…how an ordinary schoolgirl became an

INTERNET VOYAGER!

Dot squeezed herself into the middle of the front seat of Ron and Deirdre's scruffy white van, carefully making sure she didn't wake up the squidglet still fast asleep in her hand. Wizard jumped up beside her and gave her one of his "You humans!" looks.

"I don't know why you want to keep him" he said (Wiz is always a bit crabby and difficult when he's been woken up from one of his daytime sleeps. Likes to wake up on his own, you see.) "He's just a ball of fur, that's all! What are we going to do with him anyway?"

The squidglet opened one of his big green eyes and looked up at Wiz. "Brrrrp!" he went sleepily, and closed his eye again. I wonder if he can understand what we're saying, thought Dot.

"CLANG!" Ron pulled the door on the driver's side of the van shut and made himself comfortable behind the controls. Deirdre was already in her seat, peering at a little mirror stuck up on the dashboard of the van. "I do look a sight" she said, brushing at the little brown and gold feathers round her face. (She looked fine to Dot.) "Have to get myself off to the featherdressers once we've sorted out this Full Muster!"

Ron grunted. "You and your titivating!" he said. "Seat belts on then? Good! Up we go!"

With a little hiss, the Mopples' van started to lift off from the Search Zone floor. It was a funny feeling - kind of like going up in a lift, only one that wasn't in the middle of a building! From her seat next to Wiz in the middle of the front of the van (there was plenty of room for all of them, it was very comfortable in fact) - Dot watched Ron's big bulldog paws as they moved over the controls, which weren't at all like an ordinary van's.

For a start, all the information Ron needed was on three small computer screens, angled so he could read them all easily. Underneath the middle computer screen there was a keyboard - Dot noticed it had specially shaped keys to fit Ron's paws. On each side of the screens was a group of three little handles, all with different coloured knobs on the top. The main control was like a steering wheel cut in half, with two bits shaped to fit where Ron's paws were. It was covered in a soft, shiny dark red material that looked like leather.

Ron pulled back gently on he main control and the van tilted back a little as it rose up into the sky. He saw Dot looking and chuckled. "Good, isn't it?" he said. "Y'know, all Mopple engines have to be made special for whoever's driving them. So's any Mopple - whatever he or she is - can fly them, you see. You should see the one they built for my friend Audrey the otter! She can control hers with her tail if she wants to!"

It certainly seemed to work well - one of the little screens said they were already 100 metres up above the Search Zone floor and Dot had hardly noticed. She looked out again at the deep blue of the Search Zone sky - it was strange, dark and yet light at the same time, with the searchlight beams of the ZITS moving across it from time to time. Below them the millions of tiny data lights twinkled on, in thousands and thousands of different colours.

But none of them was turning red to show a Search had been successfully completed, because there were still no other Search Engines to be seen - so different from when they'd first gone into the Search Zone with Adrienne.

"Where are we?" she asked. "And... where is everyone?"

"Well" said Ron, moving one of the little levers so that the van could go faster (you could only tell because the little whining noise the Mopple engine made as it went along got a tiny bit louder) "We've been scattered to the four corners of the Search Zone by that HyperDataStorm, you see..."

"More like four million corners" said Deirdre. "That was a bad one, that one... and the Search Zone's so big we all get pushed thousands of net-miles away from each other when even an ordinary storm comes along, let alone a biggy like that!"

"So... how big is this Search Zone then?" asked Wizzie, moving about trying to make himself comfortable in his special seat belt.

"Well... it's all inside the Internet of course, so that's cyberspace... not like your real world at all" said Ron, reaching for a bit of Yorkie bar from a little shelf in front of him (which seemed to be full of them.) He threw a chunk at Wiz who caught it in his mouth and started chewing away with a very happy look in his eyes. "But what my old pal Samson the Server always says is - it's as big as all the thoughts anyone's ever had, and as wide as a thousand galaxies in space."

"And don't forget" said Deirdre "It's always getting bigger - growing all the time, 'cos people keep putting more and more information into it. Every single day!"

Dot looked out again at the blue Search Zone sky. It was so hard to understand, she thought. If the Search Zone was that big how were they ever going to find Adrienne and her Search Engine ever again? It just seemed impossible! And they had to get Permission To Remain for the little squidglet (who was still fast asleep.)

Deirdre saw her face and gave her a little hug. "Don't you worry my dear" she said in her kindly way. "We'll get you back safely - we can do net-searches too you know! Look!"

She pulled down a neat little flap in front of her - Dot had already seen it, it looked just like a car's glove compartment.

Only it wasn't. It was another little screen, with a microphone in the top right hand corner which unfolded as the screen came down, pointing up towards Deirdre's beak.

"Adrienne Searcher V873-98H" please" said Deirdre, quietly and very clearly. "Adrienne Searcher V873-98H."

"Ping-ding!" went the little screen. "Location - seeking. Location - seeking."

"All depends in whether the net-atmosphere's settled after that horrid HyperDataStorm" said Deirdre quietly. "We'll know in a moment..."

There was a silence as the van rushed along through the Search Zone sky. Wizzie yawned and the sleeping squidglet in Dot's hand smacked its red lips and went "Brrrrrrrrr" again, very softly. Then, suddenly:

"Ping-ding!" went the little screen again. "Location - found. Location - found."

Deirdre peered at the screen. "Well I never!" she said. "She's gone to the Full Muster! Trust Adrienne to want to help! She is a dear!"

"Ping-ding!" went the little screen. "Target - location?"

"Yes please!" said Deirdre. Immediately, the van banked sharply to the right and picked up speed - without Ron touching anything, Dot noticed. It was all automatic.

Ron peered over at Deirdre's screen. "We'll find our little squirrel chum all right now. And your Mister Mouse too, Dot. But just LOOK at that!" He shook his head as he looked at the screen. "We've got a job and a half to do when we get there all right!"