The Brainiacs Read Online Free

Finbar froze. ‘In here!’ he whispered. ‘Someone’s coming!’
    Finbar popped open another door in the padding that Kip hadn’t even noticed. For the zillionth time he was grateful for Finbar’s excellent vision and sense of smell.
    They tumbled through the door, pushing it silently shut behind them. The room was tiny, and the only window was a peephole looking out to the corridor.
    â€˜What is this place?’ Kip shivered. ‘A jail cell?’
    â€˜Einstein’s outside!’ Finbar said, glued to the peephole.‘He’s muttering to himself.’
    They couldn’t hear what Einstein was saying, but Kip knew one thing for sure. ‘Something’s very wrong with this quiz,’ he said gravely. ‘And Einstein’s involved!’
    Luckily, Kip had his SoundMouse with him. It was a robotic mouse made of a highly flexible material.That meant it could squeeze through the smallest gaps like a real Earth mouse could. Audio sensors told it where to hide to pick up the best sound. Then it sent the audio back wirelessly to an earpiece in Kip’s ear.

    Kip placed the mouse on the floor. It immediately squeezed under the door and hid a little way from Einstein.
    The earpiece in Kip’s ear crackled to life. He could hear Einstein perfectly. And what he was saying chilled Kip to the core.

CHAPTER 7
    â€˜Just a few more contestants to get rid of before Clevor meets Geekatron in the finals,’ Einstein muttered. Kip heard him throw open the door of a cell.
    â€˜I’ll finally make up for the shame of losing the first-ever quiz to Geekatron,’ Einstein added bitterly. He’d dropped his jokey quizmaster act and sounded serious. ‘Now, where has that stupid Earthling got to?’
    Einstein must have lost to Geekatron when he was a kid! Kip thought. I wonder if he got the job of quizmaster to seek revenge.
    â€˜ He expected to find you in that chair,’ Finbar whispered. ‘You weren’t there, so now he’s looking for you.’
    Then Einstein’s headset bleeped. He paused, listening to the voice on the other end. ‘Alllllll-righty then,’ he said in his quizmaster voice. ‘See you in a moment.’
    â€˜He’s leaving!’ Finbar whispered, squinting through the peephole.
    â€˜Lucky,’ Kip said. ‘Maybe he was called back to hosting duties.’
    When Einstein had gone, Kip and Finbar left their cell to go exploring.
    â€˜There are lots of doors here,’ Finbar said, feeling the walls. ‘The corridor must have more cells.’
    Kip figured the losing quiz contestants had to be inside. It was up to him to break them out! The Space Scout Code of Practice was very clear.

    Kip didn’t have much time. Any second, Einstein might be back with another losing contestant.
    The cell doors didn’t open like the first one, so Kip checked for a lock to pick, but he couldn’t find one.
    Maybe the locks are voice-activated, thought Kip. If that was true, he’d just need to work out Einstein’s password.
    Kip thought of his own SpaceCuff’s passwords. He always picked words that were important to him so he’d remember them easily.
    What word would be important to Einstein right now? Kip wondered. Straight away he had an idea.
    â€˜Geekatron!’ Kip said firmly.
    The door clicked open a little way.
    â€˜Stand back,’ Kip warned Finbar. A confused or angry alien kid might come racing out of the cell.
    But…nothing.
    Kip opened the door wider. Inside the cell was Gorb, the alien that Kip had beaten in the first round. He was sitting in the corner looking dazed.
    â€˜Gorb!’ Kip said. ‘Come on, we’re setting you free.You can help us work out what’s going on here.’
    â€˜That sounds hard,’ Gorb answered slowly. ‘I’m probably OK in here.’
    What? Kip thought. When he first met Gorb, the alien had seemed super-smart. This Gorb