of all . . .” she started to argue.
“Vairocina, don’t bother. Listen to me. We’re in trouble. I need your help.”
“Certainly, I’ll contact the Keepers.”
“Don’t call the Keepers!” Switzer demanded.
“Yeah, not the Keepers,” Switzer’s sidekick, Dalton, said.
“Then who should I contact?” she asked.
“We need to tell the Keepers,” I said. “The rules . . .”
“Enough with the rules, JT,” one of the kids said.
“Was Weegin following the rules when he tried to sell us?” Switzer snapped. “Freakocina, or whatever your name is, do not tell the Keepers where we are. I have plans of my own.”
“No Keepers,” someone else murmured.
“I’m afraid you will not survive on Orbis on your own,” Vairocina protested.
“Contact Charlie,” Ketheria said.
“OK. Charlie would be good. He helped me before,” I agreed.
“I now have a code address for him, but I have no way of telling him your location. Do you know where you are?”
I looked around. “We’re near Core City,” I said. “That’s all I know.”
“I don’t think we are too far from the spaceway,” Max added.
“There are many spaceway stations, and Core City covers over twenty-four square kilometers,” Vairocina said. “Give me a moment. I will make a digital representation of where you are and download that to the terminal where Charlie purchases his passage to Orbis 2.”
“What if you get the wrong terminal?” Theodore asked.
“I won’t. I’ll monitor for his chit scan and present it then.” Her image distorted, sending shapes and colors back into the air. Then Vairocina was gone.
“That’s incredible,” Max said.
“She does look like me a little,” Ketheria said. “I like her.”
“Stupid computer tricks,” Switzer scoffed.
“Why do you always have to be so negative, Switzer?” Max asked.
“Why do you always have to defend your boyfriend, Maxine? He wanted to call the Keepers.”
“He’s not . . . oh, forget it.”
Before the argument was over, Vairocina was back. Ketheria stepped toward her.
“Hi, I’m Ketheria,” my sister said.
“Hi, I’m Ketheria,”
Switzer mimicked.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ketheria,” Vairocina said, holding her hands together in a formal fashion. “Charlie Norton has been contacted. It will be the better part of a spoke before he can arrive. Is there anything else I can do?”
“Can you tell us what happened on Orbis 2, in Core City?” I asked.
“Everyone is going nuts around here,” Max said.
“And I’m not sticking around to find out,” Switzer said, “C’mon Dalton, let’s leave these malfs here. Anyone else want to join us?”
I remembered when Switzer tried to rally his friends to take over the
Renaissance,
and lots had joined him. But this time only one other kid besides Dalton joined his side: a small boy who always looked up to him.
“That’s it? Then you’re all malfs. Good riddance,” Switzer said, and stepped out from under the concrete shelter.
“Where you going to go?” Max asked him.
“Anywhere but here,” he said, and left with Dalton and the small boy.
“They’ll be back,” Ketheria said, but I wondered. Was this the last time I would see Switzer?
“He will not get far. The Samiran has breached his crystal-cooling tank,” Vairocina said.
“What’s a Samiran?” Max asked.
“Samirans are amphibious mammals from the planet Samira, a water planet ravaged by poachers. Samirans are massive. If my calculations are correct, one Samiran would not be able to fit inside your rec room at Weegin’s World.”
“That’s huge!” Theodore exclaimed.
“What do they look like?” Max asked Vairocina.
“On Earth, they could be considered similar to an elephant or a whale but much larger.”
“We’ve never been to Earth. We don’t know what an elephant or a whale looks like,” Ketheria reminded her.
“Samirans are extremely powerful and very dangerous. The only known Samirans in captivity
“Vairocina, don’t bother. Listen to me. We’re in trouble. I need your help.”
“Certainly, I’ll contact the Keepers.”
“Don’t call the Keepers!” Switzer demanded.
“Yeah, not the Keepers,” Switzer’s sidekick, Dalton, said.
“Then who should I contact?” she asked.
“We need to tell the Keepers,” I said. “The rules . . .”
“Enough with the rules, JT,” one of the kids said.
“Was Weegin following the rules when he tried to sell us?” Switzer snapped. “Freakocina, or whatever your name is, do not tell the Keepers where we are. I have plans of my own.”
“No Keepers,” someone else murmured.
“I’m afraid you will not survive on Orbis on your own,” Vairocina protested.
“Contact Charlie,” Ketheria said.
“OK. Charlie would be good. He helped me before,” I agreed.
“I now have a code address for him, but I have no way of telling him your location. Do you know where you are?”
I looked around. “We’re near Core City,” I said. “That’s all I know.”
“I don’t think we are too far from the spaceway,” Max added.
“There are many spaceway stations, and Core City covers over twenty-four square kilometers,” Vairocina said. “Give me a moment. I will make a digital representation of where you are and download that to the terminal where Charlie purchases his passage to Orbis 2.”
“What if you get the wrong terminal?” Theodore asked.
“I won’t. I’ll monitor for his chit scan and present it then.” Her image distorted, sending shapes and colors back into the air. Then Vairocina was gone.
“That’s incredible,” Max said.
“She does look like me a little,” Ketheria said. “I like her.”
“Stupid computer tricks,” Switzer scoffed.
“Why do you always have to be so negative, Switzer?” Max asked.
“Why do you always have to defend your boyfriend, Maxine? He wanted to call the Keepers.”
“He’s not . . . oh, forget it.”
Before the argument was over, Vairocina was back. Ketheria stepped toward her.
“Hi, I’m Ketheria,” my sister said.
“Hi, I’m Ketheria,”
Switzer mimicked.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ketheria,” Vairocina said, holding her hands together in a formal fashion. “Charlie Norton has been contacted. It will be the better part of a spoke before he can arrive. Is there anything else I can do?”
“Can you tell us what happened on Orbis 2, in Core City?” I asked.
“Everyone is going nuts around here,” Max said.
“And I’m not sticking around to find out,” Switzer said, “C’mon Dalton, let’s leave these malfs here. Anyone else want to join us?”
I remembered when Switzer tried to rally his friends to take over the
Renaissance,
and lots had joined him. But this time only one other kid besides Dalton joined his side: a small boy who always looked up to him.
“That’s it? Then you’re all malfs. Good riddance,” Switzer said, and stepped out from under the concrete shelter.
“Where you going to go?” Max asked him.
“Anywhere but here,” he said, and left with Dalton and the small boy.
“They’ll be back,” Ketheria said, but I wondered. Was this the last time I would see Switzer?
“He will not get far. The Samiran has breached his crystal-cooling tank,” Vairocina said.
“What’s a Samiran?” Max asked.
“Samirans are amphibious mammals from the planet Samira, a water planet ravaged by poachers. Samirans are massive. If my calculations are correct, one Samiran would not be able to fit inside your rec room at Weegin’s World.”
“That’s huge!” Theodore exclaimed.
“What do they look like?” Max asked Vairocina.
“On Earth, they could be considered similar to an elephant or a whale but much larger.”
“We’ve never been to Earth. We don’t know what an elephant or a whale looks like,” Ketheria reminded her.
“Samirans are extremely powerful and very dangerous. The only known Samirans in captivity
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