for my grandfather, the retired
Admiral
William Stiltonix
.
“Grandson!” he thundered. “Where have
you
been? This is a disaster. None of the
ship’s equipment
works
anymore!”
“I, er . . .” I squeaked. “Well, the alarm
*
Read all about the elfix in my book Away in a Star Sled!
And that's
my uniform!
My uniform!
clock went off late . . . um, my stylist gave
me the wrong uniform —”
“
Enough with the excuses!
” Grandfather
interrupted me. “Get to your station and
start behaving like a real captain
!”
I
hurried
over to my captain’s chair,
walking right past my cousin Trap.
“Hi, Cuz!” he shouted. “So that’s where
my
clothes
went!”
I realized then that he was wearing
my
captain’s uniform!
“What’s going on?” I asked him,
pointing
to his clothes. “Trap, why are
you wearing my clothes?”
“I don’t have a clue!” he replied. “This
morning my automatic
stylist
handed
me this uniform. He said it was
Hologramix’s order. I thought it
was a
joke
!”
Hologramix, our
ship’s super-high-
tech computer,
was usually very
serious, and not
big on
pranks
.
I looked over at it
—
"
HOLOGRAMIX
IS SICK!"
Ooohhh!
and saw that its image was fuzzy and faded.
How weird!
“Do you know what’s happening?” I asked
my sister, Thea. She has an
explanation
for just about everything.
“We’re just not sure,” Thea replied.
“Hologramix started acting strangely this
morning, and now
nothing
on the ship is
working
properly
.”
At that moment,
Sally
de
Wrench
,
our ship’s technical
genius, entered the
control room.
“I know what’s
wrong,” she said.
Is It a Virus?
Shooting stars!
This was
serious
!
“The possibility that this would happen
was
one in a trillion
, but it happened!”
Sally explained nervously.
“But how does a computer get
sick
?!” I
asked, incredulous.
“The
circuits
are all fine, the memory
is intact, and the processor has no damage,”
Sally explained. “But
something
isn’t working
like before! Hologramix looks too tired to
perform the thousands of transactions it
needs to complete each day. It looks like it
might be some kind of virus
.”
“But you can
fix
it, right?” I asked.
Sally shook her head. “Unfortunately I
don’t know how to
fix
it because I don’t
HOLOGRAMIX
MouseStar
1’s onboard
computer
Species:
Ultra-advanced
artificial intelligence
Specialty:
Controls all
functions on the ship,
including the autopilot function
Characteristics:
Considers itself to be indispensable
Defining Features:
Appears wherever and whenever
it’s needed
really know what’s
wrong
,” she said, a
worried
look on her snout.
Cosmic cheddar!
Without Hologramix,
the
MouseStar 1 was stuck!
Right then, my nephew Benjamin ran to
me and gave me a huge hug.
“Hologramix will get
better
, right,
Uncle G?” he asked sweetly.
“Of course!” I said confidently, trying
to reassure him. “Sally, there has to be
something
we can do.”
“I’m afraid the only one who can help
Hologramix is Professor Twisterix,”
Sally replied. “He was my teacher at the
University for Lunar Physics and Galactic
Engineering
. He taught me everything I
know about engineering, and he helped
me design
Hologramix many galactic
years ago!”
“Let’s call him right away!” I squeaked
excitedly.
“I’m afraid it’s not that easy,” Sally said,
sighing
. “The professor retired to spend time
on his
inventions
. I think he might still
live on planet Factorix near the university.
But I don’t know his address; he’s
extremely
private!”
“Maybe we can find his
phone number
in the Intergalactic Phone Directory,” I
suggested.
Sally shook her head. “I tried
looking him up last year,” she
said. “But his
number
isn’t
listed!”
“Well, we can’t waste any
time!” Grandfather William
thundered. “What are you
waiting for, Geronimo? If Hologramix shuts
down completely, we’re in supergalactic
trouble
!”
“Um . . .you’re right, Grandfather,” I
replied.
“Of course I’m right!” he squeaked. “Start
planning an expedition
immediately
!”
Have I mentioned that it’s a
terrible
idea
to contradict Grandfather William?
Intergalactic
Phone Directory
“Yes, Grandfather!” I replied quickly.
“Hooray!” Benjamin squeaked joyfully.
“I’ve heard planet
FACTORIX
is home to
the most mouserific inventions in the entire
galaxy! I can come, too — can’t I, Uncle?”
My little nephew looked up at me
sweetly
. He looked so excited, I couldn’t
say no.
“Of course you can,” I reassured him.
And that was
the beginning of
our incredible
intergalactic
adventure!
A Galaxy of
Trouble
Planning the expedition was especially
difficult with
Hologramix
out of
order.
First of all, where in the name of cheddar
was planet Factorix? Luckily, MouseStar 1’s
superstellar GPS navigator seemed to be
working. In a few seconds, it displayed our
route.
Thea overrode the
automatic pilot
so
she could fly the ship manually. It wouldn’t
have been a
good idea
to use the autopilot
when Hologramix wasn’t working properly!
Thank goodmouse Thea is such a good
pilot, because we quickly ended up in a
galaxy
of trouble. She had to steer the ship
Watch out
for meteors!
Argh!
A magnetic
storm1
Uh-oh.
Stardust
ahead!
through a thick meteor shower, a magnetic
storm, and a cloud of stardust! Luckily, we
made it through with
no
damage
.
“Can someone tell me what’s going
on?!” Thea asked. “Why did the
superstellar GPS navigator
send us this way? This route is too
dangerous
!”
Sally examined the device.
“You’re right, Thea!” she replied. “I
didn’t realize the GPS navigator wouldn’t
be working correctly, but it makes sense. I
forgot that Hologramix
controls
all the
electronics on the ship!”
Stinky space cheese, what were we
going to do now?
“Spacemice, forget about
technology
,”
Grandfather William said. “Today we’ll
travel like we did in the olden days!”
Space
Atlas
Then he slammed down a
dusty
book on
the table.
“Uh, as much as I
love
to read,
Grandfather, I’m not sure this is the
best
time . . .” I began.
“What are you talking about, Grandson?”
he replied, a stern look on his snout. “This is
a
space
navigation
atlas
! You’ll need to use it
to find Factorix.”
Then he opened the book and began
From the Encyclopedia Galactica
SPACE NAVIGATION
ATLAS
The space navigation atlas is an
ancient navigational system used by
spaceship captains before the invention
of the computerized space navigator. The
atlas has thousands of pages, including maps of the
entire universe, listed in alphabetical order by galaxy.
Once he or she locates the map of the star or planet,
the captain must use his or her skills to navigate there.
looking for the map of the planet we were
heading for.
“You know, when I was growing up, we
didn’t have
computers
. Instead,
I had to learn to read
space
maps
,” he said.
Then he exclaimed, “Ah, here’s Factorix!”
“That’s mouserific, Grandfather!” Thea
replied. “You’re the best!”
“Thank you, Thea!” he said, looking
pleased with himself. “Now go back to the
navigation controls. I just need a minute to
consult the map. Then I’ll help you figure
out the best
route
through space.”
A few moments later, we made a
right
turn
after the
Perseus
constellation,
proceeded
STRAIGHT to the crossroad
between Galaxy 643 and Galaxy 981, and
sped past the very bright star Maia. Finally,
we saw the planet Factorix in front of us!
Even from far away I could tell it was a very
modern
planet covered in tall, high-tech
buildings.
“Thea, Sally, Trap, Benjamin: Prepare for
landing!” I ordered. “I’ll meet you in the
Teletransportix
room!”
Sally cleared her throat.
“Um, I don’t think the Teletransportix is
From the Encyclopedia
Galactica
PLANET FACTORIX
This extremely modern
planet is the location of
the University for Lunar
Physics and Galactic
Engineering.
Aliens
from
galaxies all over the universe study
and live here peacefully together.
the best
way
to
go
right now, Captain!”
she squeaked helpfully.
Superstellar
Swiss!
She was right.
How
careless
of
me! With Hologramix
out of order, we
couldn’t risk using the
Teletransportix
. I didn’t want
to end up on Factorix while my tail was left
behind on the MouseStar 1. I’m too fond of
my fur for that!
“Thanks, Sally,” I replied. “We’ll use a
space
pod
instead. See you at the launch
dock!”
Sally was the last one to get to the pod.
She had disconnected Hologramix and
placed the computer in a
special
container
full of protective Parmesan cheese slices that
had been prepared by our ship’s onboard
scientist
, Professor Greenfur.
“Captain, with Hologramix out of order, I
had to set MouseStar 1 on
standby
mode
,”
Sally told me.
“
Standby
what?” I squeaked.
spaceship
has
been turned off,” Sally explained. “Only
the lighting, air, and water systems are still
running.”
shooting stars!
This was
serious
.
The
MouseStar 1 had never been turned
off
before.
“Quick! Let’s get moving!” I told my crew.
“We can’t
waste
any time — we have to
cure
Hologramix!”
Welcome to
Factorix!
After traveling for another galactic hour,
Thea steered the space pod into Factorix’s
very crowded spaceship port.
Galactic Gorgonzola
, there were so
many spaceships!
“A lot of
aliens
visit Factorix every
day,” Sally explained. “There are scientists,
students on exchange programs, and
aliens looking to purchase the
latest
and
greatest
inventions.”
“
It’s not going to be easy to find
parking
,” Thea muttered.
“There’s a spot!” Trap squeaked.
My sister started pulling into the spot,
when . . .
B
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
P
!
An alien driving a sporty
spaceship
zoomed right past us, missing us by a
whisker.
“Holey craters, what terrible manners!”
Thea squeaked as she performed a series
of complicated
maneuvers
. An
astrosecond later, our
space pod was parallel
parked
perfectly
!
Watch out!
Vrooommm!
There's
so much
traffic!
Whoosh!
Beeeeep!
“Here we are!” Thea announced as she
turned off the engine. “I think it’s best
if I stay here with the ship. Let’s stay in
touch with our
wrist
phones
. Good luck
scouting around!”
“Sounds good!” I said. Then I
turned to Sally. “Um . . . where
are we going?”
“To the
university
,
of course!” she replied. “If I
recall correctly, it should be
that way!”
She pointed to the left and we started
walking. Luckily, we found some
signs
that confirmed Sally had been right.
In no time, we reached an
enormouse
,
elegant,
modern
building.
This way
This way
This way
That way
That way
“Here we are!” Sally squeaked.
“
Wow!
” Benjamin exclaimed as he
looked around him, awestruck. “Uncle G,
when I’m old enough, do you think I can
study
here? I want to become the most
mouserific inventor in the whole universe!”
I looked at my nephew proudly.
“If you work hard in school now,
I’m
sure you can, Benjamin
!” I replied.
From the Encyclopedia
Galactica
UNIVERSITY FOR
LUNAR PHYSICS AND
GALACTIC ENGINEERING
This is the biggest university in the
Cheddar Galaxy, and the home of the