..." Dell was about to continue but instead of the usual stubborn response he was accustomed to receiving from his young sister, as he looked at Emmelisa, he thought she was about to cry.

"Okay, okay...I'll leave the computer—you sort it out. But don't blame me if it won't work."

Emmelisa was too upset to say anything. As she bit back the tears, she looked around the room for one of her favourite soft toys to cuddle to distract attention away from the fact that she could not speak when, to her relief, Cosmos strolled into the room and jumped deftly onto the bed.

While she edged herself away from the computer to the side of the bed, Cosmos lightly tiptoed across the duvet and brushed his soft, silky head against the back of Emmelisa's knees.

The tears that threatened to well up in her eyes suddenly disappeared, as Cosmos purred gently and nudged against her.

She cleared her throat quietly and said, "Thanks, Dell, please don't say anything to Uncle Hugh," but by then, Dell was half way across the landing heading for the stairs.

Uncle Hugh agreed to stay for lunch. During the meal, the two children didn't mention the computer, so he assumed it was up and working.

In the afternoon, Mrs Planemaker, Uncle Hugh, Dell and Emmelisa visited the children's grandparents and stayed for tea.

Gran had prepared homemade scones and fruitcake and piles of hot toasted muffins with her own special raspberry jam. Although they'd been scoffing chocolate Easter eggs all afternoon, they still ate until they couldn't take another bite.

By the time they arrived home, Dell had forgotten about the computer but, as soon as they walked into the house, Emmelisa was keen to go up to her room without drawing attention to herself.

To her amazement, Dell announced that he wanted to do something in his bedroom without offering any explanation about what he intended to do. If Dell was going to be so secretive, it was fine by Emmelisa—she most certainly was not going to inquire about whatever it was he was hiding.

When he disappeared upstairs, she could hardly believe her luck. If she didn't draw too much attention from her mother, she would be able to disappear up to her room, where she could try to get the computer working without anyone knowing about it.

Fortunately, the telephone started to ring before she had thought of an excuse to go upstairs to her bedroom. Mrs. Planemaker picked up the receiver and said, "Hello," then she turned her head slightly and mouthed the name "Melody" to her daughter who, knowing that the two women would talk for hours, replied, "I'm going up to my room."

She didn't go upstairs immediately. Instead, she started to look for Cosmos, but she couldn't find him in any of his favoured resting places.

One of his favourite places, which gave him the opportunity to look out and watch anything and everything that moved within his peripheral vision, was stretching out on the windowsill in the lounge. He also enjoyed sprawling on the couch when he was feeling extremely lazy and refused to budge if anyone tried to sit beside him.

Cosmos had been discovered in a basket lined with purple silk and, as the colour might suggest, he was very pompous in his personal cleansing habits. He would sit regally on the fireside chair as he maintained his sleek appearance of velvety, black fur and downy, brilliant-white paws, because sitting on the floor was not good enough for Cosmos. But his most favourite place of all was curled up in the kitchen by the central heating boiler, where he would snooze for hours, at any time of day.

Although she was unable to find him after searching everywhere, she decided not to interrupt her mother's conversation on the telephone to ask her if she'd seen Cosmos go outside. Instead, she climbed the stairs quietly to avoid disturbing Dell.

She glanced at the old computer as soon as she entered her bedroom, and wondered if the blank screen would burst into life simply by being looked at. The computer did not respond to her stare.

The computer did not respond when she pressed the power button, so she decided to check if everything was connected correctly. Firstly, she checked that the plug was firmly embedded in the socket: it was. Secondly, she checked that all the connectors were firmly seated: they were.

Then she checked that the mouse and the keyboard were connected correctly: they were not. She felt a sudden rush of confidence that the computer might work if she changed these connections around.

Dell had been so superior when he'd said that she'd never shown much interest in computers. Well, if she could make the computer work after he'd set it up incorrectly, then she would show him whether or not she knew anything about computers.

Her moment of triumph was short lived. The computer refused to work—even with the connectors correctly plugged in. She sat very still in front of the computer as she thought about what to do next—in the same way her dad used to sit in front of the same computer as he mulled over a problem.

The very last thing she was going to do was to ask Dell to help her!

In the stillness, Cosmos crept into the room. Emmelisa was unaware of his presence until he landed lightly on the keyboard.

Nothing happened. She gave a little laugh and said, "Cosmos! Even you can't fix the computer this time!"

As she spoke, she heard the sound of her own name drifting across the landing. Dell was calling out to her. At first, she ignored the call, but then she heard a slight knock on her bedroom door, followed by, "Lisa, can I come in?"

Emmelisa turned her head towards the door and was about to say, _Go away!_ when she felt Cosmos brush his tail softly against the back of her hand.

Another voice said, "Hello, Emmelisa. Good to see you again. Can I help?"

The voice came directly from the computer screen and, as soon as she turned round to face the screen, Emmelisa saw Mr. A. Leon Spaceman. She tried to reply but she was too stunned to speak. Then she heard two voices speaking at precisely the same time.

Dell repeated his question, "Lisa, can I come in?" and A. Leon Spaceman asked again, "Can I help you?"

"Yes," Emmelisa squeaked and Dell entered the room.

"Oh, I see you got the computer to work," he said, as he walked over to look at the screen.

"Can I borrow your glue stick, please. I can't find mine."

Emmelisa knew that the stick of glue had probably rolled under Dell's bed or was under a pile of clothes lying on the floor. Dell was too lazy to look properly and he knew it would be quicker to borrow from his sister, who always seemed to know exactly where everything was, even when her room was in its most untidy state—which, unlike her brother's, wasn't very often.

Emmelisa pointed towards her schoolbag and said, "In there—pass it to me. I'll get it for you."

Dell picked up the schoolbag that was covered in bubblegum badges, which Emmelisa had collected from the bubblegum club on the Internet. He handed the bag to his sister, who pulled out the stick of glue like a magician pulling a rabbit from a top hat.

"Here," she said, "Take it, but I want it back."

"Thanks," Dell said as he left the room. He was obviously engrossed with something because he didn't pay much attention to the computer and hardly seemed to notice Mr. A. Leon Spaceman.

Emmelisa was waiting for the door to close before she spoke to the friendly baldheaded man with the pointed ears, who was waiting patiently.

"I do need some help," she blurted out finally.

"What is the problem?"

"My life doesn't seem to be my own," she replied.

"In what way?"

"There's a girl at school, Mayja Troublemaker. She's the school bully. Everybody's frightened of her. Except me. She can't push me around the way she pushes everyone else around. So she tells lies to try to make me feel small. Now her whole family follows me around everywhere I go.

"I've no freedom. They try to bump into me. They mimic me so that I'm becoming a zombie without any movements they can copy. I'm no longer me. Worse than that, they listen in to everything that's said here—in this house. EVERYTHING.

"If my mother is discussing something personal, I know that they are listening. They repeat things in the school playground that we've said at home—in front of everybody. THE TROUBLEMAKERS. THEY TELL EVERYBODY EVERYTHING."

"Ah, the Troublemakers. There are troublemakers all over the world. They interfere because they lead such dull lives. Everybody else seems to enjoy a much more interesting life than they do. I know it is difficult to understand. You are very young and this is all very new and unpleasant for you."

"But why do they tell lies? Why do people believe their lies?"

"The good people in the world do not believe everything they hear. They keep an open mind. Time has a way of bringing the truth out into the open. Often this takes a long time—sometimes it takes years before all the truth is known. Eventually, the liars tell too many lies. They tie themselves up in knots as the truth unravels itself."

"Are the people who believe lies bad people?"

"No," Mr. Spaceman said reassuringly, "they are easily led. They are not 'bad people.' One way they might feel superior is to believe that someone else is worse than they are. It means they can look down on someone who is more able than they are. It is easier for these people to build themselves up by putting someone else down."

"Will they ever lose interest in me?" Emmelisa asked.

"Oh no! They are not interested in you at all. They are interested in themselves. You are being used to draw attention to them. They are attention-seekers of the very worst kind. They have very little talent or ability so they have to force the world to notice them. People see through them but are amused and want to use the opportunity to join in the 'fun' to liven up their dreary lives."

"They are not interested in me?" Emmelisa said, wide-eyed in amazement. "It's me who isn't interested in them!"

"That is perfectly true. They are competing with you but you have already won! If you were as dull and stupid as they are, they would not waste their free time on you. They would simply pick on you and taunt you if they crossed your path—especially in front of others in order to boost their own egos.

"This is typical childhood bullying. It goes on throughout life and does not end in the school playground. Often the victim is timid and unable to stand up to the bullies. Unfortunately, people who could help prefer not to become involved.

"But you are not afraid. You are a survivor and a winner but you are finding life difficult. I am here to help you through this difficult phase."

"How am I a winner? And how long will this last?"

"You are a winner because, although they are only interested in themselves, they envy you. _They_ follow _you_. This proves that you must be much more attractive than they are. After all, no one is following them around."

"Do I have to wait years for them to stop following me?" Emmelisa was close to tears at the very thought.

"What would you prefer to do?"

"Do I have a choice?" she asked unbelievingly.

"Everybody has a choice. You are the master of your own destiny. You can decide. You can be miserable while you wait for people to learn the truth. Or, you can make the Troublemakers miserable by being happy. Ignore the lies. Learn how to tolerate the interference and start fulfilling your ambitions. You do have ambitions, don't you?"

"Ambitions," Emmelisa repeated the word, "ambitions. Yes...I suppose so."

"You do not sound very sure. Do you have anything planned for the future?"

"No," Emmelisa replied.

"You thought this computer might help you?"

"Yes. I thought maybe I could find something that would make me feel better."

"Like a bottle of medicine?" Mr. Spaceman suggested. "There are no magic potions for feeling happy or knowing what you want out of life. You have to work at being happy."

"It's too hard," Emmelisa said despondently.

"Now, Emmelisa," Mr. Spaceman said sternly, "you are giving up before you have even tried."

"No. It's just that you asked me if I had planned anything. I don't know how to plan things."

"Well, perhaps that is the question you should ask."

"What?" Emmelisa thought aloud before the question came rushing into her mind. "I know the question. The question is—How do I plan my future?"

"Well done!" Mr. Spaceman beamed with a smile wide enough to fill the screen.

"Well," Emmelisa said with slight irritation at this smug response, "what's the answer?"

"The answer is inside this computer. You must find the file 'My Future Life' that your father stored in the memory of this computer before he died."

The screen started to flicker as Mr. A. Leon Spaceman said, "Bye for now, Emmelisa. Remember, you are the master of your own destiny."

Suddenly, the screen was as blank and lifeless as when she'd entered the room.
CHAPTER TEN

A Girl's Best Friend

"I don't _want_ him," said Rabbit. "But it's always useful to

know where a friend-and-relation is, whether you want him

or whether you don't."

– A.A. Milne, _The House at Pooh Corner_

The following day was Easter Monday. Emmelisa woke earlier than usual after a restless night's sleep. Immediately, she glanced over at the computer screen and wondered if Mr. A. Leon Spaceman would suddenly reappear. No such luck.

She threw back the duvet and stretched her legs before she got slowly out of bed and started looking for Cosmos. Sometimes, he would tip toe lightly across her bed in the mornings, as she slept. He would nestle in the pillow next to her head and begin to purr quietly in her ear until the steady drone awakened her.

This morning, because she woke sooner than she would normally, there was no sign of Cosmos. She decided to have a quick search around to see if he was already in the bedroom but he was not.

She stepped out onto the landing and peered down the staircase but there was no sign of the cat. Back in her bedroom, she wondered if she might try the computer to see if it would work without Cosmos in the room.

Ever since the old computer had been stored in the loft, it only came to life if Cosmos touched the mouse or the keyboard and she'd formed the idea that the computer wouldn't work without Cosmos around. This wasn't a thought she would be sharing with Dell!

After staring at the computer for a few seconds, she decided she would wait until the cat appeared. In the meantime she would wash and dress.

By the time Emmelisa was fully dressed, there was still no sign of Cosmos. Before attempting to get the computer working, she glanced at the computer and then made the decision to go down for breakfast. She made her way downstairs to the kitchen and helped herself to cereal and orange juice.

While she sat at the kitchen table eating her breakfast, she looked around for Cosmos. His basket by the central heating boiler was empty. She thought that he might have been out all night and maybe he was still prowling around outside.

After she had finished her breakfast, she washed and dried her dish, spoon and glass tumbler. Then she searched around for Cosmos, but he was nowhere to be found. So, she decided to return to her room.

As she climbed the stairs, the early morning sun streamed through the stained glass window and brought back a memory from years ago. She remembered how, when she was five or six years old, her daddy had scooped her into his arms and kissed her on the top of her head as they were bathed in the early morning sunshine.

On the half-landing, she noticed an array of fragmented multicoloured speckles on the wall caused by rays of light bouncing off the edge of the hallway mirror in a spectrum of rainbow colours. She held out her hand between the mirror and the light, blocking out the light rays and making the coloured fragments disappear—exactly the way her daddy had done all those years ago.

The happy memory made her smile, as she turned towards the short flight of steps that rose up to the landing leading to her room.

Mr. Planemaker was already in her mind as she approached the computer to see if she could find the file, "My Future Life", that he'd created all those years ago.

She pressed the power button and the computer screen changed. There was no A. Leon Spaceman, but the computer was working!

Emmelisa waited for a few moments until the "Desktop" with a number of icons on the left of the window, appeared on the screen. She looked for the filename "My Future Life" but it wasn't on the screen.

At the top left of the screen, there was an icon of a computer under-neath which were written the words "My Computer". Immediately

below this icon, there was a folder named "My Files".

She clicked on the "My Files" folder to open a small window filled with filenames. She quickly scrolled through the list of files beginning with the letter "M". There were dozens of files beginning with "M". The next letter was "Y"—near the end of the alphabet.

She knew that "My" would be close to the files beginning with "N", so she scrolled quickly through the files that began with "M" to find the first file beginning with "N".

As soon as she saw "Natalie's Birthday Card" appear on the list, she stopped scrolling. She looked through the files immediately above "Natalie's Birthday Card" but none of them had the title "My Future Life".

She closed the window and looked at the "Desktop" icons again.

She clicked on the "My Computer" icon and a small window appeared with eight icons and a few files. None of the files had the title "My Future Life".

After she'd closed the window, she stared blankly at the screen and wondered what she should do next.

She decided to scroll through all the files in the "My Files" folder, which took quite a long time but it was worth the effort because the last file in the list was "My Future Life".

Because she was so excited, she removed her hand from the mouse and sat staring at the file; not daring to open it.

She wondered if she should wait for Cosmos to suddenly appear, so that he could cast his magic spell over the computer.

Cosmos remained completely out of sight, although obviously not out of mind.

The house suddenly seemed very quiet and still. The usual sound of traffic was absent. There wasn't even a single chirp from the early morning chorus of birds that usually announced the start of a new day.

In the eerie silence, Emmelisa gathered the courage to grasp the mouse and click on the file. The screen went blank before a small dialogue box appeared on the screen with the words:

"Please enter password," and a long rectangular box with a flashing cursor inside for the password.

Emmelisa was disappointed and slightly cross. A. Leon Spaceman hadn't mentioned anything about passwords.

She was familiar enough with computers to know that it would be pointless trying to guess the password. Unless every character was entered in the correct order, the password would not be accepted.

The door to the file was locked and she didn't have the key.

The silence was broken—Dell was making his way noisily to the bathroom. It sounded as though he'd tripped over the cat!

Emmelisa clicked on the word "Cancel" next to the word "Retry" below the long rectangular box and the "Desktop" window reappeared. She was about to close down the computer when she heard the sound of the door being pushed open gently. She turned and saw Cosmos stroll regally into the room.

"There you are!" Emmelisa exclaimed.

Cosmos ignored her as he jumped onto the desk and placed one of his soft, white front paws onto the mouse. Before Emmelisa could turn round to face the computer screen, she heard a familiar voice, "Good morning, Emmelisa. You are up bright and early this morning!"

"Oh, it's you" Emmelisa said, both pleased and annoyed at the same time at the sight of Mr. A. Leon Spaceman.

"I see you are pleased to see me," A. Leon Spaceman smiled.

"Yes," Emmelisa replied as her temper improved, "I am. I wanted to ask something."

"Go ahead. Ask anything."

"Why didn't you tell me that I would need a password?"

"Oh," Mr. Spaceman noticed Emmelisa's crossed brows and a little furrow in her forehead as she asked this pertinent question, so he decided to be as tactful as possible, "I lost my power. I was about to tell you but my energy pack was low. I only had enough power to say goodbye."

Emmelisa was perplexed as she said, "Energy pack. What sort of energy pack?"

"Your computer uses energy from the main electricity provided by your electricity supplier. I am not plugged in to the same current of electricity. My power comes from Winover."

"Where's Winover?" Emmelisa had never heard of Winover.

"Winover is a small, distant planet, many light years away from Earth."

"Do you live there?"

"I did, but my life's mission is to search the universe so that I can offer help and guidance. I have been travelling for over five thousand years. Every thousand years I receive a boost to my energy supply in this pack."

A. Leon Spaceman turned around and swept back his silvery cloak, revealing a nine-inch square slab of dull metal that looked like lead, which was embedded in his back.

"So you won't just disappear again?"

"No, not for another thousand years. I will stay on the screen until I have answered all your questions."

Because Emmelisa had been totally engrossed by everything A. Leon Spaceman told her, she'd almost forgotten what she wanted to ask.

When she remembered, she said in a less challenging tone, "What is the password?"

"You will have to ask Dell," Mr. Spaceman replied.

"Dell! Dell knows the password?"

"Yes," Mr. Spaceman said the word in such a way that Emmelisa knew he was going to say "but" and he did!

"But he probably will not remember. He knows the password because your father told him about Mr. Wizard Kidd. The young man who fixed this computer a few months before your father died."

"Mr. Wizard Kidd! I don't remember anything about him."

"You were very young and showed no interest in computers. You became more interested after Cosmos arrived but it is only now that you really want to learn about computers."

Emmelisa knew that this was true and nodded her head in agreement.

"So, how do I make Dell remember?"

"You will need to remind him about Mr. Wizard Kidd."

"It would be much easier if you would tell me the password."

"I do not know the password. I can help people to find things. I can guide people in search of answers, but I cannot store information. I do not have enough memory for five thousand years of information! Even my energy pack only stores enough energy for a thousand years!"

"Does that mean that unless I ask Dell, I won't be able to find the password?"

"Do not be afraid to ask Dell—he is your best friend."

"He's my brother!" Emmelisa retorted.

"Yes, he is your brother and your best friend."

Emmelisa had never considered that a brother could also be a friend but she knew that, next to her mother, she trusted Dell more than anyone else she knew. So, maybe he was her best friend after all.

"Emmelisa," she heard her mother call, "have you had breakfast yet?"

"My mummy is calling me," she said to A. Leon Spaceman, "I'll have to go. How do I turn off the computer if you aren't connected to the electricity supply?"

"Is that your final question?"

"Yes."

"If you want to quit, you have to say goodbye, so that I will know that you have reached the end of your search."

"Bye," Emmelisa said, wondering what was going to happen next. A. Leon Spaceman disappeared and the "Desktop" window filled the screen. She decided to leave the computer switched on and went in search of her best friend, Dell. Before she went downstairs, she looked in Dell's room but he wasn't there.

Cosmos, who had been curled up on top of her duvet, strolled out of Emmelisa's room and followed her down the stairs. As they approached the hallway, Mrs. Planemaker appeared and said, "Ah, there you are. Did you hear me call?"

"Yes," she answered, "Where's Dell?"

"He's having breakfast," her mother replied, but when they entered the kitchen, Dell was nowhere in sight.

"Dell," Mrs. Planemaker called out and waited for a reply but none came.

Less than a minute later, Dell walked through the back door into the kitchen.

"Have you finished your breakfast?" she asked, without waiting for a reply because Dell had returned to the table, "Would you like some toast?"

"Yes, please," Dell replied.

"Have you had breakfast?" she asked her daughter.

"Yes," Emmelisa replied, "I've already had cereal and some orange juice."

"There's none left!" Dell interrupted, "Orange juice. It's all gone!"  
Emmelisa was about to protest that there was only enough left in the fridge for a small glass when her mother said to Dell, "There's a new carton inside the fridge, you must have missed it."

Emmelisa merely thought, _Some best friend!_

Dell didn't show the slightest hint of being sorry for suggesting that his sister had taken the last drop of orange juice while there was a new full carton sitting inside the fridge unopened.

If Emmelisa hadn't needed to know the password, she would have given Dell one of her "how dare you accuse me" looks. Instead, she said, "The computer's working."

"I know," Dell said without enthusiasm, "I saw the computer working last night. It was on when I came into your room to borrow the glue stick."

"Oh, yes. So it was."

"So? Why did you mention it?"

"I thought you might help me."

"That wasn't part of the deal. You said if I helped you to set it up, you would learn how to use it by yourself."

"I know. But..."

"But what? You said..."

"Please Dell, please will you help me?" Emmelisa pleaded.  
Dell thought that Emmelisa was starting to become a real pain when he caught sight of his mother giving him one of her "please be nice" looks. He would have preferred not to make eye contact, but it was too late and he was hooked into his mother's loving stare.

"Okay, okay. After breakfast—but if the computer breaks down, I'm out of here. Got that?"

"Yes. Thanks, Dell," she smiled gratefully but Dell didn't smile back.

No more was said until Dell had finished his breakfast. Emmelisa offered to help her mother with the dishes but Mrs. Planemaker realised that Emmelisa wanted to follow Dell upstairs before he changed his mind.

"That's okay, thank you, Emmelisa. You go back to your computer, I can manage."

Emmelisa kissed her mother lightly on the cheek without saying a word and ran up the stairs to her room. Dell was already sitting in front of the computer.

"So, what's the problem?" he asked.

"Do you remember Mr. Wizard Kidd?"

"Who?"

"Wizard Kidd. Mr. Wizard Kidd."

"No. Who's Mr. Wizard Kidd, when he's at home?"

"He fixed this computer for Dad. Do you remember?"  
Dell was about to say, "No," when Cosmos crept into the room and threaded his way between Dell's legs. Dell looked down at the cat and said, "I know. Cosmos arrived the same day. Dad found him in the boot of the car. He told me about meeting this weird guy. He said his name was Wiz Kidd. Is that the same guy?"

"Mr. A. Leon Spaceman said that Mr. Wizard Kidd gave Dad a secret password."

"Who's A. Leon Spaceman?"

"Oh, he's the man with the pointed ears and bald head. He wears a space suit and an energy pack with a thousand years of power stored in it..."

"Are you crazy?" Dell said, as he burst out laughing. He had completely forgotten seeing Mr. A. Leon Spaceman on the computer screen. "If you are going to be stupid, I'm out of here," he warned, as he rose from the chair to leave the room.

As he moved, Cosmos sprang forward and landed on the mouse.

"Hello, Dell. Good to see you again," Mr. A. Leon Spaceman announced, as Dell turned and stared at the screen open mouthed.

"The answer to your question is—I am A. Leon Spaceman from Winover, a small planet with a population of two billion memans, five thousand light years away. My mission is to travel the universe throughout my life, offering help and guidance to people who are searching for something. I helped your father to search the Internet to find the kit for his model aeroplane."

"Dad never built the aeroplane. He died the same day the aircraft kit was delivered."

"Ask Dell about Mr. Wizard Kidd," Emmelisa pressed Mr. Spaceman.

"Why does she keep going on about this Wizard Kidd guy?"

"Mr. Kidd gave a password to your father that Emmelisa needs to open one of his files."

Dell turned and looked at Emmelisa.

"What file? Is that the reason you wanted this old computer?"

"Yes," Emmelisa replied, adding quickly, "I need to find out about me. About why my life is the way it is and how I can change it. Mr. Spaceman said he would help me."

"What's wrong with your life? What's wrong with you? Do you have a problem?"

"Yes," Emmelisa answered without offering any more information.

"Well," Dell said, "what's your problem, Lisa?"  
Emmelisa suddenly started to tremble and her lower lip began to quiver as she stuttered, "I...just...want...want.... to..."

"Oh, for goodness sake, Lisa! What's the matter with her?" he asked A. Leon Spaceman.

"Emmelisa is being bullied at school. After you left Leafy Lea Primary, one of the pupils, Mayja Troublemaker, formed a gang made up of half the school. Your sister is the only girl in the school who has refused to join the gang."

"Is this true, Lisa?"

Emmelisa nodded as she felt her courage returning. She stopped trembling and gave a defiant look.

"What can we do?" Dell asked Mr. Spaceman.

"Your father created a file on this computer. Emmelisa wants to open it. She believes that you know the password."

"I don't know any passwords," Dell said firmly.

"Your father told you about his visit to Whiz Kidd Computer Maintenance. Try to remember everything he told you about Mr. Kidd"

Dell thought for a few seconds before he spoke, "Mr. Kidd said the computer had been customised especially for Dad—some kind of special order."

"Your father must have explained the reason why he believed the computer was customised."

"Yes, he said that the serial number and the model of the computer were the same as his date of birth and the number of the house he was born in."

"You know your father's date of birth."

"Dad was born on the 25th June 1958. He said that the serial number was 25 06 58."

"Perhaps the serial number is the password."

"Why?" Emmelisa suddenly found her voice.

"Because," Mr. Spaceman replied, "The 'My Future Life' file contains information about the person with the date of birth 25 06 58."

"Thank you," Emmelisa said, "bye."
CHAPTER ELEVEN

A Trail of Light

Genes are not like engineering blueprints; they are more like recipes in a cookbook. They tell us what ingredients to use, in what quantities, and in what order—but they do not provide a complete, accurate plan of the final result.

– Ian Stewart, _Life's Other Secret_

Dell and Emmelisa were standing in front of the computer as A. Leon Spaceman disappeared and the screen reverted to the "Desktop." Emmelisa wasn't surprised when Mr. Spaceman vanished but Dell wondered if the computer had suddenly stopped working.

"What happened then?" he asked his sister. "Why did the screen change so suddenly?"

"Oh, I said bye," Emmelisa replied without further explanation.

"Excuse me. You said bye and the computer responded. Is this a joke?"

"No, it isn't a joke," Emmelisa said softly. She knew that Dell wasn't really annoyed but she decided not to risk upsetting him.

"So, where did Mr. Spaceman go?"

"I'm not sure. Into space, I suppose. If you say bye, Mr. Spaceman knows that you've finished your search. He's not connected to the main electricity supply, so if you want to quit..."

Dell was dumbfounded; he wondered if he was awake or still in bed dreaming. His sister pretended not to notice her brother's look of disbelief. Instead she changed the subject.

"Dad's file is in this folder," she clicked on the "My Files" folder and scrolled through the list as she spoke. When "My Future Life" appeared among the list in the open window, she clicked open the file. The screen went blank immediately and a dialogue box appeared in the centre of the screen with the words "Please enter password."

Dell was suddenly interested. "Type in 25 06 58," he ordered his sister but, before he'd finished speaking, Emmelisa was already typing in the last number. "Press 'Enter,'" Dell demanded and Emmelisa responded without any protest. In an instant, the screen filled the whole room—Emmelisa's bedroom had disappeared and they were standing inside the computer. They were too stunned to speak as they looked around and realised that they were standing immediately in front of a small reception area inside a modern one-storey building.

The young receptionist noticed the two children and said, "Can I help you?"

"Where are we?" Emmelisa asked.

"This is the Input building. Have you been sent to be processed?"

Dell and Emmelisa looked at each other with bemused expressions.

"How are we going to be processed?" Dell asked. "What does that mean?"

"You will need to transfer to the Central Processing Unit building, where everything is processed. If you walk through the main entrance and turn left, then first right, the CPU building is three blocks down."

When they emerged from the building, they were about to turn left but they heard someone calling their names.

A young man emerged from a small grey building with an open doorway, to the right of the Input building, on the opposite side of the road.

He was wearing an over-sized rugby shirt, baggy blue denim jeans and black, thick-soled shoes. As he walked towards the two children, he said, "Hi, you must be Dell and Emmelisa. I'm Wizard Kidd, pleased to meet you. Can I help you?"

Dell and Emmelisa could hardly believe they were standing in front of Mr. Wiz Kidd.

"Where are we?" Emmelisa asked the same question she'd asked the receptionist.

"This is Hardwareland. This must be your first visit. It's easy to find your way around because of the grid pattern. All the buildings are built parallel to each other, north to south and east to west."

"Where's the Central Processing Unit building?" Dell asked.

"Of course, you've only just been inputted into the system. Follow me, I'll take you to be processed."

As they followed Mr. Wiz Kidd, the children noticed that not all the roads had yellow line markings. Some of the lines were blue, green, orange or red. Dell asked Mr. Kidd why were the lines along the sides of the roads different colours.

"They are bus circuits," Mr. Kidd explained. "Data buses and address buses transfer information from one building to another along the different routes."

He'd barely finished speaking when a bolt of light shot out of one of the buildings and whizzed along a green circuit and then disappeared inside another building.

"Please keep to the paths and bridges around and over the circuits, otherwise you could be seriously injured by the passing buses."

"Do they all go so fast?" Dell asked, as another bolt of light shot by on a yellow circuit. "Where did that come from?"

"All the buses travel at the same speed. The bus on the yellow circuit was carrying information from the keyboard to the Central Processing Unit."

Dell thought about this for a moment, then he said, "If we are inside the computer, who would use the keyboard on the outside?"

"Cosmos," Emmelisa replied. "Cosmos is our pet cat," she informed Mr. Kidd. "He probably tip-toed across the keyboard."

Mr. Kidd laughed and said, "Maybe he has sent a message. If he has, we'll find it in one of the Random Access Memory buildings."

"Where?" Dell asked.

"You'll soon see," Mr. Kidd replied, as he pointed towards the light grey buildings in the distance. "The buildings on this grid are the basic building blocks or architecture of this computer. This is the Central Processing Unit building."

They had arrived at the front of the building, which was in the centre of the grid pattern of parallel roads. The building reminded Dell and Emmelisa of a multi-storey car park, where all the different coloured circuits entered the building on different levels: the blue circuit entered at basement level; the green circuit at ground level; the yellow, orange and red entered at levels one, two and three by flyovers.

"The Central Processing Unit is the control centre of the system. Here information is received and interpreted before a decision is made about what course of action to perform," Mr. Kidd explained as they entered the building.

"How does the Central Processing Unit know what to do?" Dell asked.

"It doesn't," Mr. Kidd replied. "The Central Processing Unit or CPU, is not free to do as it likes; it has to follow a set of instructions called the programme. The memory chips store the programme with any other required information."

"Where?"

"In the buildings on each side of the CPU building."

By then these buildings were out of sight as they stepped through the CPU building's main entrance and into a large reception area that opened out in front of them. Many elevators and staircases surrounded the reception area.

"Morning," a young man greeted them cheerfully as he walked towards one of the elevators, carrying a large parcel of information.

"Good morning," Mr. Kidd replied before he continued explaining to the children. "This is where information comes into the building."

As he spoke, a number of elevator bells rang out, "Ding, ding, ding..." as doors slid open.

Several people emerged from the elevators carrying large parcels of information. They were all dressed in the same light grey suits and wore smooth soled, black patent shoes that seemed to glide over the polished grey floor.

While Mr. Kidd explained about the way information was processed, elevator doors slid open and closed as many grey-suited people stepped in and out conveying parcels of information.

"Some information arrives directly from the keyboard and some is sent from the memory chips. When both bits of information are together on the same floor, a decision is then put into operation."

"How are we going to be processed?" Emmelisa wondered what decision was going to be made and what kind of "operation" did Mr.

Kidd mean.

All the receptionists were very busy as they approached the reception desk.

When a receptionist was free, he said, "Can I help you?"

"We've been sent to be processed," Dell replied.

"Name please?" the receptionist asked.

The two children gave their names, dates of birth and address to the receptionist who typed the information into a computer.

"I see from our records that you've opened a file. Could you give me the name of the file, please?"

"My Future Life," Emmelisa answered.

"This information will be processed eventually. At the moment there's a queue. Could you call back later?"

"Okay," they both agreed.

After they left the CPU, Mr. Kidd offered to show them the rest of the system.

"First, we will go across to the place where the memory chips are stored," he suggested as he guided the two children towards the bridge over the circuits.

Another bolt of light shot out of the building from the basement below them as they left the CPU.

"I wonder if that is your message from Cosmos being posted," Mr. Kidd said as they walked in the direction of the nearest building.

"This is where the memory chips are stored. These are the Read Only Memory buildings. ROM for short. They are connected to the CPU building by data buses and address buses that carry the information from one address to another and then return to the same address."

When they entered the ROM building, the reception area looked the same as the one in the CPU building, only smaller.

"Information is sent out to the CPU and then returned. No new information is stored here. Information is simply retained until required and is always returned unaltered. One important programme stored here is the machine operating system that performs all the housekeeping duties around the machine."

"Housekeeping?" Emmelisa exclaimed.

"Yes, tasks such as loading and saving files created on the computer are managed by the operating system. As the name suggests, it allows the user to operate the system."

Mr. Kidd walked over to the reception desk and spoke to the receptionist, "Could you please phone and ask for a housekeeping check to be made?"

"Certainly, sir," he replied.

Then Mr. Kidd asked the children to step outside. Within seconds, a multitude of flashes of light appeared from all the buildings. It was amazing that none of the lights collided as they darted from one building to another in all directions.

"The operating system is checking and closing open files and making sure that everything is correctly stored and that the memory space from old deleted files is available for future use. Just like tidying your bedroom—putting away things to create more space."

"Not very often for Dell," Emmelisa teased and Dell laughed.

Within a few more seconds, the dazzling lights disappeared like the ending of a computer game or fireworks display.

"Now it is safe to continue our tour," Mr. Kidd said before he stepped back inside the ROM building to thank the receptionist. "Follow me," he said as he guided the two children towards the buildings on the opposite side of the CPU.

"These are the Random Access Memory buildings or RAM. Information that can be added to is stored here. It could be called read/ write memory because this information can be read and more information can be written and then added to the memory store—under the same address or at a new address."

As they entered one of the RAM buildings, he added, "All the information about your family history is stored in these buildings. Every celebration, every new birth, every illness or injury. All the events from the past, the present and the future—you could say that it's a complete blueprint of the Planemaker family."

"Our future is stored in these buildings?" Emmelisa asked in wonder.

"Your life is already mapped out, from the moment you were conceived the genetic code you inherited determined your future. If you fail to achieve everything that is predetermined, then your history file will deviate from your projected file."

"What does that mean?" Emmelisa couldn't make sense of this explanation.

"It means that you are the master of your own destiny. You cannot become a world-class sportsman, musician or artist if you didn't inherit enough talent to enable you to reach the top of your chosen profession. If you were born with an exceptional talent and didn't achieve everything that was expected of you then the failure is yours. You cannot take credit for anything you inherit—your physical appearance, level of intelligence or physical ability. But if you succeed it will be mainly due to your own effort and determination to maximise your own abilities. If you don't make the best use of your inherited abilities then _you_ fail."

Emmelisa listened attentively and grasped the full meaning as she responded, "It's up to me. If I fail in life, it will be my fault."

"You're not going to fail," Mr. Kidd said emphatically as they walked through the reception area of the RAM building.

The reception area was as big as that in the CPU building and just as busy. The place was full of grey-suited people going up and down stairs and in and out of elevators, some carrying parcels of information. They all glided across the floor effortlessly whether or not they were carrying information.

Mr. Kidd seemed out of place among all these grey-suited workers. Dell noticed how oddly dressed he seemed in his casual shirt and jeans. He asked, "Do you work here? You seem different to everybody else."

"Oh no, I don't belong to this organisation. Would you like to see my workplace?"

Both children nodded.

When they left the RAM building, they stayed close to Mr. Kidd because the small grey building was no longer visible and they could not remember the way back to the Input building where they first entered the system. Although, they did remember that Mr. Kidd emerged from a small building opposite the Input building. Eventually, they turned a corner and recognised the small grey building.

"This is my workplace." Mr. Kidd pointed towards the featureless building. "Would you like to take a look around?"

"Yes...please, Mr. Kidd," Dell said warily as he glanced at the inconspicuous building.

"By the way, call me Wiz. I own Whiz Kidd Computer Maintenance. We customise computers for our clients. This computer was a special order for your father."

"Dad wasn't sure if he should believe you," Dell said.

"Oh well, people often wonder how personal computers designed specially for them end up in their possession. Especially if they didn't order them."

"If Dad didn't order this computer, who did?"

"Most of our orders come directly from above."

"Above? Above where?" Dell couldn't imagine what Mr. Kidd was implying.

"Well, if you step inside," he said as he moved closer to the open doorway, "I'll show you. The decorators were in when I saw your father last, but now they've finished. Take a look around, see what you think."

Tentatively, Dell and Emmelisa followed Mr. Kidd through the open doorway that led to a small open area with a counter in the middle and a side door to the left.

"This is the reception area. I deal with customers here...and that's the storeroom," he gestured in the direction of the door on the left.

Dell and Emmelisa looked at this reception area with a single door and no elevators or staircases and thought how small it seemed compared to the enormous reception areas they'd already seen.

Mr. Kidd noticed the disappointment on their faces.

"If you are still interested in finding out about what's above, step this way."

The two children followed him round to the other side of the counter that opened onto a much bigger area. In fact, it was so big; it didn't seem to have any boundaries. It was simply an enormous expanse of blue, stretching for what seemed miles. In every direction

the sun was shining in a cloudless sky.

"Well, you said you would show us what was above," Dell accused Mr. Kidd, "but there isn't anything. It's completely empty. This isn't a room—it's just a big, open, empty sky."

"Well maybe there are things in the sky that you can't see. The electrician, Mr. Space Satellite, fitted this dimmer switch for me," Mr. Kidd said proudly.

He held out a slim, black metal case in his hand. It was much smaller than a remote control and had only one button.

"Watch. If I press this button, the light will dim and you'll be able to see more clearly. Amazing, isn't it?"

When he pressed the button slowly, the black metal started to turn silver as the light around them faded.

In the dimmed light, they saw something that was more than amazing: it was incredible—indescribably beautiful. The blue sky grew dark as the light slowly disappeared revealing a few of the sky's hidden treasures. At first, they only glimpsed small twinkling lights dotted across the vast clear sky. Then, as the sky darkened to a deep midnight blue, more lights appeared. As the lights multiplied, they became brighter—until the whole sky was densely packed with millions and millions of brilliant stars; a silver-studded sky set against a vast background that was as black as Cosmos.

"This is the universe," Mr. Kidd explained. "You are two tiny people standing on a star surrounded by millions of stars."

"Is this what you meant by 'above'?" Dell asked.

"Yes," Mr. Kidd replied.

"But where do the orders for the customised computers come from?"

"From the sky; through the Internet."

"Oh, why didn't you say that people order their computers on the 'net?"

"Well, it's not quite that simple. I do receive orders via the Internet, but people don't order them directly."

"So, who does?"

"You've met Mr. A. Leon Spacemen, who travels throughout the universe helping people to search for answers to their questions. You haven't met Mr. Bigga Bang—everyone calls him Big Bang. He's responsible for everything in the universe."

"Did he order this computer?"

"Oh, Mr. Big Bang is responsible for everything that was ever created in the universe."

"All these stars?"

"Yes. The light from some of the stars has taken so many years to reach earth that, although they no longer exist, you can still see the light."

"What do you mean?" Emmelisa joined in the conversation.

"Stars burn brightly for billions of years and then die. The light you can see from the stars that you see in the sky has travelled through space for a number of light years to arrive within sight of earth. So, even though a star may die, the light from that star can still be seen for as many years as it takes for the light to travel through space."

Emmelisa thought about this for a few seconds and then said, "That doesn't make sense."

"Why does that not make sense?" Mr. Kidd challenged Emmelisa.

"Because when people die, you never see them again."

"People never really leave you, Emmelisa. They are always there in your mind. If someone dear to you is out of sight, you still believe they exist—even though you can't see them."

Emmelisa frowned as Mr. Kidd continued, "If Dell goes out to play football with his friends or your mother goes shopping or your grandparents are at home, although you can't see them, you know that they exist."

"Yes," Emmelisa replied, "but you said that you can see stars after they've died. When people die, you never see them again."

"No," Mr. Kidd agreed, "you can't see people after they've died but you don't see stars after they've died. You can only see the light from the star."

"So," Emmelisa said slowly as she tried to organise her thoughts, "are you trying to say that people leave something like a trail of light after they die?"

"Well, it seems to me that you're almost as bright as the stars in the sky, young lady," Mr. Kidd said with obvious admiration. "Very few people would make such a wonderful assumption. There is no evidence to suggest that people leave anything as tangible as a trail of light. But if you believe that someone—who was important to you and guided you in the things you did—can still be part of your life even though they no longer exist, then a 'trail of light' would be an excellent way of describing that influence."

Dell wouldn't have dared look at Emmelisa with the same amount of admiration as Mr. Kidd, but inside he was very proud of his little sister.

"You mean Dad, don't you, Lisa? Dad has left a trail of light for us to follow."
CHAPTER TWELVE

Time Stands Still

There was a young lady named Bright,

Whose speed was far greater than light;

She set out one day

In a relative way

And returned on the previous night.

– Arthur Buller, _Relativity_

Emmelisa and Dell wanted to know how they could follow their father's trail of light.

"How can we follow a trail of light? What should we do?" Emmelisa asked Mr. Kidd.

"You need to start by finding the first file that your father created on the computer when he began his project," Mr. Kidd answered.

"How will we know which is the first file?" Dell asked.

"Try looking for 'My First File'," Mr. Kidd suggested.

"Is it stored in one of these buildings?"

"Yes, but it would probably be easier to search using the keyboard and a lot less tiring! You wouldn't have to walk from building to building."

"Can we use the keyboard here?" Emmelisa asked Mr. Kidd.

"Yes, but it would be just as easy to use the keyboard in your bedroom."

"How do we get back?"

"Well, before you return, would you like to read the message from Cosmos?"

"Yes!" Emmelisa exclaimed.

Then Mr. Kidd pressed the button on his light control that was now luminescent and glowed brightly in the surrounding darkness. As he held his finger against the button, the stars disappeared slowly as daylight returned and the luminescent light control became progressively duller until it eventually turned black.

"This way," Mr. Kidd directed the children to return to the other side of the counter.

They followed Mr. Kidd out of the small grey building and along the pathway leading to one of the RAM buildings. Inside the RAM building, the reception area was buzzing with activity as information was being ferried from one floor to another via the elevators and staircases.

"Why is this building so busy?" Emmelisa asked.

"Because messages go in and out on a very regular basis. Some of the messages are stored for long periods and some are immediately destroyed after they've been read." Mr. Kidd explained as he walked over to the receptionist and asked if there were any messages for Dell and Emmelisa Planemaker. The receptionist typed the two names into the computer on her desk.

"One, on level three," she replied. "I will need the exact address."

"Dellemm@hardwareland.co.uc," Mr. Kidd offered.

The receptionist typed the address into the computer and said, "Level three, row two, box one."

"That's easy to remember," Mr. Kidd thought aloud. "Three, two, one."

He invited the children to take one of the elevators but, because they were very busy, he thought it might be easier to walk up the stairs to level three.

They climbed the stairs in short bursts because the stairs were just as busy as the elevators and they had to keep stopping to allow grey-suited men and women, who were carrying messages, to pass them on the way down.

When they finally reached the third floor, they followed Mr. Kidd to a long corridor with rows and rows of storage boxes. They only had to walk past row one to find row two, where he removed the message from box one.

Mr. Kidd handed the message to Dell, who held it so that he and his sister could read the message together. The message was written in electronic mail format:

From: Cosmos

Sent: Today

To: Dell and Emmelisa Planemaker

Subject: Getting out of Hardwareland

Say goodbye.

"Of course," Emmelisa laughed. "Bye."

Hardwareland vanished. Emmelisa and Dell were standing in front of the computer in Emmelisa's bedroom, on Easter Monday morning at exactly the same time Emmelisa's bedroom had disappeared.

They didn't realise that any time spent in Hardwareland was no time at all. They had both arrived and departed from Hardwareland _at exactly the same time_ —as though time had stood still. They wondered how long they'd been away in Hardwareland and whether their mother had looked in Emmelisa's bedroom and wondered where they'd gone.

But Mrs Planemaker knew nothing about this wonderful adventure. She wasn't aware that anything strange had happened that morning.

She was just as unaware that her two children were upstairs planning to go back inside the old computer.

Before they began to search for their father's file, "My First File," they listened out for any sign that their mother was aware of what was going on upstairs. As they listened, they could barely hear the sound of the radio coming from downstairs. For a moment the sound grew louder as Mrs. Planemaker opened the door to the living room and entered the hallway and then faded as she returned to the living room.

In the near silence of Emmelisa's bedroom, they formed a special bond: an unspoken agreement that was understood equally by both children. They were united in a pact to "follow the trail of light," without telling anyone about Mr. A. Leon Spaceman, Mr. Wiz Kidd or the magic computer.

With the reassuring familiar sound of their mother listening to the radio, they started their search. They looked in the "My Files" folder first, but they couldn't find the file.

Emmelisa quickly suggested that they should look in the "My Computer" folder. She remembered seeing a file name similar to "My Future Life" in this folder.

After they clicked on the "My Computer" icon, they quickly scrolled through the list of files in the small rectangular window that appeared on the screen.

"It's there!" Dell exclaimed, spotting the file, "My First File," before Emmelisa did.

They clicked on the file and a Shelsoft Word Processing document appeared on the screen. The main heading on the first page was "First File Plan." The sub-heading immediately below the main heading was "Types of Model Aircraft" with a list of things to do that began:

Find reviews on model aircraft kits.

Find out about levels of skill required to build the individual kits.

Collect information about size, weight and types of materials.

The children read the first few lines of this plan and then scrolled down the next page.

"How do we use this?" Emmelisa asked her brother.

"I don't know. Scroll down the next page."

Emmelisa scrolled down all the pages until they reached the end of the file.

"Maybe Cosmos can help," Emmelisa suggested, but the cat was nowhere in sight.

"If Cosmos could help, he would be here," Dell replied.

This comment stopped Emmelisa from attempting to look for her pet. She knew as well as Dell that Cosmos always turned up uninvited if he wanted to perform his own brand of magic.

"This file doesn't seem to do anything," Dell said, followed quickly by, "Wait a minute. Look—here, at the end of the file. It says, 'Types of Model Aircraft: see 'My Project'."

Emmelisa read Dell's thoughts as they closed the file and searched for the file, "My Project."

They soon found the file in the "My Computer" folder. When they opened the file, a document appeared on the screen with a list of model aircraft kits.

"Can you remember the name of the kit dad ordered?" Emmelisa asked Dell.

"No," he responded with obvious disappointment. "Wait a minute. LOOK."

Emmelisa and Dell stared at the screen. "The Flying Machine PH1" was different to all the other aircraft kits. It was blue! The characters for "The Flying Machine PH1" were blue.

"What does it mean?" Emmelisa asked.

"I'm not sure. Try clicking on it."

Nervously, Emmelisa moved the mouse so that the arrow pointed to the blue lettering and then she double clicked and waited for the screen to change.

Dell and Emmelisa wondered if they would suddenly find themselves in a new environment like Hardwareland.

The room didn't change. Everything stayed the same, except the computer loaded the Celestial Communications software into the memory of the computer. They were on the Internet.

Dell laughed, "Oh, of course—we're on the 'net!"

The address in the address bar was: www.HeavenlyFliers.com/

The home page for Heavenly Fliers showed white ellipses, containing the names of Model aircraft manufacturers, on a sky blue background. One of the manufacturers was the "Deus Flying Machines Company."

Dell grabbed the mouse and clicked on this ellipse, which loaded the web page containing a list of aircraft kits produced by the company. Both children scoured the list and shouted together,

"It's there! The Flying Machine PH1."

Dell quickly positioned the arrow over this kit and clicked the mouse.

Immediately, the screen went blank. A dialogue box appeared in the centre of the screen with the words, "Please Enter Password."

"It's the same screen as before!" the two children exclaimed together.

The two children had totally lost track of the time. They still hadn't realised that any time spent in Hardwareland was no time at all.

They thought that when they were in Hardwareland they'd been away for hours and if they disappeared again, their mother would miss them. In fact, the only real time that had passed was the time they'd spent searching through their father's files.

"Close it down. We don't have time to go back to Hardwareland."

"When can we go there again?" Emmelisa asked her brother.

"After the football," Dell replied.

Dell was eagerly looking forward to the special Easter Monday Premiership football fixture, which was being televised that afternoon. Today's match was even more greatly anticipated than most other fixtures: Manchester United v Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Emmelisa knew better than to say anything. She clicked on the word "Cancel" before she closed down the computer.

That afternoon Dell settled down in front of the television to watch the match. He sat nervously throughout the first half because his team missed several good chances to score a goal and it was Liverpool who scored first.

A cross from the left, close to the corner flag, sent the ball soaring above the heads of Manchester United's defence. Liverpool's striker was unmarked as he raised himself from the ground and glanced the ball into the net in added on time, with only seconds to go before the referee blew to signal the end of the first half.

A Liverpool player who also played for England had scored the goal. Dell would have been ecstatic if this player had been playing for England at the time but scoring for Liverpool against United within seconds of halftime was not something to celebrate.

There was very little to celebrate in the second half that, if anything, was tenser than the first because United missed several more opportunities to score. Eventually, they managed to equalise in the dying minutes of the match to secure a draw.

Dell had been so drained with the prospect of losing at home that even a late goal had not managed to revive him.

If Man. United had won, he would have treated his mother and his sister to an action replay of every incident during the match. As it was, teatime was relatively quiet with little reference made to football.

Mrs. Planemaker knew that football was far too serious a business to be treated lightly and had stopped teasing Dell years ago.

Emmelisa realised that suggesting a return trip to Hardwareland would not be a good idea. She decided to wait until the following day.

After breakfast the next day, the two children disappeared upstairs into Emmelisa's bedroom. Mrs. Planemaker remained in the kitchen with Cosmos. When they'd gone, she turned to the cat and said, "I wonder what those two are up to?"

Usually, during school holidays, the two children spent very little time in each other's company. Although Mrs. Planemaker had wondered aloud about the children being up to something, the thought didn't last long because Melody arrived unexpectedly, seeking advice about a problem she was having with her youngest son, William.

William, who was thirteen, was being pressed to buy drugs. Though he hadn't succumbed to the pressure, his schoolwork was beginning to be affected. He'd also given up playing football in one of the school teams, because he didn't want to stay behind after school for team training.

Schoolboys who did stay behind were easier to single out and pressurise. The teenagers who were pushing the drugs saw these boys as easy targets because they were in such a small group.

Mrs. Planemaker and Melody were always willing to listen to and share all the problems or worries they had concerning any of their children.

As the two women sat in the kitchen discussing what was once an adult problem but was increasingly becoming an awkward problem for school-age children, Dell and Emmelisa were opening files that would lead them to Hardwareland.

Firstly, they opened the "My Computer" folder, followed by the "My Project" file. Then they double clicked on the blue "Flying Machine PH1," which opened the HeavenlyFliers web page. They clicked on the white ellipse with the words "Deus Flying Machines Company" and finally they clicked on the "Flying Machine PH1," which made the screen go blank.

When the dialogue box appeared for the password, Dell demanded, "Type in 25 06 58," but Emmelisa was ahead of him as she completed the task of typing in the password and Dell pressed "Enter." Instantly they were back in Hardwareland. They looked around for Mr. Wiz Kidd but there was no sign of him.

"Hello," they heard someone say. "I'm A. Madeleine Scientist, can I help you?"

In the distance, they could see a lady wearing a lab coat with grey, wiry hair that seemed to sprout from her head in all directions in a very haphazard and uncontrolled way.

Dell was less afraid than the first time he visited Hardwareland and spoke out straight away. "We're trying to follow my dad's trail of light. Mr. Wiz Kidd told us to find out as much as we could about dad's project. He was going to build a model aeroplane—the Flying Machine PH1. We found the webpage for Deus Flying Machines. Then we found our way back to Hardwareland."

"Ah," Professor Scientist reflected, "I remember the PH1. Darned good machine. Ever flown in one?"

"No," they answered together.

"But a kit was delivered to our house three years ago," Dell added.

"Do you still have the kit?"

"No," Dell said, "it disappeared."

"Ah, well, I guess it was returned," Professor Scientist replied. "You said you are trying to follow your father's trail of light. You will need a flying machine. The PH1 would be easy enough for you to fly with a little practice—a few flying lessons. I think I can help you. If the PH1 was returned, it will be in the 'unassembled' store. Follow me."

Dell and Emmelisa both grinned as they obeyed this command. By now, they were accustomed to being escorted around Hardwareland: the place was becoming familiar and less strange.

They reached one of the RAM buildings and walked into the reception area. The place seemed almost deserted; even the receptionist was absent.

"Why is this place so quiet?" Emmelisa asked.

"When unassembled kits are returned, they usually remain here forever, in permanent storage. Returned items are very rarely processed. It is very unusual for anyone to locate an unassembled kit. Although there should be someone around to check in newly returned items," Professor Scientist explained, before she asked the children to wait while she found someone who could help them to locate the PH1.

Then she approached the reception desk, on top of which there was a silver bell. She rang the bell once and within a few seconds the receptionist appeared.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked with a warm smile.

"Do you have any information about any returned PH1s?" Professor Scientist enquired.

"When was the package returned?"

"Three years ago."

"One moment, I'll check."

The receptionist typed the request for information about returned items into the desk computer.

"There was only one PH1 returned that year. If you require access, I'll need the code name."

Professor Scientist beckoned the two children to join her at the reception desk.

"Do you know the code name for the PH1?"

"No, how do we find it?" Dell asked.

"You should be able to locate the code in your father's file."

Emmelisa wanted to search immediately and decided to waste no more time, without realising that she wasn't wasting any time at all!

"Bye," she said.

Hardwareland disappeared. Emmelisa and Dell were back in Emmelisa's bedroom.

They'd started to look for the PH1 code name but before they could continue their search, they heard Mrs. Planemaker and Melody saying goodbye downstairs in the hallway.

After Melody left, Mrs. Planemaker called to her children, "Everything all right up there?"

"Yes," the two children replied as they heard Mrs. Planemaker's footsteps on the stairs.

She entered Emmelisa's bedroom and looked at the computer. "Did you hear the phone?" she asked.

"No," they replied.

"Oh, I suppose you were too engrossed in your computer. Asif phoned to ask you to join your friends in Pierton Park. They've arranged a game of football against a team of boys from Grassland High."

"What time?" Dell asked.

"The match has been arranged for 1.30pm. I said you would phone back after I'd spoken to you."

Dell was about to go down to the kitchen to return the phone call, when Mrs. Planemaker added, "I need some help this morning, please."

"What?" Dell responded.

"Would you and Emmelisa take Cosmos to the vet's for his annual check-up, while I do the shopping."

Mrs. Planemaker expected protests such as "Do we have to?" or "Can't you take him?" Instead the two children replied together, "Okay."

She wondered how life had become so easy, as she followed Dell down to the kitchen, where he telephoned Asif and promised to be in Pierton Park well before kick-off. Then he said to his mother, "Can we go now? I don't want to be late for the match."

Mrs. Planemaker agreed and Dell called to Emmelisa to find the basket that Cosmos arrived in.

The first time they tried to take Cosmos to the vet, he seemed to know without being told that he was going to be subjected to a veterinary examination. He scratched and bit every time they tried to lift him into a cardboard box. He hissed and spat till they almost gave up trying to take him for a check-up.

Emmelisa remembered that the silk lined basket was stored in the garage. She found the basket, brought it into the kitchen and popped it down, with the lid open, onto the floor next to the boiler. Cosmos leapt into the basket, curled up into a tight ball and fell fast asleep!

Ever since then, whenever they needed to take Cosmos with them in the car, they knew he would only travel in his own basket. What a pompous cat!

Mrs. Planemaker drove towards the supermarket and made a slight detour to drop the children and the cat close to the veterinary surgery.

Inside the surgery, Cosmos remained soundly asleep until it was his turn to see the vet, whereupon he awoke immediately. He loved the vet, Mr. Goodman, who was a gentle middle-aged man with silver grey hair and kind eyes.

"Hello Cosmos. My, are you looking healthy," Mr. Goodman said as he stroked Cosmos's silky smooth coat of fur while examining the cat's spine for any abnormalities.

At the end of the examination, Cosmos was given a clean bill of health.

"Is it all right if we wait here for our mother?" Emmelisa asked Mr. Goodman.

"Of course, young lady. It is perfectly all right," he replied.

As he handed the basket with Cosmos inside back to Emmelisa, Cosmos was purring softly in a deep sleep!

Mrs. Planemaker arrived at the surgery ten minutes later and the Planemaker family returned to Fern Bank Road.

Dell fixed himself a tuna sandwich for lunch, which he washed down with a glass of milk. Then he cycled to Pierton Park to thrash the Grasslanders!

While Dell was playing football, Emmelisa decided to search through her father's file to find the code name for the PH1.

She opened the "My Project" file and scrolled through the list of different types of model aircraft kits, until she reached the end of the file.

She was hoping to find a reference to another file, as she had done when she searched the "My First File" document with Dell, but she was expecting too much—the last thing on the list was a Winglass III aircraft kit.

She closed the file, then she sat in front of the old computer and tried to remember as much as she could about her father's project. At the time Mr. Planemaker was planning to build a model aeroplane, Emmelisa was only five years old and had shown very little interest in the project, except when the decision was made about which type of aircraft he was going to build.

Emmelisa remembered sitting round the kitchen table with her mother and father, and Dell, when Cosmos pushed one of the model aircraft pages onto the floor, leaving only one model aircraft page on the table, the Flying Machine PH1. All the family burst out laughing as Cosmos made the final selection.

Suddenly, she recalled her father saying, "Well! It looks as though Cosmos has made the final choice!"

Dell had said something about being pleased because the PH1 was his favourite, then her father added, "I'll set up a new file for the Flying Machine PH1 and name it 'Cosmos's Choice'."

"That's it," Emmelisa thought, as she clicked on the "My Files" folder, but she was yet again disappointed. It wasn't there.

She closed down the "My Files" window and clicked on the "My Computer" icon. There it was in the small window that appeared on the screen, "Cosmos's Choice." She could hardly contain her excitement as she double clicked the mouse to open the file.

The document read:

My Project

Final choice:

The Flying Machine PH1

Manufactured by Deus Flying Machines Company

Ordered from Heavenly Fliers on the Internet

Delivery Date: 04 01 02

Emmelisa knew instinctively that she had finally found what she was searching for: 04 01 02. She remembered A. Leon Spaceman suggested that the password was a number because the "My Future Life" file contained all the information for the person born on the twenty-fifth of June nineteen fifty-eight.

The code name was probably also a number because the delivery date for the Flying Machine PH1 was the same day that her father died.

She was too afraid to visit Hardwareland without Dell, but at least she was sure that she'd found the code.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Time in Hardwareland

Children have neither past nor future; and that which seldom

happens to us, they rejoice in the present.

– Jean de La Bruyere

Dell knew that Emmelisa was pleased about something because she looked so smug during tea. Dell's team had won the football match by three goals to two, so he was pretty pleased as well!

After tea, Emmelisa helped with the dishes and Dell disappeared upstairs.

"Thank you, Emmelisa," Mrs. Planemaker said, as she finished drying the last of the dishes.

"Do you need me for anything else?" Emmelisa asked her mother.

"No, is there something you wanted to watch on television?"

"No, but I do want to ask Dell something."

Mrs. Planemaker wondered why her daughter hadn't asked Dell during teatime, but thought that maybe she'd forgotten. Recently, she was aware that the two children had seemed unusually secretive, but she put the idea to the back of her mind because Dell and Emmelisa were getting on so well these days.

"Okay, off you go," she said, and her daughter skipped out of the room and bounded up the stairs.

Dell had been waiting for his sister's knock on his bedroom door— he knew she was up to something!

"Well," he said, "tell me what you're so pleased about."

"I know the code name," she boasted. "I found it this afternoon while you were out."

"If we go back to Hardwareland this evening, Mum might get suspicious," Dell warned.

"Tomorrow then, can we go tomorrow?" Emmelisa asked persuasively.

"Okay, tomorrow...tomorrow morning."

After breakfast the following day, Mrs. Planemaker wasn't even slightly surprised when her two children said that they wanted to spend some time together on the old computer.

"Have you planned to do anything else for the rest of the day?" she asked.

Emmelisa smiled inside as she thought to herself, "Oh yes, we've very special plans for today!"

Mrs. Planemaker was completely unaware of her daughter's thoughts because the two children looked at each other as though they didn't understand the question.

"Off you go," she said, "we can decide later if there's anything you want to do this afternoon."

The two children sauntered casually out of the kitchen into the hallway and then practically fell over each other as they ran up the stairs.

When they entered Emmelisa's bedroom, the computer was already switched on and a familiar face greeted them.

"Good morning, Dell and Emmelisa," Mr. Spaceman said cheerfully.

"Oh, hello!" the children replied, as Emmelisa glanced around the room and spied Cosmos curled up on the duvet.

"We don't need to search for anything," Emmelisa blurted out. "It must have been Cosmos. He probably touched the mouse or the keyboard to summon you to the screen."

"Maybe Cosmos thinks there is a question you should ask," Mr. Spaceman responded.

The two children looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"You can share your secret with me. It will be perfectly safe. I have not been guilty of a single indiscretion in five thousand years."

"What does indiscretion mean?" Emmelisa asked.

"It means I have _never_ repeated a secret," Mr. Spaceman said firmly.

"Oh, well..." Emmelisa looked slightly embarrassed, so Dell interrupted, "You helped us to find the password to dad's 'My Future

Life' file. We opened the file and it led us to Hardwareland, where we met Mr. Wiz Kidd—the weird guy we told you about. He's not so weird really and his work place is amazing. He told us to follow my dad's trail of light. He told us to find out as much as we could about dad's model aeroplane project."

"Mr. Wiz Kidd is always very helpful," Mr. Spaceman replied.

"He was! We found dad's first file 'My First File' and it said to open 'My Project'—the file containing the name of the model aircraft kit dad had ordered—the Flying Machine PH1."

"Then we went back to Hardwareland," Emmelisa intervened.

"We met a professor—she was a scientist or something, but I can't remember her name," Dell added.

"Mad," Mr. Spaceman said.

"What?" Dell asked.

"Not what, who—Professor A. Madeleine Scientist: everyone calls her Mad."

"Oh," Dell laughed, "She's a mad scientist!"

"She told us to find a code name," his sister blurted out, before she added, with more than a hint of pride. "I found the code!"

Dell was about to say, "Stop boasting, Lisa," but Mr. Spaceman intervened.

"Well done, young lady," Mr. Spaceman praised Emmelisa as Dell was thrown back into his own thoughts.

"I have a question," he suddenly remembered something he needed to ask.

Dell had sensed that his mother was becoming suspicious. He knew that he would fail miserably if he attempted lying to her. Without fail, she knew if he wasn't telling the truth and he always felt foolish.

"How do we stop Mum from finding out about Hardwareland? If we keep disappearing for hours at a time, she's bound to realise that something's going on."

"Hours at a time," Mr. Spaceman thought aloud. "Oh, I understand. You think that every time you visit Hardwareland, the clock keeps ticking. But it does not: the clock stops. Anytime you spend in Hardwareland is no time at all. You arrive and leave at precisely the same time. You do not lose a second."

"I don't understand," Emmelisa said with a perplexed look on her face.

"Time in Hardwareland is in nanoseconds. One nanosecond in Hardwareland is equivalent to one real second on earth. A nanosecond is one billionth of a second (10-9 s)."

"What's a billionth?"

"A billion is one thousand million, so a billionth is the same as a thousand millionth."

"How long is a thousand million seconds?"

"Thirty-one years, nine months and eighteen days. If you were to spend this length of time in Hardwareland you would have used one second of real time on Earth."

"Wow!" Dell exclaimed.

"What does it mean?" Emmelisa asked, as she tried to get her mind around the idea of a billion seconds. "Does it mean that on Earth we take a long time to do things that take less than a second inside a computer?"

"Yes, indeed," Mr. Spaceman beamed. "Computers can calculate much faster than humans can. A computer does not need to think and thinking takes up time."

"Computers aren't very clever then, if they can't think!"

"No," Mr. Spaceman agreed, "computers are not very clever."

Although he already knew the answer, Dell was thinking in much more practical terms as he queried, "So, we can stay as long as we like in Hardwareland?"

"Yes," Mr. Spaceman said reassuringly.

"Thank you, Mr. Spaceman," Emmelisa thanked A. Leon Spaceman with a smile. "Bye."

He disappeared and the screen reverted to the "Desktop." Emmelisa clicked on the "My Computer" icon before she opened "My Project" and then she clicked on the blue "Flying Machine PH1." The web site for "Heavenly Fliers" appeared on the screen. She moved the pointer over the words "Deus Flying Machine Company" in the white ellipse and clicked the mouse. The screen went blank when she finally clicked on the "Flying Machine PH1" that appeared among a list of aircraft kits.

Emmelisa was busily typing in the password inside the dialogue box that appeared on the screen, when Dell raised his voice, "Stop! Wait! You haven't told me the code name yet. What if you're wrong!"

"Well, it will take less than a second to find out," Emmelisa countered as she finished typing 25 06 58 and hit the return key.

Instantly, they were back in Hardwareland.

"Can you remember the building for returned items?" Dell asked his sister.

"I think so," Emmelisa replied, not too confidently.

Carefully, they tried to retrace their steps leading to the building where unassembled kits were stored.

"This one," Emmelisa suggested, more assuredly, as she strode through the entrance to the building that was as quiet and empty as the first time they visited.

The children walked across the reception area to the desk and Dell rang the silver bell once.

They recognised the receptionist, who greeted them, "Hello, can I help you?"

"My dad's model aeroplane kit is stored here—the Flying Machine PH1," Dell stated.

"Do you have the code name?" the receptionist asked, not expecting a positive reply.

"Yes," Emmelisa announced with an air of confidence. "It's 04 01 02."

The receptionist typed the code into the computer and waited for verification.

"Level four, row one, section two. Would you like to take the kit with you unassembled or should I send it to the CPU?"

"What's the CPU?" Emmelisa wondered.

"The Central Processing Unit building," the receptionist replied. "Do you want the kit assembling?"

"Yes, please!" the children exclaimed as their excitement spilled out.

The receptionist wondered why they were so elated; she simply regarded this as an unusual and rare request but nothing to get so worked up about. She typed in some more information and waited for the computer to respond.

"Your request for transfer has been registered. If you take this to the CPU, they will process the Flying Machine PH1," she explained as she removed a piece of paper from the printer with the authorisation for assembly.

Dell and Emmelisa could hardly believe that they were going to see the model aeroplane that their father had hoped to build all those years ago. As they left the building, they were happier than they had felt since before their father died.

The CPU building was easy to find because it was the tallest building in the middle of all the other buildings. As they walked towards the tall building, flashes of light streaked past them as buses zipped in and out of the surrounding buildings.

When they entered the reception area of the CPU, they felt as nervous as they had outside in the dazzling traffic. The first time they'd entered this building, they'd been more comfortable with Mr. Wiz Kidd around to help them.

They were feeling out of place, without Mr. Kidd or Professor Scientist around, until they realised that everyone was too busy to even notice them.

As they threaded their way through the crowds of grey-suited information carriers, they started to feel more at ease and, by the time they reached the reception desk, some of their confidence had returned.

They had to wait for several minutes before they drew the attention of one of the receptionists, who gave them a friendly greeting. "Hi there, can I help you?"

Dell produced the letter of authorisation and handed it to the young man.

"My dad's model aeroplane kit has been sent here to be processed."

The young man read the authorisation and said, "Model aeroplane kit? Are you sure?"

"Yes," the children replied with confidence.

"Well not according to this. This is authorisation for the Flying Machine PH1."

"That's it. That's dad's model aeroplane," Dell confirmed.

"The Flying Machine PH1 is not a model aeroplane," the young man insisted.

Dell and Emmelisa were suddenly despondent. It had all seemed too easy and they were afraid that someone soon would wave a magic wand that would reveal a cruel conjuring trick, preventing them from following their father's trail of light.

"Oh," they said, showing their disappointment.

"This is a special order space module," the young man explained.

"What?" Dell was dumbfounded, but his curiosity overcame his loss of words. "What's a space module?"

"The Flying Machine PH1 is capable of space exploration. It's a two-manned, small spacecraft."

Then Dell really was speechless.

"So it can fly?" Emmelisa wasn't sure if spacecraft flew; they just seemed to float around in space.

"This machine is capable of flying very well—very well indeed. Do you want to send the kit to be assembled?"

"Yes," the children enthused, "yes, please."

The receptionist placed the paper onto the feeder of a machine similar to a small photocopying machine. A few seconds later, a piece of paper appeared at the opposite end of the machine. The receptionist picked up the paper, which he then read. "The Flying Machine PH1 has been sent to the Manned Spaceflight Centre. Here is the address," the young man said as he handed the paper to Dell.

"If you want to catch a bus out to the MSC, go to the peripheral building and take a bus on hub one."

"Where's the peripheral building?" Emmelisa enquired.

"It's only a short bus ride away. All the buses travelling on the blue lines go to the peripheral building. The bus terminus is in the basement."

The receptionist pointed to a moving escalator that led down to the basement.

The bus terminus was enormous. The busy concourse was crowded with porters wearing grey overalls, who were loading and unloading information onto and off the buses. The children looked through the crowds until they spotted the blue lines.

As they wove their way among the porters, flashes of light zipped in and out as buses arrived and departed.

They found a stationary blue line bus and climbed aboard.

When the bus was finally full of information, the doors closed and the children were jolted back into their seats. They experienced a tremendous force pressing against their backs as the bus sped along at a terrific speed. Then the bus stopped almost immediately: they arrived at their destination without even realising that they'd begun their journey.

The first indication that they'd left the CPU building and arrived at the peripheral building came when they glanced through the window of the bus—the porters were wearing blue overalls.

"What happened then?" Emmelisa asked her brother.

Dell looked through the window and realised that although the concourse was just as full of porters, it was much smaller than the one in the basement of the CPU building.

"I think we've arrived," he said.

"Are you sure?" Emmelisa wasn't too sure herself. "We didn't seem to move at all; apart from a sudden jolt."

"Remember that Mr. Whiz Kidd said that all buses travel at the same speed. The same very fast speed—like a zip of light."

"Oh, is that why we didn't see anything through the window?"

"I guess so," her brother replied with a grin, "I guess you don't see very much in a few nanoseconds!"

They descended the bus and found a flight of stairs leading to the ground floor of the peripheral building that was nearly as busy as the Central Processing Unit.

Dell asked one of the blue-suited receptionists to direct them to hub one. The receptionist entered their names into the desk computer and waited a few seconds; then he explained, "Would you please wait in the buffer room on level one. Someone from the Manned Space-flight Centre will meet you and escort you to the centre."

The two children thanked the receptionist. As they walked towards the stairs, a metal door slid open revealing an empty elevator. The children stepped inside simply for the experience, even though they only travelled up one level.

They hardly seemed to be moving before they arrived at level one.

"Everything in Hardwareland seems to travel really fast," Dell noted, as they walked through the sliding doors onto the landing of level one. They looked around for the buffer room, which was full of people with information waiting to be escorted to the many different peripheral centres.

In no time at all, a man, who seemed to be about the same age as Mr. Wiz Kidd, arrived to take them to the Manned Spaceflight Centre.

He was wearing a light blue pair of front zippered overalls with a flying logo sewn onto the left zippered pocket, a pair of white trainers and a dark blue baseball cap with the same flying logo.

"Hello, you must be Dell and Emmelisa. I'm Guy Dewaround. If you follow me, we'll go down to take a bus to the MSC."

When they arrived at the Manned Spaceflight Centre, they had to go through a security check. Dell and Emmelisa were given "guest" badges to wear and baseball caps, exactly the same as the one Mr. Dewaround was wearing only smaller.

The children pinned on their badges and donned their caps before they passed through security. Then they got their first glimpse of the layout of the Manned Spaceflight Centre.

Immediately ahead, they could see a collection of modern buildings built of white stone with dark glass windows. Neatly trimmed lawns and artificial feature ponds surrounded the buildings which were set against a clear blue sky in dazzling sunshine that bounced off the dark windows and made the stone brilliant white.

The layout looked like a college campus and not a place of training and preparing astronauts for flights into space, but in the background they could see larger buildings without any visible windows and large storage tanks that gave a more industrial feel to the place.

"These are the main offices," Mr. Dewaround explained, as they walked towards the modern buildings, "and this is the Astronaut Office. We'll return here later—first I want to show you the prototype building."

Dell and Emmelisa, who felt very privileged wearing their baseball caps, walked alongside Mr. Dewaround with an air of confidence.

A man dressed in the same outfit as Guy Dewaround nodded toward the small group as they approached an enormous building and said, "Good morning."

As he spoke, a doorway the width of two jumbo jet aircraft slid open revealing a vast open space—bigger than Old Trafford football stadium.

Inside the building, the two children could see groups of engineers, technicians and scientists working around various types of spacecraft at different stages of construction.

A young woman walked towards them and introduced herself, with a welcoming smile, "Hi, I'm Ann Astronaught. You must be Dell and Emmelisa Planemaker."

The two children returned her smile and said, "Hello."

"The PH1 was delivered earlier this morning. I've already been aboard. It's a small machine but wonderfully constructed. I think you'll like it. It's over here," she gestured towards the back of the building.

"I'll leave you with Ann," Mr. Dewaround said. "I'll catch up with you later."

Ann Astronaught led the two children around the collection of semiconstructed spacecraft. She explained to the children that these were all prototypes and had never been previously used on any of the space missions.

"The PH1 was one of our best prototypes but it never made it to any of the missions."

Dell was perplexed by this comment, so he asked, "If it was so good, why was it not used?"

"I was one of the test pilots for the PH1," she explained. "It passed all the tests with flying colours but only one kit was sent out. When it was returned unassembled, the team decided to shelve it and no more kits were produced."

As they wove their way through the mass of construction, Dell was the first to recognise his dad's flying machine—the PH1.

The Flying Machine PH1 was a small, cone-shaped machine with PH1 in large letters painted onto the light grey metal surface.

"Did you assemble this from dad's kit?" Dell asked in amazement.

"No, we receive prototypes at different stages of assembly so that we can test them and make suggestions during the development stages. The PH1 was fully assembled before it was delivered."

"But it was still a kit when we left the Central Processing Unit." Dell couldn't believe that this module had been assembled in such a short time.

"Everything is completed extremely quickly in Hardwareland," Ms. Astronaught replied matter-of-factly.

"Can this machine fly?" Emmelisa asked.

"Oh yes, it flies very well."

"But it doesn't have any wings."

"It doesn't need wings. It flies in space, not in the Earth's atmosphere."

"How does it get into space?"

"By attaching it to a rocket."

"Wow," Dell said, "you mean a real rocket! A space rocket."

"Yes, a very powerful rocket," Ann Astronaught replied, then she invited the two children to climb into the space module through the square hatchway. Inside the module cabin, there were two couches, side by side close to the instrument panel with its switches, knobs and controls.

"Take a seat," she suggested to the children so that they could experience for the first time how it felt for an astronaut, who was about to be strapped inside a spacecraft ready to fly into outer space.

"If we follow dad's trail of light, will we fly in this machine?" Emmelisa asked, excitedly and yet frightened all at the same time.

"Yes," Ann Astronaught replied. "Don't be afraid. You will be taught everything you need to know to get into space. While you follow your father's trail of light, mission control will be in constant touch with you. If there are any problems during your flight, the Manned Spaceflight Centre has the technology to bring you swiftly back to Earth."

"When can we begin our flying lessons?" Dell asked.

CHAPTER F0URTEEN

Time Flies

Sed fugit intera, fugit inreparabile tempus,

But meanwhile it is flying, irretrievably time is flying,

– Virgil _Georgics no.3, 1, 284_

Guy Dewaround was standing talking to one of the engineers when Dell and Emmelisa climbed out of the cabin of the Flying Machine PH1. He walked towards the children and said, "Are you ready to start flying now?"

They were full of enthusiasm and keen to learn as much as they possibly could as they replied, "Can we? When can we start?"

"As soon as you've passed the flight training course. I'll take you back to the Astronaut Office and you can sign up for simulator training and then we'll get you fitted for spacesuits."

Then Guy Dewaround, the two children and Ann Astronaught made their way to the Astronaut Office. At the office, a young flight officer asked Dell and Emmelisa to sign up for pilot training lessons that would take place in the simulator laboratory.

Then Guy escorted them to the small Space Outfitters building, where they were measured for spacesuits.

Inside the Space Outfitters, there were racks of spacesuits and shelves full of space helmets and footwear. But the mannequins around the room, clad in full spacewear, fascinated them the most.

"Hi, I'm Sue Tassistant," a young woman introduced herself, as she tried to gain their attention.

The children turned and saw a smartly dressed young woman with a name badge pinned to the lapel of her navy blue suit. She looked like a flight attendant in her well cut suit, pale blue shirt and black court shoes.

"Oh, hello, these spacesuits are amazing," Dell said.

"I'll collect you later," Guy Dewaround told the children. He left them in the charge of Sue Tassistant, who explained that she was going to measure Emmelisa first and then Mr. Sootfitter would measure Dell.

"I've never measured anyone so small," she said to Emmelisa. "We don't have a suit small enough for you to try on, but this won't be a problem. Every spacesuit we order is made to the astronaut's exact measurements."

Emmelisa looked at all the racks of spacewear and asked, "What are these for?"

"It's easier to assess individual requirements if astronauts can try a suit on for size, but it isn't essential. I should be able to take all the measurements I need if you would please step into the fitting room."

Inside the fitting room, Sue Tassistant took very precise measurements and wrote them down meticulously. When she'd finished, she said, "Thank you, Emmelisa, you've been extremely patient."

Patience wasn't one of Emmelisa's virtues but she was so thrilled at the prospect of possessing her own spacesuit, if she had to, she would willingly repeat the whole process!

When they returned to the room full of spacesuits, they found Dell talking with Mr. Space Sootfitter, who had already introduced himself.

"Your turn now," he said, as he led Dell to the fitting room.

Dell underwent the exact same measuring process as his sister and showed the same degree of patience and interest. He thought that owning a spacesuit was the coolest thing he'd ever done.

While Dell and Emmelisa were at the Space Outfitters, a team composed of astronauts, engineers, scientists, mission control staff and technicians had assembled in the Astronaut Office.

These people, with many years of Space experience, made up the team that would be responsible for the safety of the PH1 module, during take-off, exploration and landing, in the special mission to follow Mr. Planemaker's trail of light.

When the children walked into the Astronaut Office with Guy Dewaround, they were surprised to see so many people.

Ann Astronaught stepped forward and said, "Hello again, let me introduce you to the rest of the team."

Dell and Emmelisa were formally introduced to: Ace Astronought, Space Engineer, Madeleine Scientist, Astro Fizicist, Mish Oncontrol, Sim Ulayshun, Folt Finder, Tek Nission and Wizard Kidd.

When they spoke to Mr. Space Engineer, he greeted them warmly, "Hello, pleased to meet you at last. I met your father. I installed a telephone line for Dell's computer."

Dell was too shy to reply in front of all these people. He wanted to say, "That was an amazing dimmer switch you fitted for Mr. Kidd," but the words wouldn't come out.

Both children recognised Professor Madeleine Scientist and when they were finally introduced to Mr. Wizard Kidd, they felt as though they were meeting an old friend.

"Do you work here as well?" Dell asked Mr. Kidd.

"I've a long term contract to fix any of the malfunctioning computers at the centre," Mr. Kidd replied.

Dell remembered that Mr. Kidd had fixed his dad's computer in next to no time. He must have been working in Hardwareland time!

After all the introductions, Mr. Borne Leader, who was the Director of Operations, asked everyone to take a seat while he gave a briefing about the mission.

"I would like to welcome Dell and Emmelisa Planemaker to the MSC. I'm Borne Leader and I will be directing the special mission that has been set up for the Flying Machine PH1 space module. The name of this special mission is 'The Trail of Light Mission.' You've all been introduced to the two young astronauts, who've already signed up for simulator training.

"Sim Ulayshun has been designated simulation instructor for the two young astronauts. Professor Madeleine Scientist and Astro Physicist will be responsible for co-ordinating the flight of the space rocket and PH1 with the computerised control system and checking all data.

"Space Engineer and Con Solengineer will work with all the engineers engaged in the mission to ensure that the Flying Machine PH1 is fully operational. Mish Oncontrol will be in command of the mission control station. Folt Finder and Tek Nission will be in charge of detection and correction of any computer faults before and during the mission.

"Are there any questions?"

Dell wondered why Mr. Borne Leader didn't mention Mr. Wiz Kidd, but he wasn't brave enough to ask.

"Thank you for your attention," Mr. Leader said when there were no questions. "One last thing, Mr. Wiz Kidd, thank you for attending. If any of the equipment fails, we know that we can rely on you."

Then the group, except for the two astronauts, Ann Astronaught and Ace Astronought, left the office.

"Good luck," Mr. Kidd said as he left the office, "I hope everything goes well."

"Well done!" Professor Scientist added her congratulations as she left. "We're all looking forward to seeing the PH1 finally launched. I hope the training goes well—I'm sure it will."

The two young astronauts were eager to start the training course but they knew very little about how they would be trained and how long it would last.

Before they began the simulator training course, Mr. Leader set up a meeting with the four astronauts. He explained to Dell and Emmelisa how the mission would be put into operation and how much control they would have throughout their time in space.

The young astronauts were about to learn how to follow instructions. During the mission, they would be in constant contact with the two senior astronauts, who would radio instructions through to Dell and Emmelisa.

"At no time will you be in control of PH1," Mr. Leader stated firmly. "Every operation you perform at the control panel will be at the command of your respective senior astronaut. Ann Astronaught will be responsible for Emmelisa's actions and Ace Astronought will be responsible for Dell's actions.

"It must be clearly understood that, for the success of this mission, all commands must be strictly adhered to. Failure to obey these commands will result in an aborted mission."

Emmelisa was about to ask what "aborted" meant but she realised that she would probably appear stupid so she stayed silent. When she had the chance to speak with Ann Astronaught alone, she asked about the meaning of the word "aborted."

"It means mission control would summon you to Earth without completing the mission."

Emmelisa resolved to obey every command.

"Any questions?" Mr. Leader asked.

There were no questions—everything was clearly understood.

Over the following months in Hardwareland time, the two children spent most of their days learning how to fly a space module.

The simulation flight deck was housed in the simulator laboratory. Here, astronauts were put through a rigorous training regime. Training went well and the children were very attentive. During the simulated flights, they wore headphones connecting them to their respective senior astronauts.

At the beginning of the training, Dell accidentally simulated flipping the space module completely upside down and Emmelisa did a triple somersault. However, with practise the children improved until they were following commands without making any mistakes.

The reports from Sim Ulayshun to Born Leader showed that the children were making a gradual improvement in their performance.

When the reports included phrases such as "excellent concentration" and "perfect execution," Mr. Leader called a team meeting and announced the proposed date for launching the Flying Machine PH1 into space. In three weeks time, the young astronauts would be strapped into their space module ready to begin the "Trail of Light Mission."

The next stage of the children's training involved the use of a simulator that was an exact replica of the PH1 cabin. In the simulation laboratory, a carpeted stairway led to the small, square hatchway of the replica of the PH1 module. Inside the cabin, every switch, dial and control was simulated to function in exactly the same way as the real thing. Here, the two children learned how to obey every command from their superior, senior astronauts. During the practice flights, the simulation instructors sat in front of the consoles in the laboratory and followed every move made by the children.

The four astronauts together performed magnificently but the star of the show was the onboard computer.

Emmelisa had said to Mr. A. Leon Spaceman "...computers aren't very clever then, if they can't think." This computer was incapable of thought but it could calculate PH1's position and path through space using Isaac Newton's equations of motion, with a degree of accuracy that was awesome. Also, it would align the PH1's gyroscope navigation platform with the stars, fire the rocket engines with precision and keep the radio antenna aimed at Earth.

In fact, the computer could almost fly the space module singlehandedly! But this was too risky. The computer only performed well if everything worked, and not everything did!

To test the computer, the simulation instructors would throw in simulated malfunctions that would give the computer false data to work on. Problems such as engine failure or electrical trouble.

Without the help of Ann Astronaught and Ace Astronought the children would not have been able to deal with these problems and would have failed the simulator-training programme. However, the seasoned astronauts were more than a match for the simulation instructors and they coped well with everything the instructors threw at them.

The four astronauts had gelled into a formidable and trustworthy team. With everything going so well, things started to ease a little. The serious business of learning how to fly had been mastered and there was time to think of less weighty matters—such as the emblem for the mission.

Dell and Emmelisa were consulted and came up with the same suggestion immediately: Cosmos. They wanted Cosmos to be the emblem for the Flying Machine PH1.

Ann Astronaught had a flair for artwork and agreed to produce a drawing. They were thrilled when the final drawing was completed because it was as close a likeness as a photograph; due to the two children's clear and precise, graphic descriptions.

The emblem was painted onto the Flying Machine PH1 module and two round embroidered emblems were sewn onto all their spacesuits.

Thoughts of Cosmos brought back a reminder of the email message he'd sent to Hardwareland that simply said, "Say goodbye."

Emmelisa knew that these words would "abort" their adventure at the Manned Spaceflight Centre. She also realised that since they'd arrived at the MSC, neither she nor Dell had said goodbye to anyone.

She was going to be extremely careful in future, but would Dell be as wary? She decided to have a quiet word with him about the awful consequences of saying "goodbye."

"Do you remember the message we received from Cosmos in Hardwareland?"

"Yes," Dell replied.

"Don't repeat any of the words," Emmelisa stressed firmly. "Everything will disappear and we will be back in my bedroom."

"So, what's the big deal? We can always come back again."

"But astronauts are not supposed to disappear like A. Leon Spaceman."

"Oh no, I suppose not," Dell gave this some thought. "Oh, now I see what you're getting at. In a few days time we'll be leaving the MSC. Everybody here will want to say..." Dell stopped himself just in time.

"Exactly!"

"Won't they think it's odd if we don't say...you know?"

"You'll have to think of something else to say. It's really important," Emmelisa said firmly.

"Don't worry, Lisa, I want to complete this mission as much as you do. I agree, it is really important. You can trust me."

A week before the day of the launch, Guy Dewaround transported Dell and Emmelisa to the Rocket Launch Base. There was a great deal of excitement on the day Guy Dewaround arrived at the Astronaut Office to collect the two young astronauts.

When they appeared outside the Astronaut Office building, a crowd of well wishers had gathered. They recognised most of the faces of this group of support staff: engineers, technicians, scientists and ground control staff. The crowd cheered and applauded at the sight of the two young astronauts.

"Good luck!" someone called out as several more people added, "Have a good flight. See you when you get back."

Dell's enthusiasm swelled as he responded, "Thanks for everything. See you later."

"Thanks, you've been great. We'll miss you," his sister added.

One of the female staff wiped a tear from her eye, as she filled with emotion at the sight of these two young people, who were about to begin a very dangerous journey into unknown space.

At the Rocket Launch Base, Dell and Emmelisa were given separate rooms in Aerospace House, which provided accommodation for visiting astronauts.

Aerospace House was run like a small guesthouse and offered all the comforts of home with all the advantages of a well-run hotel. They thought that their time at the RLB might go very slowly. Until they arrived at the Rocket Launch Base, every minute of their time had been organised for them. They expected that, with a great deal of free time in a small hotel with very little to do, they would easily become bored.

How wrong they were!

During their week's stay, everything was just as organised as before. It was vital to keep their minds occupied and focused on the task ahead of them. They were kept busy from morning till night as the days flew by.

And so, the final day arrived!

The launch date had been confirmed and released to the media, causing a great deal of interest. Crowds of people arrived outside the RLB, hours before the launch.

Dell and Emmelisa were still in bed as the crowds gathered to see the first rocket to fly into space manned by two children. They'd hardly slept at all during the night because their minds were too active. They'd never been so excited about anything. They had been too afraid to fall asleep; what if they awoke to find they'd been dreaming and they weren't going to fly into space to follow their father's trail of light?

From the moment they were fully awake from their fitful sleep, they followed a strict routine that they'd practised many times. The familiarity of the routine settled their nerves and sharpened their minds. Although they were about to take part in the real event, it felt like a practice run.

The space mission routine began with a breakfast specially chosen by the medical staff at MSC, to provide a well-balanced meal that would be easy to digest and was unlikely to cause the children to feel sick during lift-off.

After breakfast, they were collected by Guy Dewaround and escorted to the launch pad—Pad 43. Before they reached the launch pad, the two young astronauts were dropped at the pre-flight building. It was here that the discipline of space travel really began.

They showered, and then they donned their specially constructed coverall underwear before they slipped into their white space suits and boots.

When they emerged from their separate dressing rooms, they looked like twins. They weren't allowed to leave the building until every item they wore had been thoroughly checked. Finally, the team of dressers were satisfied and Guy Dewaround was allowed to take them to the huge launch tower on Pad 43.

As they approached the tower, the two children held their breath as they received their first glimpse of the space rocket. At the very top they could see the letters PH1 with the painted logo of Cosmos on the side of the command module.

From the base of the launch pad, before they entered the elevator, they turned and waved to a crowd of people in the distance that had gathered in the early hours of the morning, outside the perimeter fence of the RLB. The crowd waved and cheered, as they tried to catch a glimpse of the two young astronauts.

Inside the fence, a small group of cameramen had been allowed to record this unique event that was being broadcast live around the world.

Dell and Emmelisa thanked Guy Dewaround, as they boarded a small elevator.

"Thanks, Guy. See you later," they chorused, as the door closed and the elevator started to rise up to level 8—over two hundred feet up.

When the elevator doors slid open, two familiar faces greeted them: space flight attendants, Dek Helper and Cab Increw. The two attendants escorted the young astronauts across an enclosed swing arm that led to the square hatch entrance of the space module.

As they approached the hatchway leading to the cabin, the two children filled with emotion. All the training at the MSC had been done in a replica but they were about to step inside their dad's "Flying Machine PH1" that had been specially assembled in Hardwareland and transported from the MSC.

Inside the cabin, they strapped themselves into their couches as they prepared for the first stage of their "Trail of Light Mission."

Then they reached for the headphones that would play a vital role during this extraordinary exploration.

Dek and Cab, as in so many previous simulations, checked that everything was secure and safe for lift-off.

"Have a good flight," Dek said, keeping control of his emotions.

"Everything okay?" Cab asked.

"Yes thanks," the two young astronauts replied.

Dek and Cab swung the hatch door closed and the bolts slid electronically into place. The two men checked that the hatchway door was firmly secured. Then they walked along the swing arm to the tower. The access arm swung away and the final countdown began. From then on, Dell and Emmelisa Planemaker would be alone in space following their father's trail of light.

At last, the countdown reached its last minute at the Rocket Launch Base. "T minus fifty seconds and counting...all internal power transfers completed satisfactorily...T minus thirty seconds and counting...T minus twenty..." Finally, the last ten seconds were announced, "Ten, nine, start ignition sequence..."

Almost immediately, a torrent of fire roared at Pad 43, and continued for many seconds as the watching crowd held its breath. When the count reached zero, the rocket attached to PH1 slowly rose from the pad, trailing a long tail of brilliant, white light—the flame of burning fuel from the powerful engines that lifted the rocket into the heavens.

The deafening roar of the engines drowned out the cheers of the crowd as the rocket lifted gracefully into the sky. The rocket sped upwards and gained in speed until it disappeared.

It was gone.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The Earth, the Sun and the Comet

To see the earth as we now see it, small and beautiful in

that eternal silence where it floats,

– Archibald MacLeish, Bubble of Blue Air

After less than a minute, the rocket had gone supersonic as the PH1 soared smoothly upwards through the clouds and into the earth's rarefied atmosphere. By then, the launch centre had yielded command to mission control.

The on-board computers read data from the gyroscope and directed the rocket to arc slowly over until it followed the curve of the earth— almost flying horizontally as it picked up speed.

Inside the PH1 module, after the first stage engines had shut down, everything was quiet and still within five minutes of lift-off. Although the g-forces had lessened and the two young astronauts were no longer pinned back in their couches, they remained strapped in and listened intently through their headphones to Ace Astronought and Ann Astronaught. To every check of the instruments they were asked to make, they replied, "Reading okay."

Seven minutes into the flight, PH1 was picking up speed as the rocket hurtled through the outer limits of the earth's upper atmosphere.

The second stage engines shut down after eight minutes as the third stage kicked in, producing the final increase in speed until, after eleven minutes and one point zero two seconds, the engines fell silent.

PH1 was in orbit.

Dell and Emmelisa were circling the Earth, one hundred and fifty miles up, travelling at a speed greater than seventeen thousand miles per hour. By that time they were flying with the third stage engines shut down, stages one and two had been released to fall and break up in their decent earthward.

The level of light inside the cabin had increased considerably when the first stage engines were released, as the covers slid back and allowed daylight to flood through the windows. In the improved light, the young astronauts had stolen a glimpse through the circular window of the side hatch.

They both held their breath as they saw the Earth for the first time, swathed in dark blue oceans beneath swirling white clouds set against a pitch black sky. At the moment they caught sight of the wonderful world they'd left behind, a news broadcaster on live television announced, "Two young astronauts, Dell and Emmelisa Planemaker, made space history today, as they embarked on the 'Trail of Light Mission.' They are the first children to go into orbit around the Earth after what was described by the Director of Operations at mission control in Hardwareland as a perfect launch."

When they started their first orbit of the Earth, Borne Leader spoke to the children from mission control, "Your journey has begun and you're looking good."

The first time they experienced the real sensation of weightlessness, they were already in orbit. Out of most of the Earth's gravitational pull, the pressure on their bodies against their couches disappeared. They unfastened their harnesses and allowed their bodies to slowly lift and hang in the air; suspended above their couches. The sensation was unbelievable; not like floating in water or floating in air while attached to a parachute. Floating in zero gravity was altogether something else—it was magic!

Dell floated to the round window in search of Earth. He waited until Emmelisa floated close by and then he grabbed her hand and pulled her to his side.

"Look," he said, as they gazed at the Earth in the distance.

From their faraway viewpoint, the Earth looked like a blue planet. The Earth's atmosphere was scattering the blue components of sunlight in preference to the red/yellow components. This scattered light wrapped the globe in a light-blue haze.

"It's blue!" Emmelisa exclaimed. "Dad's favourite colour!"

Most of the earth's surface was covered in wide, expansive oceans with only occasional land masses appearing then disappearing as the Earth slowly rotated.

"Can you see Pierton?" Emmelisa asked.

"No," Dell replied. "Try to find the British Isles."

Their eyes were still fixed on the Earth when they received a message from mission control telling them that the stage three engines were about to be released.

After the third-stage engines had been cut loose, the young astronauts would be free to leave this confined area of the PH1 module, and to float around the command module where they would spend most of their time until the mission was completed.

Quickly, they returned to their couches, strapped themselves in and waited for their instructions.

Part of stage three involved re-igniting the engines so that PH1 could be put on course for the first stage of its mission—to dock at the Satellite Station Orbit II.

The last minute of countdown for ignition arrived after all the necessary checks had been made to set up the computers to re-align PH1. This was a critical time because the young astronauts knew that unless the engines fired, they would remain in orbit around the Earth.

When the final countdown reached ten seconds, the computers were ready to operate ignition. The count reached zero as the third-stage engines roared into life, changing the direction of the space module and bringing it into line and heading straight for Orbit II.

Immediately, the rocket veered to one side as it changed course.

When the line of direction was set, a message from mission control came through, "You're looking great from here. Bang on target for SSOII."

This message was followed by a deafening noise: the whole of mission control had erupted into spontaneous applause.

The next message they received through their headphones announced that it was safe for them to climb out of their spacesuits. Without their heavy suits, they gained a wonderful, new freedom. Under their spacesuits, they were wearing zippered, lightweight overalls that allowed a greater range of movement.

They began to float freely in the cramped cabin that seemed to expand as their bulk shrank.

For the next few minutes, they enjoyed propelling themselves across the cabin to the lower equipment bay, where they stored their spacesuits. Here, there was space to stretch out and hang upside down. Provided they didn't perform too many somersaults and make themselves sick, floating around the control module was like being in wonderland.

As Dell tumbled in suspended animation, his sister floated to the round, hatch window to see if she could find the British Isles. She was having difficulty working out the earth's landmasses. The real Earth didn't look anything like the small world globe she'd received in her Christmas stocking. All the countries on that globe were painted different colours and they weren't shrouded in clouds.

Suddenly, she saw a large land mass peek from beneath the swirling clouds, as she peered through the window. She couldn't decide which part of the world it belonged to, so she asked Dell to take a look.

It took them several minutes to realise that they usually viewed the Earth from north to south. All the globes that were produced and sold in the Northern Hemisphere were displayed with the North Pole at the top and the South Pole at the bottom. In space there is no top and bottom!

The icecap they could see at the top of the Earth, as they viewed it, was Antarctica.

Dell flipped over so that he was looking through the window upside down.

"Do this, Lisa," he said, as he sent her into a spin.

Emmelisa pushed against the side of the cabin with her feet to stop herself from performing a complete somersault.

"Is that the South Pole?" she asked her brother.

"I think so," he replied.

Emmelisa burst out laughing.

"Are we upside down or is the world upside down? Is that Europe?" she asked as a massive expanse of land came into view in the top half of the globe.

"I'm not sure," Dell replied, "but don't worry, Lisa—I'm sure that Pierton is still there, even if we can't see it!"

Their home seemed far away, as they observed the distant blue planet wrapped in white clouds, shining against the deepest black imaginable.

"How long before we reach Orbit II?" Emmelisa asked.

"Not long, maybe we can see it through this window," he said, after he'd floated to the opposite side of the cabin, "No, not yet."

"It's here!" his sister exclaimed, as she looked through an adjacent window.

The tiny dot shining in the distance was the Satellite Station Orbit II.

For the next few minutes, the two young astronauts remained suspended in the cabin as the space module PH1 hurtled through space towards Orbit II. The satellite station slowly grew in size and became more visible with every passing minute.

"Please take up positions for space docking," an order came through from mission control.

The two children floated back and strapped themselves into their couches.

This was going to be a much more difficult task than stage three, which had gone so smoothly because of the computer, mission control and the two senior astronauts, who had issued all the instructions to change the direction of the space module.

Dell and Emmelisa had practised the docking manoeuvre many times and knew that it would require maximum concentration.

To slow down PH1 to a speed slow enough to make a safe docking would require a number of operations.

Firstly, the space module had to approach Orbit II with the engines forward, which would require turning the module around completely.

Secondly, the engines had to fire to slow the module down by applying a breaking force to the direction of travel.

Thirdly, the engines had to cut out before PH1 was turned around to face the satellite station ready for docking. If the module turned before the engines cut out, the space module would catapult into Orbit II and possibly throw it out of orbit.

When the final countdown came from mission control, the attention of the young astronauts was totally focused on the control panel in front of them.

The first operation went well, the module turned in space and the computers executed ignition with perfect timing.

Dell and Emmelisa were thrust back into their couches and felt the impact even at zero g, as the engines kicked in and roared for the exact time required to reduce the speed of the space module to that of Orbit II. When they cut out, the second operation had been completed as smoothly as the first.

When the space module turned to make its approach for docking, everyone gave an inward sigh of relief. Everything had gone according to plan, but the final operation had yet to be completed. The success of the docking procedure relied upon Dell and Emmelisa and the two astronauts at mission control working together in complete harmony.

Ann Astronaught and Ace Astronought issued commands to the young astronauts, who relayed information from the control panel and followed the instructions to manoeuvre the module into the correct alignment, ensuring a faultless connection between module and satellite station.

Everyone at mission control sensed the tension in the air. All eyes were on the computer screen showing the digital pictures sent from Orbit II of the PH1 slowly tracking its way across space towards the station's access arm. It was as graceful as a ballerina gliding gently across a stage.

The unbearable tension at mission control was broken by a tumultuous outburst of cheering.

"Stage one completed. Congratulations," Borne Leader's voice was heard in the module's cabin. "Everyone here is delighted."

Dell and Emmelisa did not celebrate immediately because they had been well drilled. They didn't show their feelings until all the safety precautions had been checked, as they remained strapped in their couches and waited for the all clear.

There was one test left that would demonstrate the complete success of the docking procedure. The door would only open automatically with an airtight seal between the access arm and the hatch door.

The sound of the electronically operated bolts sliding back to release the door was as good as a round of applause.

The Flying Machine PH1 had docked perfectly!

When the all clear came through, Dell punched the air with his fist and shouted, "Yes!" Then the young astronauts unfastened their harnesses and floated across the cabin to the lower equipment bay.

So that they could walk in zero gravity, they would need to wear their space boots with specially designed soles that gripped the surface like suction pads.

On Earth, the children found that walking in the boots was impossible because they couldn't lift their feet off the ground. The only opportunity to practise walking was in the simulation laboratory, where they learned to walk in near zero gravity.

In real space, the boots were capable of gripping any surface they came into contact with, so that Dell and Emmelisa could walk around as easily as insects climbing a wall.

Within the confines of the command module, they could push against the sides of the module with their hands and feet to propel themselves around the small cabin.

Inside Orbit II, they would be able to remain reasonably upright so that they could walk instead of floating around like Peter Pan and Wendy.

By the time they heard the side hatch opening, they were dressed and ready to climb out through the hatchway. Two of the crew from Orbit II, Astrow Naught and Cosmo Nought, who were both veteran astronauts, greeted them as they stepped into the access arm.

"Welcome aboard Orbit II," Astrow said warmly, as he shook hands with the two young astronauts.

Together, the group of astronauts, old and young, made their way towards the inner sanctuary of the satellite station. A door slid open revealing a working area with its many computers and equipment: electronic, telescopic, spectroscopic, telephonic, photographic and

telecommunications.

"This is the workstation. I'll explain about our work and how we use this equipment later," Astrow Naught suggested. "You must be hungry. It's a long time since you had breakfast."

The children were guided across the workstation and through another sliding door leading to the canteen.

"Real food!" Dell's mouth watered, as he caught a whiff of French fries and burgers. "Do you eat real food all the time?"

"We use solar energy for cooking and storing frozen food. The canteen is open three times a day for hot food. Hot and cold drinks are available all day from the drink making machines."

"Do you have a chef to do all the cooking?" Emmelisa was amazed.

"No, we share the responsibility. We have a daily rotation of cooking duties."

"Do you use a dishwasher to wash the dishes?"

"Yes, running water in zero gravity is a problem. All liquids are kept in containers with either sealed tops or removable lids."

In the space module, they'd enjoyed spilling droplets of water that remained suspended in zero gravity like small Christmas decorations.

Dell thought that the difficulty of containing water in space was a very good excuse for having as little contact with soap and water as possible! But his main thoughts were about the specially prepared food on offer that looked and smelled terrific.

After eating their very first meal in space, they said appreciatively, "Thanks, that was great."

After lunch, Dell and Emmelisa returned to the workstation. All the equipment was either built in or firmly anchored to the sides of the station.

"Here, we monitor anything and everything that's transmitted by electronic or radio waves around the earth. We capture data about magnetic fields of radiation and gather information about any changes in the earth's atmosphere. We also help to collect information about changes in the Universe—comets, collapsing stars, meteorites, blackholes," Astrow Naught explained as he showed the young astronauts around Orbit II. "We're very interested in your Trail of Light Mission. As yet, we've not seen any evidence of light emissions strong enough to form a trail of light that you could follow."

The children were disappointed because they knew that the success of their mission relied upon finding a visible sign of a light trail that they could follow.

"How do we find the beginning of the trail of light?" Emmelisa asked Mr. Naught.

"I don't know the answer to your question," he replied, "but all our equipment is at your disposal."

The sight of all the high-tech equipment was bewildering and Mr. Naught sensed that the children were feeling overwhelmed by their present surroundings, so he took a more positive approach.

"Well, shall we make a start? We can check the latest updates on recent and unusual sightings in space," he suggested.

At a nearby console, they looked at the screen showing a table of information about recent events in space.

When Mr. Naught requested information concerning the most recent new sightings, information about PH1 docking at Orbit II appeared on the screen.

Everyone laughed.

"You seem to be the most recent happening in space!" Mr. Naught joked.

"Can you contact Earth?" Emmelisa asked.

"Oh, yes. We are in constant contact with our mission base on Earth."

"What's the name of your mission?" Dell asked.

"The Space-Earth Monitoring Mission," Mr. Naught replied.

"How long will it last?"

"Until it's no longer safe for this satellite to remain operational. How long do you expect the Trail of Light Mission to last?"

"Until we reach the end," Emmelisa answered.

"Shall we see if we can find the beginning? Maybe we should look through the station telescope to see if we can find anything unusual," Mr. Naught suggested.

The mirror telescope was connected to a number of other machines that collected information about anything that the telescope held

within its view, such as the temperature of a far-off planet.

Mr. Astrow Naught focused the telescope onto the nearest planet— Earth!

He magnified the Earth's image so that Dell and Emmelisa would recognise the planet immediately.

Dell was fascinated when he saw the close-up image of the world he lived in.

"I think I can see the UK," he almost gasped.

By the time Emmelisa focused on the globe, the image had changed because of the Earth's rotation.

"I can't see Britain," she said, showing her disappointment.

Mr. Naught asked the children to look at a nearby computer screen.

"We can watch the Earth's rotation on this screen. The computer is linked to the telescope. The computer controls operate the telescope. We can zoom in and out on anything in the telescope's range. All the information is stored in the memory of the computer. If I stop the computer programme, I can reload the saved images."

Mr. Naught loaded the same image that Dell had seen onto the screen.

"Oh, I can see Pierton!" Emmelisa exclaimed.

"Don't be silly, Lisa!" Dell chastised his young sister.

"Well not Pierton, but the British Isles. I can see Britain!"

As the children looked at the screen with fascination, they expected to feel homesick, but instead of saying, "I want to go home," Dell said, "We have to find the trail of light. Please point the telescope in the opposite direction."

Mr. Naught swung the telescope through a hundred and eighty degrees and brought the closest object into view—one of the sun's comets.

When Dell saw the bright object on the screen, he asked, "What's that?"

"It's a comet."

Mr. A. Leon Spaceman suddenly entered his mind as he thought, _I bet A. Leon Spaceman would know how to find the beginning of the trail of light_ , but he wasn't sure how to contact him. He always seemed to appear unbidden. Although he didn't expect a positive reply, he thought he would ask anyway, "Do you know A. Leon Spaceman?"

"Yes, do you wish to speak with him?"

"I don't know how to find him. He only appears if Cosmos is around."

"Cosmos is our cat," Emmelisa explained.

As she spoke, Cosmo Nought reappeared and overheard the two comments made by the children.

"I suppose I'm only an 'S' short of a Cosmos!" he laughed, showing his sense of humour.

Dell and Emmelisa were laughing when they heard a voice say, "Can I help you?"

The voice sounded very familiar, but it wasn't coming from the computer screen.

The two young astronauts turned slowly in the direction of the voice and saw a man standing behind them. He had pointed ears, a bald head and was wearing a space outfit—Mr. A. Leon Spaceman.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

If Dreams Came True

Down from the hills like an arrow we fly,

Or a comet that whizzes along through the sky;

Down from the hills! Oh isn't it grand!

Clasping your best winter girl by the hand,

Toboggan! Toboggan! Toboggan!

– Benjamin Franklin King, _Toboggan_

"Do you live here?" Emmelisa asked Mr. Spaceman.

"No," Mr Spaceman replied, "but I do call in from time to time."

"Can you help us to find the beginning of dad's trail of light, please?"

"Yes, "Mr. Spaceman answered as he looked at the computer screen displaying the comet on which the telescope was focused. "I know that comet. It is called Philarry. It broke away from the great cloud of comets, which are moving slowly on enormous orbits around a distant sun, ten million million miles away."

"Why can we see it so clearly, if it's so far away?" Emmelisa asked.

"Philarry moved out of its orbit close to the solar system and is veering towards the sun. Each year the pace of the comet is quickening, as the sun draws it in."

"Will it collide into the sun and burn up?"

"Philarry's surface is being warmed by the strengthening sunlight. Because comets are made mostly of ice and solidified gases, the sunlight will cause the ice to break away from the surface in icy 'feathers'."

"What happens when it starts to break up?"

"As Philarry nears the sun, gases will be given off and evaporate carrying small dust particles. These swirling gasses around the surface will cause Philarry to swell in size: it may even reach one hundred thousand miles in diameter."

"Bigger than the Earth?"

"The Earth's diameter is less than eight thousand miles."

"Twelve times as big as the Earth!" Dell calculated and was amazed.

"As big as the sun?" Emmelisa wondered.

"No, the sun's diameter is eight hundred and sixty-four thousand miles. But, when you see a brilliant white tail...that may be fifty million miles long...extend in the direction away from the sun, it will shine more brilliantly than anything in the sky—except the sun and moon."

"If it keeps getting bigger, will it finally explode?"

"No, if there are enough particles of dust to form a protective layer, then the underlying ice will not melt from the sun's heat. Philarry will survive its encounter with the sun. If it passes very close to the sun, then it will whip around with enormous speed—up to one million miles per hour, and shoot off into space with a long tail pointing ahead."

"How far will it travel?" Dell was keen to know.

"Most comets travel on long elliptical orbits that take them millions of miles into space, where they stay in outer darkness for thousands of years."

"If this comet, em...Philarry, shoots off into space with a long tail, will it look like a trail of light?" Emmelisa asked.

"Yes, Emmelisa," Mr Spaceman agreed. "It will have the appearance of a trail of light."

"Then we will follow it," she said assuredly.

"Can we stay on Orbit II until Philarry shoots off into space?" Dell asked.

Astrow Naught agreed to make arrangements for the two young astronauts to stay on the satellite station to monitor the progress of Philarry.

"Cool! We can eat real food everyday!"

Dell was pleased that they were staying, because he wasn't looking

forward to the prepacked food that was stored onboard PH1!

During the following weeks, Dell and Emmelisa were taught about life on a satellite station. They helped to log new data and began studying the planets of the solar system.

Astrow Naught explained that the solar system was made up of nine planets that were held together by the gravitation of the sun in the centre.

"Is Earth the closest planet to the sun?" Dell asked.

"No, Mercury is. Mercury is also the smallest of the nine planets— it's similar in size to the moon."

"Is the moon a planet?" Emmelisa asked.

"No, the moon is the earth's satellite."

"Is it much smaller than the Earth?"

"No, it is close in size. So close, the Earth and moon can almost be considered as a double planet."

"Do any of the other planets have a satellite?"

"Jupiter has twelve satellites."

"Twelve! Do they chase each other in orbit?"

"Not quite. Eight of the satellites orbit Jupiter in the same direction as the planet rotates and four satellites orbit in the opposite direction." "Which is the most beautiful planet?"

"Saturn is the sixth closest planet to the sun and is the most beautiful of all the planets because of its graceful symmetrical rings." "Which is the brightest planet?"

"Next to the sun and the moon, Venus is the third brightest object in the sky, and it's the second closest planet to the sun.

"Are there people on any of the other planets?" Dell managed to squeeze into the conversation.

"No, Earth is the only inhabited planet and it's the third closest planet to the sun."

"Which is the fourth nearest planet?"

"Mars."

"Which planet is the furthest away?"

"Pluto. It is also the second smallest of the nine planets."

"Is that all the planets?"

"No, there are two more. Neptune and Uranus are the second and third planets furthest from the sun. They are difficult to observe because they are so far away."

"How far away is Pluto?"

"Three thousand, seven hundred million miles."

"How big is the solar system?"

"The solar system is more than ten thousand million miles in diameter."

"Is there anything outside of the solar system?" Emmelisa couldn't imagine anything so big.

"Oh, yes! The nearest star is twenty-five million million miles away from the sun."

"How many light years is that?" she remembered Mr. A. Leon Spaceman telling her that he lived on a planet thousands of light years away from earth.

"Four and a quarter light years," Mr. Spaceman replied, because he'd suddenly reappeared and was standing immediately behind the two children.

"Oh, Mr. Spaceman," Emmelisa recognised his voice and turned to face him, "you live thousands of light years away, don't you? Do you live at the end of the universe?"

"No," Mr. Spaceman smiled, "there are far-off galaxies that existed a thousand million years ago. They are so far away that their light, travelling at a speed of one hundred and eighty six thousand miles per second, took that long to travel to the Earth."

"That makes Mr. Spaceman a near neighbour!" Astrow Naught laughed.

"How far has Philarry travelled?" Dell was keen to know more about the moving comet.

"Ten million million miles," Emmelisa answered Dell's question, and Mr. Spaceman smiled again, because he knew that she'd remembered everything he'd said about the comet.

"About half as far as the nearest star?" Dell showed that he'd also been listening, even though he'd forgotten the distance Philarry had

travelled.

From then on, he decided to be more attentive.

Each day the two children learned a little bit more about what was happening in outer space, as they kept a watchful eye on Philarry.

The gases around the comet were expanding at an enormous rate and the consensus among the crew was that Philarry could shoot off into space anytime soon.

The children were delighted at the prospect of going back inside the PH1 module to continue the Trail of Light Mission.

When the eventful day arrived, the first indication that Philarry was about to move much more rapidly caused a great deal of excitement.

Everyone on board Orbit II crowded around the computer screen displaying the comet. When the tail of the comet was clearly visible, the shield over the side window facing the comet slid away at the touch of an electronic button.

In the dark sky, the crew could see through the clear window as Philarry gained in speed and length. It seemed to light up the universe as a trail of gleaming brilliance grew longer and longer before it sped off into space at millions of miles an hour.

"There he goes!" someone shouted.

"That's amazing!" someone else joined in.

Dell and Emmelisa had never seen anything so mesmerising.

"Brilliant!" Dell cried out. "Can we follow the flight path of Philarry?"

"Only after a good night's sleep," Astrow Naught answered.

The children doubted if they would be able to sleep that night. But Dell and Emmelisa did fall asleep and they both had the same dream. The dream began in pitch black, as a young boy and his young sister were fast asleep on Christmas Eve. Everything was quiet and the sky outside was crystal clear. The black sky slowly revealed a multitude of twinkling stars. Although the light from the stars reduced the darkness, the small community below the starry sky was fast asleep and unaware that the shapes of their homes were slowly becoming more distinct in the starlit sky.

As the night wore on, thick clouds drifted across the sky and the stars disappeared completely, but instead of the total blackness returning, the buildings remained visible under the cloud filled sky because the clouds were full of frozen vapour. It was as though a brilliant white quilt had been pulled across the sky: a whiteness that fought against the darkness and reflected a soft, grey shadowy light onto the sleeping community.

Early Christmas morning, this unusual light that shone through the window had awakened the little girl.

"It's morning," she thought as she slid from under the duvet and tiptoed across her room to the window.

She pulled back the curtains and looked out onto a Christmas card scene.

During the night, the clouds had emptied all the frozen vapour that had fallen as soft, white crystals and clothed the earth in a blanket of snow. The thick layers of snow on the rooftops reminded the little girl of sugar frosting on the tops of cakes. The branches of the trees bowed under the weight of the snow and not a blade of grass was visible. The air was still, the sky was dark blue and the earth was white.

The small girl knelt upon the built-in seat under the window and looked out onto the perfect scenery of unmarked snow. She heard the door to her bedroom open gently as her brother entered the room. He didn't make a sound as he crossed the room and knelt beside his sister.

"Oh!" he exclaimed in a hushed voice. "Look at the snow. It's beautiful."

"I thought it was morning," the girl said.

"It is," her brother replied, "but it's very early. Too early to wake Mummy and Daddy."

"Do you think Father Christmas will have filled our stockings? I can't see any sleigh marks on the rooftops and there are no footsteps in the snow."

"It will soon be seven o'clock in the morning. If we go back to bed for a bit longer it will be nearly time to get up."

"Okay," the little girl agreed, "but I won't sleep."

"Neither will I," her brother whispered, as he crept back to his bedroom.

Not long after seven o'clock, the two children opened the door to their parents' bedroom without making a sound.

"Are you awake, Mummy?" the little girl asked.

Her mother opened her eyes and said, "Is it morning already?" as she squinted in the dimly lit bedroom. She looked towards the window and saw light shining through the curtains. She glanced at the bedside clock and thought that it was too early to be light outside on Christmas Day. She wondered if the clock had stopped.

"Come and look through the window," the little girl invited her mother as her father rolled over in bed and opened his eyes.

"Oh," he murmured, then closed his eyes again.

"Please, Mummy, come and look," the little girl repeated.

She slowly got out of bed, as her daughter took her hand and guided her to the window. When the curtains were drawn back, the glistening, brilliant white snow reflected light into the room.

"Oh, a white Christmas!" she exclaimed, with all the joy and wonder of a small child. She bent and lightly kissed the tops of the heads of her two small children.

"Happy Christmas," she said.

The noise had woken their father, who climbed out of bed and joined his small family, as they gazed out on the snow-capped landscape.

"Happy Christmas," he said, stifling a yawn as he picked up his daughter. "Happy Christmas to you."

"Happy Christmas," his small son said as he wrapped his arms around his father's waist and gave him a hug.

"Did you hear Father Christmas?" his daughter asked.

"No, do you think he forgot about you? Or maybe he lost his way in the snow," he replied as he looked through the window, "I don't see any sleigh tracks."

As he spoke, a few lights lit up bedroom windows in neighbouring homes: it was Christmas Day and the community was waking up.

"Can we go downstairs?" the children asked, as their excitement rose.

Their parents had hardly agreed to this request before the children raced each other out of the room.

They stopped running when they reached the landing.

"Quietly," the small boy suggested, fearful that Father Christmas might still be unloading their presents and they would stumble upon him and frighten him away.

Stealthily, they descended the stairs and crossed the hallway. Through the open living room doorway, they could see the Christmas tree—it was surrounded by presents.

The children were brimming with merriment as they ran back up stairs and whooped to their parents, "Mummy, Daddy, come and look. Father Christmas has left our presents under the tree."

The two parents had donned their dressing gowns by the time their children re-entered the bedroom. The children were still wearing their pyjamas.

"Put on your dressing gowns," their mother ordered but the children were too excited, as they ran out of their parents' bedroom and tumbled down the stairs.

As soon as their parents appeared in the hallway, they called out, "Can we open the presents?"

"After breakfast," their father replied.

"Now, please. Please...please...please?"

Their parents caved in under the pressure of their exuberant children.

The house was centrally heated but the fireplace still had a working chimney and, every Christmas, a real fire burned brightly in the hearth.

"I'll light the fire," the children's father said, "and then you can open the presents."

After the fire was lit and gently smouldering, the family were about to gather around the tree.

"Should we take down our stockings, first?" the little girl asked because she'd noticed the two stockings hanging from the mantlepiece as her father dealt with the lighting of the fire. The stockings were no longer long, flat and empty: they were long, fat and full.

The legs of the stockings were bulging with small toys and the feet of the stockings were crammed with tangerines, nuts, sweets, chocolates, dates and crystallised fruit.

The little girl was so pleased with one of her small toys, a baby

doll, that she was in no hurry to open the presents under the Christmas tree.

Her brother was just as fascinated by one of his small presents—a rocket set with its battery-operated launch pad.

"Why don't we have breakfast before we open the presents under the tree?" their mother asked, and the children agreed as they followed their parents to the kitchen.

During breakfast, the children's mother suggested a toast, and they all raised their glasses of fruit juice and chorused, "To Father Christmas!"

After breakfast, they returned to the living room, where they were met by a bright, flickering fire that gave the room a warm glow.

The children ran to the tree and picked out the presents they'd wrapped for their parents.

"Open these," they said, with sparkling eyes.

Their mother carefully removed the sealing tape and smiled in surprise as a beautiful, pale blue lamb's wool scarf fell from its wrapping.

"Thank you," she said, "this is gorgeous."

Their father felt his soft present and said, "Socks! I'll bet!"

The children giggled, as he pulled out a long, blue woollen scarf.

"It's perfect," he said. "Thank you, I'll wear it today."

By the time all the presents had been unwrapped, the room looked like a department store during the January sales. The floor was covered with toys, boxes, wrapping paper, ribbon and sticky tape.

The children couldn't decide what to do next because there were so many toys and games, but their mother insisted on tiding away all the gift wrapping first.

When the room was cleared of all the wrapping paper, the little girl grabbed everyone's attention,

"Look!" she exclaimed as she pointed under the tree—one small present remained unopened.

"It's for Cosmos."

The small gift was for the family cat. He strolled into the room as soon as he heard his name. He spotted the small package and walked around it as though he were stalking a mouse. He sprawled on the carpet and stretched out one of his front legs and softly pawed the small present.

"He's going to open it!" the little girl squealed, as the family pet flipped the present over and played a game of catch and chase. He released the present, prowled around it, pounced on it, threw it in the air, released it again and then repeated the whole process.

Everyone laughed. They left him playing with the wrapped present, because he seemed to be having so much fun.

"Upstairs," the children's mother ordered them to get dressed.

For the rest of the morning, they played together happily with their newly acquired toys while their mother prepared Christmas dinner and their father drove through the snow to collect his parents, who were coming to join in the celebrations.

The wintry roads slowed down the journey and by the time the children's grandparents finally arrived, the Christmas dinner was ready to be served.

"Happy Christmas, Grandma. Happy Christmas, Granddad," the two children greeted their grandparents.

"Look what Father Christmas brought," their small granddaughter said.

"Wash your hands, dinner's ready," her mother interrupted. "You can show Grandma your presents after dinner."

Christmas dinner was a splendid feast. They had roast turkey with sage and onion stuffing and a smooth, savoury gravy; roast and boiled new potatoes; buttered vegetables: peas, green beans and carrots.

Before pudding, they pulled their Christmas crackers and put on their paper hats. A joke in one of the crackers read: "What do you get when you cross a soldier's outfit with a number?"

Although the answer was "kitten," everyone called out "Cosmos" and burst out laughing.

Then they filled themselves with brandy soaked Christmas pudding and white sauce.

The children's grandparents fell asleep in the fireside chairs after such a sumptuous meal.

"Shall we go outside?" the children's father asked when all the washing up was finished.

"Yes, please!" the children replied, enthusiastically.

"You'll need to wrap up warmly," their mother advised.

The children put on their wellington boots and warm overcoats, wrapped scarves around their necks and wore woollen hats and mittens.

Their father was similarly clad and was proudly wearing his blue, woollen scarf.

Outside, the air was crisp, the sky was blue and the white snow glistened in the winter sunshine. The children danced and kicked the snow on the driveway to their home, as their father collected the children's toboggan from the garage.

He put the toboggan into the back of the four-by-four, while the children climbed inside.

The journey to the nearest hill with a lengthy slope was short but took longer than usual because of the deep snow covering the uncleared roads.

By the time they arrived at Longside Hill, several families were enjoying themselves pulling sleds up the long slope and then hurtling down the bumpy hillside.

The two children had a great time in the powdery snow that brushed off their clothing easily whenever they fell off their toboggan. They rolled over on the ground that was cushioned by thick layers of soft snow.

They threw lightweight snowballs at each other and laughed and laughed and laughed. They had a wonderful time and they wanted the day to last forever.

However, by mid afternoon the light started to fail and dusk was not far away. The children were in no hurry to leave, but by the time they finally agreed to return home, the temperature was dropping rapidly. The snow was crisper: like a fine, dry powder as the sun started to set and the frosty air chilled the surface of the snow.

They piled into the car and stole one last glance at the frozen snow before they drove off. The setting sun had turned the turquoise sky a brilliant streak of orange, yellow and red on the horizon. The filtered light from the red component of sunlight reflected onto the snow and turned it pink. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

They arrived home just in time for tea. The children's mother and grandmother had set the table for afternoon tea. It was laden with turkey sandwiches, trifle, Christmas cake and warm mince pies with a full jug of fresh cream.

After tea, the whole family felt happy and contented. They sat in front of the roaring fire and played one of the board games that Father Christmas had left under the Christmas tree.

When it was time for the children to go to bed, they were almost falling asleep.

By the time their father returned, after driving his parents to their home, the children were already tucked up in bed.

"I'll check on the children and say goodnight," he said to his wife as he entered the house.

He quietly climbed the stairs and stepped lightly across the landing. The children were fast asleep. He kissed his small daughter lightly on the cheek as she slumbered without stirring.

As he kissed his son, he awoke for a few seconds and said, "Thanks, Dad, thanks for a brilliant day," before he fell back into a deep sleep.

His father tiptoed to the doorway and turned towards the sleeping boy. "That's okay, son," he whispered, "My son, my son."

When they awoke the next morning, Dell and Emmelisa were very carefree and happy. Though they'd made new friends on Orbit II, they were very keen to complete the "Trail of Light Mission."

All the data had been gathered that was necessary to work out Philarry's path. The information was already being relayed to mission control so that PH1 could be directed along the same path as the comet.

After breakfast, the two veteran astronauts escorted the two young astronauts across the access arm to the cabin of their space module. As they left the work station, Emmelisa suddenly realised that she hadn't seen Mr. Spaceman that morning.

"Where's Mr. Spaceman?" she asked because she wanted to say goodbye, but she stopped herself just in time. "I wanted to thank him for all his help and advice."

"Don't worry," Astrow Naught reassured the young astronaut, "I'm sure you will see Mr. Spaceman again. He will always appear if you need him."

"He always does!" Dell agreed.

When Dell and Emmelisa stepped through the hatch into the space module, they experienced the same exhilaration they had done when they started the trail of light mission. They went through the same procedure as before. They strapped themselves into their couches, put on their headphones and left the final check to the veteran astronauts, Astrow and Cosmo.

"Everything seems to be okay," Astrow declared.

"I'll be with you every step of the way," Cosmo said by way of reassurance, as he made the final check that all the switches were in their correct positions. Then he crawled underneath the couches to make his exit from the cabin of the PH1 module. The hatch door slammed shut and the bolts slid into place.

Once again, Dell and Emmelisa would be alone in space—back on the mission to follow their father's trail of light.

The count down from Orbit II finally entered its last minute. Everything ready for undocking...T minus 30 seconds...T minus 20 seconds...and finally the last ten seconds were announced. Ten, nine...start to pull away. PH1 was released from its moorings and slowly drifted out into space.

When PH1 was completely free of Orbit II and drifting away rapidly, mission control took over.

"Welcome back," Borne Leader came across loud and clear. "Good to see you back on mission. We'll be tracking your progress from now on."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Speed, Distance, Time

There is no light in earth or heaven

But the cold light of the stars;

And the first watch of night is given

To the red planet Mars

– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, _The Light of Stars_

After undocking, PH1 and Orbit II had drifted slowly apart, but they remained in formation for a few minutes until PH1 changed its course.

The only sound inside the cabin came through the headphones of the two young astronauts, who were about to receive instructions to put PH1 on the same course as Philarry.

The comet's orbital flight path had been determined the moment it was flung away from the searing heat of the sun. The flight path of PH1 would have to be constantly monitored to remain on the same line as Philarry.

In a little over five minutes after leaving Earth's orbit, PH1 would reach a speed of over twenty-four thousand miles per hour, which was a fraction of the speed of the comet. Although there was no possibility of ever closing the increasing gap between comet and spacecraft, the mission depended upon following this path to find what secrets lay in this direction.

The last minute of countdown for ignition arrived after all the necessary checks had been made to set up the computers to re-align PH1. This was always a critical time because the young astronauts knew that unless the engines fired, they would remain in orbit around the Earth.

When the final countdown reached ten seconds, the computers were ready to operate ignition. The count reached zero as the engines roared into life, changing the direction of PH1, bringing it into line with, and following, the flight path of Philarry.

After the ignition phase was completed, the two young astronauts felt a surge of exhilaration, knowing that they had set off on the second stage of their incredible journey.

The same sense of elation was shared at mission control, when Mish Oncontrol announced, "You are straight on line. Stage two of the 'Trail of Light Mission' is on."

With everything completed safely and smoothly, the all clear was given for Dell and Emmelisa to unfasten their harnesses.

As their bodies lifted off their couches, they sensed that something had changed inside the cabin. They were about to discover that they were no longer alone in the command module. There was something else in the cabin, slowly rising from under one of the couches.

They couldn't believe their eyes—they thought they might still be asleep and dreaming because rising between them was a black cat with four fluffy white paws. They recognised the cat immediately and cried out as one, "Cosmos!"

"Cosmos, what are you doing here?" Emmelisa asked in shock and amusement.

"How did you get here?" Dell wondered.

Emmelisa caught the cat in her arms and stroked him gently. "I don't know how you got here but I'm really pleased to see you."

The cat purred softly and appreciated all the attention.

"Cosmos will show us the way!" Emmelisa held the cat high in the air as she spoke.

"He always does!" her brother confirmed.

Cosmos broke loose and floated into the cabin. He pushed against the sides of the module as though he'd flown in zero gravity all his life.

Emmelisa watched her pet make his way deftly to the lower equipment bay as her brother asked, "What's he up to?"

Emmelisa continued watching and then realised that Cosmos must have been hungry because he knew precisely where to find the store of cat food.

"Someone obviously knew you would be travelling in space with us!" she said with surprise, because she could see not only cat food but a dish as well. She wasn't surprised to see the cat food, but she was amazed to see and recognise his personal dish!

"You must be a very special cat—and you're full of surprises!"

"It looks as though we have a new crew member," Dell said, "At least he's brought his own food. But he'd better pull his weight!" Dell tried to appear annoyed but he was secretly pleased to have Cosmos on board for extra company.

Cosmos ignored this comment as he used his paws to feed himself and then spent almost an hour restoring them to their brilliant whiteness.

While Cosmos fed himself, the Flying Machine PH1 hurtled through space with its crew of three at close to twenty thousand miles per hour, but inside the module there was no sense of speed.

The Earth's gravitational pull was slowing PH1's flight, and would continue to do so until they were over one hundred and ninety-five thousand miles away from earth.

Eleven hours after leaving Orbit II, PH1 was seventy-seven thousand miles away from the surface of the earth and had slowed to seven thousand miles per hour.

Through the side-hatch window, they could see the earth clearly but it no longer reminded them of a world globe because it was only the size of a tennis ball, as the distance between space module and Earth increased rapidly.

But even at such a great distance, the Earth was still slowing down their flight and it took two days in space before the Earth's gravitational influence gave way and the speed began to increase.

To keep a balance between the sun's heat on one side and the frigid temperatures of space on the other, it was necessary to rotate PH1 in space like a spit being roasted over an open fire. Slowly, the module revolved in space so that the warmth of the sun could counteract the coldness of space.

Occasionally, as the space module turned, Dell and Emmelisa would catch sight of the "blue planet" they recognised as earth. As they sped on their journey, they'd stopped looking out to catch glimpses of the Earth for reassurance. It was only after the second day of the second stage of the mission that they experienced their first feeling of apprehension, when they looked out and realised that the Earth was becoming a distant planet.

With the increase in speed of PH1, it was not long before the Earth was no bigger than a golf ball. The young astronauts wondered if they were closer to some other planet than they were to Earth.

Less than three days into the flight, they were performing a routine checklist, when the space module was suddenly engulfed by complete darkness. It took several seconds for their eyes to focus, and then they saw that the space in front of them was full of stars—millions of them. But in the direction they were travelling there was a black void without a single star.

The children were startled by what looked to them like a black hole. They wondered if they would be sucked in and strung out like stretched pieces of elastic.

"What's that?" Emmelisa cried out.

The answer came from mission control. "No need to panic. You are seeing your first shot of the moon. It is the side away from the sun. The side of the moon that isn't visible from Earth."

"It seems to be really close," Dell said.

"Will we crash into it?" Emmelisa almost stuttered.

"Not unless there are hundred mile high mountains on the moon's surface!" came the reply.

"We're going to fly past the moon and actually see it close up?" Dell said with amazement.

"You can see it now. In front of you—it's the enormous black object immediately in front of you."

"Wow!" Dell exclaimed, because suddenly PH1 had flown into sunlight once more. In front of him wasn't a big, black object but a crater pocked, grey moon. "I can see the moon!"

Emmelisa turned and looked through the same window as her brother. Cosmos showed no interest; it was as though he'd seen it all before.

Through the round window, the young astronauts could see the surface of the moon with crystal clarity, as grey mountains trailing long, black shadows from the sun's rays, moved slowly past the window.

The children were transfixed.

"Can we land on the moon?" Dell asked, remembering the spacesuits stored in the lower bay.

"It's not part of the planned mission," the response came from mission control.

Dell was really thinking aloud, he didn't seriously think that they would be allowed to change their flight plans.

PH1 sped past the desolate moon. They left behind the cratersurfaced lunar landscape, where once walked Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin: the first men to land on the moon, way back in the Twentieth Century—July 20 1969.

The moon soon began to recede and the Earth was less than the size of a marble as PH1 continued on its journey.

"What will we see next?" Emmelisa spoke to the cat.

He blinked his eyes and floated out of sight. He wasn't giving away any secrets if he did know the next destination.

"He probably knows," Dell said, "but he won't be giving away any clues."

"No," Emmelisa replied, "he's far too superior to do that."

The days that followed on board PH1 were never boring because they were in constant contact with mission control and relayed information about any sightings of meteorites or changes in their surroundings.

If there was a quiet period, Cosmos used to propel himself around the cabin disturbing things so that they floated like confetti. Dell and Emmelisa used to compete with each other to see who could catch the most items which, once collected, they would have to replace to their normal positions.

They always knew what to expect as soon as they saw a loose item float by. This odd behaviour was becoming so familiar that the children would raise their eyebrows and say, "Cosmos's mad half-hour!"

When Cosmos suddenly jumped onto the control panel, during one of these mad periods, the children didn't even notice. They were accustomed to being ignored by him and Cosmos knew that they paid him no regard as they caught everything in sight and restored order.

But he certainly drew their attention this time, because he'd ignited the engines!

The burn only lasted a few seconds and then the engines cut out.

Dell and Emmelisa waited in stunned silence for mission control to make contact. They expected to hear that the space module had suddenly deviated from its flight path and an order would be issued to tell them to get back on line.

None came.

Several minutes passed and there was still no word from mission control. Then they heard, "What happened?"

"We don't know. Are we off course?" Dell asked.

"No, you are right on line but you are now travelling at speeds never known before in the history of space travel."

This statement was followed by a long silence.

"Everything seems to be fine from down here. You're looking good but your speed is unbelievable." Mish Oncontrol confirmed that no serious damage had been done.

Ann Astronaught and Ace Astronought asked the children to do a quick check-through of all the flight data. Everything checked out and mission control said they were surprised but reasonably content that the mission was safe and there was no immediate danger.

There had been no sense of speed inside the space module throughout the flight and the children were unable to detect that they were tearing through space faster than anyone had ever travelled before.

"You certainly speeded things up, Cosmos!" Dell said.

With the increase in speed and the extra distance covered, it wasn't very long before they made their first sighting of something far off that caused a great deal of excitement.

"What can we see?" Dell asked mission control.

"According to our calculations, the distant planet in visual range is Mars."

"Mars! How far have we travelled?"

"We estimate that you are approximately thirty million miles from Earth."

"How far is the moon from the Earth?" Dell asked Emmelisa, who always seemed to remember facts and figures.

"Em, I think it's a quarter of a million miles," she guessed accurately.

"That's a hundred and twenty times the distance between the moon and Earth," Dell calculated.

"That's the same as from the Earth to the moon and back sixty times," Emmelisa pondered aloud.

"It can't be possible!" Dell said incredulously. "We haven't been travelling in space long enough to travel that distance."

"We have since Cosmos interfered," Emmelisa corrected her brother.

Dell grinned and looked across at Cosmos, who was fast asleep, resting on a cushion of air.

As the days passed, the crew received regular updates about their progress as the distance between PH1 and Earth grew. When the distance had increased to more than one hundred million miles, it was noticeable that the appearance of the tiny dot in the distance had changed. The distant planet looked like a small red sphere.

On the twenty-first day of the second stage of the mission, because the planet was much more visible, Dell asked mission control, "How far are we from Mars now?"

"PH1 is predicted to pass the planet Mars in approximately two hours time," Mish Oncontrol confirmed.

"What's our speed?"

"The speed of PH1 is estimated to be five hundred thousand miles per hour."

Two hours, Dell thought to himself as he did a quick calculation. "Two times five hundred thousand is one million."

"We are only a million miles away from Mars," he told his sister, then he asked another question, "How big is Mars?" Is it bigger or smaller than Earth?"

"Mars is the third smallest planet in the solar system, it's considerably smaller than Earth."

Dell remembered that the Earth was the size of a marble when they passed the moon. So when the red planet in the distance was the size of a marble, they would be closer to Mars than the Earth is to the moon— less than a quarter of a million miles.

"Will we be passing this planet? Our line of direction, does it actually pass Mars?"

"Affirmative. The flight path of PH1, if maintained, is projected to pass the planet at a distance of two hundred thousand miles."

Dell was reassured that the path of the trail of light they were following would take them past Mars, but Emmelisa was disappointed that they would not be flying as closely to the surface of Mars as they did to the moon's surface.

As he looked at the snoozing cat, Dell pictured him jumping onto the controls and doing something that might drastically change the path of the space module. He wondered if he should trust Cosmos and felt that the cat was unreliable and likely to surprise everyone.

If Cosmos could change the speed of PH1 so dramatically to five hundred thousand miles per hour then what else was he capable of doing? He looked so harmless curled up and dozing quietly, so Dell concentrated on watching the red planet.

As the time flew by, Mars increased in size. When the red planet was the size of a cherrystone, Dell asked for an update on the distance between PH1 and Mars.

"Five hundred thousand miles. PH1 is on course and maintaining a good line."

"Mars is only an hour away," Dell told his sister, but she was asleep too!

Then he realised that he'd miscalculated. It would take an hour if they were to fly straight into the face of Mars.

If they were going to pass Mars at a distance of two hundred thousand miles, they would be passing Mars in a little over half an hour.

Dell kept a watchful eye on Cosmos for the next half-hour, as the red planet grew to almost the size of a marble.

"Not long to go now," Dell thought aloud. Cosmos didn't stir but Emmelisa did.

"How long have I been asleep? Mars seems much bigger now," She mumbled to herself as she slowly awoke.

Dell turned towards his sister and issued an order, "Only a few minutes to go, so stay awake."

"I wish we could get closer to have a proper look. It seems a pity to travel all this way and not really see Mars."

"We'll be close enough! We have to follow dad's trail of light. That's the mission."

"Okay," His sister conceded, "but I still think it's a shame."

The next half-hour passed slowly. Dell felt that he'd misjudged Cosmos because he'd remained sound asleep.

"We should be passing by anytime soon," Dell alerted his sister as the last few minutes before they were expected to pass Mars slipped by.

Both children were focused on the red object in space when, without warning, Cosmos sprang forth and landed on the control panel.

"What's he going to do now?" Dell groaned.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Mission Complete

"Where shall I begin, please your majesty?" he asked. "Begin at the

beginning," the King said, gravely, "and go on till you come to the

end: then stop."

– Lewis Carroll, _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_

PH1 went into a spin as Dell lurched forward and grabbed the cat with both hands. Cosmos scratched Dell's hand and tried to bite him but Dell had already withdrawn the scratched hand, which he used to fend off the furious cat. In zero gravity, the cat had enough strength to flip over and throw Dell into a complete somersault.

"What's going on?" Emmelisa screamed. "Don't hurt Cosmos!"

"I'm not trying to hurt Cosmos, I'm trying to stop him interfering with the control panels," her brother retorted.

"Why? You've never stopped him before. Cosmos helps us. He wouldn't do anything to harm us. Maybe he wants to go closer to Mars so that we can get a better view of the planet."

"What if we crash land?" Dell asked in exasperation as he struggled with the cat.

"Why are you being so unreasonable?"

"I don't know."

Dell released his grasp and Cosmos leapt onto the control panel. Immediately, the engines roared into life. This time, the speed didn't increase, but the direction of the space module changed, as the PH1 lurched to one side momentarily and took a new path. Minutes later, they received a call from mission control.

"What happened then? Do you read me? Is there a problem?" Mish Oncontrol said as calmly as he could, although there was a definite hint of real concern in his voice.

"We're not sure," Dell replied.

"We need to get you back on line. Your speed remains at five hundred thousand miles per hour. PH1 is travelling directly towards the surface of the planet Mars. If the present line is maintained, PH1 must go into orbit to avoid a crash-landing. If no action is taken, mission control will be forced to take command of PH1 and abort the mission."

Emmelisa knew that abort meant the end of their flight—the end of the "Trail of Light Mission."

"Surely they don't expect us to make the decision," Dell said incredulously to his sister.

"Cosmos will put us into orbit," she replied confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" Dell responded.

"Why have you suddenly stopped trusting Cosmos?"

"Because helping us means staying on the trail. Wandering off into space to an unexplored planet is dangerous and foolish. At mission control they're already threatening to abort."

Emmelisa was confused. Everything her brother had said made sense. To wander out of control was madness and yet she still trusted Cosmos.

"Do you read me?" Mish Oncontrol asked, trying to remain calm.

"Yes," Dell replied.

"Do you require instructions to correct the flight path of PH1 to its original line of direction? Or, are you requesting permission to go into orbit?"

"Put us back on track, please," Dell said firmly, ignoring Emmelisa's disappointment. Then he grabbed Cosmos and removed him from the control panel.

As they went through the checklist with the two senior astronauts over their headphones, prior to ignition, Dell wondered if Cosmos would interfere again. When the countdown finally began, they were into the last ten seconds before Cosmos made his move and broke free.

He leapt onto the control panel and refused to budge. Instead of the engines bursting into life after ignition "zero" was reached, nothing happened.

"Major malfunction," Mish Oncontrol announced. "Computer

failed to operate ignition."

Dell was ordered by Ace Astronought to operate the ignition manually, but Cosmos was sitting over the button and refused to move. As he dug his claws into the panel, he became as solid and immovable as frozen water.

"Move!" Dell screamed, but the cat held firm.

"We'll have to go into orbit," Emmelisa cried.

"This cat is becoming a pest!" Dell said angrily.

"No, he's not!" Emmelisa defended her pet. "He thinks we should see Mars that's all."

Dell didn't want to admit to mission control that they had a serious problem, so instead he said, "Can we go into orbit?"

Cosmos was not going to allow PH1 to be re-aligned but he would probably let the space module go into orbit. At least, they had to trust that Cosmos would save them from a crash landing.

There was no immediate response to Dell's request. The silence was broken by Mish Oncontrol.

"Permission to go into orbit granted."

Dell still wondered if Cosmos would allow the space module to enter orbit around Mars. He was beginning to feel as though he'd no control over the choice of direction.

"I feel as though I'm being pushed around. This cat is making decisions for me!" Dell complained but his sister didn't reply. It was a long time since Emmelisa had felt totally in control of her own life, so she recognised the feeling even though she was afraid to admit it.

Since Dell had moved to Shawley Beacon School, Emmelisa had slowly lost control of her own life. A. Leon Spaceman had told her that she was the master of her own destiny and this journey was supposed to give her back a feeling of being in charge but instead Dell was beginning to feel almost exactly the way she did.

But there wasn't time to feel sorry for themselves: mission control had started issuing orders and demanding immediate responses from the young astronauts.

PH1's speed was much too great to go into orbit and, in order to slow down, the engines would have to be in the opposite direction to the flight of PH1.

Dell and Emmelisa followed the instructions from mission control and slowly PH1 turned around mid-flight so that the engines were forward.

Cosmos remained stubbornly fixed to the control panel. He completely covered the manual ignition button. If there were another ignition failure, then PH1 and her crew would be hurtling towards a crash landing—they would collide with Mars at five hundred thousand miles per hour.

When the final countdown arrived, the two young astronauts held their breath. This time the computer didn't fail and the engines roared into life.

Inside the cabin, Dell and Emmelisa were strapped into their couches expecting to feel a tremendous jolt when the engines fired. As the engines roared into life, a sudden, though not unexpected, force pressed their bodies against their couches.

The force was strong enough to pry Cosmos from the control panel. His claws had obviously not been strong enough to counter the force, but he appeared to be unharmed and showed no remorse for his bad behaviour.

The two young astronauts had checked all the control settings before ignition. Now the computer would navigate the PH1 into orbit around Mars.

Mission control engineers were frantically trying to devise new computer programmes to ensure that PH1 would remain safely in space.

Every minute was vital, as the software engineers fought against the clock to get the programmes up and running and relayed to the onboard computers.

Meanwhile, Dell was unaware of the fight against time going on at mission control as he kept a watchful eye on Cosmos.

Every time a new bit of computer code was entered into the computer, Ann Astronaught and Ace Astronought asked Dell and Emmelisa to check the data from the onboard computer.

All the checks came through as, "Okay, we read you—everything checks out."

But as they neared the point of entry into orbit around Mars, the computer began to malfunction.

PH1 remained on course for a crash landing on the surface of Mars.

Mission control was unable to correct the flight path of the space module, and they were rapidly running out of time.

Unless the onboard computer responded, the Flying Machine PH1 was heading for disaster.

"Where's Cosmos?" Dell had lost sight of the cat, as Ace Astronought demanded his complete attention.

"I don't know," Emmelisa feared, for once, Cosmos was not going to be able to fix the computer.

"If Cosmos doesn't do something we'll crash!" Dell thundered before he unfastened his harness and went in search of the cat.

Cosmos was hiding in the lower bay, showing no interest at all in the dangerous and perilous situation the two children had been thrown into because of his interference.

"There you are!" Dell stormed. "Do something—do something now!"

Cosmos moved away from Dell and narrowed his eyes into slits. As Dell lunged towards Cosmos, he saw the sharp fangs of the cat's upper and lower jaw.

The cat hissed as Dell tried to grab him. He raised a paw and showed his razor sharp claws.

Dell backed off a little and looked around the cabin. There was a towel wrapped around a fixed rail, near the bathroom area. He grabbed the towel and threw it over the cat.

Cosmos floated under the towel like a ghost. In an attempt to free himself, he became entangled in the folds of the material.

As he struggled, Dell gathered the towel more firmly, forming a makeshift sack around the angry, ferocious cat. Then, he floated back to his couch with the captured pet.

"I've got him. Now what do we do?"

Emmelisa was extremely upset when she saw Cosmos fighting like a crazed animal to release himself from the tangled web of towelling that ensnared him.

"If you want Cosmos to do something, you'll have to let him go!"

"I know! But he doesn't seem to want to do anything. What was the last message from mission control?"

"Abort," Emmelisa said, close to tears.

"And how do we do that?" Dell almost screamed. "How do we abort when we are heading for a crash landing on Mars and this stupid creature won't do anything!"

The cat struggled free as Dell lessened his grip on the towel momentarily. Instead of leaping onto the control panel, he floated off back to the lower bay.

"What's happening?" Dell was incensed. By his reckoning, although they couldn't see how far they were from the surface of Mars because the engines were still forward, a crash landing could only be minutes away. He didn't know how many minutes, but unless a miracle happened, they would most certainly collide with the surface of Mars.

"I know what to do!" Emmelisa seemed to have organised her thoughts and was thinking much more clearly.

"What?" Dell demanded.

"The computer cut out the engines ages ago, probably too soon and the information wasn't relayed by the computer to mission control. If we restart the engines, maybe they'll force us back into space."

Dell thought about this suggestion for a few seconds.

"You mean, because the engines are facing the direction we are travelling, we might be able to propel ourselves away from Mars and avoid crashing?"

"Yes," Emmelisa replied. "It's worth a try."

"Mission control," Dell spoke as calmly as he could, "prepare for emergency ignition."

Silence.

Several seconds passed as the two young astronauts strapped themselves into their couches.

Finally, mission control came through.

"Okay, we read you. We'll follow your progress. Emergency ignition authorised."

"No need to go through the checks," Dell replied without fear.

Emmelisa's heart started to pound.

Dell hit the ignition button. The computer responded.

The engines roared. Cosmos flew across the cabin and smashed through the window.

The electronic system's response was immediate as the window cover slid into place and sealed the broken window.

"Cosmos!" Emmelisa cried and burst into tears.

Dell punched the air with both fists.

As PH1 soared away from the near collision of the red planet, Mars, Dell felt elated. They'd escaped death and got rid of Cosmos at the same time.

Emmelisa was finding the loss of her beloved pet too painful to get any real consolation from escaping certain catastrophe.

As she bit her lip and held back her tears, she heard a familiar voice say, "Well done, Emmelisa! I told you that you are the master of your own destiny and you proved it. You saved yourself and your brother from a collision, which would have killed you both."

Emmelisa and Dell stared at the computer screen. Mr. A. Leon Spaceman was smiling at them.

"Dell forced me," Emmelisa found her voice after a few stunned seconds.

"You were both extremely brave. Your father would have been proud."

Dell gulped; Emmelisa stifled a sob.

"What's going to happen to Cosmos?" Emmelisa asked.

"Oh, I suppose he is sleeping in his favourite place in the kitchen at number one Fern Bank Road."

"How can he be? He smashed through the window into space."

"Cosmos did not crash through the window."

"He did! He did! When the engines ignited, he wasn't held down. He wasn't strapped to a couch and the force threw him against the window—he went straight through!"

"Ah, now I understand. You thought that your pet cat, Cosmos was inside the command module."

"He was!"

"No, he was not. That was Cosmo not Cosmos."

"Cosmo!" the two children exclaimed together.

"Cosmo Nought stowed away under your couches when you left Orbit II."

"Cosmo Nought is a man," Emmelisa corrected Mr. Spacemen. "Cosmos is a cat."

"Cosmo Nought is not a man. He is from the planet Oracle, populated by mentors and plonkas, thousands of light years away."

"Is he a mentor?"

"No, he is a plonka. He belonged to a group of plonkas who considered themselves to be the most superior beings on the planet. He wanted to prove that he was superior, even among the plonkas."

"Why did he have to prove that he was superior? Clever people at school always pretend to be dumb," Dell said.

"He knew that he was inferior but he wanted the mentors and plonkas to think that he was cleverer than he really was."

"How was he going to prove himself?" Emmelisa wanted to know everything she could about Cosmo Nought.

The plonkas set him a task. He had to travel through space to find a distant planet. Then he had to take complete control of the life of one of the planet's inhabitants."

"But how did he become Cosmos?" Emmelisa couldn't understand how this plonka had become a cat.

"The plonkas feeling of superiority on Oracle is based on their ability to mimic mentors. They are capable of duplicating mentors in order to discredit them."

"What do they do?"

"They do terrible things and behave badly in the guise of a mentor, who is then credited with the bad behaviour."

"Do the mentors really not know the difference?" Dell wasn't convinced.

"Your own pet fooled you. You thought that Cosmo was crazy."

"So did Cosmo visit Earth?" Emmelisa accepted that she had been fooled and was interested in knowing more about the plonka from the planet Oracle, who had caused her so much grief.

"Yes," Mr. Spaceman replied, "he took the guise of Mrs. Troublemaker's brother-in-law: a gentle soul, who would not harm anyone. He knew that Mrs. Troublemaker and her daughters would be easy to persuade in his plan to take control of someone's life."

"Didn't they suspect something? If Mr. Boringman suddenly started behaving badly, wouldn't they notice the difference?"

"Mrs. Troublemaker thought her brother was upset because he had lost his job and he wanted to occupy his time to make his life more interesting."

Emmelisa suddenly had an idea, which prompted her next question.

"If the plonka disguised himself as Mr. Boringman and Cosmos, did he disguise himself as Cosmo Nought?"

"Yes, Emmelisa, he did. The real Cosmo Nought works on a Russian satellite station similar to Orbit II. It was easy for him to pretend that he wanted to work alongside astronauts from other countries."

"What does he really look like?"

"A small, shallow, transparent jelly-baby," Mr. Spaceman replied.

"What will happen to him now?"

"He will remain in space for the rest of his life. He has failed in his task and even his own group of plonkas will not forgive him for his failure."

"Can we continue our 'Trail of Light Mission'?"

"There is no trail of light, Emmelisa."

"But I thought..."

"No, the Trail of Light Mission was set up by Hardwareland to test you against your enemies and you passed with flying colours."

"Oh, so is this the end of our journey?"

"No, you can travel into space as far as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune or Pluto. You can travel further still...as far as the milkyway—full of millions and millions of stars."

"From now on, nothing will stop us?" Dell wondered aloud.

"Nothing will stop you. But remember...I will always be there if you need me—I always was and I always will be."

The screen flickered and Mr. Spaceman disappeared.

At exactly the same moment, Dell and Emmelisa experienced the same feeling of exhilaration because, as Mr. A. Leon Spaceman disappeared, his face changed as he smiled.

The face was their father's and so was the smile.

Emmelisa's confidence soared as she realised for the first time in her young life that she was the master of her own destiny. She could travel through space with her best friend until _they_ decided to end their journey. After all, all she needed to say was, "Bye."

