The Brainiacs (2 page)

Wormholes were shortcuts through space. Starships could travel through them in seconds to distant galaxies.

The wormhole ahead was a swirling mass of cloud. Kip knew it would take all his flying skills to navigate safely through. He switched MoNa's auto-pilot off and took the controls.

Engaging warp speed, Kip plunged MoNa into the wormhole. There was a bursting feeling inside his ears. His eyes throbbed. His skin prickled. Travelling hundreds of light years in seconds was tough, even for a top Space Scout.

They popped out of the wormhole into Clevor's galaxy. Clevor lay ahead of them. Kip noticed that the biggest country was shaped a bit like a brain. A giant planet orbited close by. Its shadow seemed to swallow Clevor.

‘I guess that big planet is Geekatron,' Finbar said.

‘Yeah. Clevor's so small, it could almost be one of Geekatron's moons,' replied Kip.

He called up a high-res image using MoNa's multi-directional long-range telescope. Clevor's surface was grassy and red. There was a domed building made of a substance that wobbled like a gigantic jelly. Out the front was a scrolling sign in several alien languages. Kip could just make out the words.

Alien kids and their parents streamed through a circular door in the dome. One kid was transparent and looked about the size of Kip's big toe. Another had bright purple skin with boils that shot out pus every few seconds.

Suddenly…

KER-LAAAAAANG!

Something heavy slammed into MoNa's starboard side. Kip was almost thrown out of his captain's chair. There was a blinding flash.

‘We've been hit!' Finbar yelled, terrified. Debris was spinning through space just near them. It looked like pieces of a weapon. There was a cloud of greenish gas floating around the debris.

Kip and Finbar had come in peace. Clevor had invited them! So who was firing missiles?

‘Are you damaged, MoNa?' Kip asked.

‘Minor paintwork scratches,' MoNa said calmly, but she sounded annoyed.

Kip switched to the Info screen on his console. MoNa's system had calculated that the missile was a stink flare. On impact, the flare exploded to release a foul-smelling gas. It was disgusting but not dangerous.

MoNa had also plotted the missile's course. It came from Geekatron. And it had been heading for Clevor! When MoNa popped through the wormhole, she'd accidentally got in the way.

‘WorldCorp said Clevor and Geekatron were just rivals,' Kip answered. ‘But if Geekatron are firing missiles, it sounds like they really hate each other. Wonder why?'

Kip considered the situation. If things between Geekatron and Clevor were bad enough for the planets to be firing at each other, he was putting himself and Finbar in danger by landing on Clevor. But if he flew back to Earth without competing, he'd lose the chance to show the universe that humans were friendly and clever.

Only hours into his mission, and Kip was already facing a life or death decision!

CHAPTER 3

Kip put his helmet on firmly. He was a highly trained Space Scout, and whatever danger was ahead on Clevor, he'd be able to handle it.

Finbar and Kip headed to the landing bay. There, MoNa's Scrambler Beam mixed up their particles and beamed them through space. Kip and Finbar's particles reassembled themselves on the surface of Clevor.

Kip looked around the new planet, his heart hammering. He'd expected to land in a war zone. But aside from the crowds of aliens arriving for the quiz, nothing unusual was happening. Clevor didn't
look
like it was under serious attack.

Was Geekatron's stink flare a one-off? No-one seemed to have noticed that a missile was even fired.

Kip wanted to investigate further, but seeing as everything was normal, he knew he needed to get on with his real mission – the quiz.

The Smartest Kid in the Universe quiz was being held nearby, in the wobbling convention centre they'd seen from space.

Kip switched on his SpaceCuff, a communication device he wore on his wrist. This gave lots of information that was vital for missions.

AIR ANALYSIS

Air:
High oxygen. Safe to breathe.

‘Extra oxygen keeps your brain alert,' Kip said to Finbar as he took off his helmet. ‘No wonder the aliens here are so smart.'

Inside the dome was a lobby. The noise in there was worse than a flock of three-headed spacegulls at feeding time. There were alien kids and their families everywhere. Kip was glad he didn't have his parents with him. Finbar was
way
cooler!

A few alien families were lined up at a table that hovered a metre off the ground. Behind the hovering table stood a grown-up alien, registering contestants. He looked like a giant brain standing on gloopy tentacles. He was wearing a headset and a flashing bowtie.

‘If he's working at the quiz, I guess he must be from Clevor,' Kip said. ‘They're super smart, so it figures they'd be giant brains.'

Through a door to the main auditorium, Kip saw a circular stage surrounded by seats. The seats were mostly full of Clevor aliens.

Kip joined the queue. In front of him was a short alien kid and his parents. The kid's body was covered in googly eyes. He wore a monocle on each. He turned around to Kip and Finbar and introduced himself as Gorb.

‘Your height is 149.5 centimetres,' Gorb said, sounding way too smart for Kip's liking. ‘Your hair's made of keratin. You speak English. I calculate you are a human from planet Earth.'

Then the brainy alien behind the table interrupted. ‘Name tags, kiddos!' he said with an over-the-top smile. The brainy alien handed Kip and Gorb small, thin digital screens with pins on the back.

When Kip put his on, the screen switched on automatically.

Name:
Kip Kirby

Home planet:
Earth

Brain weight:
2.6% of total body weight

‘How does it know?' Kip whispered to Finbar.

‘I guess it took a reading from your skin,' Finbar said.

The brainy alien's tag said his brain was 91.2% of his weight. His name was Einstein.

‘I'm named after one of the Universe's greatest geniuses because I'm
ridiculously
clever,' Einstein said. ‘Far smarter than anyone on Geekatron.'

He scowled. Kip could tell that just thinking about Geekatron made him mad.

‘Anyhoo,' Einstein continued, forcing a cheesy smile back onto his face. ‘You're playing Gorb in the first round.'

Kip's stomach flip-flopped. Gorb's name tag said his brain was 46.1% of his total weight! He'd be very hard to beat. But Kip had to try – Earth's reputation was at stake!

‘See you on stage in a few minutes, kiddos,' Einstein went on.

He must be the quizmaster!
Kip realised.
No wonder he's cheesy.

Kip and Finbar headed into the packed auditorium. The crowd was full of alien kids waiting with their families to play their rounds. A bird-like alien tickled his neighbour with his feathered tail. A fire-breathing alien who looked like a lizard kept setting chairs on fire and getting told off by her mum.

There were also loads of Clevor aliens there to watch the quiz.

A Clevor girl grinned at Kip as he walked past her to the stage.‘Good luck!' she called with a friendly wave.

‘Clevor aliens seem like good sports,' Kip said quietly to Finbar, waving back.

‘Maybe,' murmured Finbar, pointing. ‘But check that out.'

Beside the stage were two screens. One listed which contestants were playing each other. The other displayed the quiz rules.

SMARTEST KID IN THE UNIVERSE
QUIZ RULES

• If a contestant answers incorrectly, they're out of the quiz.

• Losing contestants will wait in a holding area until the quiz is finished.

• To prevent arguments, Clevor and Geekatron's contestants must ALWAYS be kept apart.

• The winner of each round advances to the next round.

• The last contestants left go into the Grand Final.
*

• The winner receives the coveted Donald Q. Nerdburger Trophy of Excellence.

*
Wildcard entries also allowed.

Hmm,
thought Kip. If Clevor and Geekatron had to be kept apart to prevent arguments, maybe Clevor weren't such good sports – at least when it came to Geekatron. He wondered what the Geekatron aliens were like. He didn't think he'd seen one yet.

Finbar sat down in the audience to watch Kip's round. Kip took a deep breath. He needed to stop wondering about Clevor and Geekatron and start thinking about the quiz!

In the middle of the stage there was an odd-looking glass orb. Forks of electrical energy flashed inside. Behind the orb were buzzers for the contestants.

As Kip climbed the stairs to the stage, he stared at the orb and tried to work out what it was. There was something sinister about it, but Kip couldn't put his finger on it. He took his place beside Gorb.

Just then, Einstein appeared on the stage. The crowd hushed. The quiz was beginning!