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Cover

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Inside Cover

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ALTER WRECK BOAST

Episode Two: Testing... Testing...123

Story: Emily Duncan

Illustration: Serge Ratten

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The band have invented their instruments for the Sound-Off Competition and the ban enforced by the police has finally lapsed!

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We’ve got some really great sounds going.

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But we need

a singer.

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What about that girl, Miho? Andy says she can play real piano music, so she’ll be able to sing.

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You go and see what she says.

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I’ve got a favour to ask you. We need a

singer for our band.

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You wanna hear me sing?

HAaaargh!!

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Um. That’s raw.

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Well... This is kinda cool. But I’m not really supposed to do it.

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That sound is awesome!

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When I speak, I am rapidly changing the shape of my mouth, tongue, and throat...

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I am making different tunnel shapes which resonate with vibrations from my vocal cords to create the sound of the words.

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Instead of using sound from my vocal cords, I’m changing the ‘shape’ of the keyboard sounds...

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...with my mouth and tongue to make the words!

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Hi there, sorry about our instruments, they could look better.

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Appearance is everything.

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This fluorescent paint will brighten them up!

It has chemicals that ‘fluoresce’. They become excited by high-energy

Ultra Violet light - that’s a colour of light we can’t quite see. When excited in this way the chemicals give out the bright fluorescent colours we can see.

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And this is cool: ‘Supa-Strong’ Glow-In-The-Dark paint!

It uses a phosphorescent chemical called Strontium Aluminate.

This chemical absorbs the energy of Ultra Violet light. That energy is then slowly released as colours we can see as it glows into the night!

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To our first show ever!

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These regional competitions are either going to make us or break us!

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$$

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Let’s give it up for the fourth band in our line-up this afternoon -

Alter Wreck Boast!!

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aAAY! What do you call those?

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Instruments.

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I’m afraid we’ll have to...ahem...discuss...whether this calls for...disqualification.

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We have decided that in the spirit of musical innovation you will be allowed to play in this heat of the Sound Off Competition.

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Thank you...

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We are very pleased to announce that Alter Wreck Boast has made it into the nationals of the Sound Off Competition.

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Watch out for more inventive inspiration from Alter Wreck Boast in Episode 3!

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Within a Fictional Universe…?

Story: Emily Duncan

Illustration: Greg Seal

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I’d have felt better about watching that movie if I knew that you could fight off giants.

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Where do we see giants anyway?

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Who could overcome a giant?

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Eee-yew! Check out the hog!

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I’d hate to be a giant.

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Look at her Fred, she’s beautiful. I think I’m in love. Do you think she’s noticed me? Is she looking this way?

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Even better, she’s coming over! You’d better watch out though man, I don’t think she’s from around here.

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I can handle it.

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Hey Baby, I’m Graham. Where are you from?

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We immigrated from Austraalia mate.

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Uh-oh!

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And the moral to the story… Be careful who you love!

Scientists dissecting an Australian Green and Gold Bell Frog (Litoria aurea) Once found bits of half-digested New Zealand Archey’s Frogs (Leiopelma archeyi) in its gut.

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‘A dark cloud hung over Wehi Point. Someone, somewhere, had blood on their hands...’

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You won’t ask me if I did it...I know why...you’re afraid of my answer...

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...Not that I can give you one.

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What do you mean?

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‘All I know is...when I woke up this morning I was sitting on the curb, holding my cat and it was dead. Barcode was dead and I had blood all over me’.

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Broken Dawn

Part Two

Story: Kate Morris Illustration: Sian Tomlinson

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So you were sleepwalking again?

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I don’t remember anything...d’you know what they say about people like...like...they start off with small animals mice, rabbits, cats...and turn into psychos that-

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You’re jumping to conclusions.

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My parents will flip. I’m already suspended. They’ll send me away...

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Back up...you first saw the cat dead this morning right?

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Yeah. He didn’t come for a feed yesterday – but that’s not unusual ‘cause he roams the fields. He can be ages.

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Well, if we count from when you woke up this morning up until now, that’s nine hours - even if we include the whole night that’s still not enough...This cat has been dead for at least thirty-eight hours.

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How do you know?

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Ok. It’s kind of gross. Do you remember that science fair project I did in fourth form? About Calliphora quadrimaculata, the New Zealand blue blowfly? They’re quick to find decomposing flesh so you can calculate an approximate time of death through their life-cycle.

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Let’s say the cat died, a blowfly landed on it and laid eggs...those eggs take eighteen hours to hatch. Now see how the larvae are about the size of a grain of rice? That means they’ve reached the first instar which takes around twenty hours. Twenty plus eighteen is thirty-eight.

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The life cycle of the blowfly speeds up when it is warmer. But it has been quite cold around here lately.

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But what if I killed Barcode some other time?

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Well you wouldn’t have done it if you were awake. You loved that cat. Did you sleepwalk the night before?

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No. My parents were home. They lock my door from the outside when I go to bed for my protection. It was just last night they couldn’t because they were away.

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‘They went to my bro’s graduation, started driving very early yesterday morning. Said they’d be back this evening at eight’.

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‘There was a light rain all yesterday’.

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We need to figure this out before they come home. Quick, show me where you woke up this morning.

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PAGE 11:

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I was here.

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Skid marks... In light rain oil would float on the thin layer of water on the road – harder to stop than in heavy rain.

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‘Someone hit something’.

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‘Yeah. But they didn’t hit another car...there’s no glass on the road and only one set of skid marks’.

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You didn’t do it Billy. Your shirt had blood on it because you were holding Barcode after he was injured.

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If you had killed him there would have been a splatter pattern, but there was none. Your shirt was just soaked through.

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And the flies – the timing’s not right. If the cat had been killed this morning or last night. The eggs would not have hatched into larvae by now...Barcode must have been hit by a car. He probably crawled to the side of the road where you found him.

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So someone just hit him and drove off? ...I’m going to find them Alex. In this place, everyone knows everyone.

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How are you going to find them?

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Wait here.

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They don’t teach you everything you need to know in school...

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Toe-in is the distance between the front wheels. Whoever matches this...that’s our killer.

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I’m impressed.

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$$

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Billy, that’s a ‘mare of a job...

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Yeah well I’ve got to make the time or I’ll be doing time. I have to find who did this otherwise my Dad will think I had something to do with it.

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‘My parents... they’re early’!

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‘The phone! We didn’t clean off the blood’.

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Oh my lord. What happened? Billy?

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What has he done now?

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I can explain. The cat. Barcode. He’s dead...he got hit by a car and-

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What?! That’s it Billy.

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You mess about in class, skip school, spend most of your time dithering about in that condemned house doing who knows what and now what have you done to your cat?!

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I mean where does it end?

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I didn’t do anything to Barcode. How could you...?

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Don’t you walk away from me!

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The timing’s right...I wonder.

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No way...

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I can prove who did it...

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...It definitely wasn’t you.

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It’s funny Alex, you can know someone all your life, but you know me better than...well anyone.

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The End

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Eugenius

Eugene’s Living Consortium

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Saprotrophic Fungi

- A decomposing fungus which recycles dead plant or animal matter into chemical nutrients e.g carbon and nitrogen. These chemicals are then released back into surrounding air and soil. As fungi do not contain chlorophyll they cannot produce their own food. Therefore saprotrophic fungi absorb nutrients from the source they decompose.

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Carpet Beetle (Anthrenocerus australis)

-Whose larvae are called “woolly bears”, are around 3mm in length and covered with tiny bristle-like hairs. When these hairs are discarded or break off they pass into circulating air, presenting a significant problem to asthma sufferers. They feed on wool or wool products and can be eradicated through regular vacuuming.

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Dust Mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus)

- Dust mites adore the warm conditions of modern residential homes. Globular in appearance, they are related to the tick and arachnid family. They consume dead skin which has been partially digested by fungi. Although not a direct threat to humans, their faeces contain strong allergens which can be inhaled by our respiratory system.

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Book lice (Psocidae)

-If you sit very quietly you may be able to hear a ticking sound, a bit like the ticking of a wind-up wristwatch. That’s the sound of a Book louse hitting its head against something hard to create this sound as a mating call! They usually live in books, eating glue. They have also been found living inside computers!

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Roll up! Roll up! Incredible life forms to be discovered in every nook and cranny... bring your own microscope.

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The Re-Styler

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Are you worried about what to wear on the first day of school? Are you sick of having to wear the same thing twice? Research has shown that first impressions count. Whether you’re wanting to improve the first impressions that others make of you or correct the impression that they already have, the re-styler is the machine for you!

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Stand on the machine.

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The machine scans you with a laser beam to accurately calculate size measurements.

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The machine connects to internet searching images of the latest fashion from catwalks around the world.

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Seasonal colours are chosen from the spectral colour wheel.

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A template garment is selected from a range on the rack.

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The Robotic arms re-tailor the garment.

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Laser-guided ink-jets reprint the fabric to suit the latest designs.

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TIM!!!

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Risky 4 Cast

Episode Two

Story: Lani Evans

Illustration: Greg Seal

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Previously... a navigational mishap landed our heroes on a deserted island, somewhere off the coast of the Coromandel. An earthquake caused by volcanic activity threw Tim off the cliff....

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Is he okay?

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I’ll climb down and find out.

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We’ll try to find another way.

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Marama! Be careful!

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Ok, calm down, relax, how hard can it be?

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Just don’t let go, that’s all there is to it!

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This is solidified lava - igneous rock - and that can be the most solid rock there is... I think... yeah.

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Just concentrate on holding on...

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... and don’t look down! But then how will I see where to put my feet!

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Phew! Made it!

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uhh... what happened...my ankle...

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Relax. You’ll be okay.

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He’s concussed and I think his ankle is broken. He could be bleeding internally! This is serious. We need to get him out of here and to a hospital.

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How are we going to handle this? We didn’t see any houses and there’s no sign of other people!

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We’ve got to get him on a stretcher and get back to the beach.

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We can build a signal fire. Someone is sure to see it.

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No! We shouldn’t move him!

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Well we can’t leave him here! What if the volcano erupts before they can rescue us?

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OK. The first thing we need to do is get Tim in the recovery position, untie his shoelaces and strap his legs together to support his ankle.

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Can you two build a stretcher?

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Dude, where do you learn this stuff?

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Television.

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PAGE: 17

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Be careful with his head! The concussion has, like, scrambled his grey matter. His brain could be swollen and bruised right now!

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Do you think there’ll be signs before the volcano blows its top? Or will we just get buried under piles of ash like the victims of Pompeii?

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We’ll be immortalised as King Tim’s servants!

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Yuck! You’re so morbid!

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Three hours later...

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We’re lost again aren’t we? Doesn’t anyone know how to navigate?

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Not really.

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Shh! I think I’ve found something!

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A campsite!

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I can’t wait to get back to my cell phone. I’ve probably got about a hundred messages by now.

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You’re a techno addict.

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Oh, like you don’t miss civilisation.

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I miss food. Man, I’m going to eat three burgers with extra chilli and then I’m going to sit down and watch Survivor.

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Scuba gear...

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These bottles are full! The regulator’s not leaking, its valve is giving air only when I breathe. This Buoyancy Compensation jacket looks good - it can be filled with air or deflated for floating, sinking or to stay at one depth. This Scuba gear is completely set up and ready to go... hmmm... I wonder...

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Come and look at this! I think we’ve stumbled

on a scuba diving group.

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There’s heaps of scientific gear. There’s even an air compressor!

And these tanks are full!

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If the divers were in the water, they might not have noticed the tremors.

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How long can those guys stay underwater?

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Only an hour or so, they must have a boat out there.

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What should...?

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Hey! I think I see someone!

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Hey you! Wait! Help us!

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He can’t hear us over the roar of the surf.

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I’m going after that diver!!

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I have to catch up!

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To be continued.

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