talk about wiggly electricity in the same tone of voice Gurder used for talking about Arnold Bros. (est. 1905). He'd tried to study it back in the Store. If it was put into freezers it made things cold, but if the same electricity went into an oven it made things hot, so how did it know'?
Dorcas used to talk, Masklin thought. I said "used to." I hope he still does.
He felt light-headed and oddly optimistic. Part of him was saying: That's because if you for one second think seriously about the position you've put yourself in, you'll panic.
Keep smiling.
The truck purred along the road, with the other truck following it. Masklin saw a third truck rattle down a side road and pull in behind them. There were a lot of humans on it, and most of them were watching the skies.
They didn't stop at the nearest building, but drove on to a bigger one with many more vehicles outside. More humans were waiting for them.
One of them opened the truck door, doing it very slowly even for a human.
The human carrying Masklin got out of the truck.
Masklin looked up at dozens of staring faces. He could see every eyeball, every nostril. Every one of them looked worried. At least, every eyeball did. The nostrils just looked like nostrils.
They were worried about him.
Keep smiling.
He stared back up at them, and still almost giggling with repressed panic, said, "Can I help you, gentlemen?"
Chapter 9
SCIENCE: A way of finding things out and then making them work. There is a lot more Science than you think.
From A Scientific Encyclopaedia for the Enquiring Young Nome by Angalo de Haberdasheri.
Gurder, Angalo, and Pion sat under a bush. It gave them a bit of shade. The cloud of gloom over them was almost as big.
"We'll never even get home without the Thing," said Gurder.
"Then we'll get him out," said Angalo.
"That'll take forever!"
"Yeah? Well, that's nearly as long as we've got here, if we can't get home." Angalo had found a pebble that was almost the right shape to attach to a twig with strips torn off his coat; he'd never seen a stone ax in his life, but he had a definite feeling that there were useful things that could be done with a stone tied to the end of a stick.
"I wish you'd stop fiddling with that thing," Gurder said. "What's the big plan, then? Us against the whole of Floridia?" "Not necessarily. You needn't come."
"Calm down, Mr. To-the-rescue. One idiot's enough."
"I don't hear you coming up with any better ideas." Angalo swished the ax through the air once or twice.
"I haven't got any." A small red light started to flash on the Thing.
After a while, a small square hole opened up and there was a tiny whirring sound as the Thing extended a little lens on a stick. This turned around slowly.
Then the Thing spoke.
"Where," it asked, "is this place?" It tilted the lens up and there was a pause while it surveyed the face of the human looking down at it.
"And why?" it added.
"I'm not sure," said Masklin. "We're in a room in a big building. The humans haven't hurt me. I think one of them has been trying to talk to me."
"We appear to be in some sort of glass box," said the Thing.
"They even gave me a little bed," said Masklin.
"And I think the thing over there is some kind of lavatory, but look, what about the Ship?"
"I expect it is on its way," said the Thing calmly.
"Expect? Expect? You mean you don't know?"
"Many things can go wrong. If they have gone right, the Ship will be here soon."
"If they don't, I'm stuck here for life!" said Masklin bitterly. "I came here because of you, you know."
"Yes. I know. Thank you." Masklin relaxed a bit.
"They're being quite kind," he said. He thought about this. "At least, I think so," he added. "It's hard to tell." He looked through the transparent wall. A lot of humans had been in to look at him in the last few minutes. He wasn't quite certain whether he was an honoured visitor or a prisoner, or maybe something in between.
"It seemed the only hope at the time," he
Dorcas used to talk, Masklin thought. I said "used to." I hope he still does.
He felt light-headed and oddly optimistic. Part of him was saying: That's because if you for one second think seriously about the position you've put yourself in, you'll panic.
Keep smiling.
The truck purred along the road, with the other truck following it. Masklin saw a third truck rattle down a side road and pull in behind them. There were a lot of humans on it, and most of them were watching the skies.
They didn't stop at the nearest building, but drove on to a bigger one with many more vehicles outside. More humans were waiting for them.
One of them opened the truck door, doing it very slowly even for a human.
The human carrying Masklin got out of the truck.
Masklin looked up at dozens of staring faces. He could see every eyeball, every nostril. Every one of them looked worried. At least, every eyeball did. The nostrils just looked like nostrils.
They were worried about him.
Keep smiling.
He stared back up at them, and still almost giggling with repressed panic, said, "Can I help you, gentlemen?"
Chapter 9
SCIENCE: A way of finding things out and then making them work. There is a lot more Science than you think.
From A Scientific Encyclopaedia for the Enquiring Young Nome by Angalo de Haberdasheri.
Gurder, Angalo, and Pion sat under a bush. It gave them a bit of shade. The cloud of gloom over them was almost as big.
"We'll never even get home without the Thing," said Gurder.
"Then we'll get him out," said Angalo.
"That'll take forever!"
"Yeah? Well, that's nearly as long as we've got here, if we can't get home." Angalo had found a pebble that was almost the right shape to attach to a twig with strips torn off his coat; he'd never seen a stone ax in his life, but he had a definite feeling that there were useful things that could be done with a stone tied to the end of a stick.
"I wish you'd stop fiddling with that thing," Gurder said. "What's the big plan, then? Us against the whole of Floridia?" "Not necessarily. You needn't come."
"Calm down, Mr. To-the-rescue. One idiot's enough."
"I don't hear you coming up with any better ideas." Angalo swished the ax through the air once or twice.
"I haven't got any." A small red light started to flash on the Thing.
After a while, a small square hole opened up and there was a tiny whirring sound as the Thing extended a little lens on a stick. This turned around slowly.
Then the Thing spoke.
"Where," it asked, "is this place?" It tilted the lens up and there was a pause while it surveyed the face of the human looking down at it.
"And why?" it added.
"I'm not sure," said Masklin. "We're in a room in a big building. The humans haven't hurt me. I think one of them has been trying to talk to me."
"We appear to be in some sort of glass box," said the Thing.
"They even gave me a little bed," said Masklin.
"And I think the thing over there is some kind of lavatory, but look, what about the Ship?"
"I expect it is on its way," said the Thing calmly.
"Expect? Expect? You mean you don't know?"
"Many things can go wrong. If they have gone right, the Ship will be here soon."
"If they don't, I'm stuck here for life!" said Masklin bitterly. "I came here because of you, you know."
"Yes. I know. Thank you." Masklin relaxed a bit.
"They're being quite kind," he said. He thought about this. "At least, I think so," he added. "It's hard to tell." He looked through the transparent wall. A lot of humans had been in to look at him in the last few minutes. He wasn't quite certain whether he was an honoured visitor or a prisoner, or maybe something in between.
"It seemed the only hope at the time," he
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