In Time Read online

  Hiya! My name Thudd. Best robot friend of Drewd. Thudd know lots of stuff. How stars get born. Where planets come from. What happened to dinosaurs.

  Drewd and Unkie Al like to invent stuff. Unkie invent time machine. Oop! Drewd have snack accident. Drewd and Oody go back to beginning of universe! Want to come? Turn page, please!

  Get lost with

  Andrew, Judy, and Thudd

  in all their exciting adventures!

  Andrew Lost on the Dog

  Andrew Lost in the Bathroom

  Andrew Lost in the Kitchen

  Andrew Lost in the Garden

  Andrew Lost Under Water

  Andrew Lost in the Whale

  Andrew Lost on the Reef

  Andrew Lost in the Deep

  Andrew Lost in Time

  AND COMING SOON!

  Andrew Lost on Earth

  To Dan, Zack, and the real Andrew,

  with a galaxy of love.

  To the children who read these books: I wish

  you wonderful questions. Questions are

  telescopes into the universe!

  —J.C.G.

  To Cathy Goldsmith, with many thanks.

  —J.G.

  Andrew’s World

  1. Tick … Tock … Tick … Tock …

  2. The Time-A-Tron

  3. The Tick-Tox Box

  4. Blafooooom!

  5. Hello, We Must Be Going!

  6. Spaghetti-fied!

  7. The Big Bang!

  8. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars

  9. Here Comes the Sun!

  10. This Planet Rocks!

  True Stuff

  Where to Find More True Stuff

  Andrew Dubble

  Andrew is ten years old, but he’s been inventing things since he was four. Andrew’s inventions usually get him into trouble, like the time he shrunk himself, his cousin Judy, and his little silver robot Thudd smaller than a mosquito’s toe with the Atom Sucker.

  Today a problem with a snack has sent Andrew traveling through time—to the beginning of the universe!

  Judy Dubble

  Judy is Andrew’s thirteen-year-old cousin. At nine o’clock she got into her pajamas in a cabin in Montana. A few minutes later, there wasn’t a cabin, there wasn’t a Montana … there wasn’t even an Earth!

  Thudd

  The Handy Ultra-Digital Detective.

  Thudd is a super-smart robot and Andrew’s best friend. Thudd has helped to save Andrew and Judy from deadly octopuses, killer jellyfish, and the giant squid. But can he save them from the explosion of the sun?

  Uncle Al

  Andrew and Judy’s uncle is a top-secret scientist. He invented Thudd and the Time-A-Tron time-travel machine. But before he finished the Time-A-Tron, he was kidnapped and hidden in time! Will Andrew and Judy be able to find him?

  The Time-A-Tron

  It looks like a giant cooking timer, but it’s really a time-travel machine. Too bad Uncle Al got kidnapped before he could make sure it worked!

  Doctor Kron-Tox

  The mysterious Doctor Kron-Tox invented a time machine, too—the Tick-Tox Box. He’s used it to kidnap Uncle Al. But where has Doctor Kron-Tox hidden him? And why?

  “No onions on my pizza, please,” said Andrew Dubble. “They remind me of when we were attacked by snails on the coral reef.”

  Uncle Al’s face crinkled into a smile. “The onions protected you from the snails,” said Uncle Al. “They saved your life!”

  Andrew and his thirteen-year-old cousin, Judy, were sitting in the big, comfortable kitchen of Uncle Al’s log cabin. Just a few hours ago, they had been deep in the Pacific Ocean rescuing a giant squid. Now they were in Montana!

  Uncle Al loaded a thick, cheesy slice of pizza onto a plate. Judy pulled at a string of hot cheese that had gotten tangled in her long, frizzy hair.

  “It’s too bad we had to leave Hawai’i so fast,” she said. “We didn’t even have time to eat breakfast.”

  meep … “Uncle Al had to come back,” came a squeaky voice from Andrew’s shirt pocket. “Big trouble!”

  It was Andrew’s best friend, Thudd. Thudd was a little silver robot invented by Uncle Al. His name was short for The Handy Ultra-Digital Detective.

  Uncle Al nodded. “My partner, Professor Winka Wilde, is missing,” he said. “There’s a message on the Hologram Helper.”

  Uncle Al pulled a round purple object the size of a golf ball from his pocket. He pressed a black button at the top of it.

  Tick … tock … tick … tock …

  A whispery voice said:

  “Time is short,

  Time is long.

  Time’s a chain.

  Its links are strong.

  But there’s a way

  To break time’s hold,

  To tuck who I want

  Into time’s many folds.

  Miss Wilde is gone.

  I’m sure you’re vexed.

  But don’t worry, Dubble!

  You’ll be next!

  Don’t look to the future.

  Don’t study the present.

  She’s locked in the past,

  And it’s 5000 unpleasant!

  HA! HA! HA!”

  Tick … tock … tick … tock …

  Judy shivered. “That voice gives me the creeps,” she said.

  Uncle Al poured grape juice for Judy and Andrew.

  “That was a scientist named Doctor Kron-Tox,” said Uncle Al. “I used to work with him. He had amazing ideas, but he became obsessed with time. One day, he left our laboratory and vanished without a trace. Now it looks like he kidnapped Winka!”

  meep … “Unkie Al gotta be careful,” said Thudd.

  “Don’t worry,” said Uncle Al. “The worst enemy of a bad problem is a good plan. I’m working on a time machine. It’s called the Time-A-Tron, and it’s almost ready to test.”

  “Wowzers schnauzers!” said Andrew. “Where is it?”

  meep … “Want to see!” said Thudd.

  “Well, let’s go!” said Uncle Al. He put the Hologram Helper in his pocket and headed for the kitchen door.

  Uncle Al’s cabin was under a tall pine tree. The land beyond the tree made Andrew think of other planets. The ground was stony and dry. Tall brown rocks stood in rows like weird statues. Scruffy bushes poked up between the rocks.

  Uncle Al led the way up a path lit with lights. Andrew and Judy caught up with him at the top of a hill.

  Hnnnnnnnnnnnnn … came a humming sound from somewhere in the distance.

  “It’s down there,” said Uncle Al.

  In the valley below was a giant glowing mushroom!

  Andrew and Judy followed Uncle Al down the rocky path. As they got closer to the mushroom, they saw it was actually an inflatable dome.

  Uncle Al went to a square little box on the wall of the dome and spoke into it. “Good golly Miss Molly” he said, and part of the wall swung open.

  Inside was a small, empty room. Hanging from the ceiling was a giant spiderweb.

  “How do you like my burglar alarm system?” asked Uncle Al. “If someone tries to get in without the password, the Catch-O- Matic web flops down and holds them here.”

  Uncle Al grinned at Andrew and Judy. “I got the idea when you guys were trapped in the spiderweb in Mrs. Scuttle’s bathroom.”

  Andrew and Judy looked at each other and smiled.

  Uncle Al opened a door at the end of the little room.

  HNNNNNNNNNNNNN…

  Now Andrew didn’t just hear the humming sound. He could feel it, too.

  The door led into a huge room. In the middle of the room was an enormous egg-shaped object. It almost touched the ceiling!

  Andrew’s eyes grew wide. “Wowzers schnauzers!” he said. “Is that—”

  “The T
ime-A-Tron!” said Uncle Al proudly.

  The top half of the egg was a clear dome. The bottom half was silver. The whole thing sat on a silver cone that floated off the ground.

  “Cheese Louise!” said Judy. “It looks like a cooking timer! We have a little one just like it in our kitchen.”

  “How does the Time-A-Tron work?” Andrew asked Uncle Al.

  Uncle Al scratched his chin. “Do you know about the speed of light?”

  “Yup,” said Judy. “That’s how far light can travel in a second.”

  meep … “One hundred and eighty-six thousand miles in one second!” said Thudd.

  “That’s right!” said Uncle Al. “If you traveled at the speed of light, in just one second you could cross the United States seventy-five times!

  “Some people think that light is the fastest thing in our universe. But there is something that can travel faster than light.”

  “What?” asked Andrew.

  meep … “Tachyon!” said Thudd.

  “Huh?” said Judy.

  “TACK-ee-on” flashed across Thudd’s screen.

  “Right,” said Uncle Al. “Tachyons are extremely tiny. They’re much smaller than atoms.

  “Traveling faster than light does strange things. It may even allow us to travel through time. The Time-A-Tron is fueled by tachyons.”

  Andrew squinted at the Time-A-Tron. There was a blur in the middle of it.

  “Why does the middle of the Time-A-Tron look fuzzy?” he asked.

  “That’s because of the Fast-Fins,” said Uncle Al. “They’re moving so quickly you can’t see them. The tachyons get the Fast-Fins spinning faster than the speed of light and then …”

  Andrew started walking toward the back of the Time-A-Tron.

  “Andrew!” said Uncle Al. “Don’t touch anything!”

  “I won’t,” said Andrew. “But when can we try it?”

  “The Fast-Back button is finally working,” said Uncle Al. “But the Fast-Forward button is causing trouble. You and Judy can help me with that tomorrow. But only if you promise to follow my instructions exactly.”

  “We will!” said Andrew.

  Judy shook her head. “Andrew, you’ve messed up every invention you’ve ever touched,” she said. “Look what happened with the Atom Sucker. You got us shrunk smaller than a fly’s eye!”

  “That wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t sneezed,” said Andrew.

  Judy put her hands on her hips. “And what about when you broke the destination dial off the Water Bug? We ended up sinking to the deepest place in the world!”

  “But we saved the giant squid!” said Andrew.

  “Come on, guys, don’t argue,” said Uncle Al. “Why don’t you go back to the cabin and get ready for bed? Make yourselves some hot chocolate. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

  Outside the laboratory, the moon was full and bright. The moonlight made the strange rocks look even stranger.

  When they got back to the cabin, they washed up and got into their pajamas. Judy put on her bathrobe, too. Just like his regular clothes, Andrew’s pajamas had lots of pockets, and the pockets were full of stuff.

  Back in the kitchen, Andrew found the hot chocolate mix. Judy got the milk out of the refrigerator and warmed it up in the microwave. Andrew broke off a big chunk of Uncle Al’s gooey chocolate fudge.

  They took their snacks into the living room and snuggled into Uncle Al’s cozy sofa.

  “Better not get any fudge on the sofa,” said Judy.

  “Don’t worry,” said Andrew.

  He chewed off a big bite, wrapped the rest in a napkin, and tucked it into his pajama pocket next to Thudd.

  BOOOOOOH-HAH! BOOOOOOH-HAH! BOOOOOOH-HAH! came an ear-shattering sound from somewhere outside.

  “What’s that?” asked Judy.

  “It’s an alarm!” said Andrew.

  Judy and Andrew ran out of the cabin in their pajamas and slippers. The sound was coming from the laboratory.

  BOOOOOOH-HAH! BOOOOOOH-HAH! BOOOOOOH-HAH!

  When they got to the laboratory the door was open. Pieces of the Catch-O-Matic were on the floor of the first room. The only thing caught in it was a piece of paper.

  Judy ran into the big room. Andrew found the alarm switch and shut it off.

  “ANDREW!” Judy screamed.

  “Holy moly!” shouted Andrew when he saw what was happening in the big room.

  Floating in the air next to the Time-A-Tron was a cube-shaped chunk of blackness! Flashes of lightning flickered inside it.

  “Uncle Al!” hollered Andrew and Judy.

  “Unkie!” squeaked Thudd.

  No one answered.

  Andrew remembered the paper he’d seen when he came in. He went back to the front room and tugged the paper from the Catch-O-Matic.

  The thick, creamy paper was folded and sealed with an old-fashioned wax stamp. Pressed into the wax was the face of a clock.

  Andrew tore open the seal and ran back to the big room.

  “Look at this!” he said.

  Judy read the bold black handwriting:

  Time has power,

  Time has locks.

  Time trapped Dubble

  In the Tick-Tox Box.

  Silly children,

  What can you do?

  Your uncle is gone

  And you will be, too!

  Do you know where he is,

  This uncle of yours?

  It’s a mammoth place

  And it’s got no doors.

  It’s terribly cold,

  But you need not worry.

  There are warm, tusky things

  That are horribly furry.

  Will his stay be long?

  I don’t know.

  How long can you live

  All crusted with snow?

  “Oh no!” said Judy. “Doctor Kron-Tox has kidnapped Uncle Al!”

  meep … “Unkie!” squeaked Thudd.

  “That black thing must be the Tick-Tox Box,” said Andrew, hurrying back to the big room. “Look what’s happening to it!”

  The Tick-Tox Box was fading. Now it was only as dark as a storm cloud. The flashes inside of it got dimmer and dimmer until the box disappeared completely.

  meep … “Understand puzzle!” said Thudd. “Mammoth. Tusky. Uncle Al hidden in time when mammoths live. Could be four million years ago. Or could be four thousand years ago. Mammoths on Earth four million years!”

  “Oh great!” said Judy. “I’ll just set my alarm clock for four million years ago.”

  meep … “Gotta use Time-A-Tron,” said Thudd.

  “We don’t know anything about the Time-A-Tron,” said Judy.

  “I guess it’s time to find out,” said Andrew.

  “Come on, Judy,” said Andrew, walking toward the Time-A-Tron.

  HNNNNNNNNNNNNN…

  Judy crept toward the Time-A-Tron as though she were sneaking up on a sleeping dragon.

  There was a rope ladder hanging down from the Time-A-Tron. It led to an oval door in the bottom. Andrew climbed the ladder. The door didn’t have a handle or a lock, but there was a square shape in the middle.

  Andrew took a guess.

  “Good golly, Miss Molly,” he said into the square.

  bong … The door zipped aside.

  HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN…

  The humming sound was even louder.

  Andrew crawled inside. Judy crept in after him.

  bong … The door zipped shut behind them!

  “Uh-oh,” said Andrew.

  It was totally dark.

  “Maybe there’s a light switch on the wall,” said Judy. “I’ll feel around.”

  “Me too,” said Andrew, reaching out his hands.

  “I found a switch,” he said, flipping it.

  bong … “Tachyons loading,” came a deep, echoey voice.

  “Oops,” said Andrew.

  “Turn that switch OFF, Bug-Brain!” said Judy.

  “I’ll try,” said Andrew.

&nb
sp; “Youch!” yelled Judy, tripping over something on the floor.

  “Oofers!” yelled Andrew, tripping into Judy.

  Andrew snagged a cord and hung on to it to keep from falling.

  bong… “Power cord activated,” came the deep voice. “Time-A-Tron preparing for time travel. The countdown begins now. One hundred … ninety-nine … ninety-eight…”

  “Cheese Louise!” said Judy. “We’ve got to stop this thing! We don’t know what we’re doing!”

  “Here’s another switch,” said Andrew, flipping it.

  A light went on.

  They were in a large, round chamber. In the middle was a spinning black ball. At the bottom of it, black tubes led to a bulgy shape by the wall. A label on the bulgy shape said TACHYONS.

  Next to the bulge was a screen with changing colors.

  Underneath the screen were rows of switches. Some had big black handles and others had red ones.

  The deep voice kept counting down: “… fifty-nine … fifty-eight …”

  Andrew noticed a door in the ceiling. He grabbed its handle and pulled. The door opened and a rope ladder fell down. Andrew climbed into the upper compartment of the Time-A-Tron.

  He found himself beside a silvery blue chair big enough for two people. In front of the chair was a flat panel. The floor had outlines of black circles and squares.

  “… twenty-three … twenty-two … twenty-one …”

  Andrew looked around the compartment. He didn’t see any controls.

  “I wonder how you operate this thing,” he said.

  bong…

  The flat panel opened up. A digital display at the top of the panel blinked “TODAY.” Below the display were several buttons blinking red. The two biggest ones were shaped like arrows. The arrow on the left was labeled FAST-BACK. The one on the right said FAST-FORWARD. Between these two buttons was a squiggly one marked WORM-DRIVE.

  bong… “Three … two … one,” came the deep voice. “Time travel is now possible.”