MAXIMOJO
AND
THE WAND OF LIGHT
A NOVEL BY
JULIANNE BIEN
The author’s dog, Maxi, a Bichon Frise, is the inspiration for this book.
Copyright © 2011 Julianne Bien
First Printing March 2012
Published and distributed by
Spectrahue Light & Sound Inc.
Box 85507
842 Eglinton Avenue West
Toronto, Canada M5N 0A2
(416) 340.0882
www.spectrahue.com
All rights reserved by the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. This book may not be reproduced in part or in whole without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in reviews. For all inquiries please contact the publisher.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Maximojo and the wand of light / Julianne Bien.
ISBN 978-0-9734835-3-6 Print
ISBN 978-0-9734835-6-7 E-Book
Children’s Fantasy
Cover Design: Rachel Rawlins, Toronto
Illustrations: Gary Wein, Toronto
For more information on the sequel and other books by the author
Visit her website www.spectrahue.com
Imagination is my Mojo …
Chapter 1
“MOJO … MOJO-O-O-O!” called the planets and the stars as they recognized the inseparable duo, Maximojo, the cosmic canine, and Glitta, the wand of light, speeding through the universe. Somehow they knew this would be an adventure no one would forget.
Time was slipping. Fast. Glitta, a solar-charged gizmo, hooked onto the backpack fastened around Maximojo, a button-nose space dog. She threw a spark and ignited into a rocket, and they sped off into the darkness on an urgent mission. Whirling from one galaxy into another, the fabled masterminds of stellar technology, accelerated by skimming off the gunk that spewed around space. Now zooming at sonic speed, they sliced across the sound barrier towards their destination. And far away in the distance behind them, their homestar, Plaxo, glistened.
Their coordinates were set on the PolyMatrixor – a device that monitored all activity and communication with the Galactic Council, helping to ensure orderly conduct everywhere in the universe. The Council gave strict instructions to go directly to Planet Zalturn, located light years away in a galaxy ready to undergo an upgrade.
Not everyone was happy to see them, however. It took great skill to slip past asteroids without being noticed. These random rocks appeared out of nowhere and began crashing together in front of them, trying to keep the pair from entering their space. Asteroids are notorious for their territorial dislike of visitors.
“Stoneheads!” Maximojo warned the asteroids. “Hold on tight, Glitta!” The wand wrapped her brilliant wings around Maximojo’s neck. Avoiding a collision, Maximojo veered onto an alternative spacetrack.
“Watch out Mojo!” she sparked. He swerved up and over the asteroids.
“These are open spaceways,” Maximojo scolded the stoneheads. “We are on an urgent mission, stay clear!”
“Go back where you came from. It’s a private zone!” responded the asteroids.
“You are out of order,” Glitta sparked. “Can't you see we are on official business! Clear our path! Why are you stoneheads so pushy? Who said you could override the ‘Cosmic Code of Conductivity’? You should know better! Are you bored, floating around without a purpose?” She aimed a series of nuclear projectiles at them, blasting several of the stoneheads into debris. “Cosmic clearance achieved, Mojo. Back on track!” she said brightly. They sped off again.
“Ooof. That wand pulverizes us every time!” the stoneheads grumbled, scrambling to gather their pieces before they drifted away. “Next time we’ll surprise them,” shouted one of the asteroids. “Wham!” It slapped its pieces back into shape watching Maximojo and Glitta moving further and further away.
“We were the ones who were off course, Mojo!” Glitta said. “You’re always looking for shortcuts.” She looked back at clusters of radioactive particles that now were in close pursuit. “Looks like those stoneheads have spread the word of our location.”
Maximojo weaved between stars, but the dust mass followed. “It’s trying to sweep us out in one big swoop,” Glitta flared, and emitted a luminous cloud behind her. The cluster detoured to avoid crashing into it. “Make another sharp turn. Fast.”
Maximojo swerved and hid behind an isolated moon, who enjoyed their unexpected company. The swarm burned out of sight in the darkness, as the stars in space began to twinkle, feeling safe to show their faces again.
“Stariola! It works every time,” Glitta sparked. “Let’s get going, Mojo. We have to get to Zalturn before the new timekeeper gets there to start the next millennium with a new calendar. The timekeeper is so important because it looks after the timepiece that balances our past and future. It’s the big clock amongst the stars that never stops ticking. It keeps order in the universe and is supposed to remember everything that happens. We can’t be late. It won’t ever forget it!”
“I’ll take another shortcut then. I know this space inside and out,” Maximojo said, and sped up to catch a ride on the tail of a shooting star he recognized from the constellation map. “Ease up on the fuel for a while, Glitta. It’s fun to coast on helium!” he squeaked in a high-pitched voice.
Just then Glitta saw a ripple in the space ahead of them. “Watch out!” she squealed. “Stop!”
Maximojo turned upright and came to a shuddering halt. Glitta puttered out, releasing excess energy from her wings. “That was a close call!” she said, drifting beside the empty space. She flared, but nothing illuminated.
“Looks like a tear in the darkness, maybe it’s warped,” Maximojo said. He saw a flash from the sensor plate clipped to his collar. “Hmm. It appears we’ve arrived at the right coordinates of the assigned galaxy, but I wasn’t expecting this. It looks like sheer emptiness.”
“Not even a particle to light up,” Glitta said.
Maximojo slid an arm into the wavering space. His arm vanished and began to sizzle, and he yanked it out fast. “That had a bite to it,” he said. With a wing, Glitta swept her hair of glitter to one side and directed a bright ray over Maximojo. The ice encasing his arm lifted away.
“This must be what happens when a retiring timekeeper loses track of time, space becomes blank,” Maximojo said. It’s a glitch in the memory of everything that ever happened during record-keeping. No wonder a faster, more efficient timekeeper is being installed. We must have missed our exit and now we’re in the future seeing the final moment of its petering moments.
Maximojo flipped open his PolyMatrixor and read the update. “I’ve seen this before,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s sad. Everything lost that took so long to build. All those memories gone, and not even a single dream can be dreamt from what’s left. The Council wants to ensure this doesn’t ever happen.” Maximojo pointed to the screen. “We need to find out whatever is inside Zalturn that’s making the planet wobble. If we don’t, the planet will lose its orbit and its future will never exist, as the incoming timekeeper won’t be able to record the activities of this planet. This mission is bigger than I was led to believe. If everything doesn’t go according to plan, it will be a huge embarrassment for the Cosmic Federation, bigger than the Big Bang.”
“That’s why they chose us!” Glitta sparkled. “Everyone knows the ‘cosmic duo’ are experts who ensure smooth transitions during galaxy upgrades. And lets not
forget the spectacular, incredible, undeniable ‘Mojo Effect’ that influences everyone who comes in contact with you in the universe!”
“My mojo will change their lives forever. I’m sure they can’t wait to meet me,” Maximojo said elatedly, and checked their coordinates again on the shimmering map that the device projected into the darkness.
“According to this, we’re at the right spot,” Maximojo said. “And I can smell Zalturn at the tip of my nose. Maybe we can find another way in.” They floated around and looked for a clue.
His paw poked through a hole in the map. “The spacegate should be just about here.” The sensor on his collar flashed again, and a door swung open to what appeared to be a spacegate.
Glitta dimmed. “It looks bottomless,” she said.
“This is it, Glitta. Remember, Zalturn is a world hidden from the rest of the universe. Get ready to plunge!”
“Sparkafras! What if it’s a bottomless black hole. Do we have to plunge?” she said.
“Hold on tight! This is where our adventure begins!” Maximojo said, and they were sucked in, plummeting toward Zalturn.
Back in another part of the universe, the stoneheads were throwing themselves around for target practice. “Those two will be back,” one said, holding its crumbs in a tight grip. “We can wait. We have all the time in the cosmos.”
***
But the stoneheads didn’t know that time was running out. The galaxy was awaiting Kalapsis, the new timekeeper. The galaxy had already made room for the timepiece that would regulate all of the universe. Even now it was hurtling through space to replace the antiquated analogue time regulator that hadn’t been updated since the last millennium of a thousand years. It simply could no longer keep up with the speed of evolution.
Kalapsis gathered energy as it tumbled erratically, knocking out the odd planet while getting back on track toward its destination. “It’s chaos around here,” it thought. “I’m moving as fast as possible considering time past got in my way.” Memories of ancient civilizations, events and things flashed by Kalapsis in every direction making it difficult for it to keep on schedule. “Get out of my way!” it warned.
Some planets were quick to move aside, but unstable planets imploded as Kalapsis hurried by, anxious to get to the phase-in ceremony. “I cannot be late for the obvious,” it thought, trying furiously to justify the mess it was making. “Those planets never would have been colonized anyhow. They’d be ‘high risk’ in any orbit, in any solar system. They should have known better and swung to the side when they saw me coming. They’ll eventually find themselves in another dimension and rebuild their lives or wander aimlessly without a purpose. That’s space life. Besides, nothing totally disappears forever around this place. It gets created and destroyed and recreated, time in, time out, time in – that’s all that matters.
In order for Kalapsis to commence its new timekeeping position, it had only to wait until the moon spinning around Planet Zalturn began a new cycle. It was paramount that this occur on a certain new moon that happens only once every thousand years, otherwise the phase-in would be a disaster.
“It is an honor to have been chosen to keep track of time and the memories it will hold,” Kalapsis thought.
***
Maximojo and Glitta were on a fast descent. Before the spacegate could slam shut, space matter poured into the black hole behind them. They just barely escaped the solar wind that tried to engulf them.
They landed amongst strewn boulders on the brittle surface of Zalturn’s dark side, far from the Kingdom of Kavalon. It was colorless and cold here. The cosmic duo put their stellar technology to work, nudging the planet into a faster rotation. As the sun’s light began to creep onto the darkened landscape, Glitta acted fast, waving over the atmosphere from a local planet, which responded and spread across the skies, thrilled to share its light and warmth with Zalturn.
The planet’s foundation nearly shattered with the change. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to illuminate over here?” the sun asked. “It has been a long time since this side has seen sunshine,” it turned slightly.
“You’ll need to be eclipsed at this angle with the moon. It’s on our update. Now move this way,” Maximojo reassured the sun, as he continued to direct it. “Rotate over a little more and ease up on your gases.” The sun released a few flares. “Solaricious!” it said, adjusting its axis and glowing proudly.
“That’s better. Now be careful not to leave any sunspots,” Maximojo said. The sun regulated the intensity of the rays it delivered over the terrain.
Glitta darted away, brightening up craters carved out from the impact of meteor showers.
“Looks like the atmosphere integrated smoothly,” Maximojo said, brushing dust off his white curly-haired coat.
The solar wind crashed into the atmospheric barrier and bounced back up into space, swallowing cosmic dust on its way. It stormed back to where the spacegate crossing had been. It would not accept defeat. “I’ll be right here waiting patiently,” the wind said. ‘I’ll sweep them into oblivion on their way out. No one is more messier than me around here, and they keep on cleaning everything! I have my rights, being the untouchable wind and all. I’ll show them not to keep things in order and clear my space.”
“No one ever sees my last breath approaching,” the winds threatened. “They will never see the end of me.”
The sensor flashed, demagnetizing the space magnets wedged between Maximojo’s pads. He plucked them out. “Easy does it! That one is still vibrating,” he said. Glitta flicked it away with the tip of her wing.
“This always happens when we take shortcuts, especially through vanishing holes,” she said.
Plasma puddles seeped into the cracks of the land and the ground softened. “Space is dumping its excess trash everywhere so it can make room for the retiring timekeeper’s big move out of the galaxy.” Maximojo looked around. “What a mess we brought with us!” Meteorite chunks covered the grounds, interspersed with wild flowers that had begun to blossom under the sunlight. Little streams had begun bubbling in the enclaves. “We never miss an opportunity to clean out space. It was a good dump, Glitta. Look around.” Maximojo began kicking through the debris.
Glitta flickered about, busily building a static shield to protect them from the falling rubble they had tracked in.
From beneath a rock pile a strange object caught Maximojo’s attention. He kneeled down to get a closer look. “Look, Glitta. It’s a coin.” Abruptly the coin sprang at Maximojo, barely missing him. It rocketed skyward, bursting into flames and nearly evaporating the shield Glitta had assembled.
“Not the welcome we’d expect, but we never know what we’re up against when we’re on a mission,” Maximojo said. “Wait till we get started!” He activated the sensor, sending out a sonic wave that ricocheted off a mountain that had emerged near a forest. The mountain shook and almost crumbled under the pressure of the sound. It wavered and vanished.
“That mountain blew its top, Mojo, and now it’s gone. I hope the Council didn’t see that. We have a reputation to uphold. Remember our Mojo pact? We’re not to disturb the layout of a planet unless it is absolutely necessary. We should try to leave everything in order as much as possible.”
“I was just having a little fun, that’s all. Letting whoever is out there know that we’ve arrived!” Maximojo flipped open the PolyMatrixor, rotated its reflectors to filter out the garble of information cluttering the airways, and contacted the Council, stationed in a satellite hovering on the periphery of Zalturn. The Council transmitted Zalturn’s land maps back. Glitta flickered to his other side to illuminate it.
“For some reason that vanishing mountain doesn’t appear on the screen, but it must be close to the Kingdom as it emerged near a forest. Glittols! This doesn’t make sense at all,” Maximojo said, as something caught his eye on the ground.
He saw a glowing stone amongst the rubble, and picked it up. “Exquisite specimen of a solarized gem. I’ve never seen any
thing like it. I know it is not following the policies of the ‘Cosmic Code,’ but …”
Glitta knew what he was thinking and gleamed in disapproval.
“It probably doesn’t belong anywhere now, Glitta. It must have slipped in through the black hole with us. It’s probably not from here anyhow and won’t upset the planetary balance if it were missing. Besides, it should be harmless on our homestar. Think of it as a souvenir of our adventure. We should start building a collection of tokens from our adventures. No one will ever know I took it, except maybe that coin, and it’s nowhere in sight!” Glitta expressed her disapproval by drawing an upside-down smile in the air with a stream of photons.
Maximojo shrugged, tossed the gem back, and reported the coin incident to the Council, ending with, “Mojo out.” The Council transmitted back, “The cosmic inspectors have reported similar sightings of coins while they were cascading the spaceways. The coins can change shape and hide in dark places. They have become like wandering pirates who forfeited their rights to live on a planet due to bad behavior. Instinctually, the coins’ are on a never-ending quest for a Kingdom to overrule. They are also illegal smugglers.
Maximojo and the Wand of Light Page 1