The Shrinking Race by H. Badger

CHAPTER 1
    Kip Kirby sat at his school desk, swinging his legs.
    He was meant to be taking a Health and Nutrition test, like the other 999 kids in his class. But Kip’s mind was elsewhere.
    He was thinking about his after-school job. It wasn’t an easy one, like being an ePaper Boy. That just meant uploading the morning paper into the electronic slot in people’s front doors.
    Kip’s job was way harder, but heaps more fun. He had been specially chosen by the massive corporation WorldCorp to be a Space Scout.

    Earth was so crowded that it was running out of room. Another Earth was needed – fast! It was the Space Scouts’ job to find it. So Kip got to explore unknown planets beyond the Milky Way in a high-tech black starship.
    Kip glanced at his school desk. It was a new Thoughtomatic. The test questions flashed onto the desk’s built-in screen:

    Kip sometimes watched low-gravity sports comps broadcast live from Mercury.
    Those low-gravity gymnastics are easy-peasy. Humans weigh 62% less on Mercury , Kip remembered. After his time in Space Scout training, Kip’s space knowledge was impressive.
    Also, Kip was an expert hoverboarder. He knew for a fact it was very, very hard work, even harder than waterless surfing.
    The answer’s got to be (b), Kip thought.
    But he didn’t need anything as outdated as a pen to answer the question. Kip just had to think the answer, and (b) was highlighted on the screen.
    Still, Kip wished his mum could think his answers for him. She was a Health and Nutrition whiz. It seemed like it, anyway. She was always telling Kip to eat his artificial vegies.
    Kip knew that in the olden days, vegies were grown on farms. Now everything was created in labs.
    Kip had read in his history downloads that kids had never liked vegies. But now vegies tasted worse than ever – just like the fluff in his spacesuit cuffs!
    The next question flashed up on the Thoughtomatic screen:

    BurgerMousse was Kip’s favourite snack. It was yummiest when sprayed out of the can straight into your mouth. According to Kip’s mum, BurgerMousse was definitely unhealthy. So were lollies.
    The answer’s got to be (c), Kip thought, just as the bell rang. The bell was polyphonic, and it played a different tune every day. Today’s was a folk song from the moons of Saturn.
    Soooooo uncool, Kip thought, grabbing his stuff. He bolted out of the classroom. He had to leave on a Space Scout mission straight after school.
    â€˜See ya, Jett,’ Kip yelled to his best friend on the way out. He raced to the school gate, which was made of invisible lasers. He cleared it in a single jump.
    Where’s my UniTaxi? Kip wondered, scanning the street. All he could see were Nannybots. These robots picked up kids after school and looked after them while their parents were at work.
    When Kip needed to travel to the Intergalatic Hoverport, WorldCorp often sent a UniTaxi. UniTaxis were flying vehicles used for high-speed travel within Earth’s atmosphere.
    When Kip wasn’t on a mission, his starship docked at the Hoverport, about 10 kilometres off the ground. His starship was called MoNa 4000.
    Better call WorldCorp and find out where the taxi is, Kip thought to himself. He flicked on his SpaceCuff. SpaceCuffs were thick silver wristbands with mini screens. Space Scouts used them to talk with WorldCorp and their starships when on missions.
    There was already a message waiting on Kip’s SpaceCuff.

    â€˜Inconvenient? They’re risking Earth’s future!’ Kip snorted. ‘Hopeless.’
    Kip grabbed his custom-made World-Corp spacesuit, which was rolled up in his school backpack. The spacesuit was bright green and made of extra strong meteor-repellent fabric.
    He jammed on his green spaceboots, the latest Humming-bird Pros. His matching helmet had glittering flames on the side.

    Kip would have to find his own way to the Hoverport!

CHAPTER 2
    Kip raced towards the