Eddie, Nick and Jake were unlikely friends but they were good friends
and this is their story.
Eddie had just turned ten and today was a big day. His mum was allowing
him to walk home from school by himself for the first time.
However, before we start let me tell you a couple of things about Eddie.
First, he was smart and really loved science and secondly, he was a dreamer. It
was this unique combination which led him to be stuck in this tricky
predicament with his unlikely friends, Nick and Jake.
Feeling rather grown-up, Eddie starting walking home. He walked proudly
out the school gates and down Victoria Road. He passed the bakery and watched
the parents buying their hungry kids cheesy rolls and finger buns. He walked
past the newsagent and watched Jack’s mum yelling at him to get out and cross
the road as the man was green. He walked with a feeling of maturity, the way he
thought a teenager felt. Eddie was almost home when he walked past the park. There
were shrills of laughter from the little kids being pushed on the swings and
tears from the little boy who had just face-planted down the slide but Eddie
didn’t take too much notice – after all he was really getting a bit old for
parks. It was only when he saw, in the corner of his eye, a blue light at the
end of the park that he looked over properly. It was a bright blue haze and if he didn’t know any better, he would have said it was an energy
field, something he had only ever read about. This was a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, he had to have a look. He could hear his mum’s voice ‘Now Eddie
make sure you come straight home’ what could he do? He looked around and
spotted his neighbour also walking home. He scribbled on a piece of paper the
following
‘Mum, doing a science experiment in
the park. I will see you soon, won’t be long.
He asked his neighbour to give the note to his mum. She would
understand, he was sure.
Eddie walked closer to the blue energy
haze.
It could be plutonium, he thought with glee. Then I could feed it to my bird
Enso and see if he mutated and developed super powers, he thought. Just as
Eddie was thinking about a giant Enso flying him to school each day, a humming
noise snapped him out of it. He moved closer and studied the blue, humming haze. It looked like a tunnel that was spinning really fast. It was truly awesome! It must be a quantum
teleportation portal, he thought with the same excitement he felt going
to bed the night before Christmas. He didn’t even hesitate as he jumped
straight into the tunnel ¼ only to be spat
straight back out. Mmm, it must be
spinning
too fast for me to stay in there, he thought. He pondered for a minute and then
he knew just what he had to do. He went to find his friend Jake, knowing
exactly where he would be – in the computer lab at school.
Jake was also ten years old, and was a total computer whizz. He was so
good the computer teacher would often ask him to take the classes for her. Jake
had taught himself to read by the age of three so that he could use his mum’s
computer. By six he had written his own software and by eight he had built his
own computer from scratch. He knew
more about computers, Apps, programming and hardware than anyone Eddie knew,
and this is why he called on Jake this particular afternoon.
As expected Jake was in the computer lab explaining something to the
computer teacher. ‘Jake!’ Eddie called from the door. ‘I need you, I really, really, need
you’. Jake came over and Eddie explained about the tunnel and his theories very
softly so the computer teacher couldn’t hear. ‘I think my body might be may be
too dense to go into the tunnel so perhaps we could slow the spinning down somehow
then I might be able to get through the tunnel and then see if it is a
teleportation portal like I think it is. Do you think you could somehow slow the spinning of the
energy tunnel?’ Eddie asked. Jake
looked upwards as if his eyes were studying the way his brain was thinking.
Then, after a few seconds a big smile erupted on his face. ‘I know what to do!’
he cried. In the same breath he
yelled ‘I’ve got to go Mrs K sorry data emergency’. Jake grabbed his laptop and
ran out the door with Eddie.
On the way to the park Jake explained to Eddie what he was going to do.
‘You remember Einstein’s gravitational time dilation theory?’ ‘Of course,’ said
Eddie. ‘Well, remember how time or energy can slow when it’s closer to a
stronger gravity force?’ ‘Yes,’ said Eddie. ‘Well, I think I can write a
program that can increase the forces of gravity in this exact spot, then hopefully
we should be able to slow down the energy source, which would slow down the
tunnel,’ Jake said rather proudly. Eddie began to smile, ‘don’t get excited yet’ said Jake. ‘I
will only be able to do this for a very short period of time, so you will have
to be really, really fast, Eddie’ he said. ‘I can be fast’ said Eddie. Jake didn’t look so
convinced. Unlike Eddie, Jake was not a dreamer and was very practical. He
thought for a moment and then said ‘Eddie have you wondered what may be inside
the tunnel or even on the other side?’ Eddie laughed: ‘An adventure of course!’
It didn’t take long for Jake’s computer skills to kick in, and the
program was soon finished. ‘Eddie, it’s ready to go,’ said Jake, quickly followed
by ‘Are you sure about this?’ Eddie rolled his eyes at Jake. ‘Just tell me when
to run into the tunnel.’ ‘OK then,’ said Jake. ‘I’m going to count you in and when
I get to zero you need to run into the tunnel as fast as you can.’ Eddie gave
him the thumbs up and prepared himself just the same as he did before the last school
cross-country run. Eddie was a fantastic scientist but he was not a very fast
runner, so this was going to be an experiment in itself!
Jake typed a few final characters on his laptop then started the
countdown ‘5…4…3…2…1… and zero run,
Eddie, run’ he yelled. Eddie ran with all his might as he forced his way into
the blue energy haze. He felt as though he was
in a washing
machine being tumbled around and around. He felt weightless and
without power over his body as the energy forced him to do somersaults backwards,
sideways and forwards. He thought he could see an orange glow a metre away but
it was impossible for him to move any further down the tunnel. The force was
too strong and the spinning was getting faster and faster and the backwards
pull was too intense. The next moment he was thrown out of the tunnel and
landed on his butt. His head was spinning but he was not hurt, in fact he was
really excited.
‘Jake, that was awesome!’ he said. ‘I almost made it through but it was
just too strong for me.’ We have to try again,’ he said. ‘I can’t slow it down
for any longer’ said Jake. They both sat in silence for a minute thinking about
how to solve this dilemma. ‘We need to increase your physical power,’ said
Jake. ‘We can’t do that in 5 minutes though,’ thought Eddie out loud. ‘Ahh, but
what we could do is get something to help you, like flippers help swimmers,’
said Jake. ‘Something or someone,’ yelled Eddie. He knew just who could help
him - his friend Nick V, and he knew exactly where Nick would be: at the school
cricket nets.
Nick V loved sport and was very good at it. He spent all his time
playing sport and was the fastest and strongest person in the school. Eddie and
Jake raced back to school to find Nick at the cricket nets. ‘Nick, Nick,’ they
yelled. ‘We need you quick, come over here.’ Nick V looked up from under his
helmet and gestured to his teammates to take a break. ‘What’s up, guys?’ he
said. 
I think the question should be asked here: how do a science lover, a computer
whizz and a sports nut all end up good friends? It wasn’t as if they played together at lunchtime, Nick was
on the sportsfield, Eddie was in the science lab and Jake was in the computer
lab. No, these three boys had more in common than interests. It was the qualities
they shared. They were all kind, they were all fair, they were all loyal and
they always stood up for each other. It was these things that made them such
good friends to each other.
So naturally, when Eddie and Jake asked Nick V for help he was there
without any questions. Well, maybe
one question. ‘You want me to catapult you into a - what did you call it
again?’ Nick V asked. He thought maybe Jake had been looking at too many
computer screens and Eddie had been sniffing too many science chemicals! ‘Are
you guys feeling OK?’ he asked. ‘Let us show you, so you will see we are not
going mad,’ said Eddie, ‘but be quick.’ Eddie was realising his time would be
running out before his mum came looking for him. ‘Fast is what I do
understand!’ smiled Nick V, and with that they all ran back to the park.
‘Wow,’ said Nick V, ‘this is amazing. Where will it take you?’ ‘We’re
not sure, but there are theories that say it could take us to another time, or
to another universe, we don’t really know,’ said Eddie. ‘Awesome,’ said Nick V.
Jake frowned. ‘I still think the
risk is too high - how will you get back?’ ‘Let’s figure that out when I get
there, wherever “there” is,’ said Eddie. Jake explained the process to Nick V
and they agreed that when he counted down to zero he would catapult Eddie into
the tunnel with all his power.
‘Are you ready, Eddie?’ asked Jake. ‘Yes,’ said Eddie. ‘Are you ready,
Nick?’ asked Jake. ‘Yes,’ said Nick. Jake tapped on his computer and then
started the countdown ‘5… 4…3…2…1… and zero GO!’ he yelled.
They were both enveloped in blue energy haze. They felt as
though they were whirling in space as they were spun around and around and around in the tunnel.
This is what it would be like to live in a blue slushie, thought Nick.
There was a deafening hum and he could see that Eddie was trying to yell
something to him, but he couldn’t hear. Everything was spinning and he was
going around
and around. He could see the end of the tunnel, with an opening, and an orange glow beyond. He was
close to it, very very close.
Eddie, however, no longer
had the feeling he could make it to the end of the tunnel. He was still
spinning and being flung around, but suddenly, in the blink of an eye, he was
spat out of the energy tunnel and found himself sitting next to Jake in the
park.
Nick was no-where to be seen.
What happened next?
Eddie, Nick and Jake were unlikely friends but they were good friends
and this is their story.
Eddie had just turned ten and today was a big day. His mum was allowing
him to walk home from school by himself for the first time.
However, before we start let me tell you a couple of things about Eddie.
First, he was smart and really loved science and secondly, he was a dreamer. It
was this unique combination which led him to be stuck in this tricky
predicament with his unlikely friends, Nick and Jake.
Feeling rather grown-up, Eddie starting walking home. He walked proudly
out the school gates and down Victoria Road. He passed the bakery and watched
the parents buying their hungry kids cheesy rolls and finger buns. He walked
past the newsagent and watched Jack’s mum yelling at him to get out and cross
the road as the man was green. He walked with a feeling of maturity, the way he
thought a teenager felt. Eddie was almost home when he walked past the park. There
were shrills of laughter from the little kids being pushed on the swings and
tears from the little boy who had just face-planted down the slide but Eddie
didn’t take too much notice – after all he was really getting a bit old for
parks. It was only when he saw, in the corner of his eye, a blue light at the
end of the park that he looked over properly. It was a bright blue haze and if he didn’t know any better, he would have said it was an energy
field, something he had only ever read about. This was a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, he had to have a look. He could hear his mum’s voice ‘Now Eddie
make sure you come straight home’ what could he do? He looked around and
spotted his neighbour also walking home. He scribbled on a piece of paper the
following
‘Mum, doing a science experiment in
the park. I will see you soon, won’t be long.
love Eddie.’
He asked his neighbour to give the note to his mum. She would
understand, he was sure.
Eddie walked closer to the blue energy
haze.
It could be plutonium, he thought with glee. Then I could feed it to my bird
Enso and see if he mutated and developed super powers, he thought. Just as
Eddie was thinking about a giant Enso flying him to school each day, a humming
noise snapped him out of it. He moved closer and studied the blue, humming haze. It looked like a tunnel that was spinning really fast. It was truly awesome! It must be a quantum
teleportation portal, he thought with the same excitement he felt going
to bed the night before Christmas. He didn’t even hesitate as he jumped
straight into the tunnel ¼ only to be spat
straight back out. Mmm, it must be
spinning
too fast for me to stay in there, he thought. He pondered for a minute and then
he knew just what he had to do. He went to find his friend Jake, knowing
exactly where he would be – in the computer lab at school.
Jake was also ten years old, and was a total computer whizz. He was so
good the computer teacher would often ask him to take the classes for her. Jake
had taught himself to read by the age of three so that he could use his mum’s
computer. By six he had written his own software and by eight he had built his
own computer from scratch. He knew
more about computers, Apps, programming and hardware than anyone Eddie knew,
and this is why he called on Jake this particular afternoon.
As expected Jake was in the computer lab explaining something to the
computer teacher. ‘Jake!’ Eddie called from the door. ‘I need you, I really, really, need
you’. Jake came over and Eddie explained about the tunnel and his theories very
softly so the computer teacher couldn’t hear. ‘I think my body might be may be
too dense to go into the tunnel so perhaps we could slow the spinning down somehow
then I might be able to get through the tunnel and then see if it is a
teleportation portal like I think it is. Do you think you could somehow slow the spinning of the
energy tunnel?’ Eddie asked. Jake
looked upwards as if his eyes were studying the way his brain was thinking.
Then, after a few seconds a big smile erupted on his face. ‘I know what to do!’
he cried. In the same breath he
yelled ‘I’ve got to go Mrs K sorry data emergency’. Jake grabbed his laptop and
ran out the door with Eddie.
On the way to the park Jake explained to Eddie what he was going to do.
‘You remember Einstein’s gravitational time dilation theory?’ ‘Of course,’ said
Eddie. ‘Well, remember how time or energy can slow when it’s closer to a
stronger gravity force?’ ‘Yes,’ said Eddie. ‘Well, I think I can write a
program that can increase the forces of gravity in this exact spot, then hopefully
we should be able to slow down the energy source, which would slow down the
tunnel,’ Jake said rather proudly. Eddie began to smile, ‘don’t get excited yet’ said Jake. ‘I
will only be able to do this for a very short period of time, so you will have
to be really, really fast, Eddie’ he said. ‘I can be fast’ said Eddie. Jake didn’t look so
convinced. Unlike Eddie, Jake was not a dreamer and was very practical. He
thought for a moment and then said ‘Eddie have you wondered what may be inside
the tunnel or even on the other side?’ Eddie laughed: ‘An adventure of course!’
It didn’t take long for Jake’s computer skills to kick in, and the
program was soon finished. ‘Eddie, it’s ready to go,’ said Jake, quickly followed
by ‘Are you sure about this?’ Eddie rolled his eyes at Jake. ‘Just tell me when
to run into the tunnel.’ ‘OK then,’ said Jake. ‘I’m going to count you in and when
I get to zero you need to run into the tunnel as fast as you can.’ Eddie gave
him the thumbs up and prepared himself just the same as he did before the last school
cross-country run. Eddie was a fantastic scientist but he was not a very fast
runner, so this was going to be an experiment in itself!
Jake typed a few final characters on his laptop then started the
countdown ‘5…4…3…2…1… and zero run,
Eddie, run’ he yelled. Eddie ran with all his might as he forced his way into
the blue energy haze. He felt as though he was
in a washing
machine being tumbled around and around. He felt weightless and
without power over his body as the energy forced him to do somersaults backwards,
sideways and forwards. He thought he could see an orange glow a metre away but
it was impossible for him to move any further down the tunnel. The force was
too strong and the spinning was getting faster and faster and the backwards
pull was too intense. The next moment he was thrown out of the tunnel and
landed on his butt. His head was spinning but he was not hurt, in fact he was
really excited.
‘Jake, that was awesome!’ he said. ‘I almost made it through but it was
just too strong for me.’ We have to try again,’ he said. ‘I can’t slow it down
for any longer’ said Jake. They both sat in silence for a minute thinking about
how to solve this dilemma. ‘We need to increase your physical power,’ said
Jake. ‘We can’t do that in 5 minutes though,’ thought Eddie out loud. ‘Ahh, but
what we could do is get something to help you, like flippers help swimmers,’
said Jake. ‘Something or someone,’ yelled Eddie. He knew just who could help
him - his friend Nick V, and he knew exactly where Nick would be: at the school
cricket nets.
Nick V loved sport and was very good at it. He spent all his time
playing sport and was the fastest and strongest person in the school. Eddie and
Jake raced back to school to find Nick at the cricket nets. ‘Nick, Nick,’ they
yelled. ‘We need you quick, come over here.’ Nick V looked up from under his
helmet and gestured to his teammates to take a break. ‘What’s up, guys?’ he
said.
I think the question should be asked here: how do a science lover, a computer
whizz and a sports nut all end up good friends? It wasn’t as if they played together at lunchtime, Nick was
on the sportsfield, Eddie was in the science lab and Jake was in the computer
lab. No, these three boys had more in common than interests. It was the qualities
they shared. They were all kind, they were all fair, they were all loyal and
they always stood up for each other. It was these things that made them such
good friends to each other.
So naturally, when Eddie and Jake asked Nick V for help he was there
without any questions. Well, maybe
one question. ‘You want me to catapult you into a - what did you call it
again?’ Nick V asked. He thought maybe Jake had been looking at too many
computer screens and Eddie had been sniffing too many science chemicals! ‘Are
you guys feeling OK?’ he asked. ‘Let us show you, so you will see we are not
going mad,’ said Eddie, ‘but be quick.’ Eddie was realising his time would be
running out before his mum came looking for him. ‘Fast is what I do
understand!’ smiled Nick V, and with that they all ran back to the park.
‘Wow,’ said Nick V, ‘this is amazing. Where will it take you?’ ‘We’re
not sure, but there are theories that say it could take us to another time, or
to another universe, we don’t really know,’ said Eddie. ‘Awesome,’ said Nick V.
Jake frowned. ‘I still think the
risk is too high - how will you get back?’ ‘Let’s figure that out when I get
there, wherever “there” is,’ said Eddie. Jake explained the process to Nick V
and they agreed that when he counted down to zero he would catapult Eddie into
the tunnel with all his power.
‘Are you ready, Eddie?’ asked Jake. ‘Yes,’ said Eddie. ‘Are you ready,
Nick?’ asked Jake. ‘Yes,’ said Nick. Jake tapped on his computer and then
started the countdown ‘5… 4…3…2…1… and zero GO!’ he yelled.
Nick V did a little run up and then, pushed Eddie up into the blue energy haze as hard as he
could. The only problem was that the force was so great that Nick was catapulted
into the tunnel too.
They were both enveloped in blue energy haze. They felt as
though they were whirling in space as they were spun around and around and around in the tunnel.
This is what it would be like to live in a blue slushie, thought Nick.
There was a deafening hum and he could see that Eddie was trying to yell
something to him, but he couldn’t hear. Everything was spinning and he was
going around
and around. He could see the end of the tunnel, with an opening, and an orange glow beyond. He was
close to it, very very close.
Eddie, however, no longer
had the feeling he could make it to the end of the tunnel. He was still
spinning and being flung around, but suddenly, in the blink of an eye, he was
spat out of the energy tunnel and found himself sitting next to Jake in the
park.
Nick was no-where to be seen.
What happened next?
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