The Alien Brainwash Read Online Free Page A

said slowly, trying to make his eyes glaze over like Finbar’s.
    Zara and Finbar turned slowly and waited for Kip to catch up, then the three of them continued across the field.
    Kip hadn’t noticed before, but the field sloped downwards toward the middle.
    Zara was definitely heading for some-thing in particular. Something in the very centre of the field that was hidden behind the tall flowers in the field.
    It looked like the shimmering silver structure Kip had glimpsed when they first landed on Botanicus-1.
    He had no idea what the building was or what would be inside. But he desperately hoped it would help him unlock the flowers’ secrets and figure out how to get Zara and Finbar home.

CHAPTER 8
    Kip, Zara and Finbar were standing in a clearing in the middle of the field. There were only a few flowers nearby.
    In the clearing stood the shimmering dome-shaped building. It was almost transparent, glittering in the blue sunlight. It was a bit taller than the flowers, and very long.

    â€˜First, we must harvest the golden grains,’ Zara was explaining.
    She tapped a nearby flower on the stem. The flower leant down. It shook its head into Zara’s cupped hands. Tiny specks of yellow pollen tumbled from the centre of the flower. Zara caught every speck like it was gold dust.
    With a frozen smile, Finbar tapped another flower. He collected the pollen grains in his white, furry paw. For a moment, Kip thought he saw Finbar give his leg a quick scratch with his foot.
    But then Finbar smiled blankly and said, ‘I love serving the Beautiful Ones.’
    Kip gagged. He wanted the old Finbar back! Still, he tapped a flower and collected some pollen himself. He had to pretend he was brainwashed too – as well as use his Space Scout logic to figure out what was happening on Botanicus-1.
    When all three had their hands full, Zara led them into the shimmering building.
    Kip touched the side of the building. Up close, he saw it was made of billions of criss-crossing threads. It felt sticky, like the silk that was spun by insects.
    They stepped inside the building through an arched doorway. Inside, Kip saw an almost endless stretch of silvery green soil. Growing in perfect rows were more flowers the size of seedlings.
    â€˜This is the greenhouse,’ Zara beamed.
    She guided them toward the nearest flower. Carefully, she dropped a single speck of pollen into its petals.
    Finbar followed. But his wolf paws were clumsy. A pollen speck tumbled from his grip.
    Zara dived to catch it before it hit the dirt. ‘The golden grains are precious!’ she squeaked. ‘Without them, the Beautiful Ones cannot survive.’
    Kip had a photographic memory for details, even nerdy ones. It was one reason why he was such a talented Space Scout.The golden specks reminded him of something his Teacherbot had told him.
    Zara and Finbar are taking pollen from the outside flowers to the young flowers inside the greenhouse , he thought. Kip knew that insects normally did that job.
    His mind was racing at warp speed. I bet those weird giant spiderbees used to spread the pollen , he thought. They could have made this greenhouse too.
    Zara had said that the spiderbees were all dead now. But back when dawn was breaking, Kip had noticed that the bodies littered on the ground hadn’t started decomposing yet. That could only mean that the spiderbees had died recently.
    Then Kip had a brainwave. Maybe the Intergalactic Killer Bug Flu wiped them out!

    It meant that the flowers needed some-one else to do the spiderbees’ job. Because the flowers couldn’t really walk, they couldn’t spread their pollen to the little flowers inside the greenhouse! And with-out the pollen, new flowers couldn’t grow.
    So the flowers hynotised Zara, and then Finbar, to spread the pollen for them!
    Kip had to admit that it was pretty clever.
    A loud rumble outside interrupted Kip’s whirring brain. A fork of fizzing orange