Read Online The Demon Headmaster and The Prime Minister’s Brain by Gillian Cross - Free Book Online
Authors: Gillian Cross
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turned round to gaze at the rows of cabinets, but Dinah stayed hunched in the same position, desperate not to attract attention. And the Headmaster’s voice went on.
‘You have, I presume, all brought your S-7s with you, according to instructions. And I imagine that you are not too stupid to work out how to connect them up where you are sitting. As well as being microprocessors on their own, these S-7s are now acting as terminals to the S-700. Each one of you is in contact with the most powerful computer in the world.’
The most powerful computer in the world. It ought to have been incredibly exciting, Dinah thought miserably. She should have been sitting on the edge of her chair, longing for a chance to use her terminal. But the only thought in her head was SPLAT. I do want SPLAT. Where could they all have got to?
It was no use thinking like that! She gave herself a mental prod. She had to keep track of what the Headmaster was saying. He had started to give details of how to operate the S-700. If she didn’t learn those, he would be sure to notice her. Bending over her notebook, she began to scribble at top speed, like all the other Brains.
And scribble and scribble and scribble. The Headmaster kept pouring out information without waiting for them to understand or ask questions. It took all Dinah’s energy to keep pace with him. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Camilla and Bess were just as breathless, scrambling to make a note of everything. And it seemed that the voice would never stop. On and on it went, with every sentence giving another important fact. On and on and on …
Until at last, suddenly, the stream of words stopped dead and the Headmaster nodded.
‘Right. That covers everything you need to know. In a moment, you will be sent to have your lunch. While you are eating, you should learn these notes. After the meal, you will be starting work on the final stage of the competition and I shall expect you to know everything I have told you. Otherwise, you will be sent home.’
Giving another brisk nod, he walked quickly down the room towards the lift. Dinah shuddered as he passed her, but he did not look at any of the Brains. He just strode into the lift and slid away.
‘Christmas pudding !’ said Camilla breathlessly. ‘You don’t mean he really expects us to learn everything he’s told us do you realize he’s been speaking for two hours and—’
‘Silence!’ barked one of the men at the front of the room. ‘No talking until you are sent down to the canteen!’ His voice was dead and expressionless and at the sound of it Dinah shuddered again.
Then she glanced sideways at Bess, to make sure she was all right. But Bess already had her head bent over her notebook, her lips moving slightly as she began to memorize what she had written.
Nursing her wrist, which ached from holding a pen for so long, Dinah flipped back through her own notes. Pages and pages! How could she ever learn them? She was already exhausted. She had worked harder in the last two hours than she had ever worked in her life, and it looked as though that was only a start. Help!
The white-coated men were walking down between the desks now, sending the Brains into the lift, two rows at a time. The Brains went solemnly and silently, their eyes on their notebooks and their faces concentrating hard.
When it was Dinah’s turn, she went with Camilla and Bess and Robert. The men packed the lift so tightly that none of them could move and then pressed a couple of switches.
Immediately, the door closed and for a second there was total darkness. Bess caught her breath, but before she could say anything a green light came on. The octopus patterns began to writhe their way across the computer screen on the wall of the lift.
For an instant, Dinah felt the uneasy, worrying niggle that had been at the back of her mind ever since she entered the Sentinel Tower. Octopus patterns again ?
Then, as the beautiful familiar curves
‘You have, I presume, all brought your S-7s with you, according to instructions. And I imagine that you are not too stupid to work out how to connect them up where you are sitting. As well as being microprocessors on their own, these S-7s are now acting as terminals to the S-700. Each one of you is in contact with the most powerful computer in the world.’
The most powerful computer in the world. It ought to have been incredibly exciting, Dinah thought miserably. She should have been sitting on the edge of her chair, longing for a chance to use her terminal. But the only thought in her head was SPLAT. I do want SPLAT. Where could they all have got to?
It was no use thinking like that! She gave herself a mental prod. She had to keep track of what the Headmaster was saying. He had started to give details of how to operate the S-700. If she didn’t learn those, he would be sure to notice her. Bending over her notebook, she began to scribble at top speed, like all the other Brains.
And scribble and scribble and scribble. The Headmaster kept pouring out information without waiting for them to understand or ask questions. It took all Dinah’s energy to keep pace with him. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Camilla and Bess were just as breathless, scrambling to make a note of everything. And it seemed that the voice would never stop. On and on it went, with every sentence giving another important fact. On and on and on …
Until at last, suddenly, the stream of words stopped dead and the Headmaster nodded.
‘Right. That covers everything you need to know. In a moment, you will be sent to have your lunch. While you are eating, you should learn these notes. After the meal, you will be starting work on the final stage of the competition and I shall expect you to know everything I have told you. Otherwise, you will be sent home.’
Giving another brisk nod, he walked quickly down the room towards the lift. Dinah shuddered as he passed her, but he did not look at any of the Brains. He just strode into the lift and slid away.
‘Christmas pudding !’ said Camilla breathlessly. ‘You don’t mean he really expects us to learn everything he’s told us do you realize he’s been speaking for two hours and—’
‘Silence!’ barked one of the men at the front of the room. ‘No talking until you are sent down to the canteen!’ His voice was dead and expressionless and at the sound of it Dinah shuddered again.
Then she glanced sideways at Bess, to make sure she was all right. But Bess already had her head bent over her notebook, her lips moving slightly as she began to memorize what she had written.
Nursing her wrist, which ached from holding a pen for so long, Dinah flipped back through her own notes. Pages and pages! How could she ever learn them? She was already exhausted. She had worked harder in the last two hours than she had ever worked in her life, and it looked as though that was only a start. Help!
The white-coated men were walking down between the desks now, sending the Brains into the lift, two rows at a time. The Brains went solemnly and silently, their eyes on their notebooks and their faces concentrating hard.
When it was Dinah’s turn, she went with Camilla and Bess and Robert. The men packed the lift so tightly that none of them could move and then pressed a couple of switches.
Immediately, the door closed and for a second there was total darkness. Bess caught her breath, but before she could say anything a green light came on. The octopus patterns began to writhe their way across the computer screen on the wall of the lift.
For an instant, Dinah felt the uneasy, worrying niggle that had been at the back of her mind ever since she entered the Sentinel Tower. Octopus patterns again ?
Then, as the beautiful familiar curves
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