The Alien by K. A. Applegate Read Free Book Online Page A

upward. “That’s a Big Wheel.”
    â€œIt is very attractive. Very colorful.”
    â€œUh-huh. I’d love to tell you how it works, but it’s the very height of human technology, so it’s secret. Primitive races could get hold of Big Wheels, and then who knows what might happen?”
    I am still learning about human mouth-sounds. But I am very sure Marco’s sound was sarcasm.
    â€œThere’s my house. My dad is home, working. He sprained his ankle, so he’s using his home computer. Don’t be weird, okay?”
    â€œNo. I will not be weird. Weeeerd. Weeeeerduh. I will act like a normal human.”
    â€œYou act like a normal human and you’ll win an Oscar,” Marco said. He led the way up to his house and opened the door. “Okay, look, you wait right there by that table. Don’t go anywhere. If my dad comes in and talks to you, just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ Got it? Yes and no answers only. I’ll run up to my room. I’m gonna call one of the others to meet us at the bookstore. You’re already driving me nuts.”
    I stood by the table. There was a primitive computer on the table. It even had a solid, two-dimensional screen. And a keyboard! An actual keyboard.
    I touched the keyboard. It was amazing. Andalite computers once had keyboards, too. Although ours were very different. And it had been centuries since we’d used them.
    On the screen of the computer was a game. The object of the game was to spot the errors in a primitive symbolic language and correct them. Of course, before I could play I had to make sense of the system. But that was simple enough.
    Once I understood the system, it was easy to spot the errors. I quickly rewrote it to make sense out of it.
     I said to myself.
    â€œHello?”
    I turned around. It was an older human. He was paler than Marco, but other features were similar.
    Marco had warned me to say nothing to his father but “yes” and “no.”
    â€œNo,” I said to Marco’s father.
    â€œI’m Marco’s dad. Are you a friend of his?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWhat’s your name?”
    â€œNo,” I answered.
    â€œYour name is ‘No’?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œThat’s an unusual name, isn’t it?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œIt’s not?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œYes, it’s not an unusual name?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œNow I’m totally confused.”
    â€œYes.”
    Marco’s father stared at me. Then, in a loud voice, he yelled, “Hey, Marco? Marco? Would you . . . um . . . your friend is here. Your friend ‘No’ is here.”
    â€œNo,” I said.
    â€œYes, that’s what I said.”
    Marco came running down the stairs. “Whoa!” he cried. “Um, Dad! You met my friend?”
    â€œNo?” Marco’s father said.
    â€œWhat?” Marco asked.
    Marco’s father shook his head. “I must be getting old. I don’t understand you kids.”
    â€œYes,” I offered.
    After that, we went to the bookstore.

Books are an amazing human invention. They allow instant access to information simply by turning pieces of paper. They are much faster to use than computers. Surprisingly, humans invented books before computers. They do many things backward.
    â€” From the Earth Diary of Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill
    I t was evening of the next day. I was in the woods. I was reading a book. The book was called the
World Almanac
. Did you know that twelve percent of households have a dehumidifier? Did you know that a sheep can live for twenty years? Did you know that humans used to believe their sun orbited Earth?
    It’s a wonderful book.
    The book told me many useful things. It took humans only sixty-six years to go from inventing the first flying machine to landing on the moon. It took Andalites almost three times as long.
    Humans are a very clever species. Someday, if