Earth Kid Hero Book 1: Lift Off (A Sci-Fi Series for Kids 9-12) by Korey Troyer
Tyler’s eyes ebbed open and shut almost rhythmically. After a while he squinted, looking around, but a bit confused because Ethan was most definitely not in his bed. Tyler rolled over and stared straight up at the ceiling to see a rather strange creature floating over him. “Huh! What the…?” Tyler yelped.
The creature measured a couple feet in length with two arms and legs. The round face resembled a green lamp in a traffic light. The creature wore a bizarre outfit, a getup similar to Super Man’s leotard, blue tights with red boots and cape. The only thing missing was the ‘S’ on the chest.
“Hello, my name is Hooper,” the creature said. “I am Ethan’s robot. How may I help you?”
“Uh, Ethan, you better get in here!” Tyler bellowed.
Ethan bolted into the room. “I see you’ve met Hooper. Sorry if he startled you,” Ethan said.
Hooper turned quickly to his master. “Good morning Ethan, may I get you something?"
“No thank you Hooper. Please back up so Tyler can get out of bed.”
Hooper backed up a few feet.
“Hooper is my robot. He’s a bit curious about you since he’s never met an Earthling,” explained Ethan.
Tyler sat up, held out his right hand saying, “Very nice to meet you, Hooper.”
The small robot hesitated a second, then shook hands with Tyler, as the boy yawned and rubbed his eyes.
“Why is your robot dressed like a super hero?’ Tyler asked.
Ethan stared with a quizzical expression. “He’s not dressed like a super hero. Hooper is dressed like a robot.”
“Well he looks like a mini super hero with a glowing green light for a head,” chuckled Tyler.
Ethan smiled. “On Ganrea, robots are identified by the blue and red outfit.”
“He dresses like Super Man, you know that don’t you? He’s Super Hooper!” Tyler exclaimed, as he laughed harder.
“Are you laughing at me?” Hooper asked. “That is not polite.”
Tyler realized his quick-witted outburst came off as rude. “I’m sorry Hooper. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“Apology accepted. You may call me Super Hooper if you wish. It sounds majestic. I like it.”
The ambient light in the captain’s cabin gave the impression of dawn. Bob tried to keep a schedule of day and night by adjusting the illumination, so when Tyler finally got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, his body clock kicked back on track. After completing his morning ritual, Tyler stepped on to the bridge.
Already on the bridge, Ethan stared at the stars above.
“How long until we get there?” Tyler asked.
“We’ll make the wormhole jump shortly, but first, we need to eat something. I am starving.”
“Why didn’t we see Hooper last night?” Tyler asked as they traveled to breakfast.
“Oh he’s taking an online dance course,” Ethan said.
“Online dance course? Hooper dances?”
“It’s a robot thing. I don’t get it either,” Ethan replied.
In the dining hall, Ethan went directly to the blue light. “Bob, may I have breakfast please? You know, the usual.”
A tray with two plates and cup popped out of a slot in the wall. The dishes had mounds of shredded stuff piled quite high. One plate had lime green things and the other had a poo colored brown strings. Gross!
Ethan took the tray and explained how Tyler could order, as he walked by on his way to his seat. “Bob has access to Earth’s entire world wide web so he can create anything you want for breakfast.”
Anything? Then I’m having candy, Tyler said to himself. But then his stomach growled and he realized that candy would be a bad idea. “Bob, may I have some Raisin Bran with extra raisins and a glass of water please?”
Out popped a tray with a bowl of Raisin Bran loaded with raisins and a tall glass of water. Tyler took his breakfast to the table and sat across from Ethan.
Ethan’s meal and how he ate fascinated Tyler. Ethan used a stick with a button on one end and a cone on the other. He held the rod over his food as if to stab the plate, then he’d click the button and a morsel sucked up into the cone. Ethan flipped the utensil around, pointing toward his mouth clicking the button. Immediately the contents shot out of the cone into his mouth.
Ethan noticed Tyler staring at him and offered Tyler a taste of his food. “It’s really good. My favorite.”
Tyler had begun trying new food a while ago and found it exciting to explore different flavors. Although Tyler would normally love to try something new, Ethan’s food kind of freaked him out.
Ethan finally broke the silence. “I’d like to try yours but those raisin things look like little poo pellets.”
Tyler burst out laughing, almost spitting his cereal out of his mouth. He peered down at his bowl and for the first time realized that some of his meal may not appear so appetizing to others. “Your food kinds of looks like poo too. I guess we’re even. Let’s at least try.”
The boys took a turns tasting. To their surprise, they truly liked each other’s meal.
They finished breakfast and Hooper flew in like Super Man to pick up the trays.
“I love your style Super Hooper!” Tyler laughed.
“Thank you.”
Ethan and Tyler stood up, pushed in their chairs, and headed for the tube. Once on the bridge, Ethan went to the counter and asked Bob for a status.
“Ethan we are approaching the jump point,” Bob said. “Please get in your seats.”
Chairs came up through the floor as they had before. The young travelers sat down and buckled up.
“This may be a little bumpy, so hang on,” Ethan told Tyler. “Don’t close your eyes because you’ll get sick. Just keep looking straight ahead. Once we get through the mouth of the wormhole, you’ll be okay.” Tyler shook his head and stared forward.