The softwire : Virus on Orbis 1 (28 page)

“Nugget will not be hurt. As you all remember, the procedure is painless and only takes a moment to perform,” Theylor said.

Theylor reached for Nugget’s hand, but he wasn’t having any of that, so Ketheria had to lead him over to the chairlike robot. She helped Nugget get comfortable and gently pressed his face down on the headrest.

“Please,” Nugget whimpered.

“It’s all right, Nugget,” she comforted him and caressed his dark-purplish wings.

The robot shifted, making adjustments for Nugget’s size. Nugget struggled to free himself, but the machine held him in place.

“Danger! Danger! Daaaaann . . . !”

Before Nugget could finish shouting, the R5 had implanted a small port at the back of Nugget’s left ear.

“What about the codec?” I asked. The central computer interprets all of the different alien languages for us using a translation codec that is uplinked through the neural port. It even connects with your optical nerves so you can read in any language.

“This R5 is now equipped with the translation codec. Everything is done at once,” Theylor said. “Nugget should now be able to understand everyone.”

The R5 released Nugget, and he scrambled to the other side of the sorting bay.

“Danger! Danger! Danger!” he screamed, and found a crate to hide behind.

“Hey! Freak! Can you understand what I’m saying to you?” Switzer shouted at Nugget.

Nugget cocked his head to the side and slipped out from behind the crate.

“Yes?” Nugget said, but it was more like a question. He squinted his eyes and waited for a reply from Switzer.

“Good. Now get out of here and leave us alone.” Switzer pointed to Weegin’s office. That was not a good idea. Nugget puffed out his chest and stomped his oversize feet toward Switzer.

“No. Work. Work! To work now, big thing!” Nugget cried, pointing at the conveyor belts and snapping his jaw. “Work!”

“Great,” Theodore said.

“Thanks, Theylor,” I said. “I guess.”

Nugget darted around the room corralling the other children and goading them toward the belts. Theylor smiled with his right head while his left head turned toward me. “Will you give this to your Guarantor please, Johnny?”

“Sure, Theylor,” I said. “What is it?”

“You will know everything shortly,” Theylor responded. I hated it when he was so vague. It usually meant something was about to change. “And Johnny?” Theylor turned before he was out the door. “Enjoy Birth Day,” said both of Theylor’s heads, and then he was gone.

“It’s Birth Day?” Theodore asked.

“I guess it is. Happy fourteenth,” I said, just as surprised as the rest.

“What’s on the scroll?” Max asked me, motioning to the glowing screen scroll the Keeper left for Weegin.

Max and Theodore stood there staring at me.

“How would I know?” I asked them.

“Take a peek.” Max nudged me.

“Maybe he shouldn’t do that,” Theodore argued.

“Oh, give me that,” Max said. She grabbed the scroll and unraveled the organic screen from its metal container. She pulled the uplink from the scroll and inserted it into her neural implant. The glow from the metal casing flashed: INVALID USER.

“Told you,” Theodore said.

“Here, you do it,” Max said, holding it out to me. “Do the
push
thing,” Max said. She knew very well I could sneak into hard drives, network arrays, light drives, anything to do with a computer.

I was about to push into the scroll when an alarm went off. I looked up and saw the field portals at the top of the outer metal dome sparkle to life and begin to fade away.
Could a cargo shipment really be arriving?
I wondered. Nothing had come through those portals in over a phase. I stood next to Theodore and watched as the robotic cranes warmed up by stretching out their huge tentacles. But before they were in position, a small metal crate was thrust through the opening. It dropped from the sky like a meteor, right toward my sister.

“Ketheria, watch out!” I yelled and leaped forward, catching my sister’s arm and yanking her aside.

“You all right?” Max questioned her.

Before she could answer, Weegin burst from his office and scurried down onto the sorting-bay floor.

“This has to be it. It has to be,” he said, rubbing his three-fingered hands together.

“What
has
to be it?” Switzer said, inspecting the metal projectile.

“Shut up. Get back, you imbecile. Move away from here,” Weegin scolded him.

Switzer simply stepped aside, scowling, but that didn’t stop me from creeping forward. What was in the crate? I wondered.

“I said get out of here!” Weegin snapped before I could get close. “All of you. I’m deducting one chit for not listening.” He used his small body to shield the contents of the crate. Nugget scrambled next to his father, but Weegin only pushed him aside.

“How can you deduct chits? You haven’t paid us for a whole phase,” Switzer protested.

Weegin ignored him and attached a thick data cable into his own neural port. He glanced over the ragged nubs on his shoulders to make sure none of us could see him tap an access code into the O-dat. Satisfied with Weegin’s entry, the crate hissed open and Weegin jammed both fists inside the container. Quickly, he pulled out an unmarked plastic box and clutched it to his chest. His eyes darted over each of us without looking at anyone in particular. Then he grinned and raced off toward the lift. If Weegin still had wings, I’m sure he would have flown.

“I wonder what was inside,” I said, walking over to the empty carcass Weegin had left behind.

“Nobody is to disturb me!” he shouted from the second floor as the latest messenger drone slammed into the closing office door.

“Never mind the crate, JT,” Max said. “What does this scroll say?”

“Oh,” I said, looking at the screen scroll still in my hands. I pushed into the scroll, and the message instantly appeared in my mind’s eye as if an O-dat was mounted inside my forehead. I read it aloud.

“Weegin has to give us back,” I said, glancing up at his office.

“He’s not going to like that. We’re the only valuable thing he has right now,” Max said.

“This is not good. I feel it,” Ketheria muttered.

I looked over at Theodore, who was rummaging through the discarded shipping crate. He froze, his eyes widening. “And I think it just got worse,” he added.

I would like to send a screen scroll to everyone at Rings of Orbis and thank them for making the online game such an amazing place for Softwire fans to hang out. See you on the Rings!

Also, a very special thanks to all the volunteers on the Kids Need to Read project. Your hard work has turned our efforts into something truly extraordinary. Go, Ninjas!

PJ HAARSMA
has always been transfixed by what lies beyond our solar system. He says, “When the mother ship finally arrives and they ask if there are any humans who want to go for a spin, I’ll be the first to sign up.” When he’s not gazing at the stars waiting for his ride, you can find him on the Rings of Orbis, the online universe that he created for the Softwire series, which has spawned a legion of loyal fans. He has a degree in science and lives in southern California with his wife and daughter. To learn more about PJ Haarsma, visit his website at
www.pjhaarsma.com
.