Read Online 20,000 Nerds Under the Sea by Jeff Miller - Free Book Online Page A

bean,” said Jolly. “But not too much. Dipping a finger in is about fifty dollars’ worth.”
    Biggs ran his pinkie across the top of the gloppy red mixture.
    â€œVery nice—I’m getting some hints of heirloomtomato,” Biggs said, licking his lips like a reality-TV food critic. “Maybe some Doritos, as well?”
    Jolly gave Biggs a stare capable of melting glaciers.
    â€œSam?” offered Biggs.
    â€œWell, I’m a veggie-saurus, so I’ll pass. But Jolly, as a fellow dinosaur lover, I did have a few questions about your huge shark,” Sam said, cranking up the charm. “It’s literally the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Did you model it off a living great white? What are the teeth made of?”
    Jolly’s face lit up.
    â€œAre you a fan of Cenozoic-era vertebrates, too?” the captain asked.
    â€œYou better believe it, sister,” Sam replied. “At home, I have four fossils of actual dinosaurs that date back millions and million years.”
    â€œThen I’ve got to show you the jaws,” Jolly said, putting an arm tenderly around Sam’s shoulders. “I had our top-secret krill-collecting submersible modified. I copied the serrated edges of actual shark teeth and just made them four times as big.”
    â€œWhoa,” said Sam.
    The two walked out onto the deck, with Biggs and Neil trailing behind.
    â€œNow let’s do this, shall we?” said Jolly, turning to Biggs and Neil. She seemed to be much friendlier when things were going her way.
    She walked the crew outside and down to the end of the ship, next to the head of the mechanical shark-eating shark. With heavy steps, Pierre and Fabien followed.
    â€œYou collect nothing but sharks, understood?” Jolly said. “Inside this vessel is a tank that can hold up to three hundred sharks, all to be deposited at the new facility near San Diego.”
    â€œHey, that’s where we were,” said Sam. “I thought you said it was an aquarium?”
    â€œRight,” said Jolly. She stiffened, and her thin nostrils flared. “Aquarium.”
    â€œThat didn’t look like an aquarium is all.”
    â€œOnce it’s finished, you’ll see,” said Jolly. She pivoted back to her shark creation, Magda . It was barely three feet away, and Neil reached out his hand to touch it. It felt slimy enough to be real. Its eyes glowed a deep red. The dorsal fin was the size of a sail from a small boat. Neil had never witnessed anything so powerful, and he’d been to Mars, so that was saying something.
    Jolly clicked a tiny remote in her hand, and a hatch just behind the gills opened.
    â€œClimb aboard, crew,” said Jolly. “You’ll see you’re well acquainted with the controls. Glad to have you on my team.”
    Neil felt uneasy. It might have been the churning sea, or the overwhelming amount of last night’s candy in his gut, but Neil knew it was a feeling that this wasn’t going to end well.

“SO WHERE’D YOU’D DESIGN THESE CONTROLS?” ASKED NEIL , sitting in the middle of the three captain’s chairs. “Did you base it off other simulators?”
    He was full of questions, nervous energy, exotic candy, and a tiny bit of rare ketchup. He shifted in the uncomfortable seat. It felt like sitting on a metal beam and looked like a dentist’s chair plucked from a nightmare. Metal bars, like a roller-coaster safety harness, were above each seat. Fabien and Pierre had followed them inside but had to hunch over in the crampedquarters. Jolly stood behind them while Neil and his friends were harnessed in, making sure never to lift a finger to help.
    â€œDid I base what off other simulations?” said a distracted Jolly.
    â€œYour game, the controls,” Neil said. “This really looks like Shark Hunt; it’s impressive that you captured it so well.”
    â€œSure,” she said.
    For a designer,