Kaytek the Wizard by Janusz Korczak

Author:Janusz Korczak
Language: eng, eng, fra
Format: epub
Tags: JUV037000 JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic

JUV039220 JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Values & Virtues

Children's fiction 

Children's classics
Publisher: Penlight Publications
Published: 2015-01-04T16:00:00+00:00

“So you see, gentlemen, in this difficult situation science has conjured up some help for us.”

The experts gather round to examine the device.

“What improvements do you want to make?”

“Firstly, the device only works at a range of six miles; I want to strengthen its power. Secondly, it only captures one incident at a time, but if there’s a fire and a robbery simultaneously, or two muggings on different streets, the numbers and images get mixed up and it’s hard to know what is happening where. Thirdly, the images on the glass aren’t very clear, but I want to see not just the person doing something somewhere, but their face, eyes, nose and mouth – so they can be photographed and identified. I have the plans all ready and there’s just one more year’s work to do. The hardest bit was the beginning – I’ve already slaved away at it for six years. Look at this, gentlemen.”

The inventor shows them his hand.

“As you can see, I only have three fingers on my left hand because a machine took off the other two. I was in the hospital for five months; I thought the whole project was already sunk because I went completely blind.”

The experts bow their heads solemnly.

After that they held several more sessions, but then had nothing more to do, and started to get bored. They all wanted to go home, back to their books and laboratories.

“Things are calm here. We really aren’t needed.”

“No, you must stay,” replied the governments of their countries through their consuls.

“Ah well, that’s too bad,” replied the experts.

Each of them sits in his room, reading, writing, and studying. They meet up less and less often, every second or third day.

“Nothing new,” they say.

They talk about this and that. They have made friends with each other because that’s what scientists usually do – they become like one big family.

“You know, colleagues,” says the astronomer one day, “if Mr. X doesn’t show any more signs of life, I have an idea that might explain the mystery. Well, it’s rather fantastical . . .”

“Go ahead, tell us.”

“What if someone from another planet has been to visit our Earth? If it’s true that there’s life on Mars and the creatures who live there are more knowledgeable than we are . . .”

“So the fairy tale about Star Men would turn out to be true?”

“What’s so strange about it? We actually know so little. When man started to learn and discover, he thought he was very clever. Every schoolboy thinks he knows everything there is to know. What’s so strange about this idea? Rocks – meteors can fall to our Earth, so why shouldn’t a Star Man fall to Earth too? He wandered around, saw there was nothing interesting for him here, and left.”

“Except he’s a bit too dumb for an inhabitant of Mars.”

Everyone bursts into jovial laughter.

And just at that very moment the bell on the emergency device starts ringing. No number shows up, but a foggy image appears on the glass.

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