Page 48 - Jeremiah Lollipop

In the spaceship a large, many-armed creature with a huge eye was

surveying many screens along one wall. Some screens showed land

features, others showed outlines of various creatures. Long range scans

collected information about what was edible and what was not edible as

the ship went round the planet, and soon the data was close to complete.

The Flooble, whose name was Unpronounceable, sat on a large swivel

chair, with his tentacles wriggling, and tapped some numbers into a

keyboard. He slurped and puckered his large mouth as he worked (a

habit he’s had since he was a baby in spite his mother’s attempts to

break it), and then he smiled.

“Yesssssss! Plenty of protein on this lump of rock!”

He turned a few knobs and adjusted a picture. The Earth zoomed up,

and more details were visible. Another twist of the knob and a small city

was in view.

“This looks like an average population center,” he slobbered, “Should

be some tasty treats in there! I must take a few samples before I

proceed.”

Before we go on it should be noted that Floobles were not like most

other aliens. They didn’t swoop in, all guns blazing, and blast planets to

pieces. They preferred the diplomatic approach, because food that was

stampeding, and screaming, and terror-stricken was not as tasty as food

that was caught quietly.