CHAPTER TWO

"What?" Holly was trying to fight off disbelief. She knew that Artemis was capable of trouble far beyond his fifteen years. But this? She couldn't believe it.

"Artemis, I don't understand how you managed to put the Lower Elements in danger. Again. I thought we'd been through this before."

"I know, and I have learned my lesson. This, for one, was not my fault."

"Not your fault! You contacted life outside this world! You had no idea what was out there and you still took chances! I don't believe it!"

"Holly, you must understand that—"

"No Artemis. I want you to understand this. You're mistakes spell disaster for the rest of the world. This WORLD, Artemis!"

"That's precisely why I want to fix what I started. Believe me, I only launched that satellite past our galaxy out of pure scientific curiosity. I knew there was risk involved, but any other mudman would have done so eventually. I mean, in about forty-five years NASA's technology might have been superior to mine. It was inevitable that we would encounter hostile extra-terrestrial civilizations."

"Artemis, this is way beyond hostile. You said they want to infiltrate our governments. Destroy our planet! That's psychotic."

"Holly, the Alisto people are in the middle of an inter-galactic civil war. They are looking for a safe haven to relocate their people. And Earth has now become their evacuation planet. From their message I gather that they have already sent spies. People to clear the Earth of humans and make it the perfect place for a fresh start. However, you and I can stop this. I'm confident we can solve this problem."

"So what, you want us to find Alisto spies on Earth and destroy them? Like that's going to be easy. Be realistic, Artemis. We hardly know anything about these people."

"I do. Ten years ago a certain Dr. Cornelius published a theory about other galaxies. Naturally, it was scorned by most of the scientific community. But it speculated the physical makeup of extra terrestrial beings based on formations of cells as worlds are formed. I think it could help us find our spies."

"Artemis, I don't know about—"

"Holly, it all comes down to two things. One, do you want to save the world?

"Yes."

"Two, do you trust me?" There was a short pause on the line. Holly was thinking.

"Hey Butler, you trust Fowl?"

The familiar, burly voice came on. "I do."

Holly sighed. "Well, what's good enough for Butler is good enough for me. Hey Artemis?"

"Yes, Holly?"

"Let's kick some Alisto butt."