Ada Lace, Take Me to Your Leader Read online

  For the kid who daydreams about aliens. You’re the normal one.

  —E. C.

  For Evan

  —T. W.

  For all the ISS crew members who take time to communicate with students of the world. I think you’re pretty awesome!

  —R. K.

  Chapter One

  RADIO SILENCE

  Ada pressed the button on the mic and opened her mouth to speak. That was the exact moment when Ms. Lace burned the toast. The smoke alarm on the stairs went off, and George the robot rolled around the room crying, “Fire! Fire!”

  “NO!” Ada yelled. “George, there is no fire!”

  Then the sprinkler in the center of Ada’s bedroom ceiling rained down on her bed, her rug, and her desk. Ada threw her raincoat over the radio, but she wasn’t sure she was quick enough.

  “George, the fire’s out!” called Ada.

  “Emergency averted,” answered George. The fire alarm stopped beeping, the sprinkler stopped sprinkling. Elliott ran into Ada’s room with his new Batman umbrella.

  “Aw, I missed it again.”

  “Ada,” said Mr. Lace from the doorway, “you may need to fine-tune George.”

  “Mom may need to fine-tune the toaster.”

  “Ada . . . ,” said Mr. Lace.

  “I know, Dad. I’ll fix him.” Ada had engineered her robot, George, to keep her room safe, but she had already had to replace her rug after their neighbor Jacob grilled his steak in the courtyard and the smoke poured into Ada’s room. Clearly, George was doing his job a little too well.

  “Safety first,” said George. It was as if he’d read her thoughts.

  “That’s creepy, George,” said Ada.

  The night-light on George’s head lit up. “This will comfort you,” he said. Soothing music drifted out of his speakers.

  “Thanks, George, I feel better now. You can go to sleep,” said Ada. He rolled into the corner and turned off.

  Ada pulled the raincoat off her ham radio and dried it off. Then Nina showed up. Ada looked at the clock and realized she was supposed to meet her friend five minutes ago to walk to school.

  • • •

  “Hey, you were late, so I thought I would just run over here. Whoa! Is that a ham radio?”

  “Yes! Mr. Peebles gave it to me the other day. I’m still trying to figure it out. How did you know?”

  “I was just reading about them in my book World of Weird Book 3: Across the Void! Have you contacted a parallel universe yet?”

  “I’m not sure I can even talk to Mr. Peebles now. George may have broken it.”

  “George used it?”

  “It’s a long story. I can tell you on the way to school.”

  • • •

  As they walked, Ada told Nina about George’s false alarm, and Nina told Ada about her book. In it a group of kids used a ham radio in their clubhouse. First, they talked to people all over the world, then, from . . . other worlds.

  “That sounds cool,” said Ada. “I wish I could do that with my radio.”

  “Maybe you can!” said Nina.

  “At this point I’d be happy just to talk to someone in Oakland.”

  • • •

  After school, Ada invited Nina over to help her work on the radio. Nina had all kinds of advice.

  “You know, in the book Nate and Fiona wore tinfoil hats.”

  “Oh. Really? Why?”

  “Gee, Ada, I thought you knew about this stuff. That way the evil energy from the other world couldn’t seep into their brains.”

  “I think I’ll just start with trying to figure out how to talk to someone in the Bay Area first. Baby steps. Anyway, you need a different kind of radio to speak to other parts of the world. And, uh, probably other worlds, I guess.”

  “Why is it called a ham radio anyway?” asked Nina.

  Ada’s dad was passing Ada’s room. He couldn’t resist a chance to answer. “Well, rumor has it that Marconi was a little hungry when he invented radio. So, the first thing he did when he got it working was order a ham sandwich!”

  “Dad!” called Ada.

  “Is that true?” asked Nina.

  “Of course not!” said Ada.

  “Yeah, you’re right. Marconi was Italian. He probably would have ordered capicola or prosciutto.”

  “Ugh!” said Ada.

  Nina didn’t seem to know whether to be amused or confused.

  “No one really knows why it’s called a ham,” said Ada. “Some people think it’s an acronym for the three radio innovators: Hertz, Armstrong, and Marconi, but there are other explanations too.”

  Ada took the cover off the radio and revealed a bunch of brightly colored wires and little nodes fixed to a green circuit board.

  “Gosh! It’s so pretty. The cover should be see-through!” said Nina.

  “That’s a cool idea. Maybe I’ll work on that after I figure out the talking part.”

  • • •

  There was very little moisture inside from the fire emergency. Still, Ada patted the whole thing down with a towel, just in case. Then she put the casing back on, flicked on the switch, and pressed the button on the microphone.

  Kilo Delta Eight Papa Kilo Romeo. Anyone out there? Over.

  KD8PKR looking for someone to talk to. Anyone? Mr. Peebles?

  “What’s KD whatchamacallit? Is it a secret code?”

  “It’s my call sign. I got it with my radio license. I have to use it whenever I talk on ham radio. It’s like a . . . special radio name.”

  The radio answered with static. Ada grabbed an antenna she had saved from her dad’s old transistor radio. It was longer than the antenna on the ham, so she swapped them. Still, all she heard was static.

  “I don’t understand why it’s not working.”

  “Can we add something to it? Like a paper clip?”

  “I don’t know about a paper clip . . . but I think I saw somewhere that people use aluminum foil.”

  “I’ll go get it!” said Nina.

  Nina ran down to the kitchen and grabbed a roll of aluminum foil. She brought it back upstairs. They ripped a piece off and attached it to the antenna.

  After a few hours of tinkering, it was time for dinner.

  “I can’t believe the signal is still so weak,” said Ada. “Maybe the buildings are blocking it.”

  “Maybe we should try a Ouija board,” said Nina.

  “Like I said, I think we have to start with somewhere in our own realm first,” said Ada. “Anyway, I don’t have a Ouija board. I think the antenna needs to be higher up.”

  “Like on the roof!” said Nina.

  “Exactly.”

  Ada asked for Mr. Lace’s help. Her parents had set some pretty firm rules about Ada climbing things after she’d broken her ankle over the summer. Mr. Lace went through the attic window and attached Ada’s ham antenna to the roof, just above Ada’s window. Even with the extra height, though, Ada and Nina heard mostly static.

  • • •

  Ada and Nina tried for the rest of the night to contact someone but they had no luck.

  “Bedtime! Bedtime!” said George.

  “It’s not a school night, George,” said Ada. “I can go to bed a little later tonight.”

  “Ada!” called Ms. Lace. “It’s time for bed.”

  Ada looked at the clock. It was ten.

  “Wow,” said Ada. “You were right, George.”

  Ada was about to turn off the radio, then stopped.

  “Maybe we should keep it on. You know, in case it starts working,” said Ada.

  “You know, you’re right. It could be morning for them
in the middle of the night,” said Nina.

  “For whom?” asked Ada.

  “The beings from the other world!”

  Chapter Two

  STRANGE ENCOUNTERS

  Nina woke Ada in the middle of the night. She was frantic.

  “Ada! They’re trying to talk to us!” she whispered loudly.

  “What? Who?”

  “I don’t know. But someone. Or something!”

  George woke up too. The little light Ada had installed on the top of his head glowed.

  “Everything will be all right,” said George. He started playing “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley. It was a song that Ada’s mom used to sing to her when she was very small.

  “See,” said Ada. “Listen to George. He knows what he’s talking about.”

  “You don’t understand! I heard something. It sounded . . . alien. Like high-pitched beeps and pops. Probably alien speech.”

  “There are some funny noises on hams, I think. You were probably still dreaming, and that made it sound extra strange. George, play Nina a lullaby,” said Ada.

  A simple version of Brahms’s “Lullaby” played over George’s speakers.

  “Does that make you feel better?” asked Ada.

  “No. It was not a dream,” said Nina. “I know what a dream is like.”

  “Okay. But remember Occam’s razor?” asked Ada. “The right answer—”

  “—is usually the simplest one,” said Nina. “I guess . . .”

  “Well, whatever you heard, the radio is quiet now,” said Ada. “I almost wish you did hear something—”

  “No, you don’t,” said Nina. She sounded really spooked. Ada had never seen her like that before. She usually seemed pretty excited by her kooky ideas.

  “Okay,” said Ada, getting out of bed. “Let’s see if we can contact anyone.”

  Ada walked over to the radio and turned up the volume a bit. There was just the hissing of static. She pressed the button for the mic.

  Kilo Delta Eight Papa Kilo Romeo. Anyone up for a chat?

  No one responded.

  This is KD8PKR. Hello? Is someone up?

  Ada spoke a few more times but didn’t reach anyone. She searched through different frequencies but heard no weird sounds.

  “I’m sorry I woke you up,” said Nina.

  “It’s okay,” said Ada. “That book has probably gotten into your head.”

  • • •

  Ada woke the next morning to find her friend already awake. Nina had her back pressed against the far wall. She had wrapped herself in her sleeping bag and was staring suspiciously at the radio across the room.

  “Nina? What’s up?” Ada asked. “Are the creatures from beyond calling again?”

  “They said . . .” Nina paused. She swallowed. “They said, ‘Release the swarm!’ They’re coming for us, Ada.”

  “Oh, Nina. I think you need some sleep.”

  “I heard it!” cried Nina. “It was faint, but I know what I heard.”

  Ada went to the radio. She realized she had left it on scan. She tried again to call other operators and heard a few faint, ghostly voices, but it was mostly just static.

  “Nina,” said Ada.

  “I’m not crazy, Ada!”

  “I know you’re not,” said Ada. But she was beginning to worry about her friend.

  • • •

  That morning, Mr. Lace made his famous pancakes. Nina barely touched them. In fact, she nearly fell asleep at the table.

  “You girls weren’t up talking on the radio all night, were you?” asked Ms. Lace. “You look a little sleepy, Nina.”

  “Nina had some bad dreams,” said Ada.

  “Let’s hope they were just dreams,” said Nina. Then she went home to take a nap.

  • • •

  Ada went back up to her room to try to get the radio working. After trying a bunch of different positions for the antenna, she gave up. Perhaps Mr. Peebles would know what to do. She headed over to his stoop to find out. He was throwing a ball for his little dog, Alan.

  “I’ve checked all the wiring, extended the antenna, and even moved it to the rooftop to get a better signal,” Ada told Mr. Peebles. “But I just can’t connect with anyone. George set the sprinkler off yesterday morning. Do you think that did it?”

  “Was the radio open when it happened? Did the wires or any of the connections get wet?”

  “No. I threw my raincoat over it pretty quickly, and I made sure to wipe it down afterward, but there wasn’t much to wipe off.”

  “Huh,” said Mr. Peebles. “Well you said you heard some things. What kinds of things are you hearing?”

  “Faint voices, mostly. Nina thinks she heard something,” said Ada, “But it’s a little far-fetched.”

  “What did she hear?” asked Mr. Peebles.

  “She thinks she heard aliens,” said Ada. Ada noticed Milton Edison lurking by the fountain with his remote control car. Milton didn’t seem to be listening, but who knew with him? He couldn’t be trusted.

  “You know Milton has a ham radio,” Mr. Peebles said. He must have seen her noticing Milton. “Perhaps you two could try to communicate with each other.”

  “Uh, yeah, maybe.” Not a chance, Ada thought to herself. Milton was a sneak and a cheater. Why did he have to do everything that she did?

  “So, what do you think I should do, Mr. Peebles?” Ada asked.

  “It’s been a while since I used my old Heathkit ham,” he said, “but the city is pretty hilly. Maybe the signal is being blocked by some high terrain. We may just need to boost it a bit. I have some ideas. Let me do a little research and grab some equipment. Meet me back here in an hour, and we can work on it together.”

  “Okay,” said Ada. She was afraid to get her hopes up. She wasn’t asking for much. She just wanted to be able to use her new license and talk to a few people in the area. Why was that so hard?

  Chapter Three

  THE WORLD OF HAMS

  In an hour, Mr. Peebles returned with a black plastic briefcase.

  “What’s that?” asked Ada. “It doesn’t have anything to do with aliens, does it? Because I had my fill of those last night.”

  “No aliens. I promise,” said Mr. Peebles. “This, my young friend, is a radio repeater. I can get a good signal out my back window, but I’d have to have one of these hoisted in a tree out back in order to communicate with people outside our little neighborhood.”

  “What’s it do?”

  “This little contraption will take your signal and retransmit it so that you can connect with people over a broader area. You see, your signal is probably having trouble making it over these high trees we have in Juniper Garden.”

  “Wow. What’s in there?”

  Mr. Peebles opened the box. He showed Ada two handheld radios connected by wires to a little white box with a switch on it.

  “This radio receives the signal,” said Mr. Peebles, pointing to one radio. “It transmits it to this little white box. The white box then relays it to this radio over here.” He tapped the second radio. “The signal comes out of the transmitting radio twice as strong!”

  “In theory,” said Ada. She still didn’t want to get her hopes up.

  “Well, shall we give it a try?” asked Mr. Peebles.

  “Absolutely,” said Ada.

  Ada got permission from her father to put the repeater in a tall tree not too far from Ada’s window. Now the trees that were blocking the signal would actually help her get a better one. Mr. Lace went through the window and tossed the rope over a high branch and looped it around once. Then Mr. Peebles and Ada hoisted the repeater up into the tree using the rope. Then they tied the end of the rope to a lower branch to secure it. Once the repeater was set up, Ada went to her room, and Mr. Peebles went back to his lab to fire up his old Heathkit ham.

  • • •

  This is Kilo Delta Eight Papa Kilo Romeo. Mr. Peebles, are you there? Over.

  Kilo Delta Eight Papa Kilo Romeo, this is K
ilo Zulu Six Delta. Ada, I can hear you loud and clear. Over.

  Great! Nice weather we’re having. Over.

  The bay area’s finest fog. Nothing beats it. Now you can try connecting to other “hams,” Ada. Over.

  • • •

  The repeater worked like a charm! Now she could hear all kinds of people having all kinds of conversations. Even with all the electronics she had, even with her very own security robot, Ada couldn’t help being amazed by her radio. People had been using this technology to talk over land and sea for more than a hundred years. And there were no wires involved! Just radio waves. This is as close to magic as a person gets, Ada thought. Nina just had to love it like she did. She just had to get her friend to see how amazing her new machine was.

  In the meantime, though, Ada had to move past listening to talking. At first Ada felt shy about starting conversations, but the people she heard seemed so nice. After all, what else was a radio for, but to communicate?

  First, she talked to a boy from Oakland who had all kinds of questions about George and how to make his own robot.

  Then she spoke to a girl from Marin who was trying to start an engineering club and wanted to know if Ada would join.

  She had just connected with a rocket scientist in Alameda, when Mr. Lace popped in.

  “You got your radio working!” he said.

  “Well. It was mostly Mr. Peebles,” said Ada.

  “Who are you talking to?”

  Ada told her dad about the boy in Oakland and the girl in Marin.

  “Now I’m talking to a rocket scientist! She’s about to launch a weather balloon!”

  “Amazing!”

  Mr. Lace listened in with Ada for a little bit and then went back to his office to finish up his lesson plan.

  After Mr. Lace left, Ada connected with someone else in her neighborhood who had just gotten his own license.

  KD8PKR. This is KD86E. It’s a beautiful foggy day here in the Bay Area. Over.

  It is indeed! Perfect kite-flying weather, eh? Over.