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Pirate Spacecat Attack (Geronimo Stilton Spacemice #10)

Page 3

by Geronimo Stilton


  most prestigious inventions in the universe. Each year,

  millions of aliens from all around the galaxy come

  to the university to study, develop new inventions,

  and sharpen their intellect in the hopes of becoming

  universally known stellar scientists.

  Wow!

  Wait

  until

  you

  see

  it!

  “Wait until you see

  what’s inside,” Sally told

  us. “It’s even more

  interesting

  !”

  “Well, what

  are we waiting

  for?” Trap asked.

  “

  Let’s go!

  ”

  Let’s go!

  let

  me

  down,

  Please!

  The

  hallways

  were crowded with aliens

  from all over the Cheddar Galaxy. They were

  moving quickly

  in

  and

  out

  of classrooms

  and labs.

  “Oh, how I love this place!” Sally said

  warmly as she looked around. “Let’s go to

  the main office. Maybe someone there can

  tell us where we can find

  PROFESSOR

  TWISTERIX

  .”

  As we headed down one hallway after

  another, I sneaked a peek inside one of the

  labs

  . A group of aliens was in the middle

  of an experiment when . . .

  PUUUUUFFF!

  A cloud of dust surrounded me, clinging

  to my clothes. Suddenly, I was

  FLYING

  through the air!

  “Sorry!” a student said apologetically.

  “Our

  antigravitational

  spray

  uniform

  is still a prototype.”

  “Uh, no problem,” I replied, trying to

  remain

  calm

  . “But can you let me

  down

  ,

  please?!”

  In the meantime, Trap took off down the

  hallway in a pair of very

  strange

  shoes. A

  student ran after him, shouting.

  “Sir, I told you not to

  touch

  those!”

  he squeaked. “They’re

  rocket

  shoes

  ,

  but we’re still testing them!”

  As if that wasn’t enough, a mail robot had

  accidentally picked up Benjamin and

  was delivering him to one of the classrooms

  like a package!

  Let

  me

  down!

  Oops!

  Hey!

  Waaaait!

  Sorry!

  Two students stopped the mail robot

  immediately.

  “Our

  flying

  mail

  robot

  is a work in

  progress,” one explained sheepishly.

  I ran over to my sweet nephew to make

  sure he was okay.

  “Uncle Ger, you should have seen the eco-

  friendly engine on that robot!” Benjamin

  squeaked excitedly. “It runs on slime from

  the planet

  Slimix

  !”

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” I told him,

  smiling

  .

  “Now we have to get to the office.”

  When we finally got there, a robot was

  assisting a long line of students. Finally, it

  was our turn.

  “Hello,” Sally said. “We would like to talk

  to

  Professor

  Twisterix

  . Can you schedule an

  appointment right away? It’s

  urgent

  .”

  “Professor Arthur Twisterix retired three

  Next

  alien,

  please!

  Mousey

  meteors!

  We

  were

  right

  back

  where

  we

  had

  started!

  galactic

  years ago,” the robot replied

  mechanically.

  “But do you know where we can find him

  now?” Sally asked, a worried look on

  her snout. “It’s very

  important

  .”

  “I do not have access to the professor’s

  current address,” the robot replied.

  And with that, he moved on to the

  ALIEN

  behind us in the line.

  follow

  that

  scent

  “What do we do now?” Sally asked,

  disappointed.

  Suddenly, we heard a

  soft

  squeak behind

  us. “Excuse me, I accidentally overheard that

  you are looking for Professor Twisterix.”

  We turned to see an alien holding two

  brooms

  , a

  dustpan

  , a

  bucket

  ,

  and

  a

  mop

  in her many tentacle-like arms.

  “Yes!” I said eagerly. “Can you help us?”

  “I think so,” she replied. “I’m

  Amelia

  Shinix

  , the university’s head cleaning alien.

  I’ve been working here for a thousand

  galactic years, so I know

  everything

  about

  everybody

  . I think I know where

  you can find the

  professor

  .”

  “That’s

  wonderful

  !” Sally exclaimed

  I’m

  Amelia

  Shinix!

  happily. “Would you be so

  kind

  as to tell us?”

  Amelia Shinix took a

  step closer.

  “He was recently seen

  in

  Inventor’s

  Alley

  ,” she

  whispered. “That’s a

  neighborhood on the

  other side of town. I

  hear he’s starting his

  own

  secret

  laboratory.”

  “Thank you, Amelia!”

  Sally replied. “You’ve been

  so

  helpful

  .”

  We followed her directions and headed

  straight across town to

  Inventor’s

  Alley

  .

  There we found a real

  maze

  of labs and

  workshops. Everywhere we looked there

  were aliens building and fixing all different

  kinds of

  mechanical equipment

  . We

  asked for the professor, but no one had

  heard

  of him!

  “Hmm. How about we stop for a snack?”

  Trap said. “I can smell cheesy Pluto peas!”

  “Hold on a second!” Sally exclaimed.

  “Cheesy Pluto peas are the professor’s

  favorite

  dish

  ! Perhaps we’ll find him if we

  follow the

  scent

  .”

  Trap started sniffing and we followed.

  He led us to a

  bizarre-looking

  building ma
de completely of spare

  parts.

  Holey

  craters,

  what

  a

  mouserific

  idea!

  cheesy

  Pluto

  peas!

  Mmm...

  the

  smell

  of

  “This is where the

  smell

  is coming from,”

  Trap declared. “Oh, I’m so

  hungry

  !”

  Sally knocked on the door. A second later,

  it opened, and we were

  snout-to-snout

  with an older rodent.

  “Stellar circuits! It’s Sally de Wrench, my

  smartest student!” he exclaimed. “

  What a

  shocking surprise!

  ”

  “Professor Twisterix!” Sally squeaked

  happily. “How nice to see you again!”

  Sally hugged the professor. He was a

  friendly-looking alien with

  green

  skin,

  reddish hair, and

  eight

  arms.

  “And who are your friends?” he asked.

  “I’m

  Geronimo

  Stiltonix

  ,” I said, extending

  a paw. “I’m the captain of the spaceship

  MouseStar 1. This is my cousin Trap and my

  nephew Benjamin.”

  Professor Twisterix invited us into his

  home

  laboratory

  . Martian mozzarella,

  I had never seen a more

  disgusting

  place!

  “Pardon the

  mess

  , but I’ve been working

  on a new prototype,” the professor said.

  Trap looked at the pot of

  cheesy Pluto

  peas

  the professor was holding.

  “Well, actually, I was just taking a break

  for a little snack,” Professor Twisterix

  explained. “Would you like to join me?”

  Sally

  de

  Wrench!

  Professor

  Twisterix!

  Slurp!

  Everyone declined politely except

  TRAP

  .

  He grabbed a spoon and happily dug in.

  “Thank you, Professor!” my cousin

  exclaimed happily.

  “It’s a real

  pleasure to meet

  another

  true gourmet!”

  i

  have

  exactly

  what

  you

  need!

  “

  Stellar circuits, how did you find me?” our

  host asked once he and Trap had finished

  their snack.

  “It was thanks to Amelia Shinix!” Sally

  replied. “But why all this

  secrecy

  ?”

  “I wanted to

  completely

  dedicate myself

  to my inventions, with no distractions,” the

  professor explained. “Would you like to take

  a

  look

  at my latest work?”

  “We would love to, but first we need to

  ask for your help!” Sally explained.

  The professor

  looked concerned

  .

  “Do you remember Hologramix, the

  computer I created for my thesis project?”

  Sally went on.

  “

  But

  of

  course!

  ” the professor replied.

  “I helped you design that hologram with a

  mouse’s snout.”

  “Exactly!” Sally squeaked. “Unfortunately,

  Hologramix isn’t working properly. I

  don’t know what the

  problem

  is!”

  “Hmmm . . . interesting,” the professor

  said. “Let me take a look.”

  Sally

  gently

  placed the box on the

  table and turned Hologramix on: Its snout

  was as faded and tired-looking as ever.

  Professor

  Twisterix

  examined it,

  mumbling to himself as he worked.

  “It could be a side short

  circuit

  . . . or

  maybe there’s been some damage to the

  quantum chip . . .”

  I don’t know much about machines

  and I didn’t want to get in the

  way

  , so I sat

  away from the others, on a COMFY

  chair

  Ahhhh!

  made of old mechanical parts.

  I was just about

  to drift off to

  sleep

  when something

  bumped against my

  paw. I jumped

  up, screaming.

  “

  Ahhhh!

  ”

  I yelped. “What was

  that?”

  Trap just laughed.

  “Ha, ha, ha!” he chuckled. “You’re such

  a scaredy-mouse, Cuz!

  It’s just a sweet

  robot doggy.

  ”

  I glanced down at the little creature and

  was about to reply when the professor’s

  voice interrupted my thoughts.

  “

  I’ve

  got

  it!

  ” he cried. “It’s the

  power

  generator

  ! Your onboard computer is

  running out of juice

  !”

  “Ah, that explains why the reboot process

  was so slow . . .” Sally mused.

  “

  Um, does that mean Hologramix isn’t really

  broken?

  ” I asked hopefully. “And there’s no

  virus?”

  “Correct!” the professor replied. “It’s only

  out of

  power

  . All you need is a new

  battery

  from planet Energix. I should have

  one around here somewhere . . .”

  He began searching through

  parts

  ,

  tools

  , and other

  junk

  around the lab.

  “Not here . . . not there . . . nope . . . oh,

  I think I know where it is!” he muttered.

  Then he walked straight to a closet in

  the back of the

  lab

  , opened its door

  and . . .

  Crash!

  “Professor, are you

  okay

  ?” Sally asked.

  After a moment of silence, he came up

  shaking

  his snout.

  “Unfortunately the battery isn’t here,” he

  said

  seriously. “And it was the last one

  in the whole

  universe

  :

  The

  energy on planet

  Energix has completely

  run

  out

  !”

  “B-but there must b-be

  something

  we can do!”

  I stuttered

  anxiously.

  I’ve

  got

  it!

  Professor Twisterix shook his head

  sadly

  .

  “In the past, we thought the

  power

  on

  Energix was inexhaustible, but we were

  wrong.”
/>   Sally sighed. Everyone else in the lab was

  very, very quiet.

  “

  Stellar circuits, why didn’t I think

  of it before?!

  ” Professor Twisterix

  exclaimed suddenly. Then he grabbed a

  tool and began to

  explain

  . “This is an

  energy transformer. It can

  convert

  galactic wind

  and

  starlight

  into

  electrical

  energy

  . It’s only

  a prototype, but it

  should work fine

  with Hologramix’s

  specifications!”

  “That’s great news!” I squeaked happily.

  “Do you mean Hologramix can be fixed,

  and it will also be more

  ecologically

  friendly

  ?” Benjamin asked.

  Twisterix smiled.

  “That’s right, young mouse,” he replied.

  “I’ll get right to

  work

  . Come back tomorrow

  at the same time and I should be done.”

  Then the professor lowered his voice and

  looked around

  nervously

  . “Please keep this

  to

  yourselves

  !” he urged us. “This is brand-

  new technology, and there are always aliens

  trying to steal

  secrets

  around here!”

  Then he called the

  ROBOT DOG

  over to him.

  “Fidox, please take them to their space

  pod!”

  time

  to

  celebrate!

  We happily followed the professor’s robot

  dog through the neighborhood’s very

  crowded streets.

  “What a

  successful

  mission!” Trap

  squeaked excitedly. “Thanks to Twisterix’s

  clever

  invention, we won’t have any more

  problems with Hologramix!”

  I noticed that some of the

  aliens

  around

  us glanced our way. Why does my cousin

  always have to be so

  boisterous

  and

  loud

  ?

  “Trap, would you please lower your

  voice?” I implored him. “Remember what

  the professor said!”

  But he wasn’t listening.

  “

  Turning stellar wind into energy is

  What a

  brilliant idea!

  Hey, how rude!

  a brilliant idea!

  ” Trap practically shouted.

  A few aliens moved even closer to us,

  perking up their ears.

  Holey craters

  , I

  had to think of something to get my cousin

  to stop

  squeaking

  !

 

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