The Hollywood Mission Read Online Free Page A

Linden nodded as if he was simply stating the facts.
    â€˜Is that so. Well I —’
    â€˜But that’s not all,’ Ben interrupted with more to reveal. ‘Francis?’
    Francis nodded and spoke with a smaller, less award-winning voice than Ben’s. ‘When Eleanor and I analysed the chemical structure of the Aurora Stone, we knew its high density energy supply would enable the Time and Space Machine to move at the speed of light, thus allowing time travel. But we had to conduct thorough testing toensure the machine’s safety before we could begin our first trials.’
    â€˜When will you start the trials?’ Max was eager to be one of the world’s first time travellers.
    â€˜Last week,’ Ben said coolly.
    â€˜Last week?’ Max’s mind flooded with the questions that cascaded into her brain. ‘But how’d you? … Where did you? … What kind of …?’
    â€˜You’re really going to have to finish some of those questions if you want an answer,’ Linden advised before turning to Ben. ‘How’d it go?’
    Ben looked at Francis and Eleanor. ‘I’d say it was a success.’
    â€˜Alright!’ Linden’s mind was already flicking through history, trying to choose which parts he wanted to see first.
    Max stared open-mouthed. She remembered when she met Ben and Eleanor and thought they were a pair of chicken farmers, and how when she went to London to find Francis, she thought he was a grumpy old man with bad taste in cardigans. These same relatives, who looked like regular people, were not only superspies but now time travellers as well.
    â€˜Who went?’ Linden asked as Max still hadn’t managed to close her mouth.
    â€˜Eleanor and I. Francis stayed here in the lab and monitored the test.’
    â€˜Where’d you go?’
    â€˜Norway in the Middle Ages.’ Eleanor smiled. ‘I have a soft spot for Norway.’
    â€˜What was it like being able to travel through time?’ Max had unravelled her brain, regained control over her mouth and finally managed a question.
    Eleanor thought about this carefully. ‘It’s like history gets on with doing what it’s doing and we get to see it up close as it’s happening.’
    Her explanation short-circuited Max’s brain again.
    â€˜Did you see? … But how do you? … Can you …?’
    â€˜Let me help you out,’ Linden offered. ‘Can you touch things?’
    â€˜Not exactly. It’s like walking around in a virtual movie,’ Eleanor clarified. ‘Objects do have a dimension but we only experienced some of their mass, so that our hands slightly passed through the surface of them.’
    Linden’s eyebrows arched. ‘So if you can pick things up, does that mean you can change the past?’
    Francis’s face took on a serious look. ‘We thinkso, but we’re working on a program to stop humans being able to do just that. That is the one factor that makes the Time and Space Machine so brilliant and so dangerous. Even with the best intentions we’re not sure of the ramifications.’
    â€˜And in the wrong hands, that function could prove disastrous,’ Ben warned. He’d changed from tour guide to Hollywood actor.
    â€˜Were you scared? Did anyone see you?’ Linden imagined wielding a sword against knights twice his size.
    â€˜We’ve incorporated a protective coating into the machine that makes you invisible,’ Eleanor explained. ‘It’ll be safer for you that way.’
    â€˜And less freaky for the people you run into. You won’t have to explain when you’re from and how you got there,’ added Ben.
    Linden moaned. ‘So the people of history won’t get to see how good-looking I am. Doesn’t seem fair to go all that way and not give them a thrill.’
    â€˜They’ll get over it.’ Ben ruffled Linden’s wild