NO ORDINARY ROOM by Bill Williams Read Free Book Online Page B

Jamie put the telephone down and was on his way to the computer room when his mum spoke to him.  ‘That was quick.  I thought Uncle Steve wanted your help?’
    ‘It was about the call I made to him today.  You know it was about the family tree.’
    ‘Oh, that geology stuff,’ Debbie said and had forgotten the proper name again.
    ‘Mum, have we got our own tree?’ asked Leanne.
    Jamie shook his head and muttered something about dopey females and was about to run upstairs, eager to get on his computer, when his mum called him back and insisted that he helped his sister with her homework. 
     
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     Jamie glanced at the clock on the bedside table.  It was just after midnight and the rest of the family would be sound asleep by now, or at least he hoped they were.  When they had finished supper the previous evening his pleas to be allowed back in the computer room had been turned down.  Jamie hadn’t been able to sleep and decided to negotiate the creaking floor boards on the landing and climb the stairs to the attic and the computer room.
    He slowly opened his bedroom door and winced as the noise from the hinges seemed amplified ten times over.  He halted on the landing when he heard the rasping noise coming from his parent’s bedroom.  At least his dad’s snoring helped mask the noise from the creaking floorboards, but he still breathed a sigh of relief as he carefully closed the door of the computer room.
    Jamie pressed the on switch of the machine that he was expecting would soon be working.  With luck, Uncle Steve had given him the correct bit of information.  He had told Jamie that his Great Granddad wasn’t John Edward George and his middle name was actually Edwin and not Edward. 
    Jamie was nervous as he checked the answers over and over, knowing that this was his last chance of being able to use the computer in its present state.  The original warning message had stated that he had forty eight hours to come with the answers and had not mentioned that he would only be allowed a limited number of attempts.  He pressed the enter key and closed his eyes, but opened them when he heard the loud applause and cheering from the speakers, but it only lasted a few seconds.  The cheering had reminded him of his times on the Kop at, Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC and was followed by a flashing ‘ Congratulations Jamie’ message on the screen.
    Jamie punched the air with delight and was amused by the welcome.  Uncle Stanley really did have a sense of humour.
       
    ‘Huh huh, what’s this,’ Jamie said as another message flashed up:
      My Solemn Promise
             
    I, Jamie Tranter, promise not to:
    Divulge the specification of this computer to anyone.
    Let anyone use this computer unless I am present.
    Reveal details of any communications that I have with a secret source.
     ‘You’ve got a deal Uncle Stanley,’ Jamie said as he placed the cursor over the ‘I Promise’ box and pressed the enter key.
    Jamie couldn’t quite understand why Uncle Stanley had wanted all this secrecy, but now that he would be able to use the PC he didn’t mind all the hassle.  He had even enjoyed it in a funny sort of way.  Uncle Stanley had got him interested in his family history and he intended to research the family, but that could wait.
    The odd thing that Jamie had first noticed about the computer display was that it was round and much bigger than anything he had ever seen and more like a radar screen, but the quality of the images on the screen were stunning.  The menu on the screen listed the usual things like WORD and SPREADSHEET and there was even a GAMES folder, but the one that he clicked on first was SYSTEM. 
    Jamie read the system details on the screen and then laughed out in disbelief.  He knew that his PC was no ordinary machine, but these figures had to be Uncle Stanley having a bit of fun.  The CPU was listed at 1000,000 Ghz which would have made it more powerful