by Jon Ireland
The doors pinged and swooshed open.
There was someone waiting for them.
‘HEE-YAH!’ yelled Hoppy, flinging out a karate chop.
‘Hey, hey, hey!’ shouted Rocket, ducking out the way of Hoppy’s flying hand. ‘You could hurt someone with that hand shake of yours.’
‘You two! You made it. You -’ Hoppy paused and sniffed the air. ‘You absolutely stink!’
‘That’s not our fault,’ said an embarrassed Liftoff. He sniffed under each armpit. ‘We’ve been trapped in some extremely smelly rooms.’
‘Don’t ask,’ added Rocket. ‘Going up or down?’
‘Up,’ Hoppy said.
‘Up?’ said Liftoff unhappily. ‘I want down! I want out of here!’
Hoppy frowned. ‘We’ve just spent the last half an hour getting the lift up to here. We’re not going down again. You’ll just have to wait for us to finish our chat with Doctor Mischief.’
Liftoff huffed.
‘Oh come on,’ said Rocket, beckoning the unhappy bear inside the lift. ‘We’ll just pop up to the top and then you can go home. Room for two more?’
Hoppy sniffed the air and said to Tinysaur: ‘Remember when we swam in that underwater tunnel? Well we might have to hold our breath even longer this time ...’
Chapter 16 – The computer virus
Floor one was Doctor Mischief’s command centre – a thirty-foot high circular room excavated from the peak of the mountain. Numerous cables hung from the ceiling, machinery, metal boxes, wires and computer screens of all sizes filled the cavernous room. Its walls were rugged rock and it had two giant windows that, when not covered in cloud, had a view over the island and sea.
Doctor Mischief was working furiously. She flicked on and off several dials and switches, pressed virtual buttons on one of five different computer screens and typed at terrific speed into four different keyboards.
Steam was rising from the back of the computers and screens.
Over to one side was a row of small security monitors – one of which showed Rocket, Liftoff, Hoppy and Tinysaur cramped together in a lift.
Doctor Mischief glanced over at the lift doors on the other side of the command centre and then flicked a switch on her dashboard.
‘Hurry up, you blithering box brain,’ she shouted into a microphone. ‘They’re almost here!’ Using a white handkerchief from her lab coat pocket, the Doctor wiped several drops of sweat from her green brow.
The speaker hissed and crackled.
‘Klump, did you hear me? I said they’re almost here! Is Basher with you?’
A robotic voice finally answered through the speaker. ‘Affirmative. One hundred and twenty four seconds to designated meeting point.’
‘Is that you, Klump? Why are talking like that? What’s the matter with you?’ replied the Doctor. There was a sudden pop and hiss from one of the nearby computers. ‘Never mind! just get here pronto, lame brain.’
Above the command centre lift, an up arrow flashed green and a second later the doors opened with a swoosh.
‘Surprise!’ said Rocket, popping out the door with a big grin. ‘The front door was locked but we found our own way in.’
‘Leave me alone. You’re wasting my time,’ said the Doctor frowning. She kept her eyes fixed firmly on the computer monitors in front and typed into a keyboard.
Liftoff stepped into the control room looking uncomfortable and awkward. Hoppy and Tinysaur followed after.
‘We know what you’re up to,’ said Hoppy sternly, pointing at the Doctor. Tinysaur stood behind her and growled. ‘Stop harassing us! You need to leave us alone.’
‘I have left you alone,’ said the Doctor. She spun around and stared Hoppy square in the eye. ‘Now it’s you who won’t leave me alone.’
‘Don’t play dumb with us,’ said Rocket, wagging an accusing finger. ‘In the last 24 hours you’ve tried to chase us, squash us, pinch us, bash us and smash us. But we’ve beaten everything you’ve thrown our way.’
‘I’ve done no such thing!’
‘Don’t deny it! You’re the only one on the island who doesn’t like us.’
‘You’re right, I don’t like you. I can’t stand you if I’m honest. But today I’ve got bigger problems than you lot. Much bigger!’
There was a pop and crackle from one of the Doctor’s computer terminals. Some grey smoke began to rise up from one of the machines.
‘Something wrong with your computers?’ said Hoppy.
Doctor Mischief rolled her eyes. ‘Of course there’s something wrong with my computers! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you – I have a computer virus!’
‘A virus?’ said Liftoff. He covered his mouth. ‘We should keep our distance. I’m very sensitive to coughs and sneezes.’
Rocket leaned over and whispered in Liftoff’s ear; ‘You don’t have to worry about catching a computer virus. It’s only something that affects machines.’
There was another ping noise and the lift door opened again. This time it was Klump and the other robots, Basher, Hover and Zoom. Klump rolled over to the Doctor on his tiny four wheels. Basher and Hover stood by the lift with their hands behind their backs. Zoom, who had no hands anyway, had his binocular eyes on Rocket and Liftoff.
‘Klump, you lazy box of wires! What took you so long?’ shouted Mischief.
Klump said nothing. His eerie red eyes surveyed the room.
‘These animal nincompoops are trespassing!’ The Doctor pointed an accusing finger at Rocket, Liftoff, Hoppy and Tinysaur. ‘I want them removed immediately. Do you hear me? I want you to escort them out of here right now!’
Klump remained silent.
‘Hellooo? Is anybody in there?’ said Mischief, tapping Klump on the head with her knuckle. ‘I said I want you to clear this room immediately!’
She looked over at Basher, Hover and Zoom who remained stationary. ‘What’s up with you lot? Cat got your tongue? You seem to be even dumber than usual – if that’s even possible!’
‘Your robots aren’t moving us anywhere,’ said Hoppy. ‘I don’t know what game you’re playing but we’re not fooling for it. We’re not leaving until you stop all this nonsense and bring your attacks on us to an end.’
‘Oh - and more importantly – we want our fishing lake back,’ added Rocket.
Liftoff nodded in agreement.
Klump held up a hand. ‘Canisters at the ready!’
‘What is the matter with you, Klump,’ hissed the Doctor. ‘What canisters?’
The boxy robot turned on his wheels and gave a signal to the wrestler robot Basher and the floating robot Hover.
‘What are they up to?’ said Hoppy. ‘Something’s not right here.’
Basher and Hover took their arms from their backs and revealed what looked like fire extinguishers.
‘There’s no fire here – it’s just a little smoke from the overheating computers,’ said Doctor Mischief. ‘You won’t be needing those fire extinguishers. Put them away, robots.’
But instead of putting the red canisters down, Basher and Hover lifted them higher, with a hand ready on the trigger.
‘Lost control of your robots?’ said Rocket.
‘I said – PUT THEM DOWN!’ screamed the Doctor.
‘Release the gas,’ ordered Klump, his eye’s glowing bright red.
Basher and Hover squeezed on the canister triggers and a cloud of smoke pumped out with a loud –
HISSSSSS!
Tinysaur barked loudly and began to run round in small circles.
‘What is that nasty smell?’ said Hoppy, sniffing the air.
‘They’re not fire extinguishers!’ said Mischief in great alarm. ‘That’s sleeping gas! Hold your breath everyone – the robots have gone mad!’
The white mist spread and drifted across the tiled floor as the two robots continued to spray sleeping gas from the canisters.
Liftoff yawned. ‘I’m just going to lie down here for a while.’
‘No, n
o, you mustn’t’ spluttered Rocket. ‘They’re trying to put us to –’ he coughed and steadied himself, ‘trying to put us to –’ He couldn’t finish his words. Suddenly he felt all dizzy and light-headed ...
‘Sleep,’ said Klump. ‘We’re putting you to sleep.’
Rocket collapsed to the floor.
Hoppy covered her mouth with her hands but it was too late. She also slumped to the ground, quickly followed by Tinysaur next to her.
Liftoff sat down, leant against a big container box, shut his eyes and began to snore.
‘Stop – st - o - p -’ spluttered Mischief. She dropped to one knee and held a handkerchief to her mouth. ‘I ... order ... you ... to ...’
She fell forward with a thump, her arms spread out across the tiles, lying motionless.
The robots remained standing.
‘Take them to the Specimen Chambers,’ said Klump darkly. ‘All of them!’
Chapter 17 – The Specimen Chambers
Rocket rolled over on to his side and sucked on his thumb.
‘I want more jelly,’ he muttered. ‘Jelly in my belly.’ He gave a little giggle and it woke him up.
‘Huh? Where am I?’ He pulled his thumb out of his mouth. He could hear snoring.
Liftoff was sitting next to him, head slouched forward, breathing heavily. His feet and wrists were bound with a silvery cable. Rocket gave him a shove.
‘Wake up!’
‘Make up? I’m not wearing make-up. What? Who’s there?’
‘The robots knocked us out with sleeping gas.’
‘My head feels sore,’ said Liftoff, rubbing the fur behind his ears.
Rocket examined their prison, a small enclosure lined in dull-white padding. There was no daylight, just yellow lighting, and only one door with a small oval window.
‘I feel lousy,’ said Rocket, trying to shake off a groggy lethargy.
Without thinking, he reached inside his belt utility pocket but nothing was in there.
He groaned. ‘They’ve taken my blueberries.’
‘I’m getting out of here,’ said Liftoff. But as he went to stand up he felt a silver cable pull against his wrists. He tugged on the cables expecting them to snap like cotton.
They didn’t break.
He tried again, this time much harder.
Nothing.
‘They’ve done something to me,’ whimpered Liftoff. ‘They’ve taken my strength.’
Rocket turned and examined the silver cable and handcuffs wrapped around Liftoff’s wrists.
‘Sorry pal,’ said Rocket mutely. ‘It’s made of Unbreakium. I guess they know even you can’t break that.’
Liftoff tugged and tugged at the cables but they wouldn’t give. No matter how hard Liftoff strained at his handcuffs they couldn’t be broken.
The two of them sat in silence for a while, taking in the bare, desolate surroundings. Liftoff sniffed and wiped away a tear.
‘We’ll find a way out,’ said Rocket, patting Liftoff’s arm. Rocket then stood up, mustered up as much strength as he could and tried to force open the cell door. It wouldn’t budge an inch.
‘We’re trapped,’ said Rocket. ‘No doubt about it.’ He peered through the small oval window in the door and saw two Arm-E guards, similar to the ones they had defeated earlier. Rocket banged on the door. ‘Hey, let us out! There’s been a mistake! Get your boss – Doctor Mischief – she’ll tell you!’
‘It’s no good, I’ve already tried.’
It was the sound of Mischief’s voice coming from the cell next door. ‘My robots won’t listen to me anymore.’
‘All the robots are infected by the virus,’ said Hoppy, her voice coming from the same cell. ‘Me and Tinysaur are trapped in here with the lizard.’
‘How dare you call me a lizard, you mangy half-cat,’ said Mischief fiercely.
Tinysaur leapt in front of Hoppy and growled.
‘Keep your dinosaur pet away from me! I’m warning you!’
‘Warning me? What are you going to do? Torture me with your bad breath?’
‘Come on you guys,’ said Rocket trying to calm the situation. ‘It’s no good fighting against each other in here. Besides, Mischief must know this place inside and out so she can tell us how to escape.’
‘The only way out is through these sealed doors,’ explained the Doctor, ‘and the only one strong enough to break them would be the bear. But he’s chained up with Unbreakium cables.’
Liftoff humpfed.
‘Just order those two robot guards to free us,’ said Rocket. ‘I thought you were the boss in here?’
‘I’ve been trying to tell you but the cotton wool in your brain must have stopped you from hearing,’ said the Doctor curtly. ‘The virus has taken control of every machine inside this mountain. I am no longer in command!’
Liftoff tugged at his chains. ‘I didn’t want to be here in the first place.’
‘If you’d just brought me Shelly like I’d asked,’ moaned the Doctor. ‘If you’d brought me his password. I could have rebooted the whole system and wiped it free of the virus.’
‘Why didn’t you just switch off the main power supply and switch it back on again?’ said Hoppy. ‘That would fix it surely?’
‘That wouldn’t fix anything, my little pussy-kins. To restart all the computers requires a password authorised reboot. You can’t just turn off the power with the flick of a switch. Only the administrator’s password can reset everything. And Shelly is the only one left on this island who knows the password.’
‘Why would you assume Shelly knows it? What’s he got to do with any of your computers?’
‘That crazy tortoise knows more than you think! Many years ago, back in the good old times when everyone was confined here in the mountain, Shelly was the Head of Technology’s favourite pet. And Shelly was the only one who ever got to see his password. And once a piece of information is in Shelly’s strange little brain it never leaves – ever!’
Rocket thought about it for a second. ‘So you’re saying none of this was your doing. It was all the fault of the computer virus.’
‘Of course it wasn’t me! Have you got sawdust for brains? Why would I lock myself up in my own Specimen Chambers?’
‘So all those attack on us – the missile, the fire-ball and the giant spiders – you’re telling us that was the fault of this virus?’
‘Yes, dumb dumb! It was all set off by the virus in the central computer. I had nothing to do with it. Zilch!’
‘And the water in the lake?’
‘The water was sucked out by the computer’s cooling system. The virus has been burning through every computer chip and overheating every hard-drive in this place for the last two days. When the computers overheat, they draw in water from everywhere. And that water included your fishing lake. So like I said, nothing to do with me.’
‘Hmmm,’ said Rocket, scratching his head. ‘And what about Klump and the others? Why won’t those goons listen to you anymore?’
‘Every machine in this building is controlled by the central computers – and that includes my robot servants.’
‘So the virus got them too,’ said Hoppy. ‘I guess that explains why they had red eyes and were acting so weird.’
Hoppy went and stood by her cell door and shook it as hard as she could. It wouldn’t budge. She stared through the door’s glass window at the two Arm-E guards with their tentacle arms and claws.
‘We’re in trouble,’ said Hoppy frowning. ‘Big trouble.’
Chapter 18 – The Code Maker
Several hours passed slowly in the sterile, dull, pale rooms of the Specimen Chambers. Rocket and Liftoff sat leaning against the padded cell walls. Rocket was struggling to muster the strength to crack a joke and Liftoff was tired of hearing them.
‘What does a cat say when someone steps on its tail?’
‘Who cares,’ said Liftoff miserably.
‘Me-OW!’
Liftoff didn’t laugh. ‘You told that on
e three hours ago. And it wasn’t funny then either.’
Rocket sighed.
In the other cell, Doctor Mischief was mumbling grumpily under her breath with her eyes shut. Hoppy was pacing up and down like a frustrated tiger in a cage.
The main entrance door to the prison area swished open.
Hoppy peered through the thick glass door window and saw Hover and Basher, two of the Doctor’s servant robots, appear between the Arm-E guards. Hover levitated across the white room, his eyes glowing red as though in a trance. Basher stomped behind him like a zombie.
‘It’s two of your robot goons,’ said Hoppy frowning. ‘What do they want, I wonder.’
Basher approached Rocket and Liftoff’s cell door. The giant robot bent down and squashed his square-jawed face to the door glass, his eyes darting side to side, checking the prisoners were secure.
‘Hey Basher,’ said Rocket. ‘Why don’t you open the door and we can play a game of hide and seek. Or we could play tag. I’ll run and you catch. Your call.’
‘Be quiet,’ said Basher abruptly. ‘No funny business.’
Rocket got up and pressed his face up to the door glass so that his nose flattened like a squashed sponge pudding.
‘Can you see snot up there?’ said Rocket. ‘I’m not feeling well. Can you bring me a box of tissues? And a bowl of fruit if it’s not too much trouble.’
Basher grunted and stepped away.
Over at the cell next door, Hover indicated for Hoppy to check the bottom of their door where a hatch the size of a letterbox opened up.
‘What’s going on?’ asked the Doctor. ‘Is it food?’
Before Hoppy could see what was being delivered, Tinysaur had rushed to the door hatch and grabbed a small package between her teeth.
The hatch snapped shut.
‘Give it to me,’ said Hoppy kneeling down to Tinysaur’s level. Tinysaur was holding a ball about the size of Hoppy’s hand that sparkled in gold and silver. ‘Why would they give you a toy ball?’
‘Don’t be so stupid,’ said Doctor Mischief, scowling. ‘It’s not a toy! It’s a Lumiscope!’
‘OK, Doctor Smarty Pants,’ said Hoppy, tossing the sparkling ball over to Mischief. ‘Show us what it does then.’
The Doctor reached out her hands to catch it but the ball slipped through her green fingers and smacked her on the forehead, bouncing off and rolling into the centre of the cell chamber floor.
‘Ouch!’ shrieked the Doctor.
‘It’s not my fault you can’t catch,’ said Hoppy.
‘You moron! Now you’ve broken it!’
