Emily and her brother John are regular kids…

Until the first day of Science Camp when John and his new friend Catie make an astonishing discovery!

 

“What is it John?” Emily asked.

“There’s some kind of spaceship inside this rock,” John said, pointing to a hole he had found.

Emily rolled her eyes. She liked to pretend as much as John, but until now she had thought he was serious. “Okay, John,” she smirked, “what kind of spaceship?”

“I don’t know,” John said, “it has all kinds of computer screens and science stuff inside.”

“What’s it for?” Emily asked.

“How am I supposed to know?” John asked, “I only found it a minute ago.”

“John, you have to explain the game to me if I’m going to play with you guys,” Emily said.

“It’s not a game, Emily,” John said, “It’s really here.”

By this point she had reached the rock that John stood on, and to humor him she looked down into the hole. Emily couldn’t believe her eyes. “Unbelievable!” she gasped.

“I know, right?” John said.

Emily stared in amazement at the inside of what had seemed to be a rock only a moment before. She saw fancy computer screens, crazy science equipment, and glass aquarium tanks. Red, orange, purple and green liquids bubbled from one beaker to another through glass tubes.A kid-sized, futuristic space helmet hung on the back of each chair.  “John, this is incredible!” Emily said, “We need to go tell Julie.”

“No way,” John replied, “If we tell the grown-ups they’ll take it away.  I’m going inside with Catie.”

“I don’t think we should, John,” Emily said.  But John, who had been afraid of the cold water, wasted no time climbing down into the hole.

Annoyed, Emily clambered down the metal ladder after John.  Inside, the room didn’t feel cramped like she had expected.  They wandered from one station to another in amazement.  “What do you think these are for?” Emily asked.

“I don’t know, but they are so cool!” John said, shaking his head.

“Who do they belong to?” Emily asked.

“Who knows, and who cares,” John replied, “Let’s figure out how they work.”

Emily looked around, growing more anxious by the minute.  “Somebody must have left it here.  There’s no telling when they’ll come back to find it,” she said, “Don’t touch anything.  We don’t want to break it.”

“Break it, schmake it,” John said, “Maybe these computers can tell us how they work.”

As if reading his mind, the large screen in front of the two chairs powered on.  A strange computer voice spoke to them, saying, “Hello! I am the Computer Assistant for Testing and Exploration, but you may call me Catie.  What would you like to learn today?”

“Cool,” John said, “There’s a voice assistant like at the house.  Hey, Catie!  They named the ship after you!”

Emily looked around.  She saw no sign of the other girl.  “I don’t know John,” Emily replied, “Testing doesn’t sound very fun to me.  We should go.  Catie, where are you?  Let’s get out of here!”

“Please do not go,” the voice said, “Testing means I help conduct your scientific tests, not that I test you.”

Emily turned around in amazement.  “You can understand what we say?” she asked.

“I can do more than that!” the voice replied, “I can run experiments, pilot this ship and more.  I can project a hologram of a little girl.  I brought you here, John!”

John and Emily looked at each other, eyes wide.  “What is this thing? A spaceship?” Emily asked.

“Not exactly a spaceship,” Catie replied in her computer assistant voice, “I am a Seeker’s Stone.  I do much more than travel through outer space.”

Now, can Emily and John survive the adventure they’ve accidentally plunged into?

Can they help Catie accomplish her mission?

Can three friends find the wits, courage and skill to survive?