Max Booth, Future Sleuth: Map Trap

Max Booth, Future Sleuth: Map Trap — page 5 — a world of your own with digital blocks Other people can join you online helping you build your houses and roads It all seems incredibly old-fashioned compared to the 5D games we play these days but I can see why people liked it so much all those years ago I’m just about to put the final tile on top of a hospital I’ve been building when the call comes through Oscar’s back panel pops open and the name Jessie flashes across his screen I reach down and grab the phone goggles from inside the panel Hi Jessie I say sliding the goggles over my eyes What’s going on back there Back there means back at the Bluggsville City Museum Storeroom where Oscar and I have 3

Max Booth, Future Sleuth: Map Trap — page 6 — secretly lived since we escaped the Skyburb 7 Home for Unclaimed Urchins just over two years ago Jessie manages the storeroom and lets us live in the middle of it in an old wooden packing case It works out well for all of us Oscar and I have a place to sleep and Jessie has two of the most devoted helpers she could ever find Whenever she can’t identify an ancient object for the Museum we help her out And without meaning to brag or anything we’re quite good at it She even pays us a few dollars when we’re successful I’ve got something pretty special today she says I think you’d better come straight in and take a look 4

Max Booth, Future Sleuth: Map Trap — page 7 — We always get a bit excited when Jessie says something like that It usually means she’s found something incredible like a prehistoric pencil sharpener or an ancient apple peeler Sometimes it’s even something electronic a big specialty of ours Can’t you just show us through the goggles I ask Why ruin the surprise she laughs You’ll love it I promise Even though we still have 110 of credit left on the game I take my phone goggles off and hand them back to Oscar Five minutes later we’re darting into the dark alley we use to get into Jessie’s storeroom We 5

Max Booth, Future Sleuth: Map Trap — page 8 — take a quick look back to make sure no one’s seen us go in and hurry toward the far end of the alley Just on our right there’s a little ventilation grate at ground level I shake it loose and pass Oscar through to the other side I hear him sliding down the metal pipe we’ve set up inside and bouncing onto the mattress at the bottom I climb in close the grate behind me and slide down after him We both jump up and dust ourselves off It takes a lot of effort to un-dust ourselves in such a huge dusty storeroom From here I can see our packing case and the endless mountains of mysterious old items lying around waiting to be identified and categorized At the far end of the 6

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