The odd thing that Jamie had first noticed about the computer display was that it was round and much bigger than anything he had ever seen and more like a radar screen, but the quality of the images on the screen were stunning. The menu on the screen listed the usual things like WORD and SPREADSHEET and there was even a GAMES folder, but the one that he clicked on first was SYSTEM.
Jamie read the system details on the screen and then laughed out in disbelief. He knew that his PC was no ordinary machine, but these figures had to be Uncle Stanley having a bit of fun. The CPU was listed at 1000,000 Ghz which would have made it more powerful that all the supercomputers in the world put together. The installed memory (ram) was claiming to be 50,000 Gb, which was theoretically possible, but would have been very, very expensive. The surprising one was the Disk drive which had 50 Tetrabytes of storage and was quite modest compared to the other claims.
Jamie had used the Internet at school often enough, but he had never felt the buzz of excitement that he was experiencing now as he waited while watching the ‘Trying to Connect to the Internet’ message flash on the screen.
He let out another muffled, but excited, ‘Yes.’ When he saw the ‘Connected’ message flash up followed by, ‘Scrambler Activated’ He still didn’t understand how he could connect without being linked to the telephone. Anyway, he would look into that later.
‘Now where’s the browser?’ he asked himself as he studied the various icons on the screen. A click on to the Earth Browser icon opened up the BBC News website. A few clicks around the various links revealed a very impressive turn of speed and much, much faster that he’d ever experienced on the school computers. Uncle Stanley’s Favourites Menu revealed an odd selection of sites, mostly techie things and military sites. The one that caught Jamie’s attention was PLANET TITANTULA. There’s that name again, he thought and clicked on the icon. He groaned as the screen went blank, but was relieved when it came back again showing a new window with Titantula displayed across the top.
Jamie jumped when a short blast of music came out of the speakers followed by a posh sounding English voice declaring, ‘You have Mail from Titantula’ and he directed the mouse pointer over the Mail Inbox icon and was poised to click on the mouse when he heard the call from outside the door and it made him jump again.
‘I’m coming, Dad,’ Jamie shouted in reply to his dad’s angry enquiry asking what he was doing up in the middle of the night.
Jamie hadn’t locked the door like he usually did, but he wasn’t going to leave the room without reading the mail message, even if his dad blew a casket.
‘I’ve got to close the computer down, Dad. I’ll be back in bed in just a sec,’ Jamie promised and clicked on the mouse and read the message.
‘Welcome back, Soranmalvor,
I thought you had disconnected. There has been no atmospheric disturbance within our galaxy or other abnormalities detected. Have you had technical problems?
Your Trusty Friend,
Koolhebron
‘Weird. Is that Spam or what?’ Jamie said out loud.
‘Are you talking to yourself, our Jamie?’ asked Kevin as he entered the room, startling Jamie, who thought his dad had gone back to bed. Jamie’s hand flashed towards the computer and pressed the power off button.
‘No, I was just packing in, Dad. It was so hot in my room and I couldn’t sleep so I came up here. I managed to get on the internet and it was great.’
‘I’ll be having words with you in the morning,’ Kevin said. ‘Now get back to bed.’ His dad waited by the door for Jamie to leave the room and ended any chance that Jamie might have of getting back on line by locking the door and taking the key with him.
* * *
It was quite some time before Jamie eventually slept after he had mulled over the strange email. Perhaps those odd names and the mystery planet that he’d never heard of was some kind of joke. Before he’d drifted off to sleep he’d decided that he would reply to the email, explaining about his Uncle’s demise. If the email was genuine then it was possible that Uncle Stanley and Soranmalvor had been one and the same person. Maybe Uncle Stanley had belonged to some sort of Star Wars or Star Trek club.
* * *
Jamie sighed when he heard the bang on his bedroom door followed by his dad’s order for him to ‘shake a leg’. He wouldn’t mind doing just that, but getting up and ready for school would be much more difficult.
Jamie was in a daydream as he went through the motions of eating breakfast.
‘It’ll be an early night for you, me laddo,’ Kevin said, after Jamie had failed to respond to his dad’s remark about Liverpool being interested in a Spanish striker.
‘I think I’m suffering from jet lag.’ Jamie said after he had shaken his head trying to force away the tiredness.
‘Jet lag,’ Kevin and Debbie said in unison.
‘Well, you know what I mean. That was a long journey in your old bone shaker, Dad.’
‘So, that’s your excuse for playing with that computer during the early hours. Now let’s have no more of that or I’ll ban you from that room for a week. Is that clear?’
‘Yes, Dad,’ Jamie groaned.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jamie had managed to get through most of Mr Clough’s morning geography lesson, but it had been embarrassing when he gave the answer as the Manchester Ship Canal instead of the Suez Canal. The class had been discussing Egypt while Jamie had been dozing. He had made it sound as though he was only messing about and managed to laugh it off.
When the morning break arrived he headed for the corner of the playground and set about eating the sandwiches intended for his lunch, wishing that he had eaten more of his breakfast.
He was startled by Ethan’s enquiry, ‘Why have you been staring up at the sky, Jamie?’
Jamie had been too preoccupied to notice Ethan and tried to make an excuse by claiming that he had been looking at a jet’s vapour trail.
Ethan looked at the sky and said that he couldn’t see any jets in the sky.
‘It must be behind the clouds. Anyway, Ethan we’d better get back for our next lesson.’
Jamie felt stupid as they made their way back to the school building. What had he been expecting to see during his skyward gazes, a planet with Titantula written on it? Come on, Jamie. Get real.
There was more embarrassment for Jamie during the history lesson which was the last lesson of the day. Mr Cole was discussing the great wars and was getting annoyed at the apparent lack of interest and near the end of the lesson he reprimanded Isobel for being more interested in Jamie than the topic that they were discussing.
‘But I am interested, sir, I was just imagining Jamie with a sword and fighting those nasty Romans.’
There was a chorus of wolf whistles and cheering, but the real reason for Jamie’s embarrassment was when the noise died down and Mr Cole asked him to name one of the Roman generals that they had been discussing.
‘Isobel,’ replied Jamie and before he could correct his answer Mr Cole had ordered him to stay behind after class.
Mr Cole had reminded him of his dad when he’d said, ‘We need to have a talk, young man.’
Joe Taylor the class joker suggested that Isobel should stay behind as well if Mr Cole was going to talk to Jamie about relationships. The ensuing laughter resulted in Mr Cole deciding to dismiss the class a few minutes early.
Jamie was surprised how understanding Mr Cole was during their ‘talk’. He had offered to move Jamie to another desk away from Isobel’s, but Jamie didn’t think that was a good idea because it might mean that she would start passing him notes across the classroom.
When he left the classroom he headed for his locker to pick up his football kit and was in a quandary about whether to skip practice and head home and see if he had any more strange emails. Then he remembered the threats that Jason Patmore had made and decided that he would go and play in case Jason thought he had scared him off. Jamie was confident that he would be able to cope with
Jason’s dirty tricks and hopefully Mr Mortimer would make sure that Jason didn’t do anything too damaging if Jason caught him off guard.
* * *
Jason Patmore pulled his bootlace tight, stood up and began glowering at Jamie who was on the opposite side of the changing room. Jamie smiled when Jason began punching his open hand with his other fist, like a boxer waiting for the bell to sound.
Jason gave a half grunt, half sigh when Mr Mortimer announced the two practice teams that that had him on the same side as Jamie.
Jamie had only been regarded as a good player at his old school that had several players who attended a football academy, but he was by far the best player in his new school team.
‘Good ball, Jamie,’ Jason mimicked with derision after Mr Mortimer had praised another of Jamie’s brilliant passes.
By half time Jamie’s team were leading five goals to nil, thanks to a Jamie hat trick and two assists, but Jason wasn’t pleased with the result even though his team were winning.
‘This game’s a bit boring, sir,’ Jason moaned. ‘Why don’t we change the teams to make it more even? I don’t mind playing on the other side.’
‘What a good idea, Jason. Perhaps you’ll be able to shackle Jamie. You two on opposite sides will be interesting to watch.’
Jason gave a smirk that left Jamie in no doubt what bully boy’s intentions were and he hoped that Mr Mortimer could keep up with the play.
By midway through the second half Jamie had scored another two goals and he’d managed to evade a couple of crude challenges from Jason, the last one had resulted in a warning from Mr Mortimer. The warning appeared to be working until a group of spectators arrived and began chanting, ‘Jamie, Jamie,’ led by Isobel who was wearing a red and white Liverpool scarf.’
Mr Mortimer had just finished writing in his small notebook when he saw Jason’s lunge at Jamie. Luckily for Jamie he only suffered a torn sock and a painful shin, thanks to his pad.
‘Now that’s enough, Jason,’ Mr Mortimer roared and following a chant of, ‘OFF, OFF,’ he ordered Jason to apologize to Jamie and then to go and get changed.
Jason trudged over to Jamie and offered out his hand, taking the opportunity to squeeze Jamie’s fingers and tell him that he would have him soon. He said that he didn’t want Isobel for his girlfriend anymore, which amused Jamie because Isobel had made it clear that she thought Jason was the school moron and she wouldn’t be seen dead with him.
After the match Jamie stayed close to Mr Mortimer as they walked towards the school prior to heading home. Jamie wasn’t seeking protection from Jason who had left before the match finished, but Mr Mortimer’s presence would keep Isobel at bay, at least for the moment.
CHAPTER NINE
Jamie arrived home from football practice and following no response to his call, ‘Anyone at home.’ he remembered that his parents were going with Leanne to see her teacher to discuss how she had settled in, so Jamie headed straight upstairs to his special room. Jamie was still curious to know what was behind the mystery email and wondered if Uncle Stanley had been some kind of eccentric, like one of those Star Trek fans. Perhaps Koolebron was actually an old mate, probably a Fred Smith who pretended to be a character from outer space.
As he waited for the PC to boot up he decided that he would risk making a fool of himself and stick to his plan to send a reply to Uncle Stanley’s old mate. After several attempts Jamie settled on the following message:
Dear Mr Koolebron,
I received a message from you on my great uncle’s computer. I am afraid that my Great Uncle Stanley (Soranmalvor) died some months ago. We are now living in his old house.
Jamie Tranter
Jamie hit the send button and sat waiting in anticipation. Perhaps Mr Koolebron was out playing bowls or tending his vegetable patch. He assumed that that he was an older person and not some kind of three headed alien.
‘Sorry, Mr Koolebron I didn’t mean to be personal,’ Jamie said fearing that if Koolebron was some sort of super intelligent, whatever, then he might be able to read Jamie’s thoughts. Jamie continued with his apology, ‘It’s just that I have no idea what people from outer space look like and I ………’ Jamie stopped his apology, realizing that he sounded stupid. He couldn’t believe that he would actually consider that Koolebron could read his mind or that he was out in space somewhere. He was more likely some old techie with a computer in his garden shed.
It was nearly an hour later before he felt the familiar buzz when he heard the sound that heralded the arrival of a new email.
Jamie quickly scanned the email which read:
Jamie,
I am sorry you received the old message that was sent in error. I already knew that Soranmalvor your Uncle Stanley had passed away. We were very good friends and I shall miss him.
I hope the names didn’t confuse you. My name is Gordon Cartwright and your Uncle Stanley and I used to have a bit of fun with our make-believe names and I (Koolebron) was supposed to reside on the Planet Titantula. Your Uncle did mention once that he wanted you to inherit his machine and I’m sure that you will respect his wishes regarding the secrets of his old computer. I have a grandson, Daniel, who is your age and I will ask him to contact you. He will address you as, Nerosmalvor.
Goodbye,
Koolebron
Jamie watched the flashing message that followed, signalling that Koolebron’s message would be erased in ten seconds. While Jamie was wondering how a message on his computer could be erased other than by himself, the message disappeared from his screen and Jamie turned his thoughts to the next message he was told to expect.
‘Wow, I’m going to have a cyber pen pal. I’m not sure about my name though,’ Jamie laughed out loud at the thought.
The email alarm sounded again and Jamie was excited as he prepared to read the incoming message. Once again he imagined someone with three heads and it was fun going along with this game. It seemed that Uncle Stanley’s old friend, Gordon Cartwright, wanted his grandson and Jamie to take over the game, at least that’s how it appeared to Jamie.
There was a short blast of sound that was like a football crowd cheering and then the following message was displayed.
Email Received
Hi ,Nerosmalvor,
This is Soupinpota.
You needn’t worry. I won’t use your galactic name of Nerosmalvor again, unless you want me to. You must have guessed by now that I am not from your world and I hope you won’t find our conversing too strange.
Make sure your speakers and microphone are active and I will make voice contact with you.
Your new friend,
Soupinpota
Jamie already knew that the speakers were active because of the aircraft engine noise that had blurted out when the system was started up and he positioned the old fashioned microphone in front of him.
‘Hi, Jamie. Can you hear me?
‘Loud and clear, Sopinpot.’
‘Great, but my name is Soupinpota. The soup in my name is pronounced like soup and it is pota and not pot. Soup in pota and not Sop in pot. Shall we use our galactic names like my Granddad used when communicating with your Uncle, or shall we just use our proper names of Jamie and Daniel?’
‘To be honest, I would feel a bit of a diffy using those names and if you and your granddad are from another planet, then my dad’s Bill Gates. Although I suppose it would be fun using the names sometimes.’
‘I’m disappointed that you doubt my word, earthling. I take it that diffy is a Liverpool word which I have never heard used in Scarborough where me and my granddad live. Is it the same as dumbo or muppet?'
‘You are right about the meaning of diffy, but I expect you have some words that I have never heard of and we’ll have to exchange the lingo sometime if you know what I mean. Before I forget what was that your granddad mentioned about keeping things secret which is what my Uncle Stanley said in a message left for me?’
‘What Koolebron (Granddad) told you about
secrecy is true. We both have very powerful computers, thanks to your Uncle and my Granddad; I think it might be easier to keep calling him Koolebron. It is important that you don’t reveal its specification to anyone. I have a similar machine to you and I have had the same instructions about keeping its power a secret.’
Daniel confirmed that they were a similar age, but Jamie was disappointed to learn that his new friend had no interest in sport. It soon became obvious to Jamie that Daniel was a bit of a clever clogs, but not boastful. By the time they signed off Jamie knew that he was going to get on with Daniel, although there was something not quite right about everything connected with his mysterious inheritance.
CHAPTER TEN
Kevin Tranter was trying his hand at gardening when he saw the blue van pull up outside Rufus’s house and two men dressed in dark green overalls get out. Whatever Rufus was having done to his gas boiler must be costing him a fortune because it was the third time that the van had called since they had moved in three weeks ago. Kevin gave them a cheery good morning in his usual friendly way and both of the men nodded, the heads moving together as though they had practised the move like members of a synchronised swimming team. Kevin smiled as he returned to hoeing the weed patch, but he had noted that neither of the men looked like typical gas boiler engineers or whatever they called themselves these days. The men didn’t look a bundle of laughs either, but maybe Rufus was giving them a hard time.
Rufus was an odd ball, no doubt about that, but he seemed friendly enough and he had obviously taken a shine to Jamie. Rufus had put Kevin to shame with his interest in computers and it seemed that he was a real keen surfer. Kevin had imagined Rufus searching the Internet for information about his treasured cucumbers and runner beans. Debbie still thought that Rufus was a nosey old so and so and had shifty eyes, but Debbie didn’t really trust anyone she hadn’t known for ages. She wasn’t rude to Rufus, but she didn’t encourage him to talk for long.
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