by Bill Doyle
GO, GO, NANO!
Scientists in New York City recently unveiled all-new nanobot surgeons. What are they? Imagine the tiniest machines you possibly can. Now shrink those machines one trillion times more. Nanotechnology is about building machines one atom at a time. That means they are very, very tiny devices—small enough to fit into the narrowest blood vessels in the human body. Once there, nanobot surgeons can clear blocked arteries or stop internal bleeding.
NATIONAL DEBATE
DO COMPUTERS HAVE RIGHTS?
Artworks created by computers, or virtual artists, were sold last month at the first Out-of This-World Auction held at the top of the Space Elevator. These pieces of art have fueled the national debate: If computers can be artists, does that mean they're alive?
YES! My definition of alive is being creative and imaginative. To me, that means computers certainly alive. Please note I did not say they're human. I only mean that a new kind of life form. And we must recognize that all life forms have the right to freedom and certain civil rights.
—Lucy Salmona, Riverdale, MI
NO! I can tie a pen to the pendulum of a clock. The swinging motion of the pendulum will cause the pen to make a line back and forth. Does that mean the clock is alive? What about snowflakes that leave patterns on my window? Are they alive? Computers were built, not born. Therefore, they can't be alive.
—George W. Vincent, Punta Gorda, FL.
ENTERTAINMENT
REALITY VIREO GAME REVIEW
Skate Rat's Revenge
Even if your state allows reality video games, you might think twice about picking up this sizzling title. The evil Skate Rat (from Skate Rat Lives) and his nuclear-powered skateboard arc back and badder than ever. In this version, you have to outmatch Skate Rat and do even more extreme tricks—like 720s and Hammerheads—all while blazing through a broken glass factory and a rusty nail plant. Players injured by the game have been pouring into emergency rooms around the world.
nEW SURROUND-SHOW ALERT!
What the hottest new show now beaming to a holo-pad near you? It's 2000— the show about the way people lived at the beginning of this century. As the characters surround and interact with you, you'll see what it was like to actually have to type on a real keyboard, use textbooks, and watch films on machines called DVD players. Plus, it stars Ruse Cruise! Don't miss it!
SPORTS
Ready for World Bowl XXV?
American-style football will never be the same! This month the Tokyo Rising Suns will take on the Beijing Marvels at the One-Mile-Down Stadium, just off the coast of New Zealand. The undersea stadium will be jammed as crowds wait to see how Taka Haturi of the Rising Suns will behave. He's promised to clean up his act after being ejected by the ref for doing a 20-minute victory dance following one of his three touchdowns at last Sunday's game.
Six MLB Players Suspended
The Major League Baseball Commission has determined that six players from different teams have been using Smartbats during games. There are no official rules about using these new bats—which have mini-turbo boosters and almost guarantee that the batter will hit a homerun. The Commission, however, has decided to suspend all the players for one game.
STELLAR FASHION
What are the cosmically cool wearing onboard the new Space Elevator?
Astro No!
Messy hair is so 2010!
Old-fashioned bulky spacesuit
Clunky helmet
Astro Yes!
Slicked-back 'do
Shiny elbow-length gloves
Sleek intelli-clothes
ASK DR. NOITALL
Dear Dr. Noitall,
I'm having a tough time imagining how high the new Space Elevator is. Can you help?
Yours truly,
Numbed by Numbers
Dear Numbed,
Not to worry! We'll look at different measurement and get you on the ball in no time. Here's all you do:
Grab a basketball and call it Earth.
Now measure.2 inches from the basketball. This is how far the old Space Shuttle would be when it was in orbit around the Earth.
Measure 25.24 inches from the basketball's surface. This is geosynchronous orbit—22,300 miles over the equator. That's where a satellite hovers over the same spot on Earth all day. The main station on the Elevator is this far from the Earth.
Guess how far the Moon would be? 22 feet 7 inches from the basketball!
Unravel the mystery with real historical crime-solving methods!
Welcome to the crime-solving world of the famous Fitzmorgan and Moorie detective families! Each of the books in the Crime Through Time series is hosted by a young sleuth who must work against all odds to unravel a compelling mystery. Every few pages, you can take a break from the suspense and learn about real-life investigative techniques so that you, too, can become a detective!
In Trapped!, art fraud expert Otis Fitzmorgan no sooner discovers that a valuable statue aboard the Space Elevator is a fake than all the adults fall sick with a virus triggered by their computer implants. With the Elevator communications system down, Otis has to delve into the distant past to solve the riddle of the statue and save the adults—and Earth—from the deadly virus.
