“I know,” Nina said, coaxing the butterfly onto her finger. She placed him on a plant nearby.
“Someday you’ll be free, Frank.”
“No, he won’t, Nina.”
“Come on, Ada. Let the poor guy dream,” said Nina. “Besides, I have faith in Frank. He looks resourceful.”
Ada’s favorite part of the whole place was the Morrison Planetarium. At the asteroid exhibit, they learned about impact craters, what happens to objects when they hit the atmosphere, and how scientists at the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA planned to prevent large asteroids from hitting the Earth.
There was also an exhibit about Earth and its climate, which was unusual for a planetarium. On the wall was a big quote by a man named Wallace Broecker. It said, “The climate system is an angry beast and we are poking at it with sticks.” Mr. Peebles explained that the Morrison Planetarium wanted to treat the Earth like any other planet because, obviously, it was!
“By using groups of small satellites, NASA can study weather patterns, changes in temperature, and pollution levels,” said the recorded tour.
• • •
As they rode the streetcar back to Juniper Garden, Ada and Nina talked about Claude, Frank, the jellyfish, asteroids, and the Near Earth Object program at NASA. They had lots of questions about NASA and the tiny satellite program.
“You know, you can listen to NASA on your ham radio, Ada,” Mr. Peebles said. “You might even be able to talk to an astronaut.”
“No way! Really?” said Ada. “How?”
“I’m surprised I didn’t mention it before,” said Mr. Peebles. “The astronauts are often working, so you have to call them during their downtime. Do you want to plan a time to contact them?”
“Yes!” said Ada. “That would be so cool. Wouldn’t it, Nina?” If astronauts couldn’t lure Nina back to the radio, what could?
“Uh, maybe . . . ,” said Nina.
“I’ll look into it,” said Mr. Peebles.
Ada felt more excited than Nina seemed to be. Without the threat of aliens put to rest, Nina was still suspicious of the radio. After they said good-bye to Mr. Peebles, they stood near his stoop for twenty minutes trying to agree on what to do. Ada, of course, wanted to use her ham radio.
“There are so many interesting voices out there,” said Ada. “I promise haven’t heard one scary alien! C’mon. It’ll be fun!”
“Yeah, I don’t think so, Ada,” said Nina.
“But what if I need you to really find the other worlds?” said Ada.
“Oh, Ada. I know you never believed in that,” said Nina. “And I’m not sure I want to do that anymore. It’s too weird and scary.”
“But the world on the other side of my radio is the opposite of scary,” said Ada. “There are different languages spoken and people of all ages and lifestyles doing cool and heroic things. Isn’t that magical enough?”
“I guess,” said Nina. “But there are also creeps playing mean pranks.”
“I got rid of him!” said Ada. Nina didn’t look convinced. “Okay. What would you rather do?”
“Play Apples to Apples?”
Ada hated that game.
“Uh. I guess,” she said.
“Oh, never mind. Why don’t you go talk to your hams, and we can see each other in school on Monday?”
“Okay.”
Ada had hoped she’d have a friend to share her hobby with. She would still enjoy it, but she wished she could enjoy it with Nina.
Chapter Seven
THE CREEP FACTOR
After Nina left, Ada tried to get ahold of the woman with the weather balloon, but she didn’t have any luck. The girl in Marin wasn’t around either. Then Milton tried to reach her.
KD8PKR. Are you there? Over.
. . .
KD8PKR? This is KD86E. Come in. Please? Over.
. . .
Ada? I know you’re home. I saw you go inside. Over.
Leave me alone, Milton. Over and out.
Ada switched her radio off and tried to read. Then she played with George for a little while. She got him to go into Elliott’s room to bring back her microscope. She didn’t even really want to use it. She was just bored and avoiding Milton. Elliott didn’t even seem to notice George. He was too busy going on an undersea adventure with Mr. Pickles. So she recorded a ghostly howling sound on George. It took a while to get the sound right, but then when she played it back, it sounded delightfully weird over his tiny speakers. She sent the robot back into Elliott’s room with a command to play the sound thirty seconds after arrival. It worked perfectly.
“Wooooooooooooo!” sang George. “Woooo-oooooo!”
“AAAAaaaaaahhhhhh!”
Ada peeked into Elliott’s room from just outside her own. He was pressed against the wall, staring toward George, who was hidden under the corner of Elliott’s bedspread.
“Dad! My room’s haunted!” Ada ducked quickly back into her room.
Mr. Lace ran upstairs. “Elliott?! What’s wrong, buddy?”
“There’s a noise . . . a ghost noise,” said Elliott.
Ada listened from just inside her doorway. She heard Elliott’s comforter swish as Mr. Lace searched for the “ghost.”
“It’s just George. But you’re right—that sound is spooky. Maybe there’s something wrong with him,” said Mr. Lace.
“He’s haunted!” said Elliott.
“Ada?” Mr. Lace called.
Ada sat at her desk and tried to look like she was reading. Mr. Lace walked into her room, holding George. Ada tried to keep a straight face, but burst out laughing. She was so pleased that it had worked! Mr. Lace knew immediately that it was a prank, and he didn’t think it was funny.
“Please leave your brother alone,” he said. “Or there will be consequences.”
“Yeah!” said Elliott, hiding behind his father. He was glad his sister was in trouble. And Ada was annoyed. If only she had been able to keep her cool. It was just a joke, she thought. Couldn’t anyone take a joke? Then she remembered Milton. That’s just what he had said about his prank. She had never really liked Milton—they were practically enemies from the moment she moved in. But somehow he was almost a different person over the radio. They had found something that they both liked, and they didn’t really need to compete over it. It worked out better when they cooperated.
Ada switched on her radio. She tuned in to the frequency where she usually found Milton. She took a deep breath and pressed the bar on the mic.
KD86E? This is KD8PKR. Are you there? Over.
Well, well, well . . . if it isn’t Ada. Over.
For once, she wasn’t annoyed by Milton’s voice.
How’s it going, Milton?
• • •
A few days later, with a little help from Mr. Peebles, Milton and Ada arranged a time to talk to an astronaut on the International Space Station. Ada wrote down a list of questions. Milton said he was going to wing it. Ada wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Would he be the prankster Milton? Or the helpful ham radio Milton? Time would tell.
Ada and Milton had been having fun “hamming it up,” as her father liked to say, but she still missed Nina. Even though they still walked to and from school together, still sat together at lunch, and still chatted online, Ada had a big portion of her life that she wasn’t sharing with her best friend. So she invited Nina over to talk to NASA. It was on Thursday night after dinner, so they had to get extra special permission for Nina to come over. Milton and Mr. Peebles would be on their own radios at home.
Nina still didn’t trust the radio. She sat on the bed looking through a magazine while Ada scanned through different frequencies. The time crawled by.
“Do you really trust Milton not to mess it up?” said Nina. “Or joke around with make-believe aliens? Or pull a prank or make fun of me?”
“I don’t know, Nina,” said Ada. “He’s Milton. You always have to be on the lookout with him a little bit.”
“Or a lotta bit,�
�� said Nina.
Ada paused on a ham frequency where two kids were singing “Three Little Birds” to their dad. George switched on and started playing his own version.
“Ha!” Nina laughed. “George’s favorite!”
“Mine too!” said Ada. “I think it’s a good sign. Don’t you?”
“Maybe,” said Nina.
The kids said good night, and the radio was silent.
“But, you know, if aliens come on—pretend or real—I might bolt right out that door, right? I mean, I might not be able to stop myself.”
“I’m pretty sure there won’t be any aliens this time,” said Ada. “But if there are, we’ll get through it together.”
Chapter Eight
MAKING CONTACT
It took some time. They had to wait until the space station was directly overhead in order to connect, but when they finally did, it was surprising how close the astronaut sounded. She might have been in the next city, rather than 250 miles above the Earth. The astronaut they spoke to was named Sandy. She had been on the space station for three months. Mr. Peebles let Ada, Nina, and Milton do most of the talking.
Sandy, this is Milton. How do you get oxygen to the space station? Over.
Well, Milton, we can actually make it up here! Believe it or not, we just take water—which you probably know has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom—and we separate it to get the oxygen out. Over.
Hi, Sandy. It’s Ada. Do you use electrolysis? Over.
Yes, that’s exactly right, Ada. We pass electric current through the water, and that separates the oxygen from the hydrogen. Over.
Sandy, this is Milton again. How long are you up there for? Over.
I’m lucky! I have another three months. The missions vary from a couple of weeks to six months, and I got one that was on the longer side. Over.
There was a long pause as Ada tried to pull Nina toward the mic. Nina was being shy. Ada was afraid that Milton would hog all the time if they let him, so she jumped in.
Sandy? It’s Ada again. What are you doing up there right now? Over.
We’re collecting all kinds of data about the Earth—temperature, climate patterns, weather, pollution. It helps us get a sense of the Earth’s health.
Finally, Nina jumped in.
Sandy, this is Nina. Can you see San Francisco from up there? Over.
I can! Cities are beautiful from space—like clusters of Christmas lights. Nature can be pretty amazing too. Believe it or not, I can also see things like the Great Barrier Reef sometimes. You can see pictures of what we see from the space station on our website. Over.
Nina again. Do you ever get lonely? Over.
A little bit. I have my colleagues here, and I get along with all of them pretty well. We all feel excited about what we’re doing. And I get to talk to people like you and my family and friends. But it’s a strange feeling seeing your home planet from above. It’s like looking at the moon or Mars from Earth, but instead it’s the place you were born, so you feel a little more attached to it. Like it’s your responsibility. And you want to protect it. So I do miss my home. I miss all the paths I used to walk on near Boulder when I lived there. I miss the smell of the air and how the creek water feels on my feet. But up here I have the opportunity to study what makes those things possible and how to keep them from going away. That was a long answer, I guess. Anyway, I’m glad I get to play a little part in helping to monitor the Earth’s health. Over.
Sandy, it’s Ada. How do you monitor the climate patterns? Over.
That’s a fun question! We actually released a swarm of little satellites last week. . . .
Nina’s eyes grew. For a second Ada was afraid she might flee the room.
Each little satellite has a different part to play. They are mostly monitoring how much radiation is coming into the Earth’s atmosphere versus how much is leaving. Over.
Sandy, it’s Arnold Peebles. Thank you for talking to us. Good luck up there. We’re rooting for you. Over and out.
Nina looked at Ada. “The swarm,” said Nina. “It was a swarm of little satellites. I must have heard them talking right when they released them.”
“Right,” said Ada. “We must have been lined up just right that night. So the space station must have been directly above us! No trees to block the signal.”
“And I woke up at just the right moment,” said Nina. “And they were sent to help us. Not invade us.”
“So it is a little magic,” said Ada. Nina smiled.
Ada opened her computer to look at the space station pictures. She thought it would be fun to see the Earth as Sandy described it.
“Wow, there’s Mount Vesuvius!” said Ada.
“The cities are pretty. Look at the Nile! It’s like a glowing snake,” said Nina.
“Yeah!” said Ada. She liked the way Nina described things. “Ooo! Look! This city looks just like a campfire.”
“Hey, there’s San Francisco!”
“Which picture do you think is the best?” asked Ada.
“I like the Himalayas. And the Sahara Desert. And Scandinavia at night. How can you pick a favorite?” asked Nina. “It’s all beautiful.”
“It sure is,” said Ada.
• • •
After Mr. Lace had taken Nina home and Ada was about to turn off the radio and get into bed, Milton called one more time.
Ada, are you still up? Over.
Ada was so tired she thought about ignoring him, but she was kind of curious about what he had to say.
Ada, Ada, Ada. Are you there? Over.
Yeah, Milton. I’m here. What’s up? Over.
I made a gimbal for my little camera. You know, so it doesn’t shake so much when it’s up on the kite. I’m thinking about flying it in the park . . . maybe tomorrow. You wanna join me? Over.
Ada didn’t answer right away.
Ada? Are you still there? Over.
Sure, Milton. I’ll join you. See you tomorrow. Over and out.
Behind the Science
SMART HOUSE
Ada has programmed her robot, George, to control different technologies in her room. This is actually pretty easy to do, as long as you have the right equipment! For example, I use a Google Home device (my version of George) to control all the lights in my apartment. When I get home, I can just say “Okay, Google, turn on the kitchen lights” or “Okay, Google, dim lights to 50 percent,” and the Google Home will connect to the lights and do it. I had to buy special light bulbs that connect to the Internet in order to do this. Basically my Google Home talks to the light bulbs over Wi-Fi and changes what I tell it to change. Ada could do the same thing with different technologies, like a specialized sprinkler system. Building your own smart room is a fun way to use technology to make your life a bit easier, as long as it’s working properly!
HAM RADIO
Hundreds of thousands of people around the world use ham radios to communicate with each other. It’s a fun hobby and a useful way to contact others. You can be in the middle of nowhere, with no cell phone service, and communicate with another hobbyist with a ham radio. To speak with someone over a ham radio, you should announce yourself using your call sign, which you get after you pass a specific test and earn your ham radio license. I received my license while I was studying in school at MIT. Did you notice Ada’s call sign, KD8PKR? That’s actually my call sign! You can get one yourself, too. If you’re interested, check out the American Radio Relay League (arrl.org) for more information.
RADIO REPEATER
Some radio signals can be blocked by tall trees, buildings, or even hilltops. Because of this, radio repeaters are frequently used in the ham radio community and are placed on some of the highest locations around town. A repeater will take a signal and then retransmit it to the other side of a tall tree, building, hilltop, or wherever the repeater was placed. It’s kind of like if you wanted to shine a laser at your friend, but a long wall was in between you and her. How would you get the laser beam to reach her? We
ll, imagine if there was a mirror perfectly placed on top of the wall, so that you could look at the mirror and see your friend on the other side. If you pointed your laser at that mirror, the laser beam would bounce off it and hit your friend!
Like a mirror, a repeater will receive a radio signal and make sure it gets to the other side of a high barrier. Thanks to Ada’s repeater, she can finally send and receive signals beyond Juniper Garden!
CONTACTING ALIENS
Throughout the book, Nina is afraid that aliens from another world are trying to contact them. Interestingly, she’s not entirely wrong about that possibility. Today we have many different radio telescopes around the world (they look like huge bowls) that are listening for alien radio transmissions. Scientists believe that if there is other intelligent life out there, it probably uses technology. And because a lot of our most advanced technologies emit radio waves, listening for radio waves that may be coming from other planets in our universe may just be the best way to find ET!
RADIO WAVES
Radio waves are just one type of wave in the electromagnetic spectrum. Microwaves, X-rays, and even the light you can see with your own eyes are different types of waves in the electromagnetic spectrum. All these waves have different wavelengths, some larger than others. Radio waves have the largest wavelengths of them all. X-rays and gamma rays have the shortest wavelengths and can actually be pretty dangerous if you’re exposed to them but not properly protected! The light you see with your eye is somewhere in the middle. Radio waves are really useful to humans—we use them all the time! Radio waves are used to connect your iPad to the Internet, and to transmit TV shows, cell phone calls, and, of course, radio stations. It would certainly be hard for any town to function if we didn’t have radio waves!
Ada Lace, Take Me to Your Leader Page 3