Mind Warp, page 12
At the top level, the elevator comes to a halt. I step out, make my way along the corridor to the viewing deck. The doors glide open – and my jaw drops.
The place is packed.
There are men, women and children. Modified and unmodified. Most of them I don’t know. Some of them I do. Travis, Dextra and Cronos. Lina and Dek – and the small, furry critter sitting on his shoulder, that suddenly lets out a high-pitched screech and comes scampering towards me.
‘Caliph!’ I’m grinning from ear to ear as he scampers up my arm, crouches down on my shoulder and starts licking my ear.
‘Greetwell, York.’
I look round to see that, in the midst of the great crowd of people, are two mind-tombs. The glowing faces of the Half-Lifes within them are smiling warmly.
‘Bronx,’ I say. ‘Atherton.’
‘I’m glad you could join us, York,’ Bronx tells me. ‘You need to see this.’
People are smiling at me, congratulating me, patting me on the back. Above us, the tinted visiglass is fading to reveal the view outside the Biosphere.
When I was last here, I also looked out. It was the first time I’d ever seen anything beyond the Biosphere. Asteroids. Planets. Suns. A meteor storm. Entire constellations of stars passing us as we hurtled through space. Now a different scene greets me . . .
A planet.
It’s blue and green, with oceans of water and vast continents. There are two large white patches, one at either side of the great sphere, which I guess must be polar ice, and ribbons of white cloud that swirl over parts of the surface. Half of the planet is in darkness, and when I crane my neck I see, far to my right, the yellow sun that this world is orbiting.
Dek turns to me and grins. Lina gives me a hug and Travis slaps me on the back. Caliph purrs in my ear.
I look at the planet, tears welling in my eyes. Tears of happiness. We’ve travelled halfway across the universe to find it. Now that search is over.
And me? I’ve been a scavenger all my life. With humans and robots working together once more, that life is over. But a new one is about to start.
‘You did it, York.’
I turn to see Belle standing at my side. Not only has she been repaired, but she looks better than ever.
‘We did it,’ I tell her. ‘You and me, Belle, together.’
The Beginning
A SPACESHIP THE SIZE OF A CONTINENT DRIFTS THROUGH SPACE ON ITS JOURNEY TO FIND A NEW EARTH.
Originally created to serve the human passengers, the high-tech robots on-board the spaceship rebelled and became powerful zoids, wiping out most of the crew. Now the few remaining humans are hunted like vermin and hiding in the dark.
But one scavenger refuses to hide. Instead York spends his days tracking down zoids and destroying them. But the zoids are becoming more dangerous by the day. And now the fate of his people is in York’s hands . . .
WHEN A MASSIVE SPACESHIP SET OUT ON A MISSION TO FIND NEW EARTH, THE ROBOTS ON-BOARD REBELLED. NOW ONLY A FEW HUMANS REMAIN, HUNTED AND AFRAID . . .
But York is not afraid. He is a scavenger on a mission – a mission to fight back. In a world of tropical rainforests and a huge ocean aquarium, where the people, plants and animals are mutating in strange and disturbing ways, nothing and no one are ever as they seem.
With the fate of his people in his hands and the world in chaos, who can York trust?
Paul Stewart is a highly regarded and award-winning author of books for young readers – everything from picture books to football stories, fantasy, sci-fi and horror. His first book was published in 1988 and he has since had over fifty titles published.
Chris Riddell (Children’s Laureate 2015-2017) is an accomplished artist and political cartoonist for the Observer. His books have won many awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal, the Nestlé Children’s Book Prize and the Red House Children’s Book Award. Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse won the Costa Children’s Book Award in 2013.
Paul and Chris first met at their sons’ nursery school and decided to work together (they can’t remember why!). Since then their books have included the Blobheads series, The Edge Chronicles, the Muddle Earth books and Far-Flung Adventures, which include Fergus Crane, Gold Smarties Prize Winner, Corby Flood and Hugo Pepper, both Silver Nestlé Prize Winners.
Also by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
MUDDLE EARTH
MUDDLE EARTH TOO
THE EDGE CHRONICLES
FAR-FLUNG ADVENTURES
BARNABY GRIMES SERIES
BUMPER BLOBHEADS
And by Chris Riddell
The Goth Girl series
GOTH GIRL AND THE GHOST OF A MOUSE
GOTH GIRL AND THE FETE WORSE THAN DEATH
GOTH GIRL AND THE WUTHERING FRIGHT
The Ottoline series
OTTOLINE AND THE YELLOW CAT
OTTOLINE GOES TO SCHOOL
OTTOLINE AT SEA
OTTOLINE AND THE PURPLE FOX
First published 2016 by Macmillan Children’s Books
This electronic edition published 2016 by Macmillan Children’s Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-4472-3446-3
Text and illustrations copyright © Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell 2016
The right of Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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Paul Stewart, Mind Warp
