Chapter 1 A Ricey Device Wow I say munching into a mouthful of rizz berry risotto I had no idea you were such a good cook Jessie Jessie grins Well it’s not quite as good as your boodle berry noodle cake but I did my best 1
It’s a mega-treat to be sitting in Jessie’s workshop having a home-cooked meal again It doesn’t happen very often Most mealtimes I eat packets of dried zing-beans and self-cooking curries in the old packing case I live in with my faithful beagle-bot Oscar They’re all I can normally afford Tonight though my best pal Jessie has made me a delicious dinner packed full of real rizz-berries unlike the rehydrated ones I’ve been eating from packets for the last two years So I ask Jessie how was your day Did you find any mysterious old objects for us to investigate Funny you should ask she says The rice in the risotto just reminded me of something I found a few hours ago I’d like you to have a look at it 2
I hope it’s something edible Sorry Max it’s definitely not dessert Jessie gets up and disappears into the storage room at the back of the workshop I hear her clattering around for a minute or two and then she jogs back to the table with a tiny metal box in her hands I found this in a box of junk marked Space Travel It must have been a mistake There’s nothing spacey about it at all It looks a lot like something we just ate Jessie hands me the little box and I flip its lid open Inside on a little red cushion is a tiny shiny device that looks like a very well-polished grain of rice 3
Wow I say I’ve never seen anything like it I roll it over with a fingernail and see that its other side seems to be made of some kind of glass Through the glass I can see something that looks like a tiny microchip from an old computer Any thoughts about what it could be asks Jessie My guess is hmmm a very well-preserved bunny-bot dropping 4
