The Tales of Bobbathin and Jeffrey AN EXCITING NEAR-FUTURE SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL ---- Cadecraft [image] Above: the spotted cuscus VOLUME I of the Chronicles of Bobbathin and Jeffrey “‘The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is a bear species occurring in tropical forest habitats of Southeast Asia,’ Bobrick said to himself, reading the informational sign.” Established 2018 ---- [A note about this text file] As this was transcribed from a google document, the file lacks images, and some formatting issues exist. That said, the book will remain readable--words tell a thousand pictures, after all. ---- Table of Contents I. The Scary Bat - Page 2 II. At the Hospital - Page 4 III. The Return of the Bat - Page 5 IV. To the Zyndoicas - Page 7 V. A Disaster on the Plane - Page 9 VI. Success of the Sun Bear - Page 10 VII. Arctic Coast Base, Part I - Page 12 (A Short Note from the Author - Page 14) VIII. The Tree Kangaroo’s Revenge - Page 15 IX. Entering Australia - Page 17 X. The Cave of the Jerboa, Part I - Page 19 XI. The Cave of the Jerboa, Part II - Page 21 XII. A Broken Record - Page 22 XIII. Axolotl, Part I - Page 24 XIV. Arctic Coast Base, Part II - Page 25 XV. Axolotl, Part II - Page 27 XVI. Capture of the Mitten Crabs - Page 29 XVII. A Shearing of Wool - Page 31 XVIII. Arctic Coast Base, Part III - Page 32 XIX. Rise of the Tardigrades - Page 34 XX. The Geosynchronous Satellite and Sea-Plane Mark II - Page 36 XXI. Sea-Plane Mark II’s First Flight - Page 38 XXII. Baby Echidna and the Kinkajous - Page 40 XXIII. Return to China - Page 42 XXIV. Malayan Flying Lemur - Page 44 XXV. The Giant Isopod - Page 45 XXVI. Olinguito - Page 47 XXVII. The Journeys of Bobrick - Page 48 I. The Scary Bat The year was 2023, Common Era. Bobbathin and Jeffrey, two friends in a small seaside town, were strolling along the shore. It was winter, so the sea birds were coming to the beach in especially goodly numbers. “Hello, Bob,” exclaimed Jeffrey, when he first saw Bobbathin, “I didn’t know that you were here! I was distracted by the large quantities of seagulls roaming the shoreline.” “Oh, yes, Jeff,” replied Bobbathin, “Even for a town named Seagull Beach, there’s a lot of birds!” He reached into his pocket and threw a few seeds into the air. All the birds soared in and snapped them away in seconds. “Wow! Where do you buy this bird-feed?” inquired Jeffrey. Bobbathin pointed towards a small fishing store slightly inland from the beach. “Fishy Foods and Edibles,” explained Bobbathin, “You see, Jeffrey, they also sell bird-feed. They currently have a large pet snub-nosed bat as well, so they sell bat guano as fertilizer. It is truly quite organic!” “Well, I must be heading off,” said Jeffrey, “I will be trying that bird-feed on the local seagulls and am in fact going to buy some right now! Farewell, Bob!” “Farewell, Jeff!” replied Bobbathin. Jeffrey walked away towards Fishy Foods and Edibles. When Jeffrey approached the store, he saw a large, colorfully illustrated sign on the door which read as follows: “NEW SPECIAL! Buy three packs of bird-feed and get 50% off ANY of our bat products! Only valid on January 2nd through the 10th! Also, BOGAF (buy one get another free) on ANY bird-feed, also valid on January 2nd through the 10th!” Jeffrey, who always enjoyed a good deal, was amazed! “Buy one get another free,” he thought. Jeffrey opened the door. There was so much pet food, and other household necessities, such as elephant-feed, bat guano fertilizer, and, of course, bird-feed. He approached the bird-feed area. There were three choices: pelican-feed, duck-feed, and seagull-feed. He picked out three packets of seagull-feed. “Oh! Did you see our special? You’ll love it,” said a worker at the store, “because those three bird-feeds you’re grabbing are going to let you get a bag of bat guano fertilizer for half off!” Jeffrey followed him into the bat-room. The bat room was in the far back of the store. After passing by many products, they finally reached the door. It was a tall, black thing with a large sign with white letters: bat room. “Why, Jeff,” came a voice from behind them, “I didn’t know that you were here too!” Bobbathin walked forwards with a surprised expression. “I was also going to the bat-room to get some fertilizer for my garden! I need some, you know, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity!” They both approached the bat-room. The worker opened the door and a large bat, claws outstretched, soared straight at Jeffrey. He fainted instantly, and fell to the floor with a crunch. “By the way,” said the worker, “My name is Bobrick.” II. At the Hospital Bobbathin walked into the hospital with a nervous expression. “Is he alright?” he inquired the doctor. The doctor replied, “He - he’ll be okay, but he got a cut on his toe from the fall.” “NOOOOOO!!!!” exclaimed Bobbathin, beginning to cry, “That’s terrible! How could you let this happen?!” “I’m sorry, but we couldn’t stop it. You should go and see,” replied the doctor sorrowfully. He showed Bobbathin the way to where Jeffrey was healing. When Bobbathin entered, Jeffrey smiled. “Hello, Bobbathin!” he exclaimed, “How are you?” Bobbathin said, “How could you be this cheerful when you were physically harmed by the encounter with the bat? We WILL make Fishy Foods and Edibles pay for this!” “WHAT?” exclaimed Jeffrey, “HOW DID I GET HURT?” “You. . . your toe got scraped. they say that it will take days to heal! DAYS!” “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” screeched Jeffrey. He punched the doctor in the face and examined his toe. It had a small scrape on it. “Don’t worry, Jeff,” said Bobbathin, “I am going to make Bobrick pay! “Bobrick?” asked Jeffrey inquisitively. “Oh,” replied Bobbathin, “He mentioned his name after you fainted. It turns out he owns the store and the bat. Before being a store owner, Bobrick was a drone designer. He created all kinds of amazing hovercraft. I will make him pay for your healing process. All five Zyndoic dollars!” Bobbathin and Jeffrey angrily left the hospital. Outside, they were surprised to meet Bobrick. “You’re here!” said Bobrick cheerfully, “I was just about to help pay for Jeffrey’s visit to the hospital.” “Oh! Thank you,” said Bobbathin. And so Bobrick paid five Zyndoic dollars, Bobbathin and Jeffrey returned to their homes, and everything was happy once more. Well, everything was happy until the bat escaped. III. The Return of the Bat It was a dark, stormy night and the store Fishy Foods and Edibles was closed. Everything was silent, except in the bat room. There was something moving in the darkness, a flapping, a rustling. The bat was awake. It was searching the room for prey, for example the small mouse the bat saw in the corner. In a flash, the bat lunged. Blood splattered into the ground as the mouse was ripped open. The bat quickly consumed its meal and it flew up to hang on one of the roof supports. Then, it noticed a small hole. Entering it, the bat realized that it could leave the bat room. Bobrick had forgotten to close the bat cage, so in this way the bat escaped. Searching the city for more food, it spotted a human walking along the road. The bat, being quite large, could easily devour him. It soared down upon the poor man and, ripping his head from his body, speedily consumed him. The bat flew away, on the lookout for more humans. The next day, Bobbathin entered Fishy Foods and Edibles to purchase more bird-feed. Bobrick was there and had a melancholy expression on his face. “Woolly escaped!” said Bobrick. “Who’s woolly?” inquired Bobbathin. “Woolly is the pet bat in the bat room. I think that when Jeffrey fell, his head broke a hole in the wall. Woolly escaped through there. I’m not sad for losing Woolly, rather I am worried that he will be eating humans.” “Eating humans? How?” “Why, you saw Woolly’s size! He could consume an elephant if he wanted to!” exclaimed Bobrick excitedly, turning on his phone and finding a picture of the huge bat. It was an image of the pet shop with the bat. It was in a large cage and had a sign saying, “Woolly, a vampire bat. $299.99.” “Where was this image taken?” asked Bobbathin with a confused expression, “Woolly doesn’t seem like the type of thing you would find at a normal pet-mart wholesale store!” “Oh! No! You see, I found Woolly when I was travelling in the Zyndoicas, a small island nation in the Indian Ocean. He was at an exotic animal store, named Bob’s Bears, Bats, and other Creatures if I remember correctly, along with poison snails, edible tree frogs, and even a sun bear!” “Why, I must buy a sun bear! It is imperative that I have one to add to my zoo collection. I am creating a small zoo in a city near here, and sun bears are one of the few animals that I haven’t acquired!” Bobbathin, after saying this, immediately left Fishy Foods and Edibles. He was going to Bob’s Bears, Bats, and other Creatures. He was going to buy a sun bear (shown below right)! Suddenly, Woolly the Bat swooped out of the sky, heading straight for Jeffrey, who was walking towards the store. “Watch out!” screamed Bobbathin. Jeffrey leaped to the side just in time. The bat crashed into the pavement and Bobrick came out to bring him back home. Meanwhile, Bobbathin had left and was purchasing air-line tickets to the Zyndoic (Zin-DOH-ik) Islands. Jeffrey, too, was coming along. IV. To the Zyndoicas Bobbathin and Jeffrey boarded the plane. It was a large one by Zyndoic Airlines, and they had gotten Premium Seating. There were large, spacious windows along with a bed inside each room, so they could see the sky rushing by. “The ocean beneath us is changing in its color,” exclaimed Jeffrey excitedly after they had traveled for quite a time. He looked down. “This could only mean one thing: we must be entering the Zyndoic region!” said he. It was true; the water’s deep, dark blue began to change to a lighter turquoise color. The clear, shallow ocean allowed for Jeffrey to see fine coral sand. It was a bright white color, in contrast to the black undersea lava rock combined with patches of brilliant red coral. As the plane got closer to the land, large green fish darted in the water. Finally, they reached the airport. Surrounded by lava rock, the plane landed on the runway. Bobbathin and Jeffrey got out and instantly felt the humid tropical air. Upon the ground, small, woolly creatures bounded and leaped to and fro. It was the Zyndoicas. They had arrived. “Bob’s Bears, Bats and other Creatures is just up ahead,” said Jeffrey after checking his map application on his phone, “We go straight then turn right. After going two miles on that road, we will come to a large, gray building. That’s the store!” After the long journey, they finally reached the store. Jeffrey saw that it was open. Inside, there were many creatures, including the sun bear. “There it is!” said Bobbathin, “It only costs 395 Zyndoic dollars!” “Would you like to purchase this - sun bear?” came a voice from the speakers on the ceiling. “I’m sorry that I’m not there right now, because I am actually somewhere very far away, but I see you on the security cameras. Just place your money on that conveyor belt over there and you can take the bear!” “Why, thank you. You see, I have been creating a collection of animals like these and I was missing a sun bear.” said Bobbathin, placing the money on the conveyor belt. Suddenly, he snatched it back. “How are we going to transport this bear to my collection?” Bobbathin asked sharply, “This animal is far too big to place on the plane, and even if we could, I believe that the airline corporation would not be pleased with an animal as fierce as this being on their craft.” “Well, I have created a machine known as the particle collapsion-ray to shrink the animal. Just use the voice command and say, ‘Activate sun bear’ to return the animal to its normal size.” With that and a bright purple flash, the bear and the cage shrank to the size of a small suitcase. Jeffrey picked it up and they went on their way. Soon, Bobbathin’s collection would be finished - or so he thought. V. A Disaster on the Plane The plane ride home was just like going to the Zyndoicas except in the evening. The setting sun made the water a deep pink, and the sky was a brilliant orange. “Wow!” said Bobbathin to Jeffrey, as he imagined the technical difficulties of creating such a wondrous machine as the shrinking machine, “All you have to do is say the words, ‘activate sun bear’ and -” suddenly he was cut off. He had spoken the magic words! Crashing to full size, the sun bear’s cage dented the walls of the plane’s room. The bars cracked and broke, releasing the enraged animal into the plane compartment. The bear was on the loose! Screams echoed throughout the hallways as the plane began to fall. Its engines had been destroyed by the bear’s rampage, which resulted in it not being able to support itself. Emergency landing procedures were initiated, and life jackets popped out of the seats. When the plane crashed, eight inflatable boats came out, yet one was popped as the sun bear clawed it and tore into the thin plastic fabric. Suddenly, Bobbathin desperately screamed, “Deactivate sun bear!” The bear shrank to a tiny size mid-leap, and dropped into the life-boat that Bobbathin, Jeffrey, and a few other plane passengers were in. “Good thinking, Bob,” said Jeffrey. They were now on their way back to the coast, only a few miles away. VI. Success of the Sun Bear “Well, Jeff, that was quite exciting,” said Bobbathin to Jeffrey as he threw the miniature sun bear into its containment area, “Activate sun bear!” Growing to full size, the bear entered its synthetic habitat. It was pleased when it noticed many of its favorite foods in a bowl near an artificial stream. There were even small rats scurrying around, one of its favorite treats. Outside the sun bear exhibit, there was a sign with information about sun bears. It included a photo of one, along with some fun facts. “This will be a great children’s exhibit!” exclaimed Bobbathin, observing the scene. “Well, Bob, I agree,” replied Jeffrey happily, “Shall we place the open sign on the door?” “Of course!” exclaimed Bobbathin. He moved to the door and flipped the sign from “closed” to “open”. Bobbathin’s animal collection was finally, after much hard work, completed! The first of the visitors came the following morning. When Bobbathin saw him on his security camera system, he was quite surprised. It was Bobrick! Bobrick, after some time viewing the other exhibits, approached the bear area. He looked at the bear leaping from tree to tree, then down to the informational sign right in front of him. “The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is a bear species occurring in tropical forest habitats of Southeast Asia,” he said to himself, reading the informational sign, “Why, this is very intriguing!” “Now, what is this?” asked Bobrick in a confused tone as he viewed a sign near a deserted exhibit, “The arctic mountain vole is a vole species occurring in mountain range habitats of the arctic regions. Where is it?” Bobbathin, who had been watching the camera feeds at his house, exclaimed sorrowfully to Jeffrey, “We forgot the mountain vole! It needs food every day, and when we left we forgot to turn on the food dispenser. Why, Jeff, the mountain vole is dead!” “It can’t be!” replied Jeff, “But it must be. I can see the dead body on the video feed, Bob. We’ll have to go find another one!” “They are only found in deep ice caves. This will be a hard task.” Bobbathin said. He looked out of his house to the small garage in which he stored all his vehicles. “We’ll have to take the sea-plane.” VII. Arctic Coast Base, Part I Jeffrey entered the sea-plane alone. Bobbathin had decided to stay at the animal collection, because he needed to take care of the sun bear. He was, at the moment, feeding the Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo. “The Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo is an elusive kangaroo species occurring in the desert regions of Australia,” read the sign. Jeffrey, however, was now flying the plane. He soon left the coast and entered the desolate regions of the sky that are above the cold blue ocean. The air rushed around the sea-plane as it travelled through these upper regions of the atmosphere. The plane was a dull greenish color, yet it had a bright white logo on the side.. The logo was a sun bear face, drawn in thick, bold, smooth lines that glided across the plane gracefully. Written in small letters beneath the face were the words: Bobbathin’s Animal Collection. As it glided along, the air got colder and colder. Jeffrey wondered what was happening. Then he knew what it was: he was nearing the arctic. Beneath the plane, large glacial icebergs were drifting through the frigid turquoise water. Seals and walruses were resting on them, both in the collection, along with polar bears, which were too hard to keep alive in Seagull Beach’s warm, sunny climate. There were no arctic mountain voles here. They were in the frozen, tunneling depths of the ice caverns, which the plane was quickly approaching. Suddenly, beneath him, Jeffrey saw a small scientific laboratory at the base of a large mountain range. Its bright orange color scheme stood out in the frozen white of the icelands. Jeffrey realized that they might have something to eat at the lab. He was actually quite hungry. He steered the sea-plane downwards, towards the building. When he landed on the small runway, a scientist came out of the structure wearing a cold-resistant environmental protection pack. “Hello. My name is Bobbert, and I work at this laboratory. Who are you, and why are you here?” asked he. “Oh, I was just planning to stop for a snack here before heading into the ice tunnels. You see, I am searching for an arctic mountain vole for my friend’s animal collection.” “Why, come in. We have plenty of hot chocolate! As for the voles, they actually went extinct just yesterday. The last one ever known died at some animal collection in a town named Seagull Beach. It truly is a sorrowful occasion.” “Oh, no!” exclaimed Jeffrey sadly, “That was my friend’s collection! When we went to find a sun bear, the vole didn’t have enough food and died recently. I never knew that it was the last of its kind!” “Well, our cloning program scanned one a few years ago. We are still working on re-cloning these voles to re-establish this location’s biodiversity. In fact, today they are testing out the machine. It may save the mountain vole from extinction!” (A Short Note from the Author) As you well know, there are a variety of characters in this book of different names. Some names are quite similar. I would like to make it clear that, so far in the book there are three characters whose names start with “Bob”. There is, of course, a main character: Bobbathin. He is the friend of Jeffrey that much of the story focuses on. He created the animal collection. After this, they meet the storekeeper: Bobrick. His name clearly differs from Bobbathin, but you may mix them up. He is the owner of Woolly the Bat. Now, much more recently introduced, is Bobbert. Bobbert is a scientist helping with the creation of a genetic cloning mechanism. Currently in the story, he is designing a machine that is central to the vole-cloning program. Now continue reading! - Cadecraft VIII. The Tree Kangaroo’s Revenge Bobbathin was walking around the animal collection, making sure all the animals were comfortable and had enough food. Then, he came back to the Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo exhibit. There was no sign of the animal. It had just simply disappeared! “The Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo is an elusive kangaroo species occurring in the desert regions of Australia,” read the sign. “The Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo is an elusive kangaroo species occurring in the desert regions of Australia,” contemplated Bobbathin, “An elusive kangaroo species. Elusive. It must be hiding!” As he said this, Bobbathin noticed a tiny movement behind a xanthorrhoea thorntonii bush, a small shrub native to the Australian desert. There was the kangaroo! When Bobbathin approached, he saw the tree kangaroo (shown left)! It scampered up a tree and hid beneath its dense, leafy branches. Just as he was about to go and bring it down from the tree, he saw the sea-plane landing on the zoo’s small runway. Jeffrey had returned, and quite quickly too! Exiting the plane, he entered the zoo and approached Bobbathin. He had an excited expression on his face. “We just need to find a spotted cuscus, Bob!” he exclaimed, “It will be wonderful!” “There isn’t enough space, Jeff, with the mountain vole you just brought back.” “Well, you see, I didn’t bring one back. It happened that our vole was the last one in existence. When it died, they. . . they went extinct.” “No! That is disappointing. Yet, what is this creature you speak of. . . this ‘spotted cuscus’?” “In the arctic, I met a scientist named Bobbert. He was working on a genetic cloning program to help bring back the voles. Sadly, their computer’s memory files were corrupted just before they initiated the cloning mechanism. They lost the mountain vole DNA, so it didn't work. It turns out that it was the Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo. Its tracking collar was in the sea-plane, and the electromagnetic fields that it produced interacted with their computers, corrupting them. In basic terms, the collar destroyed the laboratory's DNA record, so they couldn't’t clone the voles. They are officially gone forever. Luckily, the corrupted DNA produced a deformed cuscus, which is an Australian marsupial that we haven’t acquired! Coincidentally, the vole exhibit is in our Australian area near the tree kangaroo, so it would be perfect to replace it with a cuscus area!” “A great and wondrous idea!” replied Bobbathin, “We’re going to find a cuscus.” And so the two friends left for Australia to find themselves a spotted cuscus (shown right)! IX. Entering Australia Bobbathin and Jeffrey stepped off the plane and entered the Australian jungle were spotted cuscuses were commonly found. Quokkas, wallabys, and other macropods bounded and leaped across the ground. It was in the trees, however, where they would find the animals that they needed. It was imperative that they got five or more, because if not the exhibit would not be complete. Cuscuses are exciting zoo critters because they have a playful mood. This feeling can only be achieved, however, when there are more than four. When there are less than five, they are very bored and often sad. Thus, Bobbathin and Jeffrey needed to find a larger amount of these animals than the others. Their search began by climbing a eucalyptus tree. Using a rope grapple, Bobbathin created a handhold to use, which he and Jeffrey utilized and climbed the tree. From there, they activated their CuscusTracker. Although this device’s technology was quite old, made in 2022, it successfully searched for spotted cuscuses in a three mile range using new and improved technology. After this, they sent out collection drones. The drones were designed to capture cuscuses and, utilizing the particle collapsion-ray technology used on the sun bear’s cage, shrink them, then transport them to a new location. Suddenly, the air grew colder. “Why, Bob,” exclaimed Jeffrey with a frightened expression upon his face, “It must be one of those flash-blizzards that they were talking about on the news a few days ago!” “Well, Jeff, I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.” “Due to climate change, Australia has started having flash-blizzards, when the air suddenly grows cold and snow showers appear.” As Jeffrey said this, the first few flakes of snow drifted down. Soon, they were coming in vast numbers. “Now I remember, Jeff,” said Bob sadly, “I heard that the wildlife, especially spotted cuscuses, have been migrating underground due to the snow. You see, they can’t stand cold temperatures. That means that we’ll have to go into the cave systems beneath the surface, where the animals are going. That’s our only chance of finding them.” “Oh! Why, that explains all of this! That’s why our CuscusTracker drones haven’t been finding any animals. Their tracker systems don’t work in caves, and can’t penetrate the ground.” Bobbathin and Jeffrey had to get ready to go on a caving expedition. It was time to find those spotted cuscuses. “We may even be able to find other animals, and we could capture them to bring to the animal collection. Imagine! We could get a world record!” said Jeffrey. He didn’t know how right he was. X. The Cave of the Jerboa, Part I Jeffrey adjusted his headlamp so that he could view the cavern ahead in greater detail. “These caves are quite dark, Bob,” said he. “Why, of course, Jeff! They are, after all, caves!” Bobbathin replied. Suddenly, he saw in the darkness a small blur of motion. “Something moved. Get your particle collapsion-ray beam activated,” said Jeffrey, pressing the “activate” button on his own beam. A small targeting laser was emitted from the point of the beam mechanism. Then, they saw it. Directly in the light of Bobbathin’s headlamp was an animal neither of them expected to see. “That’s. . . that’s. . . that’s a desert jerboa!” exclaimed Bobbathin. He frantically pushed the “collapse” button on the beam. It sent out a large purple beam that covered the entire jerboa. Then, the jerboa began to shrink, or, as the creators of the beam called it, undergo the process of “particle collapsion”. Just like the sun bear in the Zyndoicas many days ago, the animal became the size of a small suitcase, then was packed into the transparent storage container. “Why, that was exciting, Bob, and it will be a great addition to the collection, but we still haven’t found those cuscuses! It is imperative that we get five of them, for that is the perfect exhibit.” said Jeffrey. He examined the jerboa in the container. “I must say, however, that it is quite an interesting animal.” And Jeffrey was right. The Desert Jerboa (pictured right) was indeed a peculiar little fellow. Its long hind legs caused it to leap about the container in a strange manner. The ears were exceedingly large and it had a worm-like tail. “You know, before we. . . collapsed it, the jerboa was far larger than any that I’ve seen in photographs. Why, now that I think about it, ‘twas huge! Almost ten. . . twenty times the size or a regular one. Something must have happened to it!” said Bobbathin. “There is a genetic engineering plant upstream of here - this underground stream does come out onto the surface and goes directly by the factory, you know. They must have consumed growth hormones inside the processing plant.” said Jeffrey. “Well, Jeff, in that case we’d best be prepared. If you notice any sign of motion, tell me. We need to get those cuscuses, and, if we can, a few more jerboas. I’ve heard that those rodents can leap miles in the air!” The two friends continued down the passageway. Now, they were ready. XI. The Cave of the Jerboa, Part II The next three times that they saw motion, it was only a small lizard, or maybe a rock wallaby, which they had tons of. “Maybe. . . maybe we should just give up. . .” said Bobbathin disappointingly, “These animals are too elusive, and I don’t think that we’ll ever. . .” “Wait!” exclaimed Jeffrey, cutting him off, “Don’t you hear it?” “What?” “Those squeaks!” And, when he listened carefully, Bobbathin did begin to discern a faint noise coming from the strangest location - above them! “Those. . . those. . . those are baby cuscuses!” he said. “Of course! And, judging by the sound of it, there must be more than one. They are so excited sounding that there must be more than five. This is perfect!” Bobbathin began to use his pickaxe to dig into the rock above their heads. The small chunks that he dislodged hinted that this rock was quite weak, and it had almost a dirt-like consistency. He would be able to break into the cuscus cave and collect some. This would be wonderful! After only a half-hour of work, there was a goodly sized tunnel. Then, it happened. When Bobbathin broke the next piece of stone, the entire structure caved in. After the dust had settled, Bobbathin and Jeffrey found themselves in the destroyed cave of a group of spotted cuscuses. There were 15 in total. “Yes!” cried Jeffrey in joy, “This is truly wonderful! Activate your collapsion-ray!” The cavern was immersed in purple light as the two friends began to shrink all the animals into their storage container. It was filled to the brim. “What an find!” said Bobbathin, “What a find indeed!” XII. A Broken Record “Bob, people will come from all over the world to see our massive animal collection. We now have a grand total of five-hundred and twenty-seven animals in our possession. This is an amazing zoo for people of all ages,” said Jeffrey in a joyous tone of voice. “Yes, Jeff, I agree,” replied Bobbathin, “and I have already devised an entry fee. Children (ages 12 and under) are allowed free entry, as well as naturalists that are coming to study the animals. Adults with the Annual Pass must pay one-hundred and twenty-five dollars a year, while adults without the pass pay thirty-five dollars every visit.” “A splendid idea, if I do say so myself,” said Jeffrey excitedly. The plan was put into place. No sooner had they opened the collection to the public did their first visitor come, and it was someone that Jeffrey had thought never to see again - Bobbert. Yes, it was the very same Bobbert from the arctic cloning base. When Jeffrey saw him, he was amazed. “Why, Bobbert, you’re back! I never thought that I would see you again ever since you said that you decided to stop trying to re-clone recently extinct species. What brings you here to our little zoo?” he asked. “Little? I don’t think so. This is one of the bestgoodliest animal collections I’ve seen, and I have never even heard of anything larger. I am very impressed. Yet, I have come here for a reason other than marvelling at this wondrous zoo. I want to see that arctic mountain vole’s dead body.” “We have a large containment room beneath the house where we keep these things. Come, follow us.” said Jeffrey. He and Bobbathin led Bobbert to the basement. Rows and rows of glass jars filled with preserving fluids lined the shelves. Jeffrey examined the labels, which were in alphabetical order. Tusked vavot. Urchin (sea). Undersea woollier cowfish. Vavot (common) And there it was: Vole (mountain, arctic) Bobbathin grabbed the jar and unscrewed the lid. Using a stick, he removed the mountain vole’s body. “Great! The body is in perfect condition,” Bobbert said. “What are you planning to do with it?” inquired Jeffrey. “Well, my co-workers and I realized that that we could extract the DNA from within the body, and, using this, continue working on the cloning program. Just make sure, Jeffrey, that you don’t bring the Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo’s collar near our computers.” “I promise I won’t,” said Jeffrey, “That was a grave mistake that almost cost the existence of an entire species. I will never do anything like it again.” “Well, I’d best get going, said Bobbert, “I’ll bring you a few voles if we’re successful. Farewell.” And so Bobbert began the long process of DNA extraction. After he left, someone else entered the zoo. “Hello. Are you Bobbathin?” she asked, “because you just won the world record for Earth’s largest animal collection!” “Oh, I’m Jeffrey. Bobbathin is inside.” Just as he said this, Bobbathin came out. He was just in time to see a group of people carrying from a helicopter a massive golden trophy. Upon the front was carved 57 characters: “Bobbathin has won the award for Earth’s largest animal collection.” “Why, I am so elated!” said Bobbathin as they dropped the trophy. The people re-entered their helicopter and left. XIII. Axolotl, Part I It was the summer of 2024, Common Era. In the forests and deserts of Mexico, the axolotls were unsettled. Due to the recent increase of speed in climate change, the weather was constantly getting stranger. It began to get cold, and the frigid temperatures moved from the southern regions of the Earth up. Thus, the axolotls began their long migration northward. Bobbathin and Jeffrey were relaxing at the beach when they heard a scream. “There’s a big pink salamander thing!” screeched someone in a group of people farther down the beach. They began to run towards the two friends. “Bobbathin! Jeffrey! They have an animal collection, they’ll know what to do!” “Why, Bob, it’s a great opportunity,” said Jeffrey, grinning, “You stay here. I’ll get the particle collapsion-ray beams. These must be axolotls!” “Of course, Jeff!” he replied happily. When Jeffrey returned, he was carrying the tools they needed. Bobbathin grabbed a particle collapsion-ray and targeted one of the axolotls, which were now close and rapidly charging up the beach. He pressed the “activate” button then pushed “collapse”. A purple ray shot out of the mechanism and one of the many axolotls (pictured left) began to shrink. When Bobbathin looked over, he saw that Jeff had just pressed the “collapse” button. Another ray hit the second axolotl. This was going quite well. Suddenly, an even larger axolotl, which must have consumed growth hormones at a factory like the jerboas, galloped into the scene. It emitted a deafening roar, and followed the rest of the creatures. “We can’t capture that, Bob! Even the strength of both our collapsion-rays wouldn’t be enough to shrink it!” “I think. . . I think I know a way,” replied Bobbathin. XIV. Arctic Coast Base, Part II Bobbert stepped off of his sea-plane into the Arctic. The frigid Northern air blew swiftly and made him hasten on his way into the base. Entering through the airlock, he looked for his colleagues inside the base. They appeared to be consuming hot chocolate, a beverage made of heated water or milk with cocoa powder, often including miniature marshmallows. “Hello, friends,” said he when he was within the base, “I brought back the mountain vole!” “Wonderful work, Bobbert,” replied Geoffrey, another scientist helping with the cloning program. “Oh, Geoffrey, that’s quite interesting! I met another Geoffrey, but his name was Jeffrey, spelled with a J.” “Ah! Yes, my name is quite popular. Its spelling, however, is not commonly found.” “Well, Geoffrey, we’d best begin the DNA extraction. Do you have any hot chocolate, for I am nearly frozen.” “Of course!” he replied, taking a cup from the shelf and filling it with water and chocolate mix. Bobbert, Geoffrey, and the others inserted the vole into a machine. “I hope it works. This will be a great disappointment if it fails, for my friends Bobbathin and Jeffrey are counting on me,” said Bobbert, “Have you heard of them? They run the world’s largest animal collection.” “Why, I’ve been there!” exclaimed Bobfrey, “And I loved it!” He pointed at the vole’s body, which was still in the machine. “They’re going to use a mountain vole? How will it survive in the warm seaside temperatures of Seabird’s Beach?” “Seagull beach,” corrected Bobbert, “and they have a technologically advanced climate control system. The vole’s exhibit is even in a wind tunnel to further simulate its natural environs.” “But, Bobbert, how will it survive during the summer? Surely. . .” “Their system even works in the summer. It is extremely powerful and runs on power directly from sustainable geothermal and solar sources, as well as utilizing a hydroelectric generator in the ocean near the animal collection. They own a plot of land along the coast, you see.” “How did they receive the money to run this place?” Asked Geoffrey, confused. “Bobbathin inherited massive plots of land across the globe and sold it to people for huge amounts of money. In fact, I believe the total was over 2,000,000,000 Zyndoic dollars! Currently, they have 1,000,000,000 Zyndoic dollars left of the original profit, but have been gaining money and in total have 1,800,000,000 Zyndoic dollars.” “Why, that’s outstanding!” said Bobfrey. “It definitely is,” replied Geoffrey. XV. Axolotl, Part II “That’s a great plan,” said Bobbathin, amazed, “yet where will we find this new drone prototype?” “Oh, that’s quite simple, Bob,” replied Jeffrey, “Remember Bobrick?” “Of course, Jeff, but what has he to do with this?” “Why, Bob, don’t you remember? Before becoming a store owner, Bobrick was a drone designer. He created all kinds of amazing hovercraft!” “Ah, I see now. But where is Bobrick?” “Well, he is currently at Fishy Foods and Edibles.” “That’s not too far from here, in fact I can see it now. Let’s get going.” After about five minutes of walking up the beach, they reached Bobrick’s petcare store. “Bobrick? Are you there?” asked Jeffrey, entering the shop. “Hello, and welcome back, friends!” replied Bobrick. “Bobrick,” said Bobbathin, “we were wondering if we could borrow your superdrone 5000. We’ll return it by tomorrow morning, hopefully tonight.” “Of course.” “Great. Where is the drone?” “I’ll go and get it,” said Bobrick, turning around. He headed off to the storage room. After a few minutes, he returned, carrying a massive orange machine. It was the drone! “Wonderful!” said Jeffrey, grabbing the flying machine. He and Bobbathin exited the store. The giant axolotl was now approaching more quickly. Bobbathin and Jeffrey didn’t have much time to set up the drone. Luckily, Bobrick had kept it charged. Bobbathin and navigated the machine directly above the axolotl’s head. Then, they pressed the “grab” button. Metal claws beneath the drone clamped down on the slimy animal. “Wonderful job,” said Jeffrey, “you did it!” And Bobbathin had in fact done it. The axolotl was now above the animal collection where the rest of the smaller ones were. Bobbathin pushed the “drop” button and the axolotl landed with a loud thunk. “We did it,” said Bobbathin. He was elated. Just then, Jeffrey’s phone buzzed loudly. His ringtone, the “Bobbathin’s Animal Collection Theme Song”, began to play. “Who could be calling at this hour?” asked Jeffrey. He opened the phone. “Hello, Jeffrey! This is Bobbert. I discovered a new animal for you to track. It will make you millions of dollars if you sell the wool that you shear from them: the Chinese Mitten Crabs. People aren’t sure what they’re for, but the woolly bristles on their claws are soft and great for making fur coats.” “Well, Bobbathin,” said Jeffrey happily, “It looks like we’ll be going to China.” XVI. Capture of the Mitten Crabs The aeroplane landed. “I hope that we find those crabs,” said Bobbathin to Jeffrey after exiting the flight, “We’d best head to the sea-life farm.” “Yes,” replied Jeffrey, checking his phone’s map application, “I believe it’s to the west of us, down Lujiazui Ring Road.” “Then let’s get going!” said Bobbathin. The two friends began to head to the farm where millions of animals were farmed to provide materials and food for many cities in the area. It was called Super Fish and Crabs co., and many species were farmed there including tuna fish, sea slugs, hermit crabs, geoduck, yeti crabs, and, of course, mitten crabs. “Welcome to Super Fish and Crabs company,” said a worker, whose voice was translated automatically by Bobbathin and Jeffrey’s in-ear translators, “what animal do you need?” “I’ve requested twenty-five chinese mitten crabs.” said Bobbathin. The worker left, and, after a few minutes, returned with a particle-collapsed tank filled to the brim with mitten crabs. “Here you go. Just pay 25 Zyndoic dollars and these will be your mitten crabs. If you look closely, you’ll see that those large brown, woolly clumps on their claws are actually soft, furry bristles growing out of their arms. These are wonderful filling material for down jackets and blankets, and also great to turn into wool. I suggest harvesting them.” “Why, that’s exactly what we were going to do!” said Jeffrey, handing the worker the money. “Good bye. I hope to see you when you come back for more!” Bobbathin and Jeffrey left with their new mitten crabs. When the two friends boarded the plane back home, they made sure not to accidentally say, “activate mitten crabs”. They learned their lesson with the sun bear. After they arrived back at the zoo, a large truck drove up. “Who could that be,” asked Bobbathin, “at this hour?” They saw someone step out with a massive amount of particle-collapsed cages. “It couldn’t be,” said Jeffrey. “It has to be,” said Bobbathin. It was Bobbert. He had cloned the mountain voles. “Hello, friends,” said Bobbert gleefully, “I cloned the mountain voles. Here are some. These three hundred are only a small portion of the massive amounts that we cloned at the Arctic Coast Base laboratory. I hope you have room?” “Yes, of course we do! The arctic mountain vole exhibit has nearly doubled in size with our construction upgrades lately,” replied Jeffrey, “These voles will most definitely fit.” “Well,” exclaimed Bobbert, “What are we waiting for? Let’s test out your new sub-zero temperature mountain cliffside simulator exhibit!” XVII. A Shearing of Wool Ever since the mitten crabs had set foot into their synthetic habitat, they had been quite restless. Jeffrey could only calm them down by feeding them small slices of fish, which it turned out they truly enjoyed. Jeffrey positioned the wool shears over the first of the crabs. He was about to harvest the first cluster of wool to sell. He clipped off the bristly hairs and they landed in a bucket beneath the animal. Suddenly, the animal, being angry from losing some of its wool, began to try to claw at Jeffrey. The crazed crustacean’s eyes flashed and it jumped off the bucket, leaping into its pool. Only then did it finally relax. “Bobbathin,” shouted Jeffrey, “the mitten crabs! They’re going crazy! Every time I try to shear their wool, their eyes begin to flash and they leap around.” “Oh dear,” said Bobbathin, after witnessing the spectacle, “I don’t believe that we’ll make any money trying to sell this. Look at that wound you recieved! Just paying for the blood donations alone would cost more than we earn from this endeavour.” “Why, you’re right,” said Jeffrey, realizing that his blood was spilling quickly from his body, “I’d best use the microhealer cell to heal the cut.” He headed towards the house. Meanwhile, Bobbathin was formulating a plan to get more wool from just one crab - particle expansion-rays. “You know how we use particle collapsion-rays?” said Bobbathin when Jeffrey returned, “well, we can utilize the opposite of it to create the particle expansion ray! I believe that Bobbert would have the power and high level of intelligence to create this technology.” “Why, Bob, you’re right,” replied Jeffrey, “We’re off to Arctic Coast Base! XVIII. Arctic Coast Base, Part III Bobbathin and Jeffrey stepped off the sea-plane into the chilly polar air to greet Bobbert. They entered the base and were immediately gratified by the warm, heated air. “No goodfellow’s tree kangaroo collars this time,” said Jeffrey. “What is the purpose of this expedition?” inquired Bobbert, “Did you come all the way here for some hot chocolate again?” “In fact, no,” said Bobbathin. “Why, then?” “You know the particle collapsion-ray invented a few years ago?” “Yes.” “Well, we were looking to create a new technology - the particle expansion-ray. It will be used for increasing the size of chinese mitten crabs’ wool so that it can be sold at a greater price for less manual labor.” “Why, that’s an ingenious idea! I’ll have your project done by tomorrow. Would you like to stay at the base?” “Of course,” replied Jeffrey. Bobbathin and Jeffrey entered the guest’s bedrooms to sleep before the journey home the next day. When dawn broke over the frosty arctic coast, Jeffrey rushed into the laboratory. There, he found Bobbert. “Good morning, Jeff,” said Bobbert, “I’m almost completed with the expansion-ray beams! They’ll be ready by tonight. The three-dimensional printer has just about finished generating the frame for the beam mechanism, and my comrade Bobfrey is done making the interior laser mechanism.” “Bobfrey,” said Jeffrey, “I’m not sure I know him.” “He is a fellow scientist at Arctic Coast Base. Bobfrey has helped me on many occasions in the past, and is experienced in particle-collapsion technology. You see, he went to the Nanotechnology and Particle-Manipulation Academy of Zyndoic Oceanedge, or N.P.M.A.Z.O.” “Why, I’m astounded! No wonder you were able to create this invention in such a record-breaking time.” When night finally fell on the polar region, Bobbert’s expansion-ray beam was finally completed. “Good bye, Bobbert.” said Bobbathin. “Farewell,” added Jeffrey. They departed from the base and entered the sea-plane. Bobbathin and Jeffrey thought all that would happen when they returned would be wool expansion, but they were wrong. Something else was waiting for them - the sea bears. XIX. Rise of the Tardigrades Bobbathin finally finished expanding the wool of the mitten crabs. “Here it is,” said he as he placed it in their new shop’s storage compartment, “I believe that we’ll make lots of money!” “You’re right,” replied Jeffrey, “I think I see the next customer.” Someone walked into the room. “I was hoping to buy some wool material for my tardigrade costume for the Annual Tardigrade Party - I’m a member of Project Water-Bear. We want to help save the tardigrades from extinction.” “Oh, that’s a great idea! I’ve heard that even though these animals are said to be almost immortal, they are classified as an endangered species in the Complete Dictionary of Micro-organisms and Other Intresting Species, published by the N.P.M.A.Z.O.!” said Bobbathin. After the customer left, Jeffrey looked at Bobbathin. “I’ve a wonderful idea,” he said, “we can expand the tardigrades. We can save them from extinction with a new Tardigrade Awareness Program!” The two friends were hard at work the next day building a tardigrade (shown right) enclosure. “Tardigrades: a subspecies of segmented, eight-legged, water-dwelling micro-animals first discovered by the German zoologist Johann Goeze which are also known as water bears or sea bears,” said Jeffrey, reading the informational sign, “I truly believe that this is an accurate description of the animals.” “Why, Jeff, I do agree,” exclaimed Bobbathin, observing the new tardigrade exhibit, “I can’t wait for the expansion-ray to enlarge the tardigrades. This will be a spectacular event!” “We must prepare to launch the expansion ray. Set it to Precise Mode!” said Jeffrey. Bobbathin pushed the “Precise Mode” button. Jeffrey leaned in over a microscope and waited until the tip of the expansion-ray beam was near a tardigrade. “Now!” he shouted. Bobbathin pressed the “activate” button. A small orange ray was visible under the microscope and, as it contacted the sea bear, the tiny animal began to grow. “Quick,” exclaimed Jeffrey, “Move the observation glass!” Bobbathin shifted the container to the side just in time. The tardigrade burst out in a shower of glass. “Oh no,” said Jeffrey, confused, “Something’s gone wrong!” He was correct. The water bear continued to expand beyond the size that it was meant to stop at. Bobbert and friends had made the expansion-rays too overpowered! As the animal grew, it looked seaward. It wanted to reach the area of its homeland, Australia. That was where Bobbathin and Jeffrey had taken the water samples from, and the tardigrade’s senses told it the precise location of its origin. Leaping over the rest of the animal collection, it splashed into the ocean, still increasing in size. The sea bear started to swim towards Australia. Bobbathin and Jeffrey had to track it down. “Jeff,” said Bobbathin, “I believe that our only hope to catching the tardigrades before they reach Australia is to send up a space satellite to monitor their movements..” “Why, I was actually thinking that we should do that. It would help a lot with tracking any animals. What about we launch it from the Seagull Beach Public Spaceport? It’s nearby.” “Great idea. I’ll meet you at the launch site.” XX. The Geosynchronous Satellite and Sea-Plane Mark II Jeffrey met Bobbathin at the Seagull Beach Public Spaceport. That day was a busy one at the spaceport, and there was a long line to use the only functional launch pad. The other two pads had been used as tests for a new heat-resistant coating, which had failed, rendering them unusable until fixed. While they were in the line, Bobbathin said over the tintinnabulation of another ship’s launch sequence to Jeffrey, “We’d best ask Bobbert to help us figure out how to make sure the satellite is geosynchronous and targeted towards Australia and the ocean separating us from there. That way it can search for the large energy signatures of the water bears without losing track of them because of the earth’s mass blocking its life-detection rays.” “That’s a wondrous idea,” replied Jeffrey, “Well, it appears that our spacecraft is coming up.” He was right. Soon, the automated conveyor belt brought their satellite rocket to the launch pad. Bobbathin pressed the “confirm launch” button on his mobile phone and the ship’s booster rockets began to glow. A huge jet of turquoise flame streamed from the back, slowly lifting it into orbit. After a few seconds, it began to gain enormous rapidity, and soon the satellite disappeared. Just before the spacecraft entered orbit, the boosters detached and fell far below into the Pacific Ocean. The satellite then unfolded from the frontal edge and began to send a signal to Bobbathin’s phone. “The launch is a success!” said Bobbathin. “Why, look! There are so many positive comments on our live stream of the launch on our website, sites.google.com/bobbathinsanimalcollection!” exclaimed Jeffrey, “They all love our new satellite and the Tardigrade Awareness Program! The tardigrades may be saved from extinction after all!” “Of course,”replied Bobbathin happily, “We’re probably a world famous animal collection by now!” “Well, Bob, we’d best go and start tracking those tardigrades.” “Yes. That’s a great idea!” Bobbathin and Jeffrey headed off to their sea-plane, ready to put their new technology to use. “Why, Jeff,” said Bobbathin suddenly, “I just remembered something - with the help of Bobrick, I made the sea-plane Mark II! It-” “Well, I’m excited to see it,” replied Jeffrey, cutting him off, “Does it have a animal storage zone?” “Yes. I was just about to get to that. There are eight individual animal cages in the back, and there is space in the glove compartment for a ninth. There is also a bathroom, inter-net access, and a food generator. This aircraft even has the ability to utilize the Global Positioning System, also known as GPS.” The sea-plane could be our mobile base of operations! Oh, and I forgot: there’s even solar generators and a thorium fusion reactor!” “A wondrous idea! Where is it now?” “We should be there soon. . . Oh! Here it is!” They rounded the hill and the plane came into view. It was a huge, majestic craft, built of a solid chromium-titanium alloy designed to resist any weather. Massive jet boosters were attached to the long wings, which were coated in a solar-absorption material that connected to generators to produce electricity. Int the back tail of the plane, there was a large cylinder that was glowing orange - the thorium fusion reactor. “Isn’t that quite unstable? Can’t it explode mid-flight?” asked Jeffrey, observing the reactor. “Well, you see, Jeff, it is actually perfectly safe. It is made of strong-interaction material, which is a type of material when atoms are fused together to form an almost unbreakable structure. It is one of the newest technologies produced in the laboratories. I paid almost 4,000 Zyndoic dollars for that material. I mean, the reactor is extremely unstable. It would be quite a tragedy if our plane exploded from the thorium!” “Good. I was getting worried there.” “Well, we’d best go and start tracking down those tardigrades.” “Yes,” said Jeffrey, “We’d best.” XXI. Sea-Plane Mark II’s First Flight Bobbathin and Jeffrey boarded the plane. The interior was pure white, in contrast to the brightly colored exterior, which was a bold sea green and the orange Bobbathin’s Animal Collection logo standing out on both sides. There were windows looking out over the hill that were self-cleaning using the latest nanotechnology. There was a screen with a slightly familiar-looking interface. In the upper left corner, it read as follows. CuscusTracker 4000 - Premium Edition (©N.P.M.A.Z.O. 2024) Jeffrey was astounded. “You got the CuscusTracker 4000?!” “Yes. Why, it was only 200 Zyndoic dollars!” “But, Bob, aside from the particle collapsion-ray, it is the pinnacle of their technology!” “Yes. That is true. It normally costs 30,000 Zyndoic dollars. I told them I was a friend of Bobfrey, who went to the Nanotechnology and Particle-Manipulation Academy of Zyndoic Oceanedge, however, so they gave me a discount! Precisely 29,800 Zyndoic dollars off.” “Why, Bob, that’s just wonderful!” “It is, Jeff,” said Bobbathin, “We’d best go test it out and capture those tardigrades.” He started up the engine of the plane and its boosters activated. A huge jet of plasma flew out of them and the sea-plane lifted off. Its aerodynamic hull glided smoothly through the sky. “What a wonderful vehicle! That old sea-plane was so bumpy and turbulent. This is the greatest airship I’ve seen.” “Yes. I will now activate the autopilot that is connected to the CuscusTracker so it can track the tardigrades. Meanwhile, I’m going to prepare the built-in particle ray cannons. They can fire collapsion-ray and expansion-rays up to fifty kilometers and have automatic targeting systems. You see, they are so massive that they need to be coated in blue glaucus saliva, which is a natural coolant.” Bobbathin moved to the plane’s cabin and retracted the particle ray cannons into the room. He took out a small jar of blue glaucus saliva and a brush, which he used to spread the saliva onto the cannons’ large barrels. “The targeting system spotted one,” said Jeffrey excitedly from the frontal control room, “Quick! Get the cannons ready!” “I’m almost done coating them,” exclaimed Bobbathin. He finished and pushed the cannons outside. When they left the plane’s interior, the hull panels collapsed inwards, stopping the bitter blast of wind from the open walls. The cannons self-switched to collapse and attract mode and opened fire. The plane swooped down low over the water and Jeffrey could see a swarm of the massive tardigrades. When the first purple ray hit one, it began to shrink into the size of a small housecat. It was then pulled up by the particle attraction-fields until it reached the storage compartment that had been opened near the tail of the plane. The moment the tardigrade reached the compartment, the exterior airlock closed. Bobbathin entered the storage chamber and saw the tardigrade. Soon, another flap opened and more tardigrades began to come in. After a few minutes, all seven water-bears were collapsed and in the plane, ready to be transported home. Just as the autopilot began to turn, Bobbathin rushed into the cabin. “Deactivate autopilot,” said he to the computer. He then went and began to navigate forwards. “You see, Jeff,” he explained, “We’re almost to Australia. If we get there, we’ll be able to capture a new animal I heard about - the echidna! There might even be some more kinkajous!” “Oh, we can never have enough kinkajous,” replied Jeffrey. They were off to Australia again - this time to get a baby echidna and some kinkajous (shown right)! XXII. Baby Echidna and the Kinkajous The sea-plane’s boosters aimed down to slow its landing. When it touched down, the doors opened with a hiss and Bobbathin and Jeffrey exited the craft. They were looking for an echidna - and some kinkajous. “I’ve heard that they lay eggs. Let’s look for a echidna nest. If we can get some eggs, we can hatch our own baby echidna. That would be a perfect exhibit - we could make so much money by predicting when it will hatch and having an extra-expensive day for viewing the baby echidna coming from the egg. That would be wonderful!” Bobbathin exclaimed. Just then, they saw a kinkajou. And in its mouth was an echidna egg. “Oh no,” exclaimed Jeffrey, “That kinkajou is going to consume the egg! We’d best get the egg out of the mouth and that way we can capture both an echidna and a kinkajou! Get out your particle collapsion-ray and the particle distortion-ray beam!” Using the distortion-ray, they removed the echidna egg from the kinkajou’s mouth, and then collapsed the kinkajou. The egg they stored in a special egg crate. “Now all we must do is find some more kinkajous. They are slightly like the cuscuses, in that they are most playful when they are in large groups. We’d best get at least one hundred, because currently we only possess fifty.” “I’ve heard that they enjoy music,” replied Jeffrey, “Let’s play the Bobbathin’s Animal Collection theme song!” He got out his phone and activated the Bobbathin’s Animal Collection theme song. It went like this: Bobbathin’s animal collection Animals exquisite and rare He travels the world to find them Why, he’s even got a sun bear Bobbathin’s animal collection Supported by many businesses He travels the world to find them He possesses spotted cuscuses Bobbathin’s animal collection It’s really a wonderful zoo He travels the world to find them He has some mitten crabs too. . . . . . and so on. As the song played, more kinkajous began to arrive. At first, there were only a few, then they began to come by the tens and even hundreds. The clearing the plane was landed in was filled completely with the woolly mammals. They enjoyed the sound of Bobbathin’s theme song. “Get your particle collapsion-ray beam activated,” shouted Bobbathin over the blaring music, pressing the “activate” button on his own beam, “There are enough kinkajous!” Jeffrey activated his collapsion-ray and then pushed the “collapse” button. The purple beams were scaring the kinkajous and it was a slow process to collapse them. When they had gotten ten, he had a wondrous idea. “Let’s go to the sea-plane and activate the particle cannons. Those can collapse multiple animals in one hit,” said he. They activated the cannons, which were still coated with enough blue glaucus saliva. The huge purple lasers blasted from the cannons and instantly shrunk the kinkajous the moment it contacted them. Compared to the massive tardigrades, these already-small creatures were very easy and efficient to collapse. The particle attraction-fields were like a huge magnet, sending collapsed kinkajous into the open storage area. There were so many that they almost didn’t fit. Finally, they were finished collecting kinkajous. “Let’s head home,” said Bobbathin to Jeffrey when the process was completed. “Wait,” said Jeffrey, “I’ve had an amazing idea! Have you heard of yeti crabs?” XXIII. Return to China “So, Jeff, you think the Super Fish and Crabs Company will have yeti crabs? I don’t remember seeing them,” said Bobbathin confusedly, “But it’s best to go see, anyway. Also, I’ve heard of the golden snub-nosed monkey that’s native to China.” “That will be nice,” said Jeffrey, “Oh! Look! Here’s the coastline. It will be quite easy to find the airport from here. The global positioning system says that we’re within five kilometers of the area.” The sea-plane touched down and Bobbathin and Jeffrey exited, walking towards the aquarium. “Hello again,” said the in-ear translator, translating the worker at the front desk, “I remember you from before when you purchased those mitten crabs.” “Yes. Today we’re looking for. . . yeti crabs?” asked Bobbathin. “Oh! We just received a new shipment of them. Also, we’ve got fresh geoduck.” “Geoduck? I’m not sure I’ve heard of them.” “Yes. They are actually mollusks that live deep in the water. There’s a special today: five free geoduck for free if you buy ten yeti crabs.” “That’s just wonderful,” exclaimed Jeffrey, “Let’s do it!” After paying a few Zyndoic dollars for the animals, they left the store and boarded the plane. It was getting dark. “Shouldn’t we eat here before leaving? It will be a long ride home, a couple of hours.” “That’s a great idea.” They stopped at a restaurant which was serving fresh geoduck (shown above). “I didn’t know it was a seafood,” said Bobbathin to Jeffrey when they were in the store. “It is,” replied Jeffrey. They had a hearty meal, consuming much of the strange-looking mollusk, and then returned to the plane. Bobbathin set it on autopilot so that he could rest, and the plane flew home. They were careful not to accidentally say, “Activate kinkajou.” The next morning when he arrived at the collection, Bobbathin was dismayed. “We forgot to capture some golden snub-nosed monkeys,” said he sadly to Jeffrey, who had just entered the collection. Suddenly, there was a huge crash. From outside, there was a howl and a golden snub-nosed monkey used brachiation to swing into the trees from the sea-plane. It had jumped onto the plane the previous night and fell asleep. The poor animal been hanging onto the aircraft’s wings during the flight, and just now fell to the ground. “Well, Bobbathin, it looks like you don’t have to worry about missing the monkey,” said Jeffrey. The monkey (shown right) was quite angry about its sleep being disturbed. Luckily, Bobbathin had his collapsion-ray activated, so it was easy to put the animal in an exhibit, and seeing surroundings it thought were natural, the mammal calmed down. XXIV. Malayan Flying Lemur Bobbathin and Jeffrey were exhausted from their journey to Australia and China. They were happy to finally finish their long journey, starting with the tardigrades. The animals were all in their exhibits and the mitten crab sales were going well. The friends were content to just watch as people came into the collection to view their amazing biodiversity of animals. Suddenly, however, Jeffrey had an inspiring idea. “The Malayan Flying Lemur, a species of colugo that was recently discovered in Malaysia, is a wonderful example of a rare marsupial. We should go get one. In the new sea-plane, it should only take a few hours!” he exclaimed. “What a grand idea,” replied Bobbathin, “Let’s get going before it’s too late!” When the sea-plane took off, a crowd of viewers gathered. They had heard about the majestic sight from friends who had been at the spaceport when the sea-plane launched first, but now everyone was excited to observe the launch. Once they were in the air, Jeffrey programmed the CuscusTracker to constantly search the area for malayan flying lemurs. When the plane neared Malaysia, the device began to beep. It had located one. Gradually, as they got closer, the beeps’ intervals became shorter and shorter until finally it was a continuous, obnoxious hum. They knew there were animals all around, so it would benefit them no more to use the tracker. The sea-plane’s cannons’ autofire system took aim and launched beams at anything it saw moving. Many animals were caught, including a tarsier, which would be put in the Malaysia exhibit later, and also a few flying lemurs (shown left)! The mission was a success. The rest of the animals other than the lemurs and the tarsier were discarded and released back into the wild and the two friends headed home. XXV. The Giant Isopod Giant Isopods are rare animals living near the bottom of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific ocean. They look like massive dust mites or pill-bugs, with their pinkish-gray shells a similar color to their long, segmented underbellies, which were held up by long, thin legs. Growing many feet long, the giant isopod (shown right), also known as bathynomus, is the largest isopod on Earth. These creatures are abundant only on cold, deep sea floors. “Our submersible is ready,” said Bobbathin to Jeffrey from the new sea-garage they had built earlier in the week, “Now we can search the seafloors for creatures never seen before. The machine is made completely of the chromium-titanium alloy, just like the sea-plane. It has particle collapsion and attraction-rays, as well as expansion-rays. I’ve also added particle-accelerator launchers in case any deep-sea monsters try to attack us. They send a massively accelerated particle that can pierce through almost any material.” “Well, Bob,” replied Jeffrey, “We always need to be careful when exploring parts of the sea rarely seen before. Who knows if there is a giant eel or enormous squid that tries to consume the submersible.” They entered the submersible. It was time to try out their new vehicle. The exterior was a yellowed orange color, and there was a white Bobbathin’s Animal Collection logo. It was a spherical shape, with a curved window in the front constructed of multi-layer glass. Boosters were located in the back and searchlights were on either side of the window. Two large particle-rays were on the side and beneath the searchlights were two particle-accelerators. A particle attraction-ray was positioned near the top of the vehicle, where a few flaps opened up into the animal storage zone. Jeffrey pressed the “launch” button on the submarine’s control panel, and the it dropped into the water. Then, the boosters turned on to full power and sent the submersible downwards, quickly accelerating. After a few minutes, they reached the seafloor. The craft turned around vertically and began to decelerate. The CuscusTracker 4000 built into the vehicle searched for lifeforms around them. Suddenly, it found powerful energy readings beneath the seafloor sand. Something was alive. “Activate the digging machine,” said Bobbathin to Jeffrey, “we’d best figure out what that energy is coming from!” When the machine exposed the life-form underneath the sand, they were astounded. “It’s like a huge pill-bug,” exclaimed Bobbathin. “Why, that’s what it is! This creature is a rare Giant Isopod. They are abundant in the deeper oceans. We must capture it before it burrows beneath the sand again!” replied Jeffrey. They activated the particle collapsion-ray and the attraction-ray. A huge bolt of purple light hit the isopod and it collapsed to a smaller size. It was attracted to the storage zone and then stored. Over the next few hours, they caught several more of these undersea giants. Then, they headed back up to the surface to add these finds to their collection. XXVI. Olinguito Bobbathin was observing a list of other rare animals they had not yet captured. “Look,” said he, pointing to a name on the list, “What about the olinguito?” “Ah. That would be a wonderful addition to our collection. It appears that they utilize brachiation.” “What is brachiation?” inquired Bobbathin confusedly. “Why, Bob, brachiation, or arm swinging, is a form of arboreal locomotion in which primates swing from tree limb to tree limb using only their arms. During brachiation, the body is alternately supported under each forelimb,” replied Jeffrey. “Ah. That clarifies it.” So Bobbathin and Jeffrey set off in their sea-plane to South America to capture some olinguitos (shown right). Olinguitos are small, bear-like mammals that swing from tree to tree in their tropical rainforest habitats. These creatures have soft wool that allows them to keep warm during the cold winter. When the sea-plane approached the animals’ habitat, the CuscusTracker found many signs of life. There were a variety of small mammals, such as the olinguitos they were searching for, but the CuscusTracker got them confused with the other animals like the three-toed sloth or the sea snakes that thrived in the region. “We must separate the olinguitos from the other animals. Search for animal level 3, which is what olinguitos are!” said Bobbathin. Jeffrey pressed a button on the machine’s interface and only a few readings showed. It must have worked! They flew the sea-plane to where the animals were. The particle collapsion-rays beamed and captured about ten olinguitos. The animals were then brought home to the animal collection. Bobbathin and Jeffrey had succeeded. XXVII. The Journeys of Bobrick Bobrick met them when the plane touched down. He was excited. “I’ve seen how your animal collection has grown,” said he, “and I encourage you to continue collecting creatures of all different species. You see, I am actually from the future. In around one hundred years, a large meteor will crash onto the Earth and spread highly radioactive material. Then, the Great Mutation will arrive. . .” “Wait,” interrupted Bobbathin, “Who are you, really?” “I am Bobrick Zeeyax,” replied Bobrick, “Your great-great-great-great grandson.” The journey continues in The Expeditions of Bobbathin and Jeffrey by bodena (link in credits). Discover Bobrick’s origin story in The Journeys of Bobrick by Cadecraft (link in credits). Credits and Other Mentions Coming soon: The Expeditions of Bobbathin and Jeffrey, a purely amazing work by another author. The link will be posted below when it is completed. Also, I would enjoy giving much thanks to Ray Wilson© Bird Photography, who took the image of the spotted cuscus on page 16 (I very much enjoy that photograph, Ray Wilson©). The link to Ray Wilson©’s website is below. And, of course, thank you to the readers, who are the people I truly wrote this story for. Always feel free to comment your ideas for the story! Play the Bobbathin© and Jeffrey© Animal Trackers VIDEO GAME with the link posted below. I made the game using a coding website called Scratch©. Please help us save the tardigrades from extinction by supporting Project Water-Bear© and the Tardigrade Awareness Program©! #TardigradeForLife - Cadecraft 2018 - External links [Abridged in text file]