by Zac Harrison
The headmaster turned back to him. “Don’t worry. Your planet isn’t being invaded. Martians just like taking holidays there.”
“The royal family is staying in the bed and breakfast at one hundred and fourteen Laurel Gardens, according to my records,” said Ms Vartexia, glancing once again at her thin screen. She seemed nervous. John guessed she was trying to be extra helpful after making such a massive mistake. “Strange place for a holiday, if you ask me, but Martians can be a little... well... odd.”
“But one hundred and fourteen Laurel Gardens is next door to my house!” John spluttered. He remembered the family that had arrived there at the beginning of summer. They had been weird. Every time he’d seen them, the parents’ clothes had been badly matched and worn back-to-front or inside-out. He’d once spoken to their son. The skinny, lonely-looking boy had been holding an umbrella on a clear summer afternoon and had asked in a weird accent why John’s skateboard didn’t fly.
“They were Martians?” John blurted. “Actual Martians? I thought they’d be, you know, little green men or something. I didn’t think they’d carry umbrellas everywhere.”
“Without the human disguise, Martians are, in fact, a very pleasing shade of orange,” Lorem explained. “And Earth is closer to the sun than Mars. The sunlight on your planet is too strong for them, so they protect themselves from it with portable shade devices. I believe humans call them um-brel-ahs and use them to prevent water falling from the sky from soaking their clothing.”
“Wow, I’ve met a Martian prince,” John whistled. “No one will ever believe me when I get back...” He looked at Lorem questioningly. “I am going back, aren’t I? You’re not going to chuck me out the airlock, right?”
“No. It appears a genuine mistake has been made. You have my apologies for that, and for the Examiners’ hasty and regrettable actions. They should not have tried to expel you.” Lorem shot the two robots a glance. “I’m sure there are rules being broken elsewhere,” he finished.
“Rule breaking will result in disciplinary procedures,” they announced together. Then, to John’s relief, they turned and floated away.
“Can I go home now?” John asked. “I don’t know how I’m going to explain where I’ve been, but if you drop me off where you found me, I can still get Mum to drive me to school. I shouldn’t be too late.”
Lorem met his gaze. John got the feeling he was looking into eyes that had seen things he couldn’t even begin to understand. “I’m afraid it will be a while before you get back to Earth,” the headmaster said sorrowfully. He raised a finger again as John started to protest. “Hyperspace High is a vast vessel moving at many, many times the speed of light. It takes six weeks to make a complete circuit of the galaxy. We cannot simply stop and turn around. It would involve colossal energies and our schedule would be thrown out completely.”
“What about the shuttles? Couldn’t one of them take me?”
“You don’t understand how fast this ship is,” Lorem replied. “We have already passed the star your scientists call Epsilon Eridani, which is more than ten light years, or six trillion miles, from your sun. A shuttle would take months to cover that distance.”
John gulped. “What now?”
“We will pass your solar system again at the end of this half term. Until then, you will have to stay on board.”
“But when I don’t turn up at school, my parents will be worried sick. The police will start looking for me.”
The headmaster smiled at him. “This ship is equipped with quite astonishing technology,” he said quietly. “It can easily patch into Earth’s communication systems. You will be able to speak to your parents on the telephone or send emails so they think you have arrived at school safely. And I can tell the headteacher of Wortham Court School that you have been taken suddenly ill with some human sickness that will take several weeks to clear up. Ms Vartexia, perhaps you could make yourself useful and suggest a suitable human disease.”
The thin Elvian woman tapped her screen a few times. “It says here that humans often take weeks to recover from something called ‘measles’.”
“There we are. Measles it is,” said the headmaster. “Now, our last problem is what to do with you. You’re a little young to be a teacher, so I think we’ll have to enrol you as a temporary student. The first years are starting their second term but I’m sure you’ll soon catch up.”
John thought for a moment. Though he’d never been a great fan of school, except maths classes, he guessed that space school – a school in actual space – would be much, much cooler than Wortham Court. For a start, he wanted another go at Zero-G war. And, after all, it would only be for a few weeks.
He grinned. Nodded. “Yeah, that sounds OK.”
Lorem clapped his hands together. “Excellent,” he said. “Then that is one problem solved. Ms Vartexia, to which dormitory was Prince Clo-Ra-Ta assigned?”
She tapped her screen again. “Dormitory sixteen, room twelve.”
Something seemed to amuse the headmaster. “Of course,” he chuckled. “That’s perfect. Well, Clo-Ra-Ta won’t be needing it, so if you’d like to come with me, young human, we’ll get you settled in. Ms Vartexia, I’m sure you would like to rest after your eventful trip. Perhaps you’d be so kind as to join me in my office in, say, three hours?”
John followed the glowing headmaster out of the airlock, wondering if the Martian Prince had also boarded the wrong coach and was now on his way to Wortham Court. He pictured the lonely young Martian with his peculiar umbrella and hoped not. But if he did get on the wrong coach, at least there’s no danger of him being pushed out of an airlock, he told himself.
Now that his life was out of danger, John looked around eagerly. Everywhere was white and spotless. “This is the hangar deck,” Lorem said over his shoulder. “Not terribly interesting, but we’ll have someone give you a full tour of the ship later. Down here, please.”
John followed the headmaster along a bare corridor, a hundred questions bubbling up in his mind. “She’s not in trouble, is she?” he asked first. “It was an honest mistake, really.”
“Ms Vartexia? Oh no. The Martians will grumble, but they are an extremely forgiving people. The prince is going to be more than happy with an unexpected extra holiday, though he missed last term, too. A diplomatic mission to Kantaros with his parents, I believe. We may have to put him back a year... but I’m getting off the point. The Galactic Council are not going to care very much. You’ll tell a few people the truth when you get back to Earth, but no one will believe you. Still, I am going to ask Ms Vartexia to be a little more careful in future. She won’t make the same mistake again.”
John frowned. The way Lorem spoke, it sounded as if he already knew what was going to happen. The thought was quickly pushed aside by another question. “Umm, if everyone on board is an alien, why do you all speak English so well?”
Lorem looked back at him again, an eyebrow arched as if to say, You humans really are primitive aren’t you?, but he answered politely. “The only person aboard Hyperspace High speaking English is you. The ship’s computer automatically translates all known languages into whichever one you understand best. It’s all to do with sound waves. Simple, really. Ah, here we are.”
They had arrived at the end of a corridor. Lorem touched his hand to the wall and a door slid back. John joined him in what he guessed was a lift. “Dormitory sixteen,” said Lorem.
At once, the lift slid away smoothly in a diagonal direction. John opened his mouth to ask another question, but the headmaster was already speaking. “By the way,” he said. “Please don’t use the word alien. It means something that doesn’t belong. No one is an alien on Hyperspace High. We all belong here.”
“Sorry,” said John. “I guess there’s a lot I’ll have to get used to.”
Lorem looked at him kindly. “Oh, yes,” he said. “But don’t worry, you’re going to
be just fine.”
The lift stopped. “Dormitory sixteen,” said its electronic voice.
As the door slid open, John saw a wide, richly carpeted hall. The lights were dimmer here and the air filled with a soothing smell that was new to John’s nose. In the middle of the hall was a sculpture that looked as though it had been carved from a huge diamond. Lights shining onto it made hundreds of small rainbows. Scattered about were comfortable-looking sofas on which a few students sat chatting.
Each side of the hall was lined with doorways. Lorem quickly walked over to one and held up a hand. The door made a soft chiming sound. A moment later, it slid open.
John took a step back. Despite all the strange things he’d seen, he couldn’t stop himself gasping in shock.
Standing in the doorway was a massive figure straight out of a nightmare. Easily two and a half metres tall and heavily muscled, its skin was bright green and its eyes deep red. Over its shoulders, John could see black wings folded on its back.
A demon. It’s a real, live demon.
For the second time that day, John felt his heart thudding against his chest in terror.
The creature’s mouth opened, revealing wickedly sharp fangs. With a rustle of leathery wings, the demon fixed him with its crimson gaze and advanced towards him menacingly.
Chapter 5
As John fought down an urge to turn and run, Lorem put a reassuring hand on his arm as if he knew exactly what he was thinking.
“John Riley,” he said. “I’d like to introduce you to your new roommate. Kaal is from the planet Derril. The two of you are going to be great friends.”
“Hello, headmaster. What a pleasant surprise.”
John was amazed. The creature’s voice was soft and the smile that spread across its face looked shy. It took a step back and said, “Please come in.”
“Thank you, but I must speak to the Martian government, so I’ll leave you to get to know each other. Kaal, perhaps you could give John Riley a tour of the ship when he’s unpacked.” Lorem’s hand dropped away from John’s arm. For a moment he paused, then added, “And, by the way, fighting with Mordant Talliver would probably not be a good idea. Just some friendly advice. Take it or leave it.”
“Wha—” John began, but it was too late to question the headmaster. In a blink, Lorem’s body dissolved into a ball of glowing light that disappeared through the far wall.
Confused enough to forget how nervous the huge, green Derrilian made him, John said, “What on Earth was he talking about?”
Kaal looked down at him, puzzled, and asked, “Don’t you know about Lorem?”
“Errr, no. I’m not really supposed to be here. I’d never heard of Lorem or Hyperspace High until half an hour ago.”
“Well, he can see the future. The past, too. So when he says we’re going to be great friends, he’s probably right.” Kaal raised a hand, stopped, then said shyly, “How do your people greet each other?”
“We shake hands usually.”
Kaal stretched out a hand. “Like this?”
“Yes,” said John, taking Kaal’s enormous, six-fingered hand in his own and shaking it. “And... umm... how about your people?”
“Oh, we bite each other’s faces,” replied Kaal, bending over him. With a grin, he revealed his sharp white teeth again.
“Aaargh,” John choked.
“Joking. I’m just joking... On Derril we touch each other on the shoulder and wish them good flight. Like this.” Kaal gently put his hand on John’s shoulder and said, “Wide skies, John Riley. Come in and put your bag down.”
John grinned back at his roommate, Lorem’s strange warning quickly forgotten. He already liked Kaal. “Just ‘John’ will do,” he said, hitching his rucksack up his shoulder and following the green alien into the room.
“Wow!” The far wall was a floor-to-ceiling window that showed the full glory of space. Outside, a great cloud of swirling dust and newborn stars, which John knew was called a nebula – swept past. John tore his eyes away from it with difficulty and looked around. Room twelve looked like it belonged in a five-star hotel. There were two enormous, soft sofas with a low table between them and what John guessed must be a work station with comfortable-looking chairs and two thin screens. One wall had a beautifully detailed picture of the ship. At each end of the room were what looked like smaller rooms.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve already chosen that end,” said Kaal apologetically, pointing. John peered closer and realized that the smaller rooms were, in fact, giant, enclosed beds.
“You have everything you need in there,” Kaal continued. “Hologram projector, an entertainment ThinScreen, food and drink portals, communications and access to the main computer. And if you get sick of looking at me, just touch here.” He pressed a finger against a panel and a screen instantly hissed down, cutting the bed off from the main room. “You might want to use that anyway. I snore a bit.”
“It’s amazing,” John whispered.
“Bathroom’s in here,” Kaal said, touching another panel. Another door slid open, revealing another large room that contained what looked like a small swimming pool. Seeing John’s astonished face, he added, “They have to make everything big because some of us at Hyperspace High are pretty huge compared to the rest of you. There’s an automatic cleaning system, too, if you don’t like taking baths.”
John dropped his rucksack on the free bed. “If this is the bedroom, what’s the rest of the ship like?” he asked.
“Pretty cool. Want to see?”
“Are you kidding? Let’s go.”
“Don’t you want to unpack?”
“I’ll do it later. Besides, I don’t have much. All my luggage went to a different school.” Sudden realization hit John; he looked down at what he was wearing. “Guess I’d better get used to wearing these clothes.”
“Why? We can get you some more. There’s other stuff you’ll need, too.”
John fished in his pocket and pulled out the twenty-pound note his father had slipped in earlier. “I’m not going to be able to afford much,” he said. “Maybe a few pairs of socks.”
Kaal looked down at him, confused. “The school provides everything you need,” he said. “No one pays for anything.”
John shook his head in disbelief. All of these expensive-looking supplies were free?
A few minutes later, they left their room and strolled along a wide, softly lit corridor. “So you really don’t know anything about Hyperspace High at all?”
“Nothing at all,” John confirmed. “I was going to a normal boarding school on Earth but got on the wrong coach.”
“That’s strange,” Kaal said thoughtfully. “Lorem should have known that was going to happen. Maybe it wasn’t really a mistake...”
But before John could ask Kaal what he meant by it not being a mistake, the Derrilian stopped at a large, transparent door and changed the subject. “This is the astronomy holo-lab.”
John peered through the glass. Inside, a small alien with smooth white skin and six dark eyes was standing in the centre of the room. Around it whirled a system of twin suns and planets. John watched as it touched a screen. Instantly, one of the planets grew and revolved in front of the white being. Another touch and the planet became even bigger. John could see seas and rivers, mountain ranges crossing its continents.
Kaal tutted. “Typical. Term hasn’t even started and Raytanna’s already studying.”
“Looks way more interesting than the classrooms I’m used to,” said John.
“Come on, there’s plenty more to see and classes don’t start for a while.”
As they continued down the corridor, Kaal made a complex hand gesture at a passing figure wearing a thick, hooded robe. It stopped and bowed deeply. Kaal bowed back. After a second, John followed his example.
The hooded figure bowed a little deep
er, then continued on its way. Kaal whispered, “That’s Mang. He doesn’t say much, but when he speaks it’s worth listening to him.”
“You were saying about Hyperspace High...” John reminded him.
“Oh yeah, sorry.” Kaal took a deep breath and continued in a voice that sounded like he was reading from a brochure. “Hyperspace High was founded by the scholars of Kerallin almost ten thousand years ago.”
“This ship doesn’t look that old.”
“It’s not. The school’s old but it moves to a new ship now and again. Last time was only a couple of years ago.”
“So who are these scholars of Kera–what?”
“Kerallin. Well, few people ever see them, but they’re mad about learning and founded the school as a gift to the universe. Its mission is to give one being from each solar system the best education available anywhere. So far it’s produced one hundred and seventy planetary presidents, four hundred and twenty-one Ogloon Prize-winning scientists, countless important artists, explorers and – unfortunately – four intergalactic warlords, but there’s always a few who spoil it for everyone else... Hey, this is the technology workshop.”
John peered through a new set of double doors to see a long hall filled with workbenches and lined with neat lockers. On display were a variety of devices, some of which were moving slowly. “What are they?” he asked.
“Last year’s best technology projects. Oh, wow...”
“What?”
“Brilliant! Look at Master Tronic,” replied Kaal, pointing.
A large jumble of metal was moving at the end of the room. As it unfolded, John realized that it was a hulking robot. Its body was made of cables and great metal plates. A thin band of glowing red flashed across a grinning metal skull.
“What is that?” John breathed. “It looks dangerous.”
“It’s just Master Tronic,” said Kaal with a laugh. “Every term he makes himself a new body to demonstrate what we’ll be learning. Last term we were doing bio-technology, so he made a flesh body, but it looks like we’ll be moving onto robotics. Cool!”