Z O O N A U T S :
The Secret of Animalville
"PREFACE" - by Richard Mueller
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Spanishillustrations by Egidio Victor Dal Chele
original concept by David Simons
edited and expanded by Sheldon Gosline
ZOONAUTS SUMMARY
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Only when a group of super-intelligent animals and
their human friends cooperate do we have a chance of
beating an invasion of aliens who would turn us all
into food. First they have to convince the government
that there is a threat, and time is running out.
THEME...
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We are not superior to animals but different, and
we have much to teach each other.
Here creator David Simons (left) and author Richard Mueller (right) pose at a publicity event in Shanghai, China. For full story, click HERE or on their picture.
Is Amador really attacking our space shuttles? Are you ready to learn about the zoonauts? This is how they came to be, and their first adventure against Amador!
0-9719496-6-2
Hardcover, 210pp
Ages 8-14
Price $14.95 US
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Excerpt Link
REVIEW
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�a sure-to-be-a-hit book, ZOONAUTS is a splendid mix of adventure and science fiction, teaching children environmental issues and animal rights. Teamwork and goal setting are also featured in this magnificent book. This reviewer and her twelve-year-old, Nicholas, thoroughly enjoyed this imaginative, fun, and winning book.�
- Jennifer LB Leese, Children's Book Review Columnist
ZOONAUTS: The Secret of Animalville tells the sci-fi adventure story of Jen, Cody, Sarah and the �Zoonauts� in their efforts to save the world from evil alien Amadorians � from the planet Amador. The Amadorians look like dragons, live for several hundred years and are generally a foul, bellicose, nasty bunch bent on taking over the earth.
The most recent Amadorian plan, launched 50 years ago, was to imbue earth animals with the ability to think at a high intellectual level, and thereby get their allegiance to control them. This ability was initiated on animals that had been part of human space and high altitude flights. If the animals passed through the alien yellow light, * poof *, the animal would then be able to reason well. With this ability to reason, the aliens hoped that earth animals would realize how badly humans mistreated them and thus revolt against human tyranny. Additionally, each animal discovered a unique science fiction �gift�, such as being able to pass through walls, ESP, or master any human language and the altered animals lived much longer then their natural genetics would allow �normal� life expectancy.
The first human to discover the first thinking animal was Major (and later General) Mike, who just happened to be in charge of animal research at NASA. After he discovered the talking, thinking, gifted animals he urged the government to set up a village for them, called Animalville. But at that point, no one really knew how or why the animals got their abilities � just that it had something to do with a strange yellow light.
As General Mike aged he needed help, so he hired a young couple named the Strouds to assist. Their children, Jen and Cody, grew up in Animalville, sworn to secrecy. But eventually, Jen needed to tell someone and broke down to tell her friend Sarah, who turns out to have special gifts of her own.
After a Zoonauts SWAT team rescues two empathic panda Zoonauts from impending Chinese oppression, the awful secret of how and why the animals have these powers begins to unfold. This knowledge serves to raise the defenses of our heroes, until they are face to face with the Amadorians themselves, who come to earth to kidnap Laika, a Russian Zoonaut dog. In the end, by working together and coordinating their individual powers, the Zoonauts � together with Cody, Jen and Sarah are able to save the day and keep earth alien free, for at least a while.
N E W S - F L A S H - N E W S - F L A S H
We have just recently opened up a shop where you can get all kinds of COOL Zoonauts STUFF!!! Wow! Just click HERE or pet this trendy puppy with your mouse!
The word �Zoonauts� is the creation of Sheldon Lee Gosline and a trademark (TM) of Shangri-La Publications. Permission from Sheldon Lee Gosline is required for any commercial use of the word �Zoonauts�.
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Fishwick and Kornblend were not happy Amadorians. They were standing on the Grand Highway before the Supreme Palace of Amador, under the poisonous yellow sky, staring at the palace.
Calling it a palace was a kindness, though it was certainly large enough. A big ugly rock pile, it reared up against the smoky skies. Amadorian emperors and warlords had been adding to the thing for centuries with no thought to design. The result was a lumpy great building as ugly as any in the galaxy, surrounded by a low and disreputable city, thick with smoke and machine noises. It was a strip-mall kingdom on a slum of a planet.
The palace�s interior was no better than outside. The decor was a cross between a deserted fabric warehouse and closed steel mill.
Martial banners with silly slogans hung amid rust and general disrepair. Fishwick and Kornblend had been here many times and were used to it. They strode down the corridor, dragging their fat tails.
Amadorians all look a bit like dragons, though Fishwick was the taller and sneakier of the two. Kornblend�s squat brutishness marked him as the tough guy bully. The two were dressed in Amadorian fighter pilot gear; bulbous, dark and slightly shoddy, with uniform insignia amid straps and buckles.
Above them, a robot eye swiveled about to look at them. It did not seem very amused, but then, they never do. Tre-Pok�s voice suddenly blasted out from all sides of them.
�Fishwick!
Kornblend!
Get in here!�
The doors to Tre-Pok�s Strategy Room flew open. Fishwick and Kornblend stumbled in, tripped over their tails and went down in a heap. Untangling themselves, they staggered to their feet as Tre-Pok screamed, �Get up!�
The two pilots saluted, Roman-style, thumping their chests. �Yes, Your Awfulness!�
Tre-Pok glared at them. He was huge, a great scaly dragon with vestigial wings, decked out in leather, medals and attitude. He was impressive and he knew it. Looking down he examined the two pilots as if he had found them on his boot. �I�ve got a job for you two mouth-breathers. I want it done right!�
�Yessir!�
�Silence! You�re using up my air.� Tre-Pok stalked to his command console. Fishwick and Kornblend trailed fearfully behind him. Suddenly a screen lit up with a picture of a big blue marble, the planet Earth. Tre-Pok gave a satisfied grunt. �I want you to go to the Earth...� He rounded on them. �I trust that you remember where it is...�
The two pilots nodded vigorously. The image of Earth suddenly faded into one of the Zoonauts. �And bring back this creature, the dog, Laika. You will bring her back alive and well.�
�Alive and well...� Kornblend repeated. Fishwick elbowed him. �Ow,� Kornblend went on. �How do we find her, Your Fearfulness?�
Tre-Pok�s mad response frightened them. �Use the genetic sensors we provided you with, bonehead! And do a good job!�
Tre-Pok subsided into a large creaking chair and looked at the two quaking in their boots. �If you do, there will be medals and another stripe for each of you. If you don�t, when I take my vacation at the acid pools this year, you two lugs will be my luggage.�
The two saluted so hard they almost broke their breastbones. �Now, get out of here!� Tre-Pok screamed. The two were out the door before his words finished ringing out.
Tre-Pok scowled after them, not seeing the curtains move behind him as the High Rotocaster slipped into the room. The H.R. was a skeletal, spooky dragon, his scales almost translucent, his eyes red: his voice ethereal. He seemed to be looking at something that no one else could see. He did it all of the time, and it drove Tre-Pok crazy. �This had better work...�
Tre-Pok nodded, but Rotocaster�s attention was on the picture of the Zoonaut Laika. �I must find their weaknesses.�
�I shall not fail the Emperor,� Tre-Pok promised. �Good. See that you don�t. Or we may all wind up as luggage.�
Part One
One: Methuselah�s Tale
�That was a VERY creative story Jennifer Stroud, but I think we have heard enough right now about Amador and silly space dragons!� interrupted Mrs. Patruski, the eighth grade English teacher. �You were SUPPOSED to have written a story involving something that happened to your family, not science fiction, or worse, fantasy.�
�But�� began Jen. Mrs. Patruski waved her to silence.
�When I give the entire class an assignment, I expect ALL of you to do it. Not just something you feel like doing.� She glared at Jen, who was trying to hide her anger, embarrassment, and urge to say something she knew would only make it worse.
But Mrs. Patruski made Jen nervous enough that she sank back into her chair without a word. It was already turning into a bad school year, and still only September. She just knew what Cody would say when she got home, �I told you so�, �how could you be so dumb?� or �when are you going to learn?�. Even though he was three years younger, he always had a better sense of what �outsiders� could understand about their strange family. It made it so hard to have any friends when you couldn�t tell them anything about your family.
Truth is, no children had ever grown up in the kind of family as the Strouds. While their non-human nursemaids took care of them and taught them things no human children had learned, Jen was getting tired of telling other girls that they couldn�t visit her at home. Oh, sure, she went to their places, but usually with some animal, watching everything she did. She felt like she was being spied on. It was too much to bear. Jen was deep in gloom as she left school that day.
�What was that weird story all about?� Sara, her best friend, burst into Jen�s private reflections. �Oh, just something Methuselah the parrot told me,� Jen heard herself blurt out, before realizing what she was saying.
�You�re bonkers Jen! Next you�re gonna� tell me you know why the space shuttle Columbia blew up right here, over Texas!�
�Oh Sara�� with that Jen started crying harder than she ever had before. �Its just awful! I�ve just gotta� tell somebody or I�ll burst � Can you keep a secret? I mean a REAL secret. Not just something silly?�
�Of course silly, dah!�
Jen started to pull herself together, realized that telling Sara anything was not only dangerous, but useless too. She had to show her! �Sara, I need to tell you something, but can�t. I need to let you in on the secret of Animalville, but don�t know how. Let�s go find Methuselah. He�s real smart and may have an idea.� Sara just knew that Jen had had too many moon pies for lunch. It was probably a sugar high, she told herself. When the two got back to Animalville Jen left Sara at the gate to track down Methuselah.
While she waited, Cody showed up.
�What is wrong with Jen?� Sara interrogated Cody. She fancied herself a secret agent, but had no idea how close she was to being let in on a real Top Secret.
�Nothin�, what you mean?�
�She told some crazy science fiction story about another planet with dragons, said something crazy about it being by your parrot, then burst into tears!�
Cody rolled his eyes, as only a nine-year-old younger brother can, �Women! Now we�re in for it!�
Just then, Jen came back, rounding the corner with Methuselah. Sara eyed the old bird, suddenly nervous. What if Jen WAS telling the truth?
�What have you done Jen?� Cody cried. �I told you they wouldn�t understand about Amador. I told you so!� With that Cody ran home and the two girls looked knowingly at each other. Jen was right about at least one thing; her brother Cody was a pain.
Then, as far as Sara was concerned, the impossible happened. Methuselah spoke!
�Jen, Cody is right! Your Amador report was a big mistake!� Keenly sensing her amazement, Methuselah turned to Sara. �Excuse me, Sara, given my gift for language, other animals here in Animalville chose me to be our spokes-being. It is a military secret. Of course, with that comes the responsibility of never telling anyone else. If you do, terrible things could happen. So if you don�t want to know��
Sara was excited beyond words. She was scared. Her mouth was dry, but she was amazed at Methusaleh. She wanted to know this secret more than anything in the world.
She nodded. �I won�t t-tell anyone,� she said. �I want to know.�
�Very well,� said Methusaleh. �This is a report about heroes in a war between Earth and Amador. Please get comfortable and I will tell you a tale so amazing that after you hear it you may not be able to sleep. In fact, you may never want to sleep again...
