space-ship_0004.gif (80534 ¦r节)  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.

024.gif (16279 bytes)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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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"

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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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