The Adventure
to Mercury
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Artist:
Sharon
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Content
Introduction
Chapter
1 Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter
4 Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter
7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter
10
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This story is about four students
went to the adventure to Mercury.. They needed to get the representative thing
in Mercury. After they finished the task, they could go back to the earth.
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Neville
--- He becomes a good friend of Raymond in the adventure. They always help
each other. He is clever
and handsome.
Thomas
--- He is clever but proud. He thinks himself is the best among the four
of them. But in fact Raymond is the
best one. He is jealous of Raymond. So he hates
Raymond very much.
Raymond
--- He is keen on everything about the space and universe. He is brave,
helpful and smart.
Catherine
--- She is one of the participants to the adventure. She loves everything
that is exciting. But she always
panics when there is any unexpected things
happen. She will cry easily.
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Back
Chapter
One
In Raymond¡¦s room,
everything was related to the universe. He liked to study all things about the
universe. He made models of the universe, the Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
¡§Raymond, don¡¦t
lock yourself inside the room all the time! I have told you many times that the
Universe won¡¦t make your exam result well. Get out of the room! Dinner is
ready!¡¨ said Raymond¡¦s mother.
Raymond¡¦s
academic result was always in the first place. But since he had read the
information about the universe in the Science fictions, he felt very interested
in it. He borrowed books about the Universe from the library. He was thinking
about the Universe all the time. As a result, his academic result became poorer
and poorer. His mother always scolded him.
¡§Raymond Chan,
please answer question number three,¡¨ said the teacher. Raymond wasn¡¦t listening
to the teacher. He was thinking how Saturn looked like. He had no sense of
answering the question. ¡§Raymond, the teacher is calling you!¡¨ whispered the boy
sitting next to Raymond. ¡§Raymond Chan, you always don¡¦t pay attention in
lessons. I think I need to meet your parents and tell them about your behavior
in school.¡¨ said the teacher angrily. ¡§I am sorry, Mr. Wong. I¡K¡¨
After the meeting
with Raymond¡¦s teacher, his parents felt very shame of Raymond. They always told
him that he was a fool, his interest on the Universe would waste his time, and
when he grows up, he could not earn any money from it. Raymond thought that his
parents didn¡¦t love him. His parents would only love him when he becomes
successful. He wanted to do something to show his parents that he is a
successful person. He wanted his parents to love him.
One day, he went to
an exhibition about the Universe. There was a promoting activity called ¡§An
adventure to Mercury¡¨. This attracted Raymond¡¦s attention very much. He went to
the information centre and got a pamphlet about that adventure. The adventure
was free of charge. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
sponsored it. ¡§This is a good chance to show Dad and Mum that I am not a fool!¡¨
Raymond thought.
There would be only
four participants in the adventure. People who wanted to join would have to take
two selection tests. The four candidates who got the highest mark in the
selection tests would be the participants of the adventure.
Raymond got and
signed the application form at once.
Back
Chapter
Two
¡§Raymond, you have
got a letter!¡¨ said his mum. Raymond got the letter; it was a letter from NASA:
Dear Mr. Chan,
You had joined
the selection tests of the adventure to Mercury last month. Your results are the
highest among all candidates. So you are one of the participants to the
adventure to the planets. The adventure will finish until the four participants
have finished collecting the representative things. The participants need to
arrive to the NASA headquarters on 10th July. The organization of the
adventure will be responsible for taking the participants to USA.
Raymond
was shocked.
¡§Whose the letter
from?¡¨ asked Raymond¡¦s parents. Raymond giggled.¡§ A pen pal from USA. He asked
me to visit him in the coming summer holiday.¡¨ He told a lie. "No way! How can
you stay in USA alone? I won't let you! " Mrs. Chan got the letter immediately.
" What? Adventure to Mercury? You said that it's your pen pal! Raymond, you lied
to me?" " I¡KI know that if I ask you and Dad, you must not let me go!" "Yeah,
that's right, we won't let you go,¡¨ shouted Raymond's father. He took Raymond's
letter away and tore it. ¡§Never! ¡¨ he shouted.
Raymond was looking
at the calendar. Tomorrow would be the 10th July, he must escape. If
not, he couldn't join the adventure. Therefore he wrote a letter to his dad and
mum.
Dear Dad and
Mum,
I am so sorry that I ran away. But the adventure is really
interesting; it's free of charge! Anyway, you two don't love me at all, even I
die¡KI will come back before the school starts.
Take care,
Raymond.
Raymond got up at four o'clock in the morning. He packed up quietly and put the
letter on the dinning table. He opened the door, glanced backward in his room
and closed the door quietly.
Back
Chapter
three
Raymond reached
the airport. He joined with the other participants and went to check in. There
were three other participants, two boys and one girl.
"Hi, I am Neville.
Nice to meet you." " Nice to meet you too. I am Raymond." Neville was fifteen,
the same as Raymond. The girl came forward to both of them. "Hello, I am
Catherine." "Hi, this is Raymond, and I am Neville. Nice to meet you" replied
Neville. " Do you reckon that boy? He is so strange. I went forward to talk to
him but he ignored me,¡¨ said Catherine. Neville and Raymond glanced at that boy
together. That boy saw them and came forward. "You must be Raymond Chan then,
the highest mark candidate in the selection tests?" said that boy. "Nice to meet
you. I am Thomas. I will show you that I am the keenest participant among us,
not YOU." "Okay then, let's see" said Raymond.
They went on the
aeroplane. Raymond, Neville and Catherine sat together. " That Thomas boy is so
proud! I don't think he can beat you anyway, Raymond." Said Catherine.
Many hours later,
they reached Washington DC. All of them felt very excited. After they got off
the plane, the staff of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration came.
They got them on the bus and brought them to the NASA Headquarter.
Back
Chapter
four
A man came out and
took them into a conference room.
"Nice to meet you
all. I am James Bagman, the administrator of NASA. I will be responsible for
teaching you how to survive in the space and how to use the tools." Said Mr.
Bagman. "The training will be lasted for one week. You all are going to live in
the boarding house of NASA. You have to wake up at six o'clock in the morning
everyday. After breakfast, we will start our training at seven o'clock. You will
have lunch at twelve, dinner at six and you have to sleep at ten." "Oh, we have
to get up at six o'clock in the morning! " whispered Neville.
One week had
passed. They all felt very tired. They had learnt many things about the space,
how to survive in space and how to wear and made use of the life support system
attached to the back of the spacesuit, etc. On the other hand, they also felt
very excited because they were going to travel to the space tomorrow. Raymond
couldn't sleep until two o'clock in the morning!
They got up at six
o'clock as usual. Then they went to find Mr. Bagman to get the spacesuits and
everything. Raymond, Neville and Catherine were still always together. And they
didn't talk to Thomas for the second time since they got of from the aeroplane.
When they had prepared for everything, Thomas came forward to Raymond and said,
"Let's compete. The one who is faster to collect the representative things of
Mercury will be the winner. Tell you something, I MUST WIN, scared?" "You wish!"
replied Raymond calmly.
The spaceship was
about to take off. Raymond's heart was beating faster then ever. "Five, four,
three, two, one¡K"
Back
Chapter Five
After the long
journey, they had reached to Mercury. When they got off the rocket, the only
thing they could see was water. The land they were standing on was the only dry
land that was above the water.
¡§Hey, remember to
eat the Breathing Gum before we dive into the water!¡¨ Catherine reminded Raymond
and Neville. The Breathing Gum could help them to breath under water. Each
Breathing Gum could be lasted for 24 hours.
The four of them
needed to get the ¡§Crystal of Mercury¡¨ in order to finish the task. But they
didn¡¦t know where ¡§Crystal of Mercury¡¨ was. So they had to start their Adventure
to Mercury.
¡§Three, two, one!¡¨
Raymond shouted and three of them jumped down into the water. Thomas was still
standing there, watching them. The three of them swam and swam. They saw many
circles moving at the bottom of the water. There were also something in shapes
of triangle, rectangle and square. But they didn¡¦t know what those things were.
¡§Do you think those rectangles are the
top of buildings?¡¨ Neville asked. But what came out from his mouth were just
some bubbles. He had forgotten to put on his Swimmer-talky. ¡§Put on your
Swimmer-talky!¡¨ said Catherine. Then Neville repeated what he had said before.¡§
They might be, but I can¡¦t see them clearly.¡¨ Said Raymond.
Catherine took out a digital compass,
which is waterproof and said ¡§ We still need to swim toward the South for 200
meters, then we will reach the bottom of the water.¡¨
As they swam nearer and nearer to the
bottom, they could see those circlular things more clearly. ¡§They are¡KMercurian!
¡¨ The three of them shouted together fiercely. Beside
the Mercurian, there were many two-floors buildings in shapes of triangle and
rectangle. But the buildings looked so strange, they were not ordinary
buildings. Raymond took out a waterproof Digital Microcamera and took a photo of
those Mercurian and those strange buildings. ¡§Sh¡Kmind being discovered by them!
They might eat us! We¡¦d better hide behind that large rectangular thing. ¡¨
Catherine whispered through the Swimmer-talky. They turned left toward that
rectangular thing.
¡§Let¡¦s see what we will have to do
next.¡¨ said Raymond. He took out his Microcamera and connected it to the
Microcomputer. Neville and Catherine set beside him and watched. Raymond
enlarged the photo of the Mercurian. That¡¥s a Mercurian¡Xwith a big blue head, a
pair of watery eyes, and a triangular body with something written on it, two
short hands and two short legs. He zoomed to the Mercurian¡¦s body. ¡§Look, J17,
why are there numbers on its body?¡¨ Neville pointed his finger to the screen of
the Microcomputer. ¡§Every Mercurian has some numbers written on their bodies.
See, this one is E02 and that one is K04.¡¨ Catherine said.
¡§Oh, the red
lights of the detectors are beaming, someone is coming, and we have to hide!¡¨
Neville said. ¡§There¡¦s a door, let¡¦s hide inside.¡¨ Said Raymond, pointing at the
large rectangular thing they were hiding behind. So, they hid inside the
rectangular thing, which was like a wardrobe. The red lights were beaming faster
and faster, this meant someone was coming nearer and nearer. Three of them kept
as quiet as ever. Raymond took out his See-through-scope, which could see
through everything. ¡§That¡¦s Thomas! But I couldn¡¦t see his detector beaming,
maybe he has forgotten to turn it on, haha¡K¡¨ he whispered to Neville and
Catherine. The three of them laughed together quietly. Until the red lights
beamed slower and slower, the three of them came out from the ¡§wardrobe¡¨. ¡§I
wonder where Thomas will go.¡¨ Said Catherine.
Back
Chapter Six
Since that day, they started to live in
the ¡§wardrobe¡¨. They couldn¡¦t get out of the ¡§wardrobe¡¨ because they would be
too attractive. But they needed to find the Crystal of Mercury, in order to
finish the task! The first thing they should do was to make themselves looking
different from Mercurian. So, they needed to disguise themselves as Mercurian.
But how could they disguise themselves as Mercurian?
¡§I came out with an idea!¡¨ Catherine
shouted excitedly. ¡§How?¡¨ asked Neville and Raymond. Catherine started to
explain, ¡§ We can wear our helmets that were included in our spacesuit, and so
our heads will be as round as the Mercurian!¡¨ ¡§It¡¦s a good idea! We can stick
some plastic eyes on the helmet! ¡¨ Neville said. ¡§But how about our bodies? Our
bodies are still different from them.¡¨ Raymond asked. ¡§We can use this
machine--¡¥Tailoring For You¡¦. We can insert the photo of the Mercurian into this
machine, and then the computer will make a set of clothes, which is the same as
the Mercurian.¡¨ Said Catherine. So, they started to make their own ¡§Mercurian
Costume¡¨. Raymond made himself as ¡§R35¡¨, Catherine made herself as ¡§C04¡¨ and
Neville made himself as ¡§N95¡¨.
After they put on their Swimmer-talky,
they wore their helmets and ¡§Mercurian Costume¡¨. They went out from the
¡§wardrobe¡¨ and started their exploration.
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Chapter Seven
The three of them were walking on the
street. Now, they could see those two-floors strange buildings more clearly.
They were built by bubbles, or maybe those were not bubbles. Because they
wouldn¡¦t break even some Mercurian stood on them. Raymond, Catherine and Neville
went into the ground floor of a bubble building.
¡§Oh, this is just like a Supermarket!¡¨
said Neville through the Swimmer-talky. There were a few Mercurian in the
¡§Supermarket¡¨. But what they sold was different from the supermarket on the
earth. ¡§Are these¡XATOMS?¡¨ Raymond asked. ¡§One atom please,¡¨ said a Mercurian to
the sales in its high squeaky voice. ¡§ Oh, yes. They looked similar to what we
saw in the Chemistry text book!¡¨ said Neville. ¡§But why do they sell atoms?¡¨
asked Catherine. Then they looked around at the Mercurian. They were putting the
atoms into their mouths! ¡§We¡Kwe¡¦d better go!¡¨ Neville cried. They ran out of the
supermarket immediately.
They were walking at the end of the
street. There were two Mercurians at the corner of the street, fighting. ¡§Look,
both of them were T25!¡¨ said Neville. ¡§No, one of them is Thomas.¡¨ Said Raymond.
¡§He is hitting the Mercurian! He is so bad! He must be discovered, so he has to
keep the Mercurian¡¦s mouth shut, cruel boy.¡¨ said Catherine. ¡§Hey, let¡¦s save
that T25. We can run toward them, then Thomas must go away.¡¨ Raymond suggested.
So, they ran towards T25 and Thomas. Thomas saw them and thought they were
accompanies of T25. He was very frightened and he escaped quickly.
¡§Are you alright?¡¨ Raymond squeezed his
voice as high as ever, acting like a real Mercurian. ¡§You need not lie to me,¡¨
said T25. ¡§No¡Kno, what are you saying?¡¨ Raymond squeezed his voice again. ¡§I
know you guys are not real Mercurian. But don¡¦t worry. I will help you.¡¨ Said
T25. ¡§But¡Kbut how do you know?¡¨ asked Neville. ¡§Take me to a safe place first, I
will tell you later.¡¨ Said T25.
They brought T25 to their ¡§wardrobe¡¨. ¡§You people come from the earth?¡¨ asked
T25. ¡§Yes, how do you know?¡¨ said Catherine. ¡§ In fact, my name was Timothy, I
came from the earth too. 50 years ago, NASA sent me here to have an exploration.
But 10 days later, my health became weaker and weaker, and I started to lose
contact with the NASA. But I still can¡¦t find out the reason. 20 days later, I
felt extremely weak and tired. I had fainted for two days. When I woke up, I
found out myself had became a Mercurian!¡¨ said T25. Raymond, Catherine and
Neville just opened their mouth. They were too scared, they didn¡¦t want to
become a Mercurian. ¡§Today when I was walking on the street, I saw another T25.
I just wondered why, so I ran forward and ask him. But he pulled me to a corner
and hit me.¡¨ Said T25 ¡§Oh, you¡¦re so poor.¡¨ Said Catherine.
¡§How about you? Why you come to
Mercury?¡¨ asked T25.¡¨We have joined an Adventure to Mercury which is held by
NASA.¡¨ Answered Neville. ¡§Then when will you go back?¡¨ asked T25. ¡§We will go
back until we have found the Crystal of Mercury. Have you ever heard about the
Crystal of Mercury?¡¨ asked Raymond. ¡§Oh, yes, I have heard about it. There is a
rumor about the Crystal of Mercury. People said that the Crystal of Mercury was
on the sceptre of the King.¡¨ Said T25. ¡§King? How come Mercury has a King?¡¨ said
Neville sceptically. ¡§So¡Kso, we will never got it.¡¨ Said Catherine hopelessly.
¡§Maybe I can help you to, I am working in the Palace of Mercury, and I am a
Royal Guard. I can help you to sneak in the palace.¡¨ Said T25. ¡§That¡¦s great.
When will we sneak in then?¡¨ Raymond asked excitedly. ¡§But¡Kbut even we can sneak
into the palace, we can¡¦t go near to the King!¡¨ said Neville worriedly.
Back
Chapter Eight
On the next day, T25 gathered with them
and brought them to the front gate. When they reached to the guards beside the
gate, the guards took out their guns, ready to shoot. Three, two, one¡KSSSSS¡Ksome
liquid spilt on their faces. ¡§Oh!¡¨ Three of them shouted together in high tone.
¡§The Palace of Mercury is not a place for playing! You better get out of here
right away!¡¨ shouted one of the guards. ¡§Shut up! You stupid guy! Thank you for
the apple juice you just split to us! We haven¡¦t drunk apple juice for a long
time! Haha¡K¡¨ said Raymond. ¡§That¡¦s impossible! Every Mercurian afraid of apple
juice, how come you¡K¡¨ Neville slapped hardly on their backs and both of them
fainted. ¡§Oh, stupid Mercurian!¡¨ said Catherine. And she took their ¡§apple
juice-gun¡¨.
Three of them and T25 continued their
way to the palace. After they walked for a long way, they reached to the second
gate. There were also two guards at that gate. Catherine and Raymond were ready
for shooting the apple juice to those two guards. When they stood in front of
the gate, one of the guards asked T25 ¡§Who are they?¡¨ ¡§They are just new
guards¡K¡¨ Catherine and Neville took out their ¡§apple juice gun¡¨ and shot. ¡§Ah!
Apple juice¡K¡¨ Both of them fainted.
They continue their way to find the
King. T25 continued to lead the way for them. They were going up a long
staircase. ¡§Oh, the red lights of the detectors are beaming! Someone is coming!
Let¡¦s hide!¡¨ Raymond said. They hided behind the wall, and they heard the
footsteps were coming nearer and nearer. The red lights were beaming faster and
faster. Catherine and Neville were ready to shoot again. When the Mercurian
walked across them, Catherine shot at it. And it fainted. Catherine looked very
proud of herself!
Back
Chapter Nine
When they reached the top of the
staircase. They saw the King. The King had no difference with the other
Mercurian. He was holding his scepter, and here¡¦s the Crystal of Mercury. It was
really beautiful. It was in blue color and it was transparent! It was as
beautiful as a diamond!
¡§Your Majesty,¡¨ said T25. ¡§What¡¦s the
matter, T25? Who are they?¡¨ said the King. ¡§Your Majesty, I am so sorry for
disturbing you. They are my friends. They want to borrow the Crystal of
Mercury.¡¨ Said T25. ¡§Your Majesty, I am Raymond. We feel so sorry to disturb
you, but we are in urgent. We want to borrow your Crystal of Mercury, please. In
fact, we are not Mercurian, we are human from the earth. It¡¦s really hot to wear
these ¡¥Mercury Costume¡¦.¡¨ Raymond took off his helmet and ¡§Mercurian Costume¡¨.
¡§Aha, you want this, little boy?¡¨ the King put his hand on his scepter. ¡§You
really want to get this? If you really want, your life will be ended like THIS!¡¨
the King pulled out a Mercurian from his back. ¡§This boy tried to steal the
Crystal of Mercury! But at last I caught him and I used the power of the Crystal
to turn him into a real Mercurian.¡¨ Shouted the King angrily. ¡§Oh, it¡¦s Thomas¡K¡¨
said Neville.
¡§Your Majesty, may I invite you to
compete with me? If I win, they you have to give me the Crystal of Mercury.
Fine?¡¨asked Raymond. ¡§Fine, I must win you, little boy! But how do we compete? ¡¨
Said the King. ¡§ Let¡¦s play Paper, Scissor and Stone. We have to use our hands
to represent each subject. Paper is like that, Scissor is like that and stone is
like that, understand?¡¨ Raymond explained the rules clearly to the King. They
will play three times. If one of them wins two times, then he will be the
winner.
¡§Ready, one, two, three.¡¨ Catherine
said. Raymond used a scissor and the King used a paper. ¡§Yeah!¡¨ Raymond shouted
happily. In the second time, Raymond used a stone, and the King used a paper
again. ¡§Little boy, I said I must win you!¡¨ the King said proudly. ¡§Let¡¦s see,
still have the last turn!¡¨ ¡§Ready, three, two, one!¡¨ ¡§YEAH!¡¨ Raymond screamed as
loudly as he could. Raymond used a scissor, and the King used paper again.
¡§Don¡¦t be happy, little boy!¡¨ said the
King. ¡§ The water in Mercury is poisonous, any human beings stay in the water
for more than 10 days, they will become very weak and DIE! Your good friend T25
became a real Mercurian because of this! Haha¡KSomeone brought him to me one day,
and he nearly died, but I used my scepter, that is the Crystal of Mercury to
save him. He should thanks me.Hahaha¡K¡¨ The King laughed cruelly. ¡§Today will be
the 10th day you stay in Mercury. So, you are all going to die!
Hahaha¡K¡¨ But the King had forgotten that his scepter had been put on the floor
when he was competing with Raymond. Raymond had already picked up the scepter
and pointed at the King.
Many pale blue lights shine to the King
and he turned to a FROG!
Back
Chapter Ten
Raymond was then became the King of
Mercury. He didn¡¦t go back to the earth because he thought his parents didn¡¦t
love him anymore. He thought he was a lot happier to stay with Catherine and
Neville.
Raymond also used the Crystal of
Mercury to save Thomas and T25, and they turned back to a human being. Not only
Thomas, Raymond used the Crystal to shine on every Mercurians. And all
Mercurians, became lovely animals!
You might ask, why didn¡¦t they die?
They had stayed in the water for more than 10 days already! At last, Raymond
melted the Crystal of Mercury into soup, and gave the soup to Neville, Catherine
and Thomas.
Of course, the lovely little frog
stayed with them for ever!
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~The End~
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