H. Badger - The Alien Brainwash

SCOUTING THE UNIVERSE FOR A NEW EARTH

THE ALIEN BRAINWASH

BY H. BADGER
ILLUSTRATED BY C. BENNETT

The Alien Brainwash
published in 2010 by
Hardie Grant Egmont
85 High Street
Prahran, Victoria 3181, Australia
www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means
without the prior permission of the publishers and copyright owner.

A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia.

Text copyright 2010 H. Badger
Illustration and design copyright 2010 Hardie Grant Egmont

Cover illustration by C. Stamation
Illustrated by C. Bennett
Series design by S. Swingler
Typeset by Ektavo
Printed in Australia by McPhersons Printing Group

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Kip Kirby couldnt believe it. His parents were kissing. In public! How embarrassing.

Gross! I wish Id skipped this family outing, Kip thought to himself.

The Kirbys were visiting the Inner Eight Zoo. The zoo had native animals from all of the Milky Ways eight planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Except for when his parents were being disgusting, Kip loved the zoo. He was really into unusual animals. At home, Kip had a pet minisaur called Duke, a mini brontosaurus bred from fossil DNA. Dogs and cats hadnt been popular since 2200.

Kip didnt get much time to muck around with Duke. Firstly, he had school. Then there was Kips job as a Space Scout.

Space Scouts explored deep space for another planet like Earth. The first Earth was running out of room, and so another one was needed quickly. The Milky Ways other planets were too hot, too cold or too gassy for humans.

Inner Eight Zoo

Kip followed his parents through the Inner Eight Zoo. The zoo was massive it took up 400 floors of a building called the Titanium Tower. Instead of cages, the animals were inside huge, climate-controlled bubbles. Each had an atmosphere exactly like the animals home planet.

Oh, how gorgeous! Kips mum squealed. A little milk-weasel!

Gorgeous? Try gross! Kip thought.

He wanted to go and check out the awesome fire panthers from Mercury. Six-legged fire panthers were hairless, with skin the colour of burnt sausages.

The ring runners are on the 304th floor, Kips dad said, checking his holo-graphic zoo guide. Lets have a look.

Ring runners lived on Saturns icy rings. They had tiny round bodies and long legs with four pairs of knees. Their top speed was over 250 kilometres per hour.

A ring runners legs would be useful on SpaceScout missions, Kip thought.

How about we go and see the Insects On Uranus display first? said Kips mum.

Sure, Kips dad replied cheerfully. Theres a section about Killer Bug Flu, isnt there?

Kip groaned silently. The insects from Uranus were great, but why did his parents have to make everything like school?

Kips Teacherbot had been teaching his class about the Killer Bug Flu. Heaps of insect species in the outer galaxies had been wiped out, especially the bigger insects. Plants were at risk too. They needed insects to feed them and spread their seeds around.

Kip and his parents made their way through the crowded zoo. But just as they neared the insect display, Kip felt something on his wrist.

His SpaceCuff was buzzing!

The SpaceCuff was a thick silver band. It was an essential piece of scouting equipment. During missions, Kip used his SpaceCuff to communicate with his starship, MoNa 4000. When Kip got a message on Earth, it usually meant he had a new mission!

He grinned and checked his SpaceCuff.

CLASSIFIED

SPACE SCOUT
KIP KIRBY
MISSION BRIEF

URGENT: RESCUE MISSION RECEIVED

Four days ago, Space Scout Zara Zadora went through a wormhole to a planet called Botanicus-1. All contact was suddenly lost when Zara entered Botanicus-1s orbit, and she hasnt been heard from since.

WorldCorp believes Zaras starship might have broken down. Even worse, foul play could be involved.

Your mission:

Go immediately to Botanicus-1 and find Zara.

A WorldCorp HandlerBot is waiting for you on the roof of the Zoo.

According to gossip, Zara was one of the top Space Scouts. It was an honour to be sent to rescue her. After all, Kip was only 12 years old the youngest ever scout. Hed been chosen after scoring super high on tests of bravery, intelligence and physical strength.

Kip felt proud, but he was also a little disappointed. This time my mission isntexploring a planet, he thought. My ranking onthe Planetary Points Leader Board will slip. AndI could miss my shot at the Shield of Honour!

Space Scouts earned one Planetary Point for exploring a planet. A promising discovery earned them two points. The scout who discovered the next Earth would win the ultimate prize the Shield of Honour. The winner got the glory, plus a mansion on the new Earth with a rocket-skiing trip to Pluto thrown in.

Winning the shield would be awesome, Kip thought. But rescuing Zaras a big deal, and itsa chance to prove myself to the other scouts.

Kip looked around to say goodbye to his parents, but they had disappeared into the crowd. He messaged them instead.

They were used to Kip leaving suddenly on missions, so they wouldnt mind.

Kip wanted to get into space as soon as possible. No matter how many missions he went on, space travel was always exciting!

Just outside the insect display was a lift.

The ride to the roof took 0.1 seconds. Kip watched a MicroAd for his favourite snack on the lifts 3D TV.

Kip usually started missions by getting himself to the Intergalactic Hoverport. His starship MoNa was docked there. But this time, he had a ride.

When the lift doors opened, a squat, shiny green WorldCorp robot was waiting for Kip on the roof. It had red flashing eyes with buttons arranged in a smile. Beside the robot, Kip saw what looked like a giant two-metre-high spring.