head, forcing him back onto his bed in Halader House. He sneezed several times, before trying to re-establish the link to give the Phasmeer a piece of his mind. It was no use. Somehow the Wormhole was closed for now, and Johnny wouldnât be able to tell the Emperor about the nearest star to the Sun being turned into a supernova, or the mysterious transmission heâd received in the computer room.
Sol was out of contact on Pluto. Bram was otherwise engaged. The more Johnny thought about it, the more he knew it would be madness for him to meet the dark-haired stranger without telling anyone, but something, somewhere in the back of his mind seemed familiar about that face. He went to sleep knowing he had to find out what it was.
2
A Derby Detour
Johnny bashed his alarm clock until it finally stopped making the deep growling noise he loathed, and lay staring at the strange numbers piercing the gloom. Finally, he registered that they were telling him it was 05:30 a.m. One of the things he really hated was getting up while it was still dark outside. It took a few moments before he remembered heâd decided to read up on supernovae before joining Mr. Wilkins in the Halader House kitchens.
Bentleyâs snores confirmed it would take more than a radio alarm to rouse the sheepdog at this time of night, but Johnny still tried to be as quiet as possible as he slid the box of stuff from under the bed and pulled out the handheld games console. It had a bigger display than the wristcom and a dedicated link to Kovac. He switched the device on and soon the blank screen came alive with the simulation heâd asked the quantum computer to prepare. A bloated star was in its death throes, having finally run out of usable fuel to keep shining. The next moment it was collapsing under its own weight as the force of gravity took hold. The commentary told Johnny he was watching Earthâs own Sun, somehow altered. All the remaining matter of the star, its spent fuel, was being crushed ever more tightly together, the temperature rising higher and higher. The very atoms were being squeezed and something had to give. The screen on the console flared brilliant white as the handhelddepicted one of the biggest explosions the Milky Way would see. The galaxy might contain hundreds of billions of stars but, in this moment, their combined light would be outshone by this one cataclysmic event.
Kovac said that a man called Chandrasekhar had shown a star needed to be much bigger than the Sun to become a supernova, but it was clear to Johnny that Nymac had somehow found a way round that. The simulation showed a vast fireball spreading out into the solar system, obliterating everything and anything it encountered. It would take just over an hour before Earth was vaporized. He fast-forwarded to a point when North and South America were facing the Sun and felt the full force of the impact. It took only a couple of seconds before the molten red glow spread from there around the globe and Earth itself began to disintegrate. Even though it was only a simulation, it was terrible to watch. Whatever the cost, Nymac had to be stopped. Johnny lay on his bed for a few minutes contemplating what heâd seen, before he looked again at the clock and couldnât believe it read 06:30. He was already late.
Mr. Wilkinsâs warnings had been stern, but Johnny wondered if heâd got away with it as he stumbled, bleary-eyed, along the corridor and into what seemed a deserted dining room. Watching the simulation first thing had wiped him out and he couldnât help stretching his arms wide and letting out an almighty yawn. Then he saw something move along the far wall. A giant shadow rose upward, before the great mass of the Halader House cook appeared from behind the large fridge in the far corner. The chef was carrying a long knife in one hand and a sharpening steel in the other. He ran the blade quickly backward and forward as he walked slowly toward
Sol was out of contact on Pluto. Bram was otherwise engaged. The more Johnny thought about it, the more he knew it would be madness for him to meet the dark-haired stranger without telling anyone, but something, somewhere in the back of his mind seemed familiar about that face. He went to sleep knowing he had to find out what it was.
2
A Derby Detour
Johnny bashed his alarm clock until it finally stopped making the deep growling noise he loathed, and lay staring at the strange numbers piercing the gloom. Finally, he registered that they were telling him it was 05:30 a.m. One of the things he really hated was getting up while it was still dark outside. It took a few moments before he remembered heâd decided to read up on supernovae before joining Mr. Wilkins in the Halader House kitchens.
Bentleyâs snores confirmed it would take more than a radio alarm to rouse the sheepdog at this time of night, but Johnny still tried to be as quiet as possible as he slid the box of stuff from under the bed and pulled out the handheld games console. It had a bigger display than the wristcom and a dedicated link to Kovac. He switched the device on and soon the blank screen came alive with the simulation heâd asked the quantum computer to prepare. A bloated star was in its death throes, having finally run out of usable fuel to keep shining. The next moment it was collapsing under its own weight as the force of gravity took hold. The commentary told Johnny he was watching Earthâs own Sun, somehow altered. All the remaining matter of the star, its spent fuel, was being crushed ever more tightly together, the temperature rising higher and higher. The very atoms were being squeezed and something had to give. The screen on the console flared brilliant white as the handhelddepicted one of the biggest explosions the Milky Way would see. The galaxy might contain hundreds of billions of stars but, in this moment, their combined light would be outshone by this one cataclysmic event.
Kovac said that a man called Chandrasekhar had shown a star needed to be much bigger than the Sun to become a supernova, but it was clear to Johnny that Nymac had somehow found a way round that. The simulation showed a vast fireball spreading out into the solar system, obliterating everything and anything it encountered. It would take just over an hour before Earth was vaporized. He fast-forwarded to a point when North and South America were facing the Sun and felt the full force of the impact. It took only a couple of seconds before the molten red glow spread from there around the globe and Earth itself began to disintegrate. Even though it was only a simulation, it was terrible to watch. Whatever the cost, Nymac had to be stopped. Johnny lay on his bed for a few minutes contemplating what heâd seen, before he looked again at the clock and couldnât believe it read 06:30. He was already late.
Mr. Wilkinsâs warnings had been stern, but Johnny wondered if heâd got away with it as he stumbled, bleary-eyed, along the corridor and into what seemed a deserted dining room. Watching the simulation first thing had wiped him out and he couldnât help stretching his arms wide and letting out an almighty yawn. Then he saw something move along the far wall. A giant shadow rose upward, before the great mass of the Halader House cook appeared from behind the large fridge in the far corner. The chef was carrying a long knife in one hand and a sharpening steel in the other. He ran the blade quickly backward and forward as he walked slowly toward
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