Hellooo, you! cried his father, hugging him. How are you doing?
Fine!
So, I hear were being sent somewhere, but no one wants to say exactly where that somewhere is. What did we do to deserve that, I wonder?
Ha ha, very funny. Its a restricted facility called T8. But it doesnt exist on any mapsI checked!
Did you now? Well, dont you worry yourself, Im sure they know how to find it. He winked. And anyway, a few days off from school is never a bad thing, right? Are you all set?
Arthur nodded and pointed to the bulging backpack at the foot of the bed and grinned.
Your mum packed that, did she? I bet theres enough food in there to keep you going for weeks.
And youll thank me later for it, she replied, appearing out of the kitchen. Ive heard enough stories about the standard of army food.
But Mum, I dont think were going to an army base.
Maybe, but as General Hammond here refuses to say anything much about where you are actually going, it cant hurt to be prepared, can it?
Oh I dont think you need worry, grinned the general. You can be sure that well take good care of them. And, speaking of which, Ive just been informed that our plane is already waiting for us on the tarmac, so I suggest that we get our skates on.
What, right now?! asked Arthur, panicking that he was about to forget something important.
Arthur, come on, called his mother when he suddenly darted into his room and didnt reappear again. Everyones getting ready.
Yes, yes, Im coming, he called back. What is it that Im forgetting? He wondered, looking about his room. But there was nothing that stood out.
Ah ha! Of course! he exclaimed as the cat happened to wander in at that exact moment and meow at him. Catits you!
Hurriedly removing the sandwiches and other provisions his mother had packed for him, he laid the pack on the floor in front of him.
What? Dont look at me like that. I know you understand why the generals here.
The cat meowed.
Yeah, yeah, come on, quickly, he whispered, pushing it closer to him.
Meowing again, the cat got in.
Okay, now whatever you do, remember to stay quiet and stay hidden, got it?
Arthur! called out his mother, again. Come on, whatever are you doing there? Were all waiting.
Im coming, Im coming! he shouted and heaved the backpack onto his shoulders.
Although it was understood that they werent going to be gone for long, he still felt bad about saying goodbye to his mum. She was looking tearful again.
Now just do as youre told and dont get up to any mischief, said Sasha, shaking Arthurs hand.
I will.
And please call us when you get there, said his mother.
Of course. Dont worry, hell be fine, replied his father, patting Arthur on the head.
And with a wave, they turned and followed the general to the lift.
Outside, three large, blacked out SUVs were parked in a line near the entrance. As they emerged, men dressed in black uniforms got out and stood between them and a small crowd of onlookers that had gathered to see what was happening. Recognising several of his neighbours, Arthur couldnt help but wonder what they must be thinking, seeing him coming out with the general.
Quite the little show were putting on for everyone, eh? said his father, putting his things into the boot. Theres plenty of room in here, you know, he added, looking puzzled as to why Arthur was still clutching his pack.
Yeah, I know, but I might need something.
You cant be hungry already, surely. Your mum said you just ate before I arrived.
Yeah, I did, but not much.
Fine. Suit yourself. He smiled and opened the door for him.
Getting in, Arthur gazed up at the windows of his flat, which all faced that side. He could see his mum peering out, holding his sister. They both waved.
Itll all be okay, said his father softly, as Arthur turned to watch them out the back window. Sometimes life throws us curve balls and forces us to do things we dont necessarily want to. Just try to think of it as a little adventurenothing more, nothing less.
6
T8
An unmarked jet had been waiting for them at a small airfield just outside of London. Flanked by two more SUVs, similar to the ones in their convey, the plane had, the moment they were all on board, immediately taxied out to the runway and taken off.
Attempting to work out where they might be going, Arthur had tried to keep track of their route by searching for familiar landmarks on the ground. But no sooner had the aircraft climbed through several large banks of cloud than hed completely lost his bearings. What he didnt fail to spot, though, was that after less than an hour in the air, they were no longer flying over land! The words of the blogger had immediately rung in his ears.
And so it was that for the next seven and a half hours their course continued to take them out over open water, finally hitting land again a little after nine oclock UK time. By now Arthur had worked out with some certainty that wherever it was they were going, it was most definitely in the northwestern hemisphere, because had they been flying east, then it would already have been dark outside. Nose pressed up against the window, hed watched as a landscape of forests and mountains unfolded in front of them, stretching away to the horizon. In places, it was already buried under blankets of early winter snows.
In between dozing and covertly checking on the cat, who didnt seem to be having any trouble sleeping the whole way, Arthur had spent quite a large portion of the flight seriously regretting having allowed his mum to talk him out of taking his mobile phone with him. Not only did it have all his games on it, but all his music, too.
If you leave it there, then youll probably never get it back. And dont think for a minute that well be buying you another one any time soon if you do. In any case, your father will have his, and a few days away from those games of yours wont do you any harm, either, had been the speech.
As a result, hed been forced to listen to hours of the general and his father discussing world affairs, all of which seemed to be so far removed from his own life that the only interesting moment had been when his father had attempted to badger him into finally telling them where they were going. The general, though, had smiled apologetically and said that it was top secret.
And so, it wasnt until the plane had finally begun its descent that Arthur got his first chance to learn something about it. Resembling a kind of town, it was much bigger than hed been expecting and dominated by several very large buildings, which were themselves flanked by tall tower-like structures. Linked together by networks of over-ground walkways, the whole base, from what he could make out, appeared to have been constructed around a central glass dome. Trying to take in as much of it as he could, he barely noticed that they had landed.
So, here we are then. Welcome to T8, said the general, as the minivan which had been waiting for them on the tarmac came to a stop inside a hangar. Two soldiers ran up and snapped to attention as he got out.
Sir, everything in order, Sir, said one of them.
The general nodded.
Stuffed full of racks and containers, the hangar had all manner of vehicles parked along its edges, including, to Arthurs surprise, several light tanks. A door clanged shut at the far end, and a small group hurried over.
Ah, Maria Nikolaevna. A pleasure to see you again, smiled the general to the lady dressed in a grey flight suit and cap. Arthur, Maria is going to be your guide and assistant during your stay here. So, if you need anything at all, shell be the person to ask.
Hello, Arthur, I am very glad to meet you, she said, shaking his hand.
And here beside her we have Dr Rubenstein, our head of development here at the facility. You will be working with him on all things concerning the box from this point onwards.
The elderly, slightly blading man, who was wearing a white technicians coat with its top pockets crammed full of coloured pens, held out a hand for him to shake. Nice to meet you, young man. Tomorrow will be an exciting day, Im sure.
Smiling shyly, Arthur shot a glance at the girl standing behind them. Wearing jeans and a hooded sweater, she had long brown hair and was, he guessed, about his own age.
And finally, said the general, Id like to introduce you to my daughter, Sky.
For an awkward moment the two of them stared at each other, neither one quite sure what to do next.
Hey! said the girl, the first to react, stretching out a hand.
Hi! he replied, shaking it.
I thought that while youre here with us that it might be good for you to have someone your own age to talk to. My daughter lives with me at the facility, and Im sure she gets tired of hanging around with old dogs like me all day.
Oh, youre not such a bad old dog, Papa.
Yes, well, we wouldnt want that becoming general knowledge now, would we? He winked. So then, now that weve all been introduced, I will leave you both in Marias very capable hands and give you a chance to rest up before tomorrow. Dr Rubenstein, if you would be so kind as to accompany me, I have a few things which I need to go through with you.
Certainly, General, replied the doctor.
Follow me, please, said Maria, and led Arthur and his father out of the hangar, through a security checkpoint, and into a brightly-lit warren of stairs and ultra-clean corridors. Technicians in white coats like the doctor had been wearing hurried to and fro, barely paying any attention to them.
Green is for Propulsion Systems, she said, noticing that they were staring at a coloured sign-board at the end of one of the corridors. Red is for Astrophysics, blue is for Biomechanics, and so on. Its confusing for everyone at first, so dont worry too much if it feels a bit intimidating.
Yes, its quite the labyrinth you have here, commented his father.
Oh, you have no idea. And this is only what you can see above ground.
Is that right? I wonder what goes on down there then.
I honestly couldnt tell you, she said, smiling at him. That informations way above my pay grade.
Taking them up several flights of stairs, she led them down a side corridor and stopped in front of a glass door. Pressing a key card against a sensor, it swished open to reveal a plain but cosy looking entrance hall.
Arthur, this is going to be your room over here, she said, indicating one of three closed doors. And Craig, yours is that one there. Opening a third set of doors, she stepped aside to allow them to get a look inside. Consisting of a kitchen and table at one end, and sofa, TV, and soft chairs at the other, it was a simple but comfortable living area. As you can see, pretty much everything you could need, so make yourself at home and feel free to help yourself if you get hungry. Provisions have already been prepared for your arrival, and youll find them in the refrigerator Also, theres a telephone you can use, as your mobile phones, if you have them, wont work here. Just press the red button on it if you need to get in contact with me for any reason.
Red button, repeated his father. Got it.
Now, I hope youll understand that, given the nature of this facility, you will not be permitted to leave these rooms without an escort. I apologise if that sounds a little draconian but its for your own safety as much as anything.
And telling them that she would return at 9am the following morning, she wished them a good evening and left.
Right, well, here we are then, said his father after the door had shut behind her. Why dont we go and get ourselves sorted out and then meet in that living area in a bit? I dont know about you, but Im getting kind of hungry.
Agreeing, Arthur opened the door to his room. Small and lightly furnished, it had a built-in wardrobe on one side and a double bed and side tables on the other. A window at the far end looked out directly onto a concrete wall opposite. Dropping his pack on the floor, he flopped heavily on to the bed.
Ouch! Hey watch it, will you! Im not a sack of flower, you know.
Oh my God, sorry, he replied, rolling over and unfastening the top of it to let the cat out.
Go on, admit it, you forgot I was in there, didnt you? meowed the cat, jumping out and stretching himself.
Well no, not really. Anyway, I said I was sorry, what more do you wa Woah! Catwere back! he cried. We can talk! And it has to be because were close to the box again, doesnt it? What do you think?
What do I think!? I think that first thing tomorrow morning you need to get yourself over to wherever it is that theyre keeping it, and offer to buy it off of them! And dont take no for an answer, either! It cant cost much its only small. And if they ask why you want it, youll just have to explain to them that youre not very useful without it.
Me? Nice one, Cat. But I seriously doubt that the box is for sale. Theres no way theyve gone to all this trouble to simply let us take it away again. Ah! Which reminds me, youre going to need to remember to stay out of sight from now on. No one knows youre here, and we should probably keep it that way. I cant imagine what theyll do if they discover I brought you with me.
The cat, whod just started cleaning a paw, glanced up at him.
So, why did you bring me?
What do you mean, why did I bring you? I told you. It was a feeling, like you needed to be here.
What do you mean you told me?
When we were in my room. When we were all about to leave. I told you that you needed to come, too.
And what, you thought that I somehow magically understood you?
Well, I dont know yeah, I guess. Whyd you get into my backpack, then, if you didnt?
Because I saw you were going somewhere with that general and wanted in on the action.
Arthur gazed at him and then shrugged.
Fair enough, I suppose, he said, getting up. Well, now youre in on it, just stay quiet and hidden, ok?
So, first impressions of the T8 facility? said his father, as Arthur joined him in the living area. He had just finished warming up the rice and fish that had been left for them, in the microwave. Mmm, yum tastes pretty good actually. Here, this ones yours.
Taking the plate he was offered, Arthur sat down at the little square table, which his father had already laid.
I dont know. Pretty cool, I guess. Its much bigger than I thought it would be.
You can say that again. Did you get a look at those towers on our way in? I reckon they must be where they assemble rockets and such like. You know, ever since I was your age, Ive always wanted to see a real space rocket.
Do you reckon theyll let us see one?
Maybe. Who knows. I dont see why not. Anyway, no harm in asking, is there? Its the least they can do, all things considered.
7
The Experiment
Hey, come on, rise and shine already! meowed the cat. You dont seriously think that you can hide under those sheets forever, do you?
Ugh I do actually Now go away.
Nope, not gonna happen. Come on, up, up, up.
Arthur groaned and opened his eyes.
Thats it, a bit more Almost there
Cat, zip it, huh? Its way too early.
Fine, but first lets see how well you can sleep when youre starving, now cmon, look lively.
Oh blast! I forgot to pack your biscuits, didnt I?
You did indeed! Lucky for you though, us cats are extremely versatile in these sorts of situations. So, if you could be so kind as to tot off to the kitchen and bring me back something tasty, Id be ever so much obliged.
Tasty? repeated Arthur, sitting up. Like what?
I dont know. Like anything really. Well actually, anything except sausages.
Sausages?
Yep. Terrible things, sausages.
Really? When have you ever been given them to eat?
Well, never. But as none of you are any good at clearing away after yourselves, youd be amazed at what Ive tried over the years.