most prestigious inventions in the universe. Each year,
millions of aliens from all around the galaxy come
to the university to study, develop new inventions,
and sharpen their intellect in the hopes of becoming
universally known stellar scientists.
Wow!
Wait
until
you
see
it!
“Wait until you see
what’s inside,” Sally told
us. “It’s even more
interesting
!”
“Well, what
are we waiting
for?” Trap asked.
“
Let’s go!
”
Let’s go!
let
me
down,
Please!
The
hallways
were crowded with aliens
from all over the Cheddar Galaxy. They were
moving quickly
in
and
out
of classrooms
and labs.
“Oh, how I love this place!” Sally said
warmly as she looked around. “Let’s go to
the main office. Maybe someone there can
tell us where we can find
PROFESSOR
TWISTERIX
.”
As we headed down one hallway after
another, I sneaked a peek inside one of the
labs
. A group of aliens was in the middle
of an experiment when . . .
PUUUUUFFF!
A cloud of dust surrounded me, clinging
to my clothes. Suddenly, I was
FLYING
through the air!
“Sorry!” a student said apologetically.
“Our
antigravitational
spray
uniform
is still a prototype.”
“Uh, no problem,” I replied, trying to
remain
calm
. “But can you let me
down
,
please?!”
In the meantime, Trap took off down the
hallway in a pair of very
strange
shoes. A
student ran after him, shouting.
“Sir, I told you not to
touch
those!”
he squeaked. “They’re
rocket
shoes
,
but we’re still testing them!”
As if that wasn’t enough, a mail robot had
accidentally picked up Benjamin and
was delivering him to one of the classrooms
like a package!
Let
me
down!
Oops!
Hey!
Waaaait!
Sorry!
Two students stopped the mail robot
immediately.
“Our
flying
mail
robot
is a work in
progress,” one explained sheepishly.
I ran over to my sweet nephew to make
sure he was okay.
“Uncle Ger, you should have seen the eco-
friendly engine on that robot!” Benjamin
squeaked excitedly. “It runs on slime from
the planet
Slimix
!”
“I’m glad you’re okay,” I told him,
smiling
.
“Now we have to get to the office.”
When we finally got there, a robot was
assisting a long line of students. Finally, it
was our turn.
“Hello,” Sally said. “We would like to talk
to
Professor
Twisterix
. Can you schedule an
appointment right away? It’s
urgent
.”
“Professor Arthur Twisterix retired three
Next
alien,
please!
Mousey
meteors!
We
were
right
back
where
we
had
started!
galactic
years ago,” the robot replied
mechanically.
“But do you know where we can find him
now?” Sally asked, a worried look on
her snout. “It’s very
important
.”
current address,” the robot replied.
And with that, he moved on to the
ALIEN
behind us in the line.
follow
that
scent
“What do we do now?” Sally asked,
disappointed.
Suddenly, we heard a
soft
squeak behind
us. “Excuse me, I accidentally overheard that
you are looking for Professor Twisterix.”
We turned to see an alien holding two
brooms
, a
dustpan
, a
bucket
,
and
a
mop
in her many tentacle-like arms.
“Yes!” I said eagerly. “Can you help us?”
“I think so,” she replied. “I’m
Amelia
Shinix
, the university’s head cleaning alien.
I’ve been working here for a thousand
galactic years, so I know
everything
about
everybody
. I think I know where
you can find the
professor
.”
“That’s
wonderful
!” Sally exclaimed
I’m
Amelia
Shinix!
happily. “Would you be so
kind
as to tell us?”
Amelia Shinix took a
step closer.
“He was recently seen
in
Inventor’s
Alley
,” she
whispered. “That’s a
neighborhood on the
other side of town. I
hear he’s starting his
own
secret
laboratory.”
“Thank you, Amelia!”
Sally replied. “You’ve been
so
helpful
.”
We followed her directions and headed
straight across town to
Inventor’s
Alley
.
There we found a real
maze
of labs and
workshops. Everywhere we looked there
were aliens building and fixing all different
kinds of
mechanical equipment
. We
asked for the professor, but no one had
heard
of him!
“Hmm. How about we stop for a snack?”
Trap said. “I can smell cheesy Pluto peas!”
“Hold on a second!” Sally exclaimed.
“Cheesy Pluto peas are the professor’s
favorite
dish
! Perhaps we’ll find him if we
follow the
scent
.”
Trap started sniffing and we followed.
He led us to a
bizarre-looking
building ma
de completely of spare
parts.
Holey
craters,
what
a
mouserific
idea!
cheesy
Pluto
peas!
Mmm...
the
smell
of
“This is where the
smell
is coming from,”
Trap declared. “Oh, I’m so
hungry
!”
Sally knocked on the door. A second later,
it opened, and we were
snout-to-snout
with an older rodent.
“Stellar circuits! It’s Sally de Wrench, my
smartest student!” he exclaimed. “
What a
shocking surprise!
”
“Professor Twisterix!” Sally squeaked
happily. “How nice to see you again!”
Sally hugged the professor. He was a
friendly-looking alien with
green
skin,
reddish hair, and
eight
arms.
“And who are your friends?” he asked.
“I’m
Geronimo
Stiltonix
,” I said, extending
a paw. “I’m the captain of the spaceship
MouseStar 1. This is my cousin Trap and my
nephew Benjamin.”
Professor Twisterix invited us into his
home
laboratory
. Martian mozzarella,
I had never seen a more
disgusting
place!
“Pardon the
mess
, but I’ve been working
on a new prototype,” the professor said.
Trap looked at the pot of
cheesy Pluto
peas
the professor was holding.
“Well, actually, I was just taking a break
for a little snack,” Professor Twisterix
explained. “Would you like to join me?”
Sally
de
Wrench!
Professor
Twisterix!
Slurp!
Everyone declined politely except
TRAP
.
He grabbed a spoon and happily dug in.
“Thank you, Professor!” my cousin
exclaimed happily.
“It’s a real
pleasure to meet
another
true gourmet!”
i
have
exactly
what
you
need!
“
Stellar circuits, how did you find me?” our
host asked once he and Trap had finished
their snack.
“It was thanks to Amelia Shinix!” Sally
replied. “But why all this
secrecy
?”
“I wanted to
completely
dedicate myself
to my inventions, with no distractions,” the
professor explained. “Would you like to take
a
look
at my latest work?”
“We would love to, but first we need to
ask for your help!” Sally explained.
The professor
looked concerned
.
“Do you remember Hologramix, the
computer I created for my thesis project?”
Sally went on.
“
But
of
course!
” the professor replied.
“I helped you design that hologram with a
mouse’s snout.”
“Exactly!” Sally squeaked. “Unfortunately,
Hologramix isn’t working properly. I
don’t know what the
problem
is!”
“Hmmm . . . interesting,” the professor
said. “Let me take a look.”
Sally
gently
placed the box on the
table and turned Hologramix on: Its snout
was as faded and tired-looking as ever.
Professor
Twisterix
examined it,
mumbling to himself as he worked.
“It could be a side short
circuit
. . . or
maybe there’s been some damage to the
quantum chip . . .”
I don’t know much about machines
and I didn’t want to get in the
way
, so I sat
away from the others, on a COMFY
chair
Ahhhh!
made of old mechanical parts.
I was just about
to drift off to
sleep
when something
bumped against my
paw. I jumped
up, screaming.
“
Ahhhh!
”
I yelped. “What was
that?”
Trap just laughed.
“Ha, ha, ha!” he chuckled. “You’re such
a scaredy-mouse, Cuz!
It’s just a sweet
robot doggy.
”
I glanced down at the little creature and
was about to reply when the professor’s
voice interrupted my thoughts.
“
I’ve
got
it!
” he cried. “It’s the
power
generator
! Your onboard computer is
running out of juice
!”
“Ah, that explains why the reboot process
was so slow . . .” Sally mused.
“
Um, does that mean Hologramix isn’t really
broken?
” I asked hopefully. “And there’s no
virus?”
“Correct!” the professor replied. “It’s only
out of
power
. All you need is a new
battery
from planet Energix. I should have
one around here somewhere . . .”
He began searching through
parts
,
tools
, and other
junk
around the lab.
“Not here . . . not there . . . nope . . . oh,
I think I know where it is!” he muttered.
Then he walked straight to a closet in
the back of the
lab
, opened its door
and . . .
Crash!
“Professor, are you
okay
?” Sally asked.
After a moment of silence, he came up
shaking
his snout.
“Unfortunately the battery isn’t here,” he
said
seriously. “And it was the last one
in the whole
universe
:
The
energy on planet
Energix has completely
run
out
!”
“B-but there must b-be
something
we can do!”
I stuttered
anxiously.
I’ve
got
it!
Professor Twisterix shook his head
sadly
.
“In the past, we thought the
power
on
Energix was inexhaustible, but we were
wrong.”
Sally sighed. Everyone else in the lab was
very, very quiet.
“
Stellar circuits, why didn’t I think
of it before?!
” Professor Twisterix
exclaimed suddenly. Then he grabbed a
tool and began to
explain
. “This is an
energy transformer. It can
convert
galactic wind
and
starlight
into
electrical
energy
. It’s only
a prototype, but it
should work fine
with Hologramix’s
specifications!”
“That’s great news!” I squeaked happily.
“Do you mean Hologramix can be fixed,
and it will also be more
ecologically
friendly
?” Benjamin asked.
Twisterix smiled.
“That’s right, young mouse,” he replied.
“I’ll get right to
work
. Come back tomorrow
at the same time and I should be done.”
Then the professor lowered his voice and
looked around
nervously
. “Please keep this
to
yourselves
!” he urged us. “This is brand-
new technology, and there are always aliens
trying to steal
secrets
around here!”
Then he called the
ROBOT DOG
over to him.
“Fidox, please take them to their space
pod!”
time
to
celebrate!
We happily followed the professor’s robot
dog through the neighborhood’s very
crowded streets.
“What a
successful
mission!” Trap
squeaked excitedly. “Thanks to Twisterix’s
clever
invention, we won’t have any more
problems with Hologramix!”
I noticed that some of the
aliens
around
us glanced our way. Why does my cousin
always have to be so
boisterous
and
loud
?
“Trap, would you please lower your
voice?” I implored him. “Remember what
the professor said!”
But he wasn’t listening.
“
Turning stellar wind into energy is
What a
brilliant idea!
Hey, how rude!
a brilliant idea!
” Trap practically shouted.
A few aliens moved even closer to us,
perking up their ears.
Holey craters
, I
had to think of something to get my cousin
to stop
squeaking
!