Lauren rushed in as they sat at the dining room table - "I will be with you guys in two minutes. Dan, where is Chuck? Hi Harry, I didn't notice you sitting there," said Lauren, my mom.

Mum is a great organizer and does a lot for Grandpa. She loves doing what she is doing. She also gets help from lots of exciting critters Grandpa met and is now allied within the war.

"Chuck is at Bird the Nerd and should be back any minute,” said Dad.

"Give me a minute, and I’ll join you, and we can eat."

Chuck ran in. “I hope I haven’t missed dinner; I am starving; what is for dinner? Could you wait for me? I am going to wash my hands.”

Chuck sat at the table and looked at Harry. Harry nodded at him, and Chuck smiled back. Harry was an excellent sportsman and on the football team. He treated his sister’s young children and friends well, which was unusual. Chuck told me Harry was a good sportsman, but he was dim.

I do pretty well in school.

Mum sat at the table. Dad brought out the food, and they helped themselves.

“Great, I love lasagne,” said Chuck. “The AI, Harold, cooks all Robert’s best stuff.”

"How are your family, Harry?" Lauren asked.

"Mum is the same as usual; Dad and Ben are in the Negev doing consultant secret stuff.”

"Do you miss them?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I speak to them every day. Dad always traveled a lot! Mum doesn't seem to notice; she is used to them being gone. Anyhow she is always in her laboratory."

"How do you spend your time?" Dad asked.

"I play sport a lot. In summer I play cricket and some tennis all year round. In winter, I play football."

"What do you do in the evenings, watch TV or read?" I asked.

"Nah, I do a bit of homework; I speak to dad and sometimes Ben and play games on the computer," said Harry.

"What sort of games?" Dad asked.

"I like shooting stuff and army games."

"Have you done any strategy stuff?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. Yes, I admit I was hopeful. I need a future husband who is not as thick as two short planks. I think Harry is clever, but he never works and sleeps at school a lot. He acts airy-fairy and on the slack side. I don't know him that well. I have known him and his family for years, but he doesn’t say much. His sister is as bright as a button, and his parents are mega-brains. His brother, Ben, finished University when he was seventeen.

Harry is Henry, but he changed himself to Harry in grade three. He gave no reason. He is dreamy good looking, and friendly. He never hassles his sister and looks out for her.

"Yeah, mostly, those games are too slow and boring!"

“Bird and I were playing a new Porquenta intelligence simulation this afternoon. Chloe, it is awesome. It would help if you let Harry try it. Maybe he should start with the first one as we did." – Chuck turned to Harry – "We have some simulations from this great guy Porquenta. You should try one after we eat."

"Is it boring?"

"Never, we love doing them. As Grandpa used to say, ‘No sane person should be bored in this amazing world we live in. Open your eyes and find what stimulates you,’” said Chuck.

“Grandpa is full of that stuff,” I said, “he has a saying for everything. We used to do lots of interesting stuff with him every afternoon. Now we have lots of stuff we enjoy doing on our simulators. It would help if you tried it, Harry. Grandpa also used to say, ‘the only time you should be bored is when you are dead.’”

“We can set you up after dinner, and we will give you the first intelligence simulation. We were hooked, and we were never bored. As grandpa said; 'Life is too short to be bored.'"

As you might have guessed, Grandpa hated it if anyone said they were bored. I miss him a lot, but he talks to us often when he is not in a war. Every day we saw him and granny. He was always busy with something interesting. His wives also often call. Philippa, a bug and the chief wife, calls us nearly every day. We like her a lot. We want to visit her as often as we can. She has a ginormous underground estate in a cavern, and we play with the young bugs. I forgot to tell you; we can turn into bugs and fly like bugs; it is astounding.

"Mum, Porquenta said he has given us new simulations which could train us to find the Dhoom who are hiding on Earth in those people they infestigated."

I started to boil. Chuck is messing with English. He is ten, and he acts like a fool. He knows the correct word; what is wrong with him? I was bursting. I must… Not… Open… My… Mouth.

"Idiot, it is infested. They did not infest them. They put their consciousness into others. He thinks the jellyfish could also be on some people," I said. I was furious; my brother would not talk properly and threw in his own words as if he could make up his own English. I admit Dad has made up some great words, but he never twists the existing language around, and he makes up words that fill in gaps in the language.

Lauren saw Harry, who was previously looking bored and unengaged, listening with rapt attention.

"Harry, would you like to try a simulation after dinner?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. I got nothing better to do. It’s Friday, and mum knows I am here. I left a note in the kitchen; she is so forgetful. She calls Ben, Henry, and me Ben all the time. She once even called dad Arthur, one of her old boyfriends.”

She sounds like she is a lousy mother.

"What do you eat?" Chuck asked.

"Mum brings food three nights a week from the place around the corner. I cook a bit. Mum cooks once on the weekend. I make a list and shop for food online. They deliver. When dad is home, he or Ben cooks a lot. They are great cooks, both of them.”

She is worse than lousy.

"What about your sister? She is in my class?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah— she is with her friends a lot. She likes playing games with me. She is pretty good at it. I like to look after her. When she is around, I like to cook.”

Chuck looked at him with his eyebrows raised.

"Anita is real clever at school, and she is a speedy runner," said Chuck, looking at mum and dad.

"Harry looked pretty happy when Dad took him home," said Mom.

"He liked it, mum, and he wanted to do some more simulations. He asked me why I wasn't bored at school. He said he was so bored he could cry most of the time. I told him I did simulations and learned other stuff," said Chloe. “I showed him my learning cube. Do you think we could give him and Anita one?”

“Of course, Chloe, I will get him and Anita one each.”

"I like Anita, and she is just like a boy. She told me a lot about Harry. She is pretty tough as well," said Chuck.

"So, what is the point, pinhead? What did Anita say about Harry?" I asked. Chuck is just like Porquenta; the planetary AI we talk to every day; neither sticks to the point!”

“Anita says he is the cleverest in the family, but he pretends to be dumb and acts like a featherhead around people. She says he is the bestest brother anyone could have."

"Best, Best, Best,” I said, getting louder and louder. I must admit I liked what I heard.

"Chloe, please don't call your brother all these names. You will damage his self-esteem.”

Chuck pushed out his tongue at his sister.

"Maybe we could give them a learning cube tomorrow?” Mum suggested. “I have some at work.”

"Ok, mum, he is coming back tomorrow; I will ask Porquenta what he thinks. Can he bring his sister? He says she loves this kind of game?"

"Of course, dear, they can eat with us afterward. Life sounds pretty miserable for them at home."

"Can I finish what I was saying?" said Chuck impatiently.

Chloe looked heavenward and turned her palms upward in a gesture of supplication.

"Anita says she catches him playing a game. He doesn't notice she is standing next to him."

Lauren frowned. "What sort of game is it?"

"She says it is a war game. She said he was playing another one and did well and got invited to play this one."

"Who invited him?" Chloe asked.

"She said he thinks it is the American Army. She says he always pretends to play as his father as only adults can play. She saw they invited him to play in Hawaii. He wanted to go so bad, but he couldn't. Anita says she plays the game sometimes when he is out. She says she does pretty well. They are like us, Chloe!"

"That is interesting; I wonder how we could find out about this Hawaii thing?” Mum asked.

"I asked Porquenta, mum,” I said. “He laughed and asked me to hold a minute. He hacked into the game and told me it was the CIA, and he says they are impressed with Harry; they think it is his father who also plays the game. Porquenta says the CIA know Harry's dad very well, and they are not surprised he is so good. They don't understand why he didn't reply to the invitation. They found he is in some desert, and they will phone him in a week and invite him again. Porquenta then laughed.

"I don't think it is funny; Harry will be in trouble for nothing," said Chuck, "it is all so unfair."

"I am sure we can work something out; he is not likely to get in big trouble unless he impersonates his father with the bank or uses his credit card," said Dad laughing.

Dad is a lawyer and works on some heavy stuff. He is a partner in a massive group of lawyers. He is a great dad. Like Grandpa, he listens and has time for us. He is always relaxed and never seems to work hard.

Mum laughed along with dad. I know how much trouble you can get into on the Internet. We saw this young guy going to jail for some hacking stuff; it didn’t seem much to me. I don’t want Harry going to jail. I wasn’t happy. Chuck also looked worried. I think he likes Anita.

"When is the competition in Hawaii?" mum asked.

"Just after we come back from this signing goodie," said Chuck.

"That is interesting!" said Lauren and winked at Dan. "Maybe I will have a chat with Porquenta myself."

Ben walked into the canteen dressed in his desert camouflage. He joined a pair of young people his age, similarly dressed, at their table.

He introduced himself and was surprised to find they were both from Australia, one from Melbourne and the other from Perth.

"Ben, I haven't noticed you here before; what are you doing here?" Zahava from Melbourne asked him.

"My father is here doing some consulting work for the Israeli government on behalf of the future leader of Earth," said Ben.

"What exactly are you doing?" Samuel from Perth asked him.

"I am helping my father do whatever he's doing, and what he is doing is classified; therefore, what I am doing is classified."

"I am delighted you are here; it means she is aware all hell will break loose in the Middle East when the world government happens. The religious leaders will not surrender power to anyone unless forced. They will try and make a big grab for land here while the going is good. What kind of consulting does your father do?"

"My father is an unusual consultant. He consults banks about banking; he consults industry about productivity; and he consults about cybercrime and its prevention to experts in the area. Mostly he consults the military about a wide-ranging group of issues. You know how most people can only be an expert in one area; my father proves you can be an expert of experts in many areas."

"How old are you, Ben?" Zahava asked.

“I turned seventeen two weeks ago."

"What about University and other studies?" She asked.

"I have a masters in electronic engineering and information technology. My father suggested I wait a few months before continuing my studies somewhere more advanced. He says why to bother to learn stuff that will be superseded in months. I wouldn't mind studying elsewhere, somewhere less chaotic than Earth will be in the next few years.

"What do you think is going to happen to Israel?" Samuel asked.

“House Kargo will consider Earth as one unified place," said Ben. "I don't think people realize how much is going to change. It will change quickly and dramatically. You will get your first inklings of how different it will be when the Arab states launch their attacks. You will be part of the army of the Empire within weeks. Most people won’t even serve on Earth.

"There will be no specific earth Army that belongs to anyone state or nation. Tomorrow will be a huge day. The Russians are also going to do their attempted land grabs. North Korea could also misbehave.”

"What will happen to Judaism?" Samuel asked.

"Most religions don't survive as the societies become more sophisticated. We recently saw a program on Aussie television where they interviewed the original anthropologist from the Empire responsible for the diversity of religious beliefs on this planet. He has been rehabilitated after his crimes. He explained he gave the diverse religions to different groups at different times as he wanted to see what happened. He knew it was unethical, but he believed Earth was sufficiently far away he could get away with it. Several of his students reported him to the University. One anthropologist and his students created every religion on Earth for experimental purposes. They did a lot better on planets where they were given a single faith.”

“That is a real shock. I had no idea,” said Zahava.

“The next big confidence trick was the idea of ascension. We know from much more advanced species ascension doesn't exist. It was another manipulative act by advanced species to exploit others for their unique reasons. The Empire does not mind if people hang onto their religious beliefs. Now we know about the Empire, the Collective, and other advanced peoples, I find our religions hard to accept. The Parzool dinosaurs are doubting their religion since their encounter with the Archduke Jason Kargo," said Ben. “Their beliefs are much like some of our eastern religions.”

Zahava shook her head and turned to Ben.

"All of this change is disturbing. My parents have always been believers. I spoke to my father last night, and he said he has never been so confused in his life. He also saw the same program you did, and he was angry for days, my mother told me.”

“Many religious groups worldwide censored the program,” Ben added.

“My father was also in shock after the attack of the ancients in Nigeria. He said he realized we were not the center of the universe," said Zahava. “Do you know what they do with the people?”

Ben shook his head.

"I am looking forward to the opportunities, but I must admit I am concerned about the next few days. Never before have so many enemies assembled to attack us at once," said Samuel.

"I know the Countess of Earth intends to move quickly," said Ben. "You guys should make your way to bed. I suspect you will have a long day of waiting, hoping for nothing bad.”

"Yes, I know it will be an early start tomorrow morning," said Zahava. “We remain on red alert.”

Ben woke from his restless sleep to hear his alarm at 3:30. He dressed quickly and walked to the control room, where he met up with his father and the concerned-looking Israeli team.

Stan handed his son a hot cup of strong coffee and a plate of muesli with banana. Ben’s father always took food with him on his trips for at least one if not two meals a day. He alternated muesli with oats porridge and had done so for years.

They looked at the giant hologram – "They are getting ready to move in Lebanon and Syria. Nothing is happening in Jordan other than some fanatics preparing demonstrations. The Egyptians look like they are also waiting. The Iranians are coming through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. There are some skirmishes in northern Iraq as we speak.”

"Dad, what is happening in Russia?"

"They are moving on several fronts. They are also attempting a significant cyberattack on the West to cover their actions. North Korea is quiet. Terrorist activity is underway to take control of the moderate Arab states, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Jordan has a demonstration growing into a riot, instigated by extremists.

An hour ago, the agreement was signed in New York,” said Stan. “After the agreement was signed, several capitals had demonstrations start. There is a riot that is getting out of control in Paris. I don't know what we will do there. It is not my theatre of operations."

The Israeli General looked at Stan worriedly.

"General, we will strike in six seconds,” said Stan.

Ben fired up his three holograms.

Tanks began to move towards the Israeli border. There were thousands of them supported by tracked armored carriers and artillery. Trucks followed behind. Fighters screamed through the air toward Israel.

Orbital fire from frigates in the atmosphere obliterated the tanks and shot down as many as twenty Arab fighters at a time. They watched the Israeli fighters return to base without committing to defend the state. The holograms moved to the Syrian then Iranian parliaments, where marines landed in assault frigates supported by tanks.

Fighter craft from the ships obliterated the remaining enemy fighter craft heading for the front. The holograms shifted to the supporting armies as fire from above pounded them from space.

Marines landed on command and control vehicles and structures near the battlefront to capture the general officers.

They zoomed to a fleet in the Mediterranean which seconds later ceased to exist.

"General, we have captured many of the general staff of the Syrians and the Iranians and are moving to capture terrorist groups. Different teams are assaulting the parliaments. They will all be taken for interrogation and tried in the next two days. The Palestinians are preparing to riot. We are sending troops to capture the leaders. The Jordanians and Egyptians stood down, as have the Iraqis,” said Stan. “We can’t see any significant threats.”

"We will install transitional regional governments until the Earth AI establishes regional control systems. We are hunting down the terrorists. From this point on, we will continue mopping up.”

The general looked at the hologram - "Stan, could we see what is happening in Russia?"

Stan shifted over to the Russian theatre. The senior leadership is hiding in a bunker deep beneath the Parliament. We are starting to drill, and we will have them out in two hours. A third of the general officers and their Naval counterparts are in our hands. We sank a few big ships from space, and they gave up. We halted the armies heading for Ukraine, Finland, and Poland.”

"What are you going to do with the criminals?" the General asked.

"After we interrogate them, they will go to Porquenta. If he can reform them, he will keep them. The worst ones he will keep in stasis, and the others he will put on a planet where they can fight each other and eke out an existence. The ancients don't believe in prisons. Most can be reformed by Porquenta quickly. By the last count, he rejected one in a million.” Watch your TV or listen to the radio. One channel will continuously broadcast what will happen as the planet moves into house Kargo. The countess wants people fully informed.”

Stan turned his attention back to the hologram and switched to Paris. Marine AIs were pushing disheveled protestors into shuttles. They stunned a young man as he prepared to throw a Molotov cocktail. It exploded in his hand. He screamed.

Stan shifted the holographic feed to Mogadishu, where terrorists attacked the parliament. A second later, a deep hole in the road and around it lay scattered wrecked vehicles, light tanks, and bodies lying in pockets in the ground. Gunships landed and disgorged Marines. Within minutes they carted unwilling captives into shuttles.

“Terrorists decided they wanted to capture the UAE parliament. We hit the terrorist bases as they started to move. They got nowhere fast,” said Stan reading a report on the hologram.

“The armies of India and Pakistan massed at the borders, each waiting for the other to attack. We sent fighters above them and told them to move back to barracks. Neither side was motivated to attack the other, and they moved back.

"North Korea, nothing is happening. South Korea is relaxing. We did not need more than a tiny fraction of our available ground forces," said Stan.

"Thank you, Stan; I am very impressed," said the General. "For us, it would have been a battle for our lives. One last thing; can we see what is happening with the Palestinians?"

Stan shifted the hologram to show marines in the streets searching for terrorists. Sporadic fire erupted and was responded to in microseconds by automated systems on the tanks or by alert marines. All went quiet within the half an hour they watched.

"Ben, let us head for home. We are going on holiday to Hawaii for a week. I have an invitation to dance with the CIA."

"Chuck, your mom is the best. Hawaii is so cool. We haven't had a holiday for years. Dad and Mum are always working. I can't wait to see dad’s face when he sees Harry," said Anita. “Harry will also knock off my father’s socks. Excuse my French?”

"Harry, are you looking forward to the conference in Hawaii?" I asked.

“Your mum is the best of the best!. I am so looking forward to it. I was scared I was going to get into trouble with my dad. He’s going to kill me.”

Harry dramatically moved his hand as if he was cutting his throat and dying.

"You know, I was thinking after we watched what is happening all over the world in the last couple of days, these war games are kindergarten level compared to what we will see happening,” said Harry.

I noticed Harry looked much happier and smiled a lot. Porquenta said he and Anita had natural talent.

“I have been doing all the military simulations you began with a year ago and the intelligence simulations. The learning cube you gave me is great. Porquenta says he wants to give me a crystal. He says he thinks I have some potential. I don't know why my parents didn't send me along with you guys when you went on holiday to the Empire, Porquenta, and the Collective. Sometimes I think they live in cloud cuckoo land and have no idea what is happening. I wouldn't have been so bored, and I would've had better friends," said Harry.

"What did you think about what happened at school?" I asked.

"It was awesome," said Chuck butting in, "we got all these new teachers, and we were each given this new ball thing with lots of sides. Half the teachers left to go and spend some time in the Empire. I was pleased to see some of them go. We are going to learn fighting from a Marine AI. It is a pity Jones is still there. I would send him to the back of the worst cockroach planet."

"Thank you for your opinion Chuck, but I wasn't asking you; I spoke to Harry. If I want the opinion of the peanut gallery, I'll ask you for it," I said.

"Don't be so hard on him, he's a good guy, and I like him," said Harry and patted Chuck on the head. I never realized he was so good at the simulations. You both scare me. You are so good.

"I forgot to tell you, they sent me an email and said we will learn to use simulators, and the format will change. This morning, this Colonel guy phoned to confirm I received his email and was coming. He laughed when he told me the whole thing had changed, and we were moving to a new generation of games. He suggested we started a day early to practice on the simulators, and we would learn about modern warfare. He also told us several intergalactic champions would be there, including Zaos, Ordreg, an Orc, an Apocalypse person, two from the Empire, and two from the Collective. There were two other secret competitors. He laughed even louder when he told me. He sounded like a chicken, peeping cheerfully before it met its doom. Off with the head, laugh now before you are humiliated. He sounded mega-nervous,” said Chloe.

"Chloe, the same happened to them at their War College as happened at our school. The Colonel said everyone has to start from the beginning. He said the Admiral was spitting chips when he heard they sent him to the Collective. He said the new simulations they have started using are terrifying. He had this funny sort of laugh. It was like he wanted to cry,” said Harry grinning.

“These guys will find out what life is like,” said Chloe.

"I am pleased something is happening, and life is speeding up. I felt like I was living in a world stuck in slow motion. My mother was scared I would get hurt or sick in whatever sport I did,” said Harry.

Chloe laughed. “Your mother is something else.”

"My parents never let me do martial arts. My mother was scared I was going to get an injury. She has never watched me in a football game. I never told her about them because she would stop me from playing if she saw one. She fell asleep watching me play cricket, and she only watched once.”

“Are you still bored, Harry?”

“No way, I am firing on all cylinders. This new school is going to be great for me. At long last, we all work at our own pace. Everyone is speaking Empire standard, and it's almost as if they don't even notice it. I was looking at the difference between what is on the cube and what is on this new fatter octagon thing. I noticed there is a lot more advanced stuff from the Azayal, and the time shortening thing works a lot better. I also noticed it is beginning to update, and we are getting a lot of new stuff from some people called the Uzliumbax and some stuff from the Grork. That stuff is way, way ahead," said Harry. “Who the hell are they?”

"I wanted to find out who the Uzliumbax were,” said Chloe, "so I looked at the history. There was a picture of the Emperor, and he looked like my grandpa. Even the empresses look like his women. I spoke to Porquenta, and he tells me they are the same persons. He said he always knew Jason was somebody special, but he didn't know who he was.”

“He seems awesome,” said Harry.

“Grandpa sent us a message. He said one of the Uzliumbax AIs is putting together a program for the schools for Earth so that everyone will get the best of the best. Porquenta says he is working with the most awesome AIs he has ever met. It will put us two million years ahead! Porquenta also said we would soon get new learning devices where time is even more shortened. He said it would take him some time to get used to the new Uzliumbax manufacturing processes. He’s got quite many Uzliumbax AIs working with him now," said Chloe excitedly.

“I hope we will get some more interesting simulations,” said Harry.

"Have you had your genes optimized yet?" Chloe asked.

"Porquenta says he will get it done for our whole family in Hawaii. He said he wanted to send one of the new ships your grandpa found to do the job. He said it is the latest and greatest, and he said he's going to put your family through it. He said it was a hospital ship, and it was huge. He said he could optimize millions of people every day. Porquenta also said he is sending new medical pods to the hospitals in Perth. He said the same is happening all over the Earth."

"Have you been down to the river, Harry?"

"Nah, why, what is the story?"

"They started building the new building for my mother to run the planet. One of my Grandpa's Empresses sent her building teams from the Collective."

"I am sure there isn't much to see yet," said Harry, "Why should we bother."

"Have you got a bike?"

"Yup, I sure do; Anita and I love cycling.”

"We can cycle down to the foreshore tomorrow; I guarantee you will be surprised."

"Can we come too?" Anita asked.

"Sure," said Harry, "but there can't be much to see. I feel like a ride, and I love the bike path so let's do it."

"Please pack a picnic, please, pretty please," asked Anita.

"For you, I killa da bull, for Chloe, I killa you," said Harry dramatically.

Chloe smirked.

"I like the learning goodies. I am happy we don’t have teachers droning on and on. Tomorrow we finish early. Let's go as soon as we can after school."

"Fine," said Harry. "Chloe, you said something about the Dhoom taking over people on Earth, and there could be some jellyfish on people. I did an Intelligence Module on Investigations. Then I tried some of the stuff I learned. I think there is a suspicious guy who recently appeared in Mandurah."

"Why Mandurah, I wonder?" Chloe asked absently. "It's not in the center of anything. I wouldn't do anything there; it’s good for swimming or catching crabs."

"Perth is going to be your mum's central place. It's good to hide in a quiet place. It's only an hour from here on the train."

"We could go there and check it out!" Chuck suggested.

“Dummy, you don’t just get on the train and put yourself into the hands of your enemy. You know the intelligence protocols.”

Chuck drives me bananas. He is good at school and a champion at simulations, but as I told you, he mangles English and often has no common sense. He rushes into trouble just like grandpa. He needs a muzzle and body chains.

”What research did you do, Harry?” I asked.

"I went to look at who were the people who were taken over. I had to hack in to get it. I used the Porquenta tools he gave us. I searched for related names and occupations. One of the guys was a priest who disappeared after visiting a mental hospital in Jersey. I searched for his picture as I did with the others. We got lucky with a newspaper article in a local paper that had this reverend bloke and five of his mates. They are setting up a new church," said Harry. I also found the priest had been a patient himself at one time and was as nuts as the inmates.

"That is interesting and very lucky. I expected them to avoid photos." I said.

"Someone caught a photo of them for a local paper. They did not look happy, any of them,” said Harry.

"Did you use one of the FBI supercomputers to search?”

"I didn't think of that. It was too slow to do the stuff on my computer, so I asked for help. Porquenta asked me to tell him what I wanted to know, and he worked out a search. He said the Internet is putrid, and it was agony, but he was the one who found the guys in the local paper.” - Harry fired up his hologram and showed us; they looked pretty mean and suspicious. “Porquenta suggested we do searches worldwide. He said we should look at this as a real-life test, and we need to plan what we think should be done to investigate further,” said Harry.

“How do we do it?” Chloe asked.

“Porquenta is sending us a dedicated AI for our investigations. He said we are not to work on it until we are back from Hawaii. He said I was to work on simulations to get myself ready. I found some on the octagon from the Uzliumbax. I also found War College stuff, the whole Tootie and Bangshoot. There is awesome stuff and amazing weapons. The simulations are unbelievable. Porquenta says Anita and I need a war AI, and he is sending two like the ones you guys have but better. He is sending new ones for you,” said Harry, his eyes wide. "What time are we catching the plane?"

"Nah, we are taking our shuttle. Mum and dad will go on hers, but she will leave us after the first day and pop in after the competition or tournament. My shuttle is bigger than Chuck’s, and we can fit comfortably. Bird the Nerd and his sister Hazel are also coming with us. We will leave at 4 pm; I will fly the shuttle."

"How long will it take?"

It will only take us two and a half hours at most. We hop out of the atmosphere and then around the planet. Suppose I had been there before we could work out a faster route. It will be much less on the way back. We have two days to get used to the time difference."

"We finish school at 12:30, and then we will go down to the river for a picnic. After that we go home, you get your luggage, and my dad will bring you back here. Then off we go. We can talk about what we do about the Doom and Jellyfishes on the way back. One of the guys had a scarf around his neck. Is there a little jellyfish under the scarf?" I asked.

Harry nodded, as did Chuck.

"Your family will travel with my parents. Your father is back tonight," I added.

"Harry, have you got your backpack?" Anita asked.

"Yes, let's be on our way," said Harry.

The group headed down the street headed for the river a few miles away. It was a windy, balmy day. The roads were quiet in the sleepy neighborhood.

Chloe rode behind Harry, and they were careful with their siblings at the intersections.

"What a lovely day! I love cycling," said Chloe. "Come on, you horrible lot, let’s go down this way. We are almost at the river. Cars passed them, leaving a wide gap as they turned and went down the hill to the river.

"Bejoggenfus the great! That is stupendous," said Anita.

“Now I know why you said to come down to look at your mother's building," said Harry. "Who can build so fast?"

"Philippa, the Empress from the Collective, has a big building company. Most of them are beetles. Grandpa has a building in the Empire, hundreds of floors high and just as deep underground, they built it in hardly any time. It will be done in three months or less!"

"How big is it going to be?" Chuck asked.

"The river here is two miles wide. The building will look as if it is floating above the water. It is a mile deep and a mile high and the size of two city blocks. It is ten times the size of the United Nations building. It will be the biggest building on Earth for some time," said Chloe. "They are dredging the river on both sides of it and downriver. There are hundreds of huge drillers working underwater and underground. They are building the top part while drilling underneath. It is on a shelf held up by some anti-gravity goodie. There are zillions of drones and AI construction bots. On the shuttle, you can look at the holograms of it and what they are doing underground."

"Bejoggenfus and his uncle!" said Harry.

Chuck laughed, and I giggled. Anita rolled her eyes.

"Picnic time, boys and girls, chicken and fish," said Harry.

"Harry, stop talking like Dad. You and Ben are trying to be just like him," said Anita.

"Yes, dear," said Harry.

We all started to giggle as Harry laid out the food on a picnic table.

He pulled out several soft drinks and water bottles and put them on the table from his monster backpack.

It was great food, and I ate like a pig, and so did everyone else. Harry packed his bag after throwing the garbage in the green bin. He beckoned to Anita.

"We will cycle home and get ready. We both want to see dad and Ben before going with you guys,” said Harry.

"Your dad will fetch us at 3:45, and then we fly to the moon,” said Harry.

"Harry, if you carry on like this, everyone will know you are cracked in the head!" Anita rebuked him.

Harry laughed. Then snorted. I started to giggle and snorted. Chuck laughed. Anita stood with her hands on her hips. "Come on, idiot, someone has to be the adult here!"

We all laughed.

"This is an awesome shuttle, Chloe. Who would have thought you had an underground hangar in the park?" Harry remarked.

"Watch this!" I said as I started the shuttle and opened the hangar doors. The shuttle climbed vertically and then jumped out of the atmosphere.

“Wow,” said Anita enthusiastically. "This is amazing. Chloe, can we visit the moon? Please, pretty please, can we?"

"Ok, but we can't be there long. Chuck, send a text message to mum, please. Tell her we will be a bit late.”

Minutes later, we whipped around the moon and headed back. I asked the AI to navigate and fly the craft to Hawaii so I could relax and talk.

As we reached the atmosphere, I contacted flight control and discussed my flight path options with the controller from the Empire. I saw she was teaching someone who was carefully watching and listening.

"This is all new since mum is in charge. Before we flew around cloaked and said nothing to anyone," said Chloe. "We now have Empire flight rules."

"What was all that stuff happening on the moon?" Anita asked.

"We are building bases and putting in defenses. Coming up is one of the planetary defensive platforms."

Harry and Anita looked at it closely on the hologram. Chuck grinned at me and put up his thumb.

"It's like I have been a zombie while lots of things were going on,” said Harry.

"Yeah, it is strange," said Chuck. "Nearly all of us children went touring, and you were one of the few left out. What happened?"

"I was booked for a cricket camp, and my father said there would be plenty of opportunities to visit the Empire. It also didn't seem real to me. It was like reading about somebody who had a strange story to tell. I like cricket, but now that stuff seems less critical.”

“Yes, it’s a different world,” I replied.

"I think I am pretty scared I'm going to make a fool of myself at this simulation competition. I was better at the other stuff, the old stuff with all the weapons from Earth. The new stuff and the new rules is a whole new thing, and it is taking a lot of learning," said Harry.

"How much have you done?" Chuck asked.

"I did the first year of the war College simulations. I am about a third through the second year. I also did half a year of Uzliumbax simulations.”

"That is pretty good!" I replied, and it was. He did a lot in hardly any time.

"How are you going, Anita?" I asked.

Anita blushed deeply. "I have done a bit more. "

"How much have you done?" Chuck asked.

"I have done two years and all the simulations. I also did the Uzliumbax stuff.”

"That is awesome!" I said. "You guys are speedy workers. If both of you compete, you will do pretty well.”

"Did any of you do the pirate attack on my grandpa?" Chuck asked.

Harry and Anita looked at each other and grinned.

"How did you do?"

"Porquenta said we did the best so far," said Anita.

"What did you do?"

"Both of us used the communications drones as missiles to knock out the ships and the boarding gunships. We even managed to hit quite a few fighters. No one boarded us," said Anita grinning, "both of us also caught the saboteurs.”

"How on earth did you do that?" I asked. I couldn’t believe it.

"We pretended the pirates took over the ship. The saboteurs came out to meet them, and we caught them."

I looked at Chuck; we smiled at each other. These two are bright cookies, and Harry isn’t Mr. Dumb as a plum.

"You guys are very clever!" Chuck said, clicking his tongue. "That was such a good idea; I wish I had thought of that!"

I agreed and nodded to support them. "We are coming towards Hawaii. In two minutes, we will jump close to the surface."

"I love this flying in space," said Anita, "I could do with my shuttle. On this trip, Dad and Ben used a shuttle for work."

“Do you know what happened to Bird and Hazel, Chloe?” Chuck asked.

"Someone else gave them a lift. They have been here for a day already. They are coming to the conference."

"At this conference, you six are participating as individuals. No one has had enough time to learn to work as teams and with battle and war AIs. Every future competition will be in the agreed Multiverse format; an admiral, a general, and a war AI. Bird, you have your hand up. You want to ask me a question?"

"My lady, who are we competing against?"

"Bird, half of the participants are generals and admirals from Earth. Most of the rest are students in the last year of studies. We have some people from other universes and dimensions and a few of the usual suckers that you guys chew at every conference. There are one or two Zaos and a couple of Ordreg. They are pretty good, according to grandpa. There are possibly some from the allies, but we are not sure if they will be attending.”

"Grandpa sent me a message today to tell you guys the war is nearly finished; they are mopping up the last of the jellyfish creatures. Oh, I forgot we have one of the slug creatures called a Schlogg," said mum. “As usual, you will be in a room on your own, and the adults won't see you until the whole thing has come to an end."

"Grandpa has a new Castle on a planet called Gromelikine, and after this, we will visit for a holiday.”

“I love school holidays with grandpa,” said Chuck. “Can the others come along?”

“All of you are invited along with your parents. Grandpa says he has tons of space and a surprise flying experience for you. He guarantees you will find it a marvelous adventure!”

"Is he the Emperor of the Uzliumbax yet, mom?" I asked. "He looked just like the Uzliumbax Emperor I saw in my new learning octagon. The Empresses also looked the same, except there were some I haven't seen before," said Chloe.

"Yes, he is the Emperor. You will hear the story when we are there. We are waiting for the adjutant to take us to the room. Harry, did you tell your mother you are competing?"

"Nope, mum isn’t interested.”

"And your father?"

"No way, he will kill me if he knows what I did. I want to hide in the room you’ve given me during the day. He thinks we are on holiday while he attends a conference.”

"Excellent, so if you do badly, you never have to tell him. If you do better than him, you can crow. Anita, that goes for you too," said Lauren. “I’ll make sure to send refreshments to your rooms.”

"Mum, you are so sneaky," said Chuck laughing.

"I think Harry and Anita will surprise you,” I said and smiled at Harry.

"Hazel, you have a question," said Mum.

"My Lady, who set up the simulations?"

“Young lady, no one knows; you will find out later."

"My Lady, please bring your group through. We have the room ready for you. The technicians completed the installation of the simulators this morning," said the adjutant as he led them to a room filled with twenty simulators.”

I was pleased to see they were the big ones. It meant Porquenta was involved. He sets the hardest simulations ever.

"My lady, the general also asked me to proctor this group. There is a small room next door where we will have lunch at 13:00."

"I will see you guys around 6 o'clock this evening. Have a good day. If I'm a bit late, don't worry about it, I have to get back here from New York," said Mum as she waved.

I barely heard her as I was busy switching on my hologram and adjusting the simulator. I am going to use my crystal as a battle AI. There is nothing in the rules to prevent me from doing it, and I am sure that Chuck will do the same. I asked the proctor if I could speak to Harry.

"You guys still have ten minutes before you are under examination conditions. You can talk to each other until you start.”

"Harry, you and Anita can use everything Porquenta gave you on the ship," I whispered.

"Yeah, we did a lot of simulations on the ship after the machines optimized us and gave us our crystals. Porquenta wanted to help us catch up as much as he possibly could. I like him; he is a real good bloke. He said both me and Anita are in good shape to show a few people a thing or two,” said Harry grinning.

"Boys and girls, we have sixty seconds until we begin. I hope you teach all the old fogies a thing or two. We heard you guys are pretty good. Best of luck! You can begin now; there will be a fifteen-minute break at eleven. I am sure you saw the washrooms next door as you came in."

I began to read my intelligence report on the enemy. A new alien form was identified and began to infiltrate our solar system. They were attacking cargo ships and cruise liners. They ate people, and there was some evidence they laid young people trapped in cocoons. They had two body types; the first looked like a Caterpillar and the second like a giant beetle. The ships were speedy, and no one had managed to capture any of them. They were identified after intelligence looked at holo-recorders left running on the ships they attacked. The giant beetle inserted a tube from its abdomen into people in a coma. The beetles carried the captives off the ship. Both the caterpillars and the beetles ate people.

I found myself a captain on a cargo ship with a crew of twenty. It was a fast-ship carrying high-value goods. I had a pair of cannons in the ship’s rear and two in the front. I had ten anti-ship-missiles. A cruiser-sized ship was catching up from behind but was beyond the range of the cannon. Our shield would be down after the first couple of cannon shots. It wasn’t military grade.

I broadcast a mayday calling for help. I started to look through the cargo manifest. "Porquenta, this simulation has your signature all over it," I said under my breath and laughed. Harry and the proctor looked at me and smiled.

We had four simulations in the morning and four in the afternoon, all done in a condensed time. I felt excited and wide awake as I completed the last simulation at a few minutes to six. I sat back and looked around. Chuck, as usual, was finished, but I noticed so were Anita and Harry.

"Time, boys and girls. I will take you to the conference hall where you can drink and chat with the others. The countess is already here and is speaking to the general.

“I have also been doing these new simulations. They are pretty hard, and it is a new way of waging war!" the adjutant chirped as he led the group first to the washrooms and then to the hall. “I regret I have a long way to go.”

I was surprised to see some four-armed people and a slug the size of a mule. I walked over to the slug. It had a translator around its neck. I introduced myself to the slug. She told others knew her as Fessel, and she was a general. I explained I was the grandchild of the Emperor and daughter of the countess of Earth.

Fessel was excited. "Chloe, your grandfather can talk to us chemically through his hands. Can you also do it?"

Chuck walked up as she asked the question. I introduced him as my brother.

"I would like to try," said Chuck, "what do we do?"

"Hold my hands, one on each side."

I took her right, Chuck her left. We both closed our eyes and concentrated. Chuck frowned with the effort.

"I get some gobbledegook," Chuck said.

"Me too; I can feel something, but the words are different," I said. Maybe I need to learn the language or something."

"Excellent, you both are picking up the communication. If you like, I can teach you the language. It will take a minute. I will put my hand on your heads."

"Great," said Chuck. "Fine, I'd like to learn it," I said.

Fessel put her hands on our heads. We both closed our eyes as images flashed before us. "Now you have the language both of you. Shall we try again?"

We each retook a hand.

"Hello, how are you both?"

"This is amazing; I like this a lot. Chuck and I can use this as secret communication. Let me try with you, Chuck" – I grabbed his hand. "How are you, Chuck?”

"This is double fantastic; thank you, Gen. Fessel. I love talking like this. I feel you so much better," said Chuck. “It’s also helluva fast.”

"Gen. Fessel tell us a bit about your planet, if you will?" I asked.

Fessel started to describe the planet before someone tapped on the mike.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please move from this room into the hall where we will announce the results and present awards. The Countess of Earth will hand out the medals.

I sat next to Fessel and held her hand.

I felt Fessel smiling.

"I like you too, Chloe!"

"That is my mother stepping on the stage."

My mother sat on a seat on the stage. She looked around. Chuck waved, and mum nodded. She smiled at us both.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome. I congratulate all of you for competing in the first of many such competitions on Earth. For those who do not know me, I am General Ogden Carlson. I am the Dean of the War College in Hawaii. This competition usually has participants from all over the USA and invites outstanding people from elsewhere.

"We are now part of house Kargo, and we did not realize how much would happen so quickly. We have competitors from other Universes, a different dimension, and several galaxies in this Universe. The examination is set by an AI and is marked by him. It used to take us months to score the individual participants. Today it was a different story. The results arrived less than a minute after the end of the last simulation. Another AI from the Uzliumbax had already checked and ratified the results. We are yet to hear who these Uzliumbax are.”

The Dean sipped his water.

"Our world has changed, and we need to learn to wage war and fight with the house and our allies. Waging of war is very different from how we understood it. I want to welcome her ladyship, Lauren Craddock-Kargo, Countess of Earth. She will hand out awards and medals and bring this our forty-third competition and the first exciting new series of competitions to an end. She will address you shortly.”

The audience applauded, each in their way.

"Prof. Porquenta said to me this will be the only easy Competition. All of you from Earth will retrain in new ways of waging war; the ways of the ancients. Future competitions will involve one person as an admiral and one as a general, and they will use battle AIs. I have been doing beginner simulations all week so that we can bring ourselves up to speed. All of us have done the same. I am sad to say our performance as a school has been at the bottom of the last ten-thousandth of a percentage point. 99.999999 percent of the alliance species do better than us in these junior simulations.”

A groan rumbled through the hall.

The competition results break down into two groups—the visitors and us. There are some notable exceptions from Earth who are not students of ours.”

The Dean paused dramatically.

"Two people tied for the first place, Miss Chloe Craddock-Kargo and her brother Chuck. Porquenta tells me these two compete in different Universes and can, at times, outperform the Emperor. They both score within a tiny margin of the possible top mark. Please come forward to the stage. They are both from Earth.”

There was a roar from the audience and then enthusiastic applause. Mum handed us our medals.

“In the joint second place, we have Admiral Nestigorbund and General Gremovolist of the Ordreg, Admiral Festibaltur of the Zaos, and Gen. Fessel of the Schlogg. Those who came second all came within a scant few points of the first pair. Please join us on the stage.”

The audience applauded once more, and mum again handed out medals.

"Third, we have Anita Webster, who scored a marginally above her brother Henry but known as Harry, but we award them joint third at the suggestion of Prof Porquenta. They are also from Earth. I am reassured by this. It means Earth can catch up.”

The audience again roared its approval and applauded.

A distant fourth is their father, Stan. The first group scored above 98%. Stan scored an outstanding 88%. Stan is well known to us, but now we know how good he is. Please come up to the stage.

Mum handed Stan his medal, and we sat down.

"Now for the bad news; not one of the rest of us scored over thirty percent. People, you have a lot of work to do. Even if someone gave us advanced technology, every other civilization would beat us every time.”

There was a low rumble in the hall.

"All of you will receive your results by email." The Dean then guided Mum to the podium.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the new world you live in. If my children and the neighbors can score top marks, so can you with the due application.

The pace of change on Earth will accelerate. An AI runs and manages Earth on my behalf. This outstanding AI can run twenty planets. The Empire designed the AI to be scrupulously fair. The AI uses rules, regulations, and laws appropriate to our level of development. The AI is monitored for corruption by AI colleagues. The AIs are sentient and have citizenship of the Empire and the Collective.

My father, the archduke Jason Kargo, conquered the Ghouls and the Grork, then freed the Schlogg. Our family discovered we are from a people called the Uzliumbax. They have been in stasis, waiting for the return of the Emperor. My father is that Emperor. Half a trillion Uzliumbax will come out of stasis every year for ten years. They are millions of years ahead of the Collective. Your children will receive the best of the education from Uzliumbax and all our allies. An Uzliumbax AI is integrating all the curricula and information as we speak. The University Curricula will be available tomorrow. The War Colleges will have their Curricula in a week. All the allies will be challenged by this new information which will change education delivery in two Universes and many galaxies. Within months you will meet Uzliumbax people recently out of stasis. Tomorrow, you will have an Uzliumbax AI who will walk you through the university curriculum. The unique military elements will follow in a week, as I have noted.

You will start training on Uzliumbax ships from tomorrow. Education will continue at full speed. You will see many galaxies, several dimensions, and possibly even other Universes.

Many cheered.

The intergalactic war ended today. No doubt you will face the simulations of the battles in that war, as our forces did when they met the enemy. Now I shall briefly talk about developments here on Earth.

We are bringing in power plants that deliver clean power to the cities. We have machines to clean the oceans and take every town and city on Earth underground. The cost of power will plummet.

You will enter medical pods that will give you good health, and unless you are catastrophically injured, you will not die. Most of you will look like you are in your mid-twenties. Within a few years, we will no longer use fossil fuels.

Every person will speak Empire standard and be exposed to superior education. You will learn the language of the species you are placed with overnight. Less sophisticated parts of the world will have an AI in each home to help them advance into the future. We will then put them all through University and place many on Porquenta, in the Empire, and in the Collective to learn to live and work in this modern world. All our youngsters serve in the military for fifteen years, a great melting pot of civilizations.

We can reform most criminals. Those who cannot live their days on a barren planet where they eke out an existence. The worst ones we put in stasis. Within weeks we will not have prison populations on Earth.

We must work to keep ourselves fit and able to fight wars against the next enemies that will come along. There are always new enemies who wish to attack us. The Empire faces refugees from another galaxy ruled by a species of insect that looks part ant and part spider. They are highly advanced and organized. We cannot communicate with them. They attacked once ages ago and were repulsed.

Do not be discouraged about today. You can learn what is needed but must know what you know, don’t know, and how others perform.

We have people of Dhoom hiding on Earth and perhaps even parasitic jellyfish. We must find them and incarcerate them. The sooner you develop yourselves, the sooner you can all defend the planet of your birth.

Above us is an Uzliumbax destroyer sitting in orbit. Shuttles will arrive in five minutes. I am taking you all to dinner on board. Before dinner, you will all have your genes optimized, and will give you a powerful AI in a crystal that sits in trans-dim space within you. It does a lot for you and augments your immune system. You will tour the ship, freshen up, get your new Uniforms, and join me for dinner.

People stood and cheered.

"Lastly, I congratulate the winners today. Some special thanks to those who have come great distances. The shuttles are on the parade ground. Make your way to them and seat yourselves. You will be back here in three hours. Your phones will work wherever we are.

"What did your dad say when you got back, Harry?" Chloe asked as they sat at the kitchen table.

“Dad laughed at mum’s shocked face when he told her about us competing. She was gob-smacked and sat with her mouth open. Dad was so proud he could burst. Ben was stunned like mum. Mum hugged me for the first time... in like... forever. She then held onto Nita. She said we were amazing, and she was so proud.”

Harry then impersonated his parents. “Nita, I am proud of you; that was astounding. Harry, Chloe is perfect for you. You were a directionless boy; now, you show a glimmer of a purpose. Please don’t mess it up with Chloe. A good woman can do a lot for you.”

"I said, 'Mum, she is bossy and nags me. Do this simulation, do that homework. Maybe I should find someone who will let me relax and take it easy.’”

Mum laughed and punched my shoulder. "'Mm, she said. Just do as she says, and don't be unreasonable. She knows what is good for you more than you do.’”

I went and hugged her again. She hugged me back.

"Son, I was not pleased to find you using my account for the game, but I would not have gotten in without you and your points. I don't have the time to play enough. I prefer you don't do that again."

I hugged him. "Dad, you did well despite not playing much, but I have a qualifying rank, and the conference people will invite me to tournaments all over the place. You will also get invitations once you do the simulations?”

Dad hugged me and smiled.

"Ben said, “‘Well done, little brother.'"

"Mum took Dad off to the bedroom in the middle of the day. It was disgusting. She told him he was going to get lucky. Even Ben shook his head and laughed."

"Let's get lunch in the canteen. I am hungry after all the exercise," I said. "I love the short school day, and we do all our homework in simulations, most while we are sleeping. Did you see how much they did on the building while away? Are you ready to visit my grandpa on Gromelikine?"

"Nah, I didn't look at the building again. I sure am looking forward to staying in a castle. I wonder what the ride is he was talking about?"

"Grandpa always fools around; he loves practical jokes and adores surprises. He can't resist hinting at what is to come, so you suffer even more. I guarantee if he says it is good, it will be awesome. Mum says dad has a butler, Jones, and he works at the castle,” I said. “Grandpa has quite a few surprises for all of us."