Chapter 5
(I gathered from the article that a vault is a secure place to keep valuables,) Ax said. (Humans consider many strange things valuable, though. What is kept in them, besides human money?) He said the last part with a tiny thought-speech sneer; Ax thinks the concept of money is stupid, for whatever reason.
I tried to think. I wasn't rich, never had been, so I'd never been inside of a bank vault. (Um, cash, of course. Valuable paperwork, like land deeds or savings bonds. Savings bonds are another type of money. Let's see…I'm sure people keep jewelry in them – you know, gold and silver, diamonds and pearls, that sort of thing.)
Ax main eyes narrowed. (Gold and silver I know of. What are diamonds and pearls?)
(Jewels. Just really pretty rocks, when you get right down to it. Diamonds are just pure, compressed carbon,) I told him, remembering science class the best that I could.
When I said that, Ax nodded as if everything finally made sense. (What is it?) I asked, impatient.
(It would make sense for the Yeerks to want to steal human diamonds. These, among other rare, geological, chemical formations, are not only valuable on Earth.)
I couldn't help it; I laughed out loud. (You're telling me the Yeerks are risking their secret invasion to get diamonds? A girl's best friend?)
Ax didn't see the humor in it. After he explained, neither did I. (I do not know who the diamonds would be friends with, but I know why the Yeerks want them. Just about all advanced technology uses diamonds. They are useful for everything from making focusing lenses to converting them to energy storage. Gold is a universal conductor – even your human scientists are learning this. Gold is just starting to be used in communications equipment.) He went over to his little bookshelf and started scanning titles, looking for a particular book. (But you're right. It doesn't make sense for the Yeerks to try and get them now. Why not just wait until the invasion is complete? All of the Earth's resources could be taken freely, then. Aha,) he found the book he was looking for.
I waited patiently as he flipped through the chemistry textbook at a speed which suggested he wasn't even reading anything. (No, but that's not right,) he kept muttering. Finally, he asked me, (Tobias, are these chemical compositions correct? They can't be,) he showed me the book. All I saw was a long string of letters and numbers connected by lines and shapes.
(I don't know, Ax-man, I'm no chemist. Why do you think they'd be wrong, though?)
He shook his head, troubled. (It's just that we Andalites have been synthesizing carbonite – or diamonds – for years. We thought we had the process down perfectly. But if what this book says is true, then natural Earth diamonds are ten times more pure than our best synthesis. That is why the Yeerks want them. Things that are impossible now would be possible, if one could get a hold of diamond samples this pure.)
(What impossible things?) I asked, trying not to get frustrated.
He looked at me with all four eyes, something that really got my attention. (For starters, the rapid fire Dracon beam that was used against you could be made to work. With materials this pure, I could convert an energy weapon to rapid fire, and I am just a normal Andalite.)
"I see the two of you are already on the case," a familiar voice came from behind us. Both Ax and I jumped – between the two of us, we were impossible to sneak up on. Impossible, unless you were an older-than-the-pyramids android with advanced stealth and cloaking holographic technology. "Hello Ax, Tobias."
(Hey Erek,) I said, not one hundred percent surprised to see him around. Erek and his kind, the Chee, had been popping up more and more often these days, especially when the Yeerks were up to something weird. (I take it you know something about these robberies.)
He nodded; at least, he made the holograph of his human head nod. "Yes, and you and Aximili are correct to be concerned. The Yeerks have learned what you just learned – that the purity of Earth's precious metals and gems can bump their technology ahead by a hundred years. With a few years of research and development, the Yeerks can leap-frog the Andalites in terms of technology."
I I'd have had lips, I would have whistled. (And that would be game over, for sure,) I said. Erek looked up at me with troubled, holographic eyes and nodded his agreement.
Ax was still obviously troubled. (I just don't understand. The chemical compositions of these elements do not match up to similar elements of Earth's environment. It doesn't make sense.)
"Yet," Erek corrected him. "It doesn't make sense yet." He looked to me again. "Tobias, if you wouldn't mind, would you gather the rest of your friends? My story is a long one, and it would be prudent to only tell it once. Bring your friends, and I'll explain everything."