by Raymond Bean
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Introduction
Chapter 1: Asteroids
Chapter 2: Big Trouble
Chapter 3: Spacing Out
Chapter 4: Riding in Style
Chapter 5: Up, Up, and Away
Chapter 6: The Asteroid Net
Chapter 7: Suit Up!
Chapter 8: Zero Gravity
Chapter 9: Nice Catch!
Chapter 10: Bright Future
About the Author
Glossary
Million-Dollar Questions
Copyright
Back Cover
Introduction
My name’s Benji Franklin! After inventing a best-selling computer app that helps people come up with creative and time-saving excuses, I became the world’s youngest and, well, only ZILLIONAIRE!
But I quickly discovered that life wasn’t all about the Benjamins. I’ve decided to use my newfound wealth for the greater good—like saving the world from cloned killer dinosaurs, building super-powered rocket ships, and launching a solid gold submarine. Or two!
Here’s a few people you should know:
DAD: He likes building one-of-a-kind inventions, and he spends a lot of time tinkering in our workshop. His latest projects include an orbiting surveillance satellite and magnet suits that can rescue drowning sailors. Plus, he’s always excited about my ideas!
MOM: She’s always putting other people before herself. She is a regular volunteer at the food shelf and taught me that helping others is important, rewarding, and fun. She also runs a farm (which I bought her).
PROFESSOR SNOW: He knows everything there is to know about cloning, climate change, nano-bots, and anything else that can easily turn into a catastrophe. I recently helped him save the world from Troodon dinosaurs!
That’s about it.
Okay, time to save the world...again!
CHAPTER 1
Asteroids!
One morning, I was out in the workshop downloading data from the satellite. Dad was back working on his magnetic suits. He’d reversed the magnets and his safety system seemed about ready for a real-life trial. He had a fisherman in town that agreed to try it out with his crew. He’d dropped his boat off at our workshop earlier in the morning, and Dad was installing the system in the boat.
That’s when I saw it...
An asteroid appeared on the satellite’s data system. It was on course to collide with Earth!
“You might want to take a look at this, Dad,” I said, my heart pounding.
He was by the boat, twisting at something with his wrench. “I can’t right now, Benji. Is it good news or bad?” he asked.
“Both,” I said.
“Well, does it look like something’s going to take out our satellite?” he asked.
“Well, no, and that’s part of the good news,” I told him. “The bad news...it might take out the planet. The WHOLE planet!!”
My dad is super organized. Everything he owns has a place, and he always puts things where they belong. I thought it was kind of funny that even though there was an asteroid screaming toward the planet, the first thing he did was put his wrench carefully back in his toolbox. If there was a time to simply drop it on the floor and be sloppy, this was it!
“What’s the other good news?” asked Dad.
“Maybe we can stop it,” I said.
“Benji, this asteroid is rushing toward Earth at incredible speed. I don’t think we can do anything,” he said, skeptical.
“From my calculations, the asteroid is still sixty days from impact,” I explained.
“Then I wouldn’t panic just yet,” he said. “I’ve seen space debris that looked like it was on course for impact suddenly change direction and sail right on by. Now, it’s getting late. You need to get to the bus stop.”
Huh?!? How can he expect me to go to school after what I just told him? “I don’t think you heard me when I screamed, ‘the WHOLE planet,’” I said. “I need to track this asteroid and send the data to someone who can help save us! Then maybe I can buy a laser canon...or a supersized missile launcher...or a titanium flyswatter the size of a football field, or—”
“Benji, you’re in sixth grade,” he said. “The world can survive without you on this one. You’re not the only person with a satellite tracking this thing. Everything will be fine.”
Obviously, I didn’t agree, but I could tell there was no way Dad was going to let me stay home.
$$$
On the ride to school, all I could think about was the asteroid. I was working on my smartphone, which was really hard to do with the bus bouncing and all the kids talking. I made a list of the ways to destroy or send an asteroid off course:
HOW TO STOP THE ASTEROID
Blow to bits.
Send off course with mega-ton explosion..
Redirect course with giant sail.
Jackhammer to pieces with high-tech machines.
Create a chemical reaction to disintegrate.
I was so focused on my list that I didn’t notice this person sitting next to me. Cindy Meyers. “You know, you’re no2 allowed to use your smartphone on the bus,” she said. “You think just because your app is so popular that you can do whatever you want?”
I rolled my eyes. “Good morning to you, too, Cindy,” I said, trying to be polite. “I’m busy on an important project. It’s not like I’m playing video games or texting like you.”
“I’m not texting or talking on my phone because that would be against school rules,” she whined.
“I’ll be watching,” I said, getting back to work.
“That makes two of us,” she warned. “It’s going to be a real shame when the principal takes your smartphone away and bans you from the bus.”
“If you knew what I was working on you wouldn’t be giving me a hard time,” I said.
She laughed. “I find that hard to believe.”
Cindy had always been difficult, but she was being extra annoying today.
“What’s your problem?” I asked.
“I don’t have a problem,” she said. “You’re the one who thinks you’re so cool ever since you created that ridiculous computer app.”
“Who said I think I’m cool?” I said. “For your information, I’ve never been considered cool.”
“Well, you don’t act like it. You created that app, and then you didn’t even have to come to school because you’re a big shot now. You weren’t the only one who worked hard on that app project,” she said.
She was upset that her app didn’t get more attention than mine. I couldn’t even remember what her app did! “I haven’t been to school because I was busy helping out the food shelter,” I explained.
“I think you’re a troublemaker,” she said.
“Then why’d you sit next to me?” I asked. I had bigger things to think about than Cindy.
“Because I’m on the School Decency Committee and you’re on my radar,” Cindy explained. “You haven’t been around to see the damage your app created. Kids are making up all kinds of excuses for things thanks to your reckless idea.”
I got a little anxious because I had barely been to school since I created the app. I knew tons of people had downloaded it, but I hadn’t had any time to see how kids were using it.
“Well,” I began, “I’m about to see for myself.”
CHAPTER 2
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Big Trouble
Everything seemed pretty much the same as usual when I got to school. My app wasn’t causing any problems as far as I could see. I was definitely getting more attention than usual though. More people seemed to know my name, which was funny because before the app I wasn’t exactly popular.
On my way to tech class, a few kids patted me on the back. I didn’t like all the attention. It was a little stressful. I found myself walking quicker than usual. I slipped into my seat in tech class, relieved to be out of the hall.
Mrs. Heart started the lesson by welcoming me back to school. The class erupted with applause. “You’re a superstar these days,” she said. “We’ve been following your success online. I can’t believe how huge your app, Excuse Yourself, has become.”
I’d been so busy with the Troodon and Dr. Snow that I hadn’t had time to read what was being said about the app.
“I’m pretty shocked myself,” I said. “Honestly, I haven’t been able to follow what’s going on with the app because I’ve been working.”
“I thought you were out because of the app,” Mrs. Heart said curiously.
“Actually, I was busy with another project for the food pantry,” I explained. “The principal, Mrs. Petty, gave me permission to take a few days to work on it. Remember?”
“That’s not an excuse, is it?” Mrs. Heart joked.
“No, but maybe I should add it to the app,” I said with a smile.
“Are you rich?” said a student in the back.
“It’s not polite to ask someone a question like that,” said Mrs. Heart. “We’re all very happy for you though, Benji.”
Realizing that everyone at school knew I made a TON of money was kind of embarrassing. James, the kid sitting next to me, leaned over and whispered, “How much do you actually have?”
“I don’t know,” I said, which was basically the truth because the number was always changing. I’d checked the total before school, but there were too many zeros to count!
CHA-CHING! CHA-CHING!!
I’d only been out of school for a week, but it felt like a year.
$$$
When I got home later that day, I went straight to the workshop. Dad was at the computer and looked like he’d been there all day.
“Benji, I was wrong,” he said. “People don’t seem to be tracking this thing. You’ve found something that others haven’t noticed yet. I can see why! It’s not a known asteroid. I’ve been searching the database all day and can’t find any record of it.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“We might be the only ones who know it’s there,” he exclaimed. “Most satellites are designed to locate asteroids larger than a kilometer. My satellite is great at detecting asteroids smaller than a kilometer. This one is about the size of a twenty-story building, so it’s much harder to locate than a larger one.”
I did the math in my head. A story on a building is about twelve feet high. If the asteroid was twenty stories, it measured about 240 feet long!
“That’s small?” I asked.
“Compared to some larger asteroids,” said Dad. “It’s big enough to cause a lot of damage, but still small enough to go undetected. The good news is it won’t destroy the planet, but if it hits it will do some real damage.”
“Shouldn’t we call someone or notify the government?” I asked.
“Not yet,” he said. “Let’s give it a few days and see if it changes course. We have some time.”
I logged on to my computer to research the kind of damage an asteroid would do if it impacted Earth. I learned that the asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs was about six miles wide.
The asteroid I located wasn’t even close to the size of that one, but it was large enough to level buildings for five miles from the impact location.
I worked to try and calculate the impact date. I knew Dad was doing the same.
Neither one of us said anything for about an hour. Then, I broke the silence.
“If my calculations are correct,” I said. “The asteroid will hit Earth on Mom’s birthday!”
I didn’t have the heart to tell Mom that the world could be blasted by an asteroid on her birthday. When I went out to the farm later that night, I didn’t say anything about it.
Mom hadn’t wasted any time taking over the farm I’d bought her. It was already producing milk and eggs, and she had a full-time staff. She also bought a few refrigerated trucks for deliveries. That night, she was checking on the chickens, as I walked alongside her.
“You’ve been on your computer too long again,” she said. “Your eyes are all bloodshot.”
“No more than usual,” I said.
She stopped and took another look at me. “What’s on your mind, Benji? You look troubled.”
“I’m fine, Mom. Today was my first day back to school. It was a little strange. Kids are really focused on the app and all the money I’m making.” I said this knowing it was partially true, and my real concern was the asteroid.
“Kids your age don’t normally experience this kind of success,” she said. “It’s natural for your friends to be confused and ask a lot of questions.”
“I guess,” I replied.
“There’s something else that you’re not telling me,” she said. “What is it?”
I couldn’t lie to my mother. “Our satellite located an asteroid this morning. It’s on track to smash Earth in about a month.”
“I know. Your father told me a few hours ago,” she said, walking ahead of me.
“WHAT?! Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“I wanted to see if you’d tell me on your own. Why didn’t you tell me?” she said.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” I explained.
“I’m not worried, Benji.”
“You should be!” I exclaimed. “It’s on a collision course with the planet. The WHOLE planet!”
“You’ll figure something out,” she suggested.
Mothers. They’re always so supportive. But this problem was a little out of my league.
“I bet you already have a solution brewing inside that head, and you don’t even know it yet,” she said. “You don’t want an asteroid ruining your mother’s birthday, do you?”
CHAPTER 3
Spacing Out
I went for a walk by myself on the trails behind the farm. I couldn’t help feeling that a Troodon was going to jump out at me from behind a tree.
It was pretty surreal when I stopped to think about how much things had changed in such a short time. It was hard to even remember a time before Excuse Yourself.
As I walked, I imagined scenarios that might change the course of the asteroid or destroy it. I’d read online once that if you blow up the asteroid it becomes a bunch of small asteroids instead of one big one. The group of smaller ones acts like a shotgun blast and can cause even more damage!
My mind kept cycling through all the scenarios I’d listed on my computer. There simply had to be a solution.
Instead of blowing up the asteroid, what if there was a way to capture it? I wondered. I could land some sort of remote-control unit on it and simply fly it like a spaceship.
I tripped on a large stone and stopped to pick it up. I held it in my hands for a while wondering how I could stop it if it were hurtling through space at thousands of miles per hour.
I threw it as hard as I could and watched it sail into the woods. I picked up another stone and hurled it the same direction. A vision of a net wrapping around the stone came to me.
A net would stop or slow the stone down, but I couldn’t figure out how to get a large net into space. Even if I did, could I could change the course of an asteroid?
I picked up another stone, and my phone rang.
“Hey, Dad,” I answered.
“Hi,
Benji,” he said. “I just spoke with Dr. Snow. He has someone he’d like you to meet.”
“The Troodon didn’t escape again, did they?” I asked, hoping that wasn’t the case.
“Nope, the dinos are safe and sound,” Dad said. “This is about the asteroid. Why don’t you have Mom drive you home? We need to talk.”
$$$
When I got home, Dad was sifting through old airplane parts in the back field. “What’s up?” I asked.
He climbed out from the rusted cockpit of a small plane and sat on the wing. “Come on over,” he said, dusting off a place for me to sit.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m looking for spare parts to see if I can make another low-orbit rocket,” he said, “but I wanted you to come home to talk about Dr. Snow.”
“What did he say?” I asked.
“He asked my permission to give our number to another scientist,” he explained.
“Why?” I asked.
“He said he wasn’t sure, but that a very prominent scientist contacted him for help, and he suggested you.”
“What did you say?”
“That between the Troodon and Excuse Yourself you’ve been busy,” said Dad. “It might be good to take a little break.”
“I’m fine, Dad,” I assured him. “I’m too rich to take a break.”
Just then, my phone rang.
“Hello,” I said.
From the other side, in an English accent, a man’s voice said, “Hello, Benjamin. My name is Sir Robert Dransling. You come highly recommended by Dr. Snow.”
“That was fast,” I said.
“There’s no time to waste,” he replied. “A situation has come to my attention in the past twenty-four hours that causes me great concern. If my information is correct, you’ve noticed this—ahem—problem as well.”