The Tomorrow Code
Brian Falkner
Language: English
Pages: 350
ISBN: 0375843655
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
“The end of the world started quietly enough for Tane Williams and Rebecca Richards. . . .”
Tane and Rebecca aren’t sure what to make of it—a sequence of 1s and 0s, the message looks like nothing more than a random collection of alternating digits. Working to decode it, however, they discover that the message contains lottery numbers . . . lottery numbers that win the next random draw! More messages follow, and slowly it becomes clear—the messages are being sent from Tane and Rebecca’s future. Something there has gone horribly wrong, and it’s up to them to prevent it from happening. The very survival of the human race may be at stake!
“[A] terrifying SF page-turner!”—Booklist
“A tautly constructed plot. Fast-paced and all-too-realistic. This technothriller offers gearhead ecowarriors everything, including a hugely satisfying ending.”—Kirkus Reviews
A Top 10 Kid’s Indie Next Winter Pick
A Junior Library Guild Selection
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Clothed but sound asleep. In sleep, the heaviness and the tiredness lifted from her face, and there was a stillness and a calm about her that wrenched Tane’s heart. He pulled a blanket over her and gently brushed his hand against her cheek by way of a goodbye. It was still light, but only just, when he stowed his cycle in the garage and wound his way up through the many levels of his parents’ house to his room, and there, waiting for him on the screen, was a long line of ones and zeros.
Depths of their operating systems. Information is stored in bits, which can be on or off—” “Yeah, I get it,” said Tane, even though he didn’t. “Move along.” “Well, the BATSE data is actually in binary code. My program just displays it in ones and zeroes to make it easier for us to read. So I had this bright idea of translating the binary code into ASCII characters.” “Um, ooohkaaay.” “God, it’s like talking to a monkey some days,” Rebecca stormed. “Maybe, but I’ve written this really cool.
This time there was a slight nervous catch in his voice. “I have a rifle. Please identify yourself.” There was no reply, and all around him now, he had the sensation that the woods, the mist, were alive. Indefinable shapes swirled around him in the fog, ghosts amongst the trees. A short while later, two rifle shots echoed through the tall kauri of the forest. When Gazza hadn’t returned by Thursday, December 17, his wife, Lorna Henderson, reported him overdue. Gazza was never back late from.
The frame. Tane caught up with her and stood beside her. The second copy of the Chronophone message was still on the printer. In his haste and anger, he had forgotten about it. “There’s a new message,” Rebecca said in bewilderment. “Why didn’t you tell us?” “I…” She scanned quickly through the string of letters, then came back to the words at the start. “Fatboy don’t go,” she read out slowly. She turned to face him. “Oh my God! You already knew.” She stared at him, her face just a few.
Passed the chimp over gratefully. They had to move fast, and Fatboy’s strength was going to be needed. “Leave the chimp behind,” Crowe ordered, but Fatboy ignored him. The sounds of shouts and confusion intensified on the radio. “Fall back, fall back to the trailers!” That was Crawford’s voice again. “Try your sprayers. The bullets don’t bother them; just cut straight through them!” Cut through what? “Crawford, this is Crowe. What’s going on out there?” They were already moving, out through.