The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? Investigations and more weirdness.
Aneisha had enjoyed her evening at Tom's house. Everyone's house was smaller than hers, so she didn't even notice any more. It was cosy and fun. She had played with Tom's little sisters, chatted with his Mum and then joined Tom in his room. Tom's room was a cross between a Bladequest tribute and techno-geek laboratory. Tom logged on to his email as soon as he got in. "Hey, Nate's got back," he said, scanning through the list of mail.
"Do you mean that guy who built all those robotics for KORPS ?" asked Aneisha.
"Yeah. He's working for MI9 now though," Tom reminded her. "I asked him what he thought about the hackers who messed with all the heating controls. Oh, he says to Skype him." Tom called up his friend on Skype.
"Hi Nate ! How are you doing ?" Tom greeted Nate.
"I am doing things just the same. Is that your friend from school ?" asked Nate.
"Yes, this is Aneisha," said Tom. Aneisha waved into the camera to Nate, who waved back.
"I don't know who is doing the hacking," said Nate without any further delay. "It's not one of the usual groups on the grid. I think it's someone new who is practising."
"Practising for what ?" asked Tom.
"I don't know. Maybe something bigger," said Nate. "My house got really hot. I nearly had to go outside. Digby had to cool me down," he said.
"Who's Digby ?" asked Aneisha. Nate swung the camera round to his large two-legged robot who looked after him round the house. The robot waved.
"Hello Aneisha," it said in a robotic voice.
Aneisha laughed. "That's brilliant !" she said delightedly.
"Do you like it ?" asked Nate. "I gave him a voice. He can respond to basic commands and simple dialogue. I'm glad you like it," he added, sounding really pleased.
Aneisha wondered what level of social skills Nate had programmed the robot with. Nate himself was on the autistic spectrum, so didn't have a great grasp of social interaction himself.
"Our school got so hot, they closed it early and we were all told to go home," Aneisha told him. "Then as soon as we got outside it started to hail huge hailstones. We all had to run back inside again."
"Can anyone control the weather do you know ?" asked Tom.
"I don't know anyone who can," said Nate. "Do you think it's the same person who is reprogramming the heating controls ?" he asked. "There's a guy on the net who calls himself the 'Weatherman'. He is a global warming activist. He has had some quite strange messages recently. I don't understand what he means," said Nate.
"That's a good idea Nate," said Tom. "Thanks for the tip."
"OK. Bye," said Nate, instantly cutting the connection.
Tom was still sitting with his mouth open. "OK. I think we're finished now," he said, turning to Aneisha and sighing.
"He's getting a bit better," said Aneisha.
"Yes. A bit," agreed Tom. "Let's look up the Weatherman." He did a few searches and finally pulled up a website. "Hm, global warming …. man's interference with nature …... increased economic activity ….. at our peril ….. underestimating the force of the weather …... hm, mostly pretty standard stuff," muttered Tom.
Aneisha read over his shoulder. "Just because he's mad about global warming doesn't mean he can control the weather," she pointed out.
"Absolutely not !" agreed Tom. "What's this though ?" he said, reading out from one of the postings on the website. "The earth's weather will teach man a lesson in humility. Hm, that could be a threat. Maybe that's what Nate was talking about. Wonder who this guy is ?" he pondered.
"Why don't you pass it on to Frank ?" suggested Aneisha. "He can get MI9 looking into this guy. If he's a likely candidate then Frank may get us to look into him." Tom did as she suggested and they relaxed for the rest of the evening, until Tom's Dad walked Aneisha back to her house. By the time she got back there were lights on in the house and her parents had returned from their business trip.
The next day Mr. Flatley was teaching geography. "Well class, we have an unexpected treat in store for you all. We will be going on a field trip tomorrow. A local landowner allows ecological studies on his estate and we have been invited to carry out some field study work there. You will all need to bring outdoor clothing," he instructed them.
Tom looked across at Aneisha. She nodded and smiled back at him secretly. This had to be MI9 business. Nobody organised a field trip that quickly, especially not Mr. Flatley. Tom wondered if Mr. Flatley ever thought it odd how all these great opportunities just fell into his lap without any effort on his part. Tom guessed he was headmaster for that very reason. He never did wonder about it.
Frank called the team down to base at lunch time. "Good call Tom. I followed up Nate's suggestion and we think we've tracked down this guy calling himself the 'Weatherman'," said Frank. "A large local estate was bought quite recently by an anonymous buyer. We think he is this man," he said, pulling up a photograph on the screen. There was a rather grainy picture of an ordinary looking man behind a podium at a conference. "This is Sinstra Storm. At least, that is what he is known as now. He was born Cyril Stonebottom. He's been part of a number of different ecological action groups. He dropped off the radar just over a year ago and reappeared recently on his website. The messages of his site have become increasingly threatening in recent months so MI9 think he is worth investigating."
"Is it a good idea taking the whole class along ?" asked Aneisha. "What if he is some kind of eco-terrorist ?"
"Oh, this is just reconnaissance," Frank assured her. "You are looking for evidence of any strange activity on his estate. Don't attempt to investigate it yourselves. Gather information and get out. Simple as that," he added.
"Oh Frank, can I skip training tonight please ? My Mum and Dad have got tickets to the theatre. I haven't seen them in ages," begged Aneisha. Frank said she could go. Then Tom asked if he could go home and work on a gadget which they could use on the field trip. Frank sighed and agreed.
"Looks like it's just you and me then," said Dan to Zoe as they carefully exited the Janitor's Cupboard. After school finished, Tom and Aneisha headed straight home. Dan and Zoe went to the gym where their regular MI9 trainer drilled them in gymnastics and general fitness. Dan loved the physical activity and Zoe seemed to enjoy everything. Zoe was given some additional flexibility exercises and Dan had to work on his upper body strength. By the time they finished they were both tired. The trainer slipped out of the school unnoticed and Zoe and Dan changed and headed for home.
It was starting to get dark as they left the school. Gusts of wind were whistling round the school yard. Dan looked up into the darkening sky. "We've had heat, hail and snow. Maybe wind is next," he wondered aloud.
"I think you're just looking for something where there isn't anything," said Zoe. "It's just a bit of wind," she added laughingly.
As they headed down the road past the small local park the wind was picking up steadily. Dan noticed that the park was still open. "Do you want to cut through the park ?" he suggested. "It'll save us a bit of time." Zoe agreed and they headed through the park gates.
The two were chatting happily and didn't notice that they were being watched. As they rounded a group of shrubs Dan looked up in shock to see a group of malevolent looking young men standing staring at them.
"Well, what have we here ?" asked one of the young men mockingly. "Two young love birds boys ?" The other youngsters laughed nastily. "Got anything for us kiddies ?" asked the leader of the gang.