The Shrinking Race

by H. Badger

  The blue man began talking. His soft voice was strangely powerful.

  Kip switched his SpaceCuff to Translate. This function used well-known alien languages to guess the meaning of what new aliens said. Kip and Finbar understood the blue man easily.

  ‘I’m Blutor, and I’m a Baltian,’ he said. ‘Please accept this sugarmelon lolly as a gift.’ Blutor picked a bright pink melon-shaped fruit from a nearby bush.

  In Kip’s hands, the melon was tinier than a gumball. He popped it into his mouth using the special airlocked compartment in his helmet. Flavour exploded on his tongue. His mouth filled with fizzy pink juice. The lolly was thousands of times sweeter and more delicious than a Chocano!

  ‘Mmmm!’ said Kip. He had an instant craving for another sugarmelon.

  When Blutor handed him some more, Kip wanted to eat them all at once. He forced himself to save one as a sample for WorldCorp’s scientists.

  ‘You love sugarmelons as much as we do,’ smiled Blutor. ‘Our scientists first grew them on trees about two years ago. Now, no-one eats anything else.’

  If I lived here, I’d pick lollies off the trees all day long, Kip sighed to himself. Much yummier than LabFresh vegies.

  Finbar tried a sugarmelon. Kip could tell Finbar didn’t like the lolly, even though he was trying to be polite. Because he was part-wolf, Finbar didn’t have a sweet tooth.

  ‘Hope they’ve got good dentists,’ Finbar whispered to Kip.

  But Kip wasn’t going to ask Blutor about dentists. They seemed to be making friends. Maybe now’s the time to tell Blutor about our mission, he thought.

  CHAPTER 5

  Kip didn’t have time to explain anything to Blutor, though. At that moment, a figure rushed towards them. She looked like Blutor, except she was younger and had long pale blue hair.

  ‘There’s been another accident!’ puffed the little blue girl. ‘Someone has fallen down a drain.’

  ‘They’re smart enough to grow lollies on trees,’ Finbar whispered to Kip. ‘So why would they build drains big enough for someone to fall down?’

  Kip shrugged. Finbar had a point.

  ‘Our ropes aren’t long enough,’ the blue girl added.

  ‘We’ll help!’ said Kip.

  Cobalt could be Earth 2, Kip thought. If we save the day, Blutor and his people might share their planet in return.

  Plus, Kip was trained to always help friendly aliens in distress.

  ‘That’s our city, Cobaltville,’ said Blutor. He nodded at the silver buildings around the field.

  ‘I’ll carry you there,’ said Finbar, scooping up Blutor and the blue girl. ‘We’ll get to the accident faster that way.’

  Kip and Finbar raced across the sugar-melon field and into Cobaltville.

  The red-paved streets were crowded with blue people talking about the accident. Everywhere, digital signs flashed updates. A tiny blue dog-like animal with horns yapped at Kip’s heels.

  More and more Baltians ran out of the silver buildings. The buildings had no doors, though. The walls looked like they were melting to let the people walk through them. Then they formed again, as though they were made of liquid-metal. It looked a bit like walking through a waterfall.

  Kip made a quick mental measurement of the buildings. They were the perfect height for humans. Not Baltians.

  His logical Space Scout brain couldn’t make sense of it. Why would the Baltians build a human-sized city when they were so much smaller?

  Kip felt like a gigantic horror-movie monster next to all the tiny Baltians.

  Lucky Blutor’s riding on Finbar’s shoulder. Otherwise, the Baltians would be terrified of us, Kip thought.

  ‘There’s the accident,’ said Finbar, spotting it with his sharp wolf eyesight.

  He pointed to a crowd of tiny blue figures gathered around an open drain. The drain hole was no wider than Kip’s backpack. But to the tiny Baltians, it was a bottomless pit.

  Finbar gently put down Blutor and the little blue girl.

  ‘Fellow Baltians,’ Blutor said. ‘Our Earthling friends are here to help with the rescue.’ The crowd erupted in cheers and clapping.

  Cobalt’s hopes are riding on us, thought Kip. As if finding a new planet for Earth wasn’t enough!

  Kip mentally ran through the contents of his backpack. He had safety gear like ropes and harnesses with him, of course. But the ropes would be too big for the Baltian to grab a hold of.

  As he thought about what to do, Kip spun the glowing meteorite chip he wore around his neck. It hung from a chain made of extra-strength carbon fibre.

  Kip was a master at making do with what he had. He prided himself on coming up with solutions on the spot, even when he didn’t have the right gear.

  With his gloved hands, Kip unclipped the chain around his neck and slipped the chip into his pocket.

  He bent close to the drain. It doesn’t look too deep, Kip thought. Hopefully this chain will be long enough to reach the bottom.

  Kip knelt. The nearby Baltians scattered away from Kip’s giant feet.

  Slowly, he fed the chain into the drain.

  A crowd gathered, munching on sugarmelons. They watched as Kip fed the entire chain down the drain.

  Doubt crept into Kip’s mind.Would the chain be long enough? Could the Baltian take hold of the end?

  He waited. Nothing.

  Back in Space Scout training, Kip topped the class in Crisis Handling. The most important thing he learnt was:

  The worst thing I can do now is doubt myself, he decided. I’ll never beat the other Space Scouts to the Shield of Honour that way.

  Just then, Kip felt something tug on the chain! But it was so soft that Kip wondered if he’d imagined it.

  ‘I’ll pull you up,’ Kip whispered. He didn’t want to scare the Baltian down the drain with his booming voice.

  Gently, Kip pulled up the chain.

  The crowd watched. Everyone held their breath.

  Kip knew they were all thinking the same thing.

  Will the missing Baltian be hanging on the other end?

  CHAPTER 6

  Kip pulled the chain out of the drain. And clinging tightly to it was the missing Baltian!

  Kip held out a finger. The Baltian grabbed on. Carefully, Kip put the tiny blue boy down on the ground.

  As Kip stood up, he saw two blue people run over to the muddy Baltian.They hugged him, crying.

  That must be his mum and dad, Kip thought. Funny to think that even little blue aliens have parents.

  On the edge of the crowd, Blutor signalled to Finbar to lift him up.

  Blutor spoke gravely to Kip and Finbar. ‘If only all rescue missions were this successful,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘We’ve lost too many people to accidents.’

  Kip paused, wondering how to answer. Blutor and his people were obviously smart. Kip didn’t want to offend them.

  ‘Have you thought of building smaller drains?’ Kip asked politely.

  ‘Our problem is more difficult than drains,’ Blutor said sadly.

  Kip shot a glance at Finbar. Neither knew what might come next.

  ‘Over the last two years,’ Blutor went on, ‘our people have shrunk from your height to the size we are now.’

  ‘What?’ Kip said, shocked. ‘How?’

  He’d heard about all kinds of strange planets from other Space Scouts. But no-one had ever mentioned a shrinking alien race!

  ‘We cannot explain it,’ said Blutor, rubbing his blue chin.

  He’s worried about the future of his people, Kip thought. Just like I’m worried about the future of Earth.

  At that moment, the sound of grinding metal pierced the air.

  ER-RRRRRRRRRR!

  It sounded like a rusty starship changing gears.

  ‘Put me down!’ Blutor said quickly. ‘We must hide!’

  Blutor and the other Baltians disappeared through their silver walls. Within seconds, the city was deserted.

  ER-RRRRRRRRRR!

  ‘It’s
getting louder!’ yelled Finbar, covering his ears. ‘Run!’

  Kip thought ahead for a moment. It was a vital Space Scout skill. If we run into the buildings, we might crush a Baltian, he thought. Then they’ll never want to share their planet with us.

  It was a risk Kip couldn’t take. They had to find somewhere else to hide.

  ‘The sugarmelon field!’ Kip yelled.

  ‘Look!’ said Finbar, as they ran. He’d spotted a green shape in the sky. It was heading straight for them!

  The shape got closer. Kip saw it had a beak and giant wings.

  ‘That’s too heavy to be a bird,’ Finbar said. ‘See how it swoops when it’s flying?’

  ‘It’s metal,’ Kip yelled, noticing the creature’s body glinting in the sun. ‘It’s some kind of winged robot!’

  The robot circled directly overhead. Its screech was ear-splitting and there were dagger-sharp claws on its feet.

  Kip dragged Finbar towards him. Flicking on his SpaceCuff, Kip engaged the InstaShield mode. Lines of powerful electrical currents sprang from the Space-Cuff and arced above Kip and Finbar.

  SpaceCuff InstaShield Mode

  In nanoseconds, they were safe inside a bubble of electrical mesh. Just in time!

  The winged robot dived down. It slammed into the electrical bubble. Sparks exploded.

  ZZZZTT!!!

  A burnt metallic smell filled the air. The winged robot crowed miserably. It flew off, spewing smoke.

  When the sky was clear, Kip switched off the InstaShield. Across the field, the Baltians reappeared through their liquid-metal walls.

  ‘That’s your second rescue in one day,’ said a voice behind them. It was Blutor.

  ‘What was that thing?’ Kip asked him.

  ‘An Aerobot. When we were big, we built them to hunt small creatures known as steak mice,’ Blutor explained. ‘And we farmed vegetables ourselves.’

  ‘You stopped hunting and farming when the sugarmelon craze hit,’ Finbar guessed.

  A troubled look crossed Kip’s face. ‘And when your people began to shrink, the Aerobots started hunting you!’

  Blutor nodded. ‘We needed to reprogram them,’ he said. ‘But we couldn’t. Our people are simply too small.’

  Unstoppable flying attack-robots. It sounded like a nightmare!

  CHAPTER 7

  Kip’s mind turned all this over. If Cobalt was going to be Earth 2, he would have to find a way to deprogram the Aerobots.

  Before he could work out how, something hit his helmet with a crack.

  Colours exploded around Kip’s head. He guessed what was happening. MoNa had fired him a NewsBomb!

  A NewsBomb was a small, round ball with compressed news data inside. It broke open on impact, releasing a 3D holographic broadcast from Earth. It was like standing inside a TV.

  Back on Earth, WorldCorp had called a Space Scout meeting for all those not on missions.

  Now Kip found himself standing inside a live a holographic version of the meeting!

  Space Scout meetings almost never happen, Kip thought. What’s going on?

  A holographic WorldCorp rep was talking. ‘Attention, Space Scouts! You’ve probably heard about Candy Montenegro’s promising discovery in the Far West Quarter. WorldCorp’s scientists have nearly finished studying her plant samples from the Crimson Planet. Nothing is confirmed, but signs indicate that Candy has discovered Earth 2.’

  The hologram faded, leaving Kip white-faced.

  Finbar came over, still holding Blutor.

  ‘Nothing’s final,’ Finbar reminded Kip. ‘You can’t give up until you see the shield in Candy’s hands.’

  Finbar was right. Until that happened, there was still a chance… Kip put Candy out of his mind and focused on the Baltians’ problem.

  ‘Deprogramming the Aerobots is the next step,’ he said. ‘Wiping their memories is the quickest way.’

  Back on Earth, robots had memory failure all the time. Their circuits over-loaded, or sometimes they just wore out.

  An idea nagged at Kip. Something he’d heard back in Space Scout training… ‘Siberian robots wear out more often than others,’ he said, thinking aloud.

  Blutor and Finbar stared at Kip. It was a bizarre time to be babbling about Siberian robots!

  ‘The Earth’s magnetic field is very strong in Siberia,’ Kip continued. ‘WorldCorp’s scientists think the magnetic field wipes the robot’s memories!’

  Kip turned to Blutor with a grin. ‘I happen to know of a very powerful magnet that might do just that for you.’

  ‘MoNa’s new MagnaSweep!’ said Finbar. ‘Brilliant idea.’

  Kip looked down at his SpaceCuff. He tapped out a message.

  There was a split-second pause. Then Kip’s SpaceCuff buzzed furiously.

  She’s right, Kip thought. He hated it when that happened.

  But Kip now knew his deprogramming plan wouldn’t work without this important piece of information.

  ‘Where do the Aerobots live, Blutor?’ asked Kip at once.

  ‘When the Aerobots grew powerful, they moved out of Cobaltville,’ Blutor said grimly. ‘We don’t know exactly where they live now. And our people have grown too afraid to leave the safety of the city.’

  Kip could see that Blutor hated how weak the Aerobots had made the Baltians. Finbar gave Blutor an understanding smile.

  ‘There are rumours the Aerobots have settled in the Badlands,’ Blutor went on.

  ‘The Badlands?’ Kip asked.

  ‘The unexplored territory on the dark side of Cobalt,’ Blutor said. He explained that a Baltian day was hundreds of Earth years long.

  ‘Which means the other side is totally dark,’ finished Finbar.

  Kip asked Blutor if he had information about getting to the Badlands.

  ‘They’re on the other side of Shifting Flat,’ said Blutor. ‘It’s north of here.’

  Kip flicked his SpaceCuff to Compass mode. He turned until the digital needle pointed north.

  ‘Ready?’ asked Finbar, trying to sound cheerful.

  Kip knew Finbar wasn’t looking forward to meeting those screeching Aerobots again. But they had to get on with the scouting mission.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Kip said.

  Finbar put Blutor down. He waved Kip and Finbar goodbye. They turned, crossed the sugarmelon field and left the city behind them.

  Venturing into unexplored territory on an alien planet. Hunting for powerful winged robots in the darkness.

  It sounded incredibly dangerous.

  But Kip knew it was what he and Finbar had to do. For the sake of Earth’s future – and Cobalt’s!

  CHAPTER 8

  Outside the city, the sandy ground was bright blue. Lush sugarmelon bushes grew everywhere. Kip couldn’t resist picking more sugarmelons.

  But the further from the city they went, the fewer sugarmelon bushes they found. Soon, all Kip saw were dead plants.

  He guessed that the plants would have once been fresh vegetables. Now they were brown and wilted.

  Hiking to the Badlands will take ages, Kip realised. He had heaps of energy from the sugarmelons, but Finbar didn’t like them. For Finbar, the trek would be a struggle.

  Time to test our new Hummingbird Pros! Kip decided, reaching down to his boots.

  The back of each pair of Hummingbird Pros was fitted with tiny, flexible wings.

  They ran on rechargeable batteries in the boots’ sole. The batteries would not stay charged forever. But they’d get Kip and Finbar some of the way at least.

  At the touch of a button, the wings popped out. Suddenly Kip and Finbar were lifted a few centimetres off the ground. The boots’ wings buzzed loudly and Kip and Finbar took off at top speed. They glided along like mid-air rollerbladers.

  Soon, Kip noticed Cobalt’s sun dipping low in the sky. The sky faded to black. They were nearing the dark side of Cobalt.

  When their Hummingbird Pro batteries were flat, Kip and Finbar touched down. Blue sand stretched out in every direction.
It was like a huge, blue desert.

  On the gloomy horizon, Kip could just make out some twisted rock formations.

  ‘Think this is the Shifting Flat?’ Kip asked.

  But Finbar just stood staring at his feet. ‘Feel that?’ he said softly.

  ‘What?’ asked Kip.

  Suddenly, a jet of sand shot a hundred metres straight out of the ground. It looked like water shooting out of a whale’s blowhole.

  ‘THAT!’ Finbar yelled.

  The sand jet finished spraying. Then another one shot up, millimetres from Kip’s feet. Suddenly, sand jets were exploding all over the place.

  ‘Run!’ said Kip. ‘Head for the rocks!’

  They bolted. Sand jets sprayed up and then disappeared until the gloomy air was thick with stinging blue sand.

  Kip weaved around the sand jets as best he could. It was impossible to tell where the next jet would shoot up!

  ‘Look out!’ Kip yelled to Finbar. The sand behind Finbar had started to shift.

  Too late! The sand jet shot into the air. It took Finbar with it, high into the sky. Finbar was in mid-air, surfing on sand!

  That almost looks fun, Kip thought, despite the danger Finbar was in.

  Without warning, the sand jet dropped down again. Finbar smacked into the ground. He got up and kept running.

  ‘There are some rock formations to our left,’ Finbar panted. His wolf eyes were reliable, even in the low light. ‘The Shifting Flat finishes there, I think.’

  Relieved, Kip and Finbar raced to the rocks. They collapsed behind the nearest one. The ground underneath them was rocky and solid.

  Some blue sand had got into Kip’s helmet through the airlock. But he didn’t want to take his helmet off to shake it out.

  I’m not risking snotty sneezing in the Baltian air, he thought. That’d be way too gross.

  His eyes were adjusting to the gloom. He looked around at the rock formations.

  Lots of nooks and crannies, Kip thought. The perfect spot for Aerobots…

  With Finbar leading, they picked their way between the rocks. They stayed absolutely quiet. The slightest sound could alert the Aerobots that they were there.