Author's Note – Hi! Glad you're coming along on another adventure with me. Check it – I plan to get several chapters up in the next couple of days. That way, you guys will have a good idea where this fic is going and what it's all about. After that, though, update speed is up to you. The more reviews I get, the faster I work. It's all up to you! Enjoy.
Chapter 3
It wasn't technically on the way, as the crow (or falcon, in this case) flies, but I buzzed Tobias' meadow on the way to Ax's scoop. For one, Tobias was the one member of the Animorphs I could almost always find in the same place. Red-tailed hawks are extremely territorial, and for good reason. The balancing act of the predator/prey dynamic was a constant concern to Tobias – he hadn't just lost his human body, he'd lost his position on the top of the food chain. Within the confines of his own meadow, he was one of the apex predators, and he wanted to keep it that way.
I didn't see him as I flew through, but he saw me. (What's up, Jake?) he called out.
(Had a bit of an episode with Tom earlier,) I explained. (I'm on the way to ask Ax about it, and I thought you might want to come along.)
(Pretty day to fly,) he said, as if that was all the answer I needed. I finally spotted him as he left the core of a half-dead tree.
I spent the trip to Ax's temporary home explaining what had happened. Tobias was just as confused as to what it meant as I was. He seemed to think the microwave was a coincidence – he pointed out that controllers used them all the time, and nothing happened. We got to the area where Ax's scoop was, and even with my fantastic falcon eyes, it took a moment to find it. He'd done a great job of camouflaging it from the air.
We skimmed down to find Ax inside of the scoop, reading a magazine. Car and Driver. (Hello, Tobias. Hello, Prince Jake,) he said as we both landed and I began to demorph. Andalite superiors are called Princes. Since I was more or less the leader of our little group, Ax insisted on the title.
(What's up, Ax-man?) Tobias replied. (Good read?) he asked of the magazine. Ax shook his head, like he did when he disapproved of something.
(Vehicles that rely on chemical combustion. You humans do some dangerous things. Although, I do admit, the styling of these vehicles is quite attractive.)
As I finished up my demorph, I said, "I need your help understanding something. Tom had a seizure this morning, and when he came out of it, he had control of his body for a split second. I think it might have had something to do with my microwave – he forgot to take the fork off of the plate, and as soon as it started sparking, he went down. Maybe it was just a coincidence, I don't know. Does that ever just happen, sometimes? The Yeerk and the host both losing control?"
Ax's main eyes narrowed. (No. The Yeerk control is absolute. As a matter of fact, physically, the Yeerk is beneficial to the brain of most species. Conditions such as brain tumors or aneurisms are detected and repaired by the Yeerk in order to preserve their host.)
(So maybe the microwave did cause it,) Tobias speculated.
Ax looked confused. (What is this "microwave?") he asked.
"It's a small oven that runs off of electricity. We use it to cook with," I told him.
(So it is a heat-emitting device?) he asked.
I felt kind of embarrassed – how does it look to an alien when you can't explain your own technology? "I'm not exactly sure. I don't think so," I said. Tobias didn't know, either.
(Wait a moment,) Ax said as he went to a stack of books in the corner. (Aha,) he said as he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a science textbook and scanned the index. He flipped to the page he wanted, going on and on about how much more superior books were than computers. He quickly read a passage and set the book down.
(You humans will never cease to amaze me. You ride around in combustible bombs, yet you have already discovered n-wave technology. And you only use it for heating food,) he said, as if the whole thing was amazing-yet-funny.
(What the heck is n-wave technology?) Tobias asked.
(It is a matter-specific form of radiation - n-wave refers to radiation that affects only H2O molecules. If your scientists focused on the nuances of n-wave technology, your "energy crisis" would be over in one Earth year. And you use it to heat meals,) he laughed. I ignored the implied insult as he picked the book back up and read a little more. (Amazing. Humans make the easiest things so complicated.)
I was getting impatient. "Um, Ax, when you're done busting on the human race, can you get to the point?" I asked.
He focused all four of his eyes on me, and that really got my attention. Ax hardly ever did that. (Forks are metal eating utensils, I know. What metal are they made from?)
I looked at Tobias. "Stainless steel, I think?" Tobias confirmed it.
Ax grabbed a pen and a notebook, and started scribbling out equations. At least I think they were equations – I understood about as much of what he was writing than I understood Japanese. (Yes!) he exulted.
"What?" I practically yelled at the same time as Tobias.
(Prince Jake, the primitive nature of your n-wave particle emitters – microwaves – and its reactivity with steel creates a unique flux in the radiation.) I guess he caught the lost look on my face, because he simplified. A little. (When Tom put the steel in the microwave, it reflected a slightly altered, unique radiation onto him. This radiation is of the exact specificity to break down the neurological connection between the Yeerk and the human brain. You saw this when the Yeerk lost control of Tom's body. The connection was not completely severed from this small dose of the radiation – only temporarily disrupted.)
(So, what?) Tobias asked. (We need to go around and sneak forks into controllers' microwaves?)
Ax shot him a look. (No. That would only have the same result that Prince Jake saw today – the temporary loss of control. I can use the theory to build a weapon. A weapon that will disconnect the Yeerks from the brains they inhabit. I can make a weapon that will render the Yeerks powerless inside of their hosts.)