solar system? Iâve heard it a couple of times,â said Dr. Muldoon. âHi, Alice. Nice book. So. I have a pointy nose, have I?â
I writhed, not only because I hadnât meant to upset Dr. Muldoon, but because Iâd been hoping no one would remind Rasmus Trommler that Iâd written a book at all. I stammered, âI didnât mean it in a bad way. . . .â
Dr. Muldoon grinned. âAh, stop squirming. If I didnât like it pointy, Iâd have grown myself a new one years ago.â
âIndeed so,â said Mr. Trommler, turning to beam at her. âI love to name my ships after beautiful women. How do you think the Valerie sounds?â
Dr. Muldoon stared at him. âInappropriate,â she said.
âHa ha,â said Mr. Trommler, undismayed. âWell, my Helen loves me, at least, donât you, Helen?â
âYes, I love you so, Captain,â sighed the voice from the walls.
âWait, is the ship conscious and in love with you ?â Josephine asked, horrified.
Trommler paid no attention to this. âHelen, beautiful? Itâs time. Letâs go to the stars.â
Dr. Muldoon discreetly rolled her eyes.
âYes, Captain. Course set,â agreed the ship happily.
And then the blue haze of Earth faded behind us, and the stars blazed ahead like a snowstorm. Then they began to change color, from red to orange to yellow to green and then they slipped through violet and vanished into blackness.
The Helen of Troy quivered and strained against something, an invisible membrane. And suddenly we burst through and were spat into hyperspace.
Wispy specks of pale light filtered out of the dark, gathering into smoky threads spooling past the ship, glowing brighter and brighter until the windows filled with so much light it was dazzling.
âWhat youâre seeing is not starlight,â said Dr.Muldoon. âThatâs the background cosmic radiation of the universe. Itâs always passing through you, but only in hyperspace can you see it. Youâre looking at the aftermath of the Big Bang.â
âWow,â breathed Carl. His hands curled in front of him as if resting on invisible ship controls. I hoped Trommler had been serious about letting him fly the Helen .
âIf we were to come back into normal space now, weâd already be more than a million miles away from Earth,â Rasmus Trommler said.
âOh, thank god,â I said. Even traveling at unnaturally high speeds, that was surely much too far for anyone to send me back.
âWhat?â asked Josephine.
âIâll tell you in a minute,â I hissed.
âThese are the thoroughfares of humanityâs future,â said Rasmus Trommler grandly, standing framed in the glow of the universe, his jaw uplifted. There was a brief pause, and then we began politely applauding again. Mr. Trommler smiled and walked away.
âGet used to it,â said Dr. Muldoon when he was gone. âItâs a two-week trip.â
âHe did invent Häxeri,â said Josephine loyally.
âThatâs true,â said Dr. Muldoon. âIâd never havethought he had it in him.â
âBut heâs invented lots of things before,â said Noel.
Dr. Muldoon shook her head. âPractically every other Archangel product was invented by someone else. He just put them in pretty packages and raked in the cash. Häxeri really is his baby, though. Well, I should go too; Iâve got some tests running in the lab.â
âIâll be there later,â promised Josephine as Dr. Muldoon left.
âJo,â complained Carl. âYou donât have to.â
âI have tests running as well,â said Josephine. âBut anyway, Alice. What were you going to tell me?â
I tried to grimace at the Goldfish.
âGoldfish, we need some privacy,â said Josephine.
The Goldfish tilted doubtfully.
âItâs GIRL STUFF,â continued Josephine