'It's a matter of principle,' said Kirsty. 'You shouldhave said so right at the start.' She stood up. 'Come on.

'Where are we going?' said Johnny.

'To my room,' said Kirsty. 'Don't worry. Myparents are very liberal.'

There were film posters all over the walls, and wherethere weren't film posters there were shelves with silvercups on. There was a framed certificate for the RegionalWinner of the Small-Bore Rifle Confederation'sNational Championships, and another one for chess.And another one for athletics. There were a lot ofmedals, mostly gold, and one or two silver. Kirsty wonthings.

If there was a medal for a tidy bedroom, she wouldhave won that too. You could see the floor all the wayto the walls.

She had an electrical pencil sharpener.

And a computer. The screen was showing thefamiliar message: NEW GAME (Y/N)?

'Do you know I have an IQ of one hundred andsixty-five?' she said, sitting down in front of thescreen.

'Is that good?'

'Yes! And I only started playing this wretched gamebecause my brother bought it and said I wouldn't beany good at it. These things are moronic.

There was a notebook by the keyboard.

'Each level,' explained Kirsty. 'I made notes abouthow the ships flew. And kept score, of course.'

'You were taking it seriously,' said Johnny. 'Veryseriously.'

'Of course I take it seriously. It's a game. You've gotto win them, otherwise what's the point? Now... canwe get on to the ScreeWee flagship?'

'Um-'

'Think!'

'Can we get into a ScreeWee battleship?'

Kirsty almost growled. 'I asked you. Sit down andthink!'

Johnny sat down.

'I don't think we can' he said. 'I'm always in a star-ship. I think things have to look like they do on thescreen.

'Hmm. Makes some sort of sense, I suppose.' Kirstystuck a pencil in the sharpener, which whirred for awhile. 'And we don't know what it looks like inside.'

Johnny stared at the wall. Among the items pinnedover the bed was a card for winning the Under-7 LongJump. She wins everything, he thought. Wow. Sheactually assumes she's going to win. Someone whoalways thinks they're going to win . .

He stared up at the movie posters. There was onehe'd seen many times before. The famous one. Theslivering alien monster. You'd think she'd have some-thing like a C Inlay 4 Details photo over her bed butno, there was this thing

'Don't tell me,' he said, 'you want to get inside theship and run along the corridors shooting ScreeWee?You do, don't you?'

'Tactically-' she began.

'You can't. The Captain wouldn't want that. Notkilling ScreeWee.'

Kirsty waved her hands in the air irritably.'That's stupid,' she said. 'How do you expect to winwithout killing the enemy?'

'I'm supposed to save them. Anyway, they're notexactly the enemy. I can't go around killing them.'

Kirsty looked thoughtful.

'Do you know,' she said, 'there was an African tribeonce whose nearest word for "enemy" was "a friend wehaven't met yet"?'

Johnny smiled. 'Right,' he said. 'That's how-'

'But they were all killed and eaten in eighteen hun-dred and two,' said Kirsty. 'Except for those who weresold as slaves. The last one died in Mississippi in eight-een sixty-four, and he was very upset.'

'You just made that up,' said Johnny.

'No. I won a prize for History.'

'I expect you did,' said Johnny. 'But I'm not killinganyone.

'Then you can't win.'

'I don't want to win. I just don't want them to lose.'

'You really are a dweeb, aren't you? How can anyonego through life expecting to lose all the time?'

'Well, I've got to, haven't I? The world is full of peo-ple like you, for a start.'

Johnny realized he was getting angry again. Hedidn't often get angry. He just got quiet, or miserable.Anger was unusual. But when it came, it overflowed.

'They tried to talk to you, and you didn't even listen!You were the only other one that got that involved!You were so mad to win you slipped into game space!And you'd have been so much better at saving themthan me! And you didn't even listen! But I listenedand I've spent a week trying to Save Mankind in mysleep! It's always people like me that have to do stufflike that! It's always the people who aren't clever andwho don't win things that have to get killed all thetime! And you just hung around and watched! It's justlike on the television! The winners have fun! Winnertypes never lose, they just come second! It's all the otherpeople who lose! And now you're only thinking ofhelping the Captain because you think she's like you!Well, I don't bloody well care any more, Miss Clever!I've done my best! And I'm going to go on doing it!And they'll all come back into game space and it'll bejust like the Space Invaders all over again! And I'll bethere every night!'

Her mouth was open.

There was a knock on the door and almost imme-diately, mothers being what they are, Kirsty's motherpushed it open. She brought in a wide grin and atray.

'I'm sure you'd both like some tea,' she said. 'And-'

'Yes, mother,' said Kirsty, and rolled her eyes.

'-there's some macaroons. Have you found out yourfriend's name now?'

'John Maxwell,' said Johnny.

'And what do your friends call you?' said Kirsty'smother sweetly.

'Sometimes they call me Rubber,' said Johnny.

'Do they? Whatever for?''Mother, we were talking,' said Kirsty.

'Cobbers is on in a minute,' said Kirsty's mother. 'I,er, shall watch it on the set in the kitchen, shall I?'

'Goodbye,' said Kirsty, meaningfully.

'Um, yes,' said her mother, and went out.

'She dithers a lot,' said Kirsty. 'Fancy getting marriedwhen you're twenty! A complete lack of ambition.'

She stared at Johnny for a while. He was keepingquiet. He'd been amazed to hear his own thoughts.

Kirsty coughed. She looked a little uncertain, for thefirst time since Johnny had met her.

'Well,' she said. 'Uh. OK. And.., we won't be ableto fight all the players when they get back to gamespace.

'No. There's not enough missiles.'

'Could we dream a few more?'

'No. I thought of that. You get the ship you playwith. I mean, we know it's only got six missiles. I'vetried dreaming more and it doesn't work.'

'Hmm. Interesting problem. Sony,' she addedquickly, when she saw his expression.

Johnny stared at the movie posters. Sigourney!Games everywhere. Bigmac was a tough guy in hishead, and this one kept sharp pencils and had to wineverything and in her head shot aliens. Everyone hadthese pictures of themselves in their head, excepthim...

He blinked.

And now his head ached. There was a buzzing in hisears.

Kirsty's face drifted towards him.

'Are you all right?'

The headache was really bad now.

'You're ill. And you look all thin. When did you lasteat?'

'I dunno. Had something last night, I think.'

'Last night? What about breakfast and lunch?'

'Oh, well ... you know ... I kept thinkingabout

'You'd better drink that tea and eat that macaroon.Phew. When did you last have a bath?'

'It's kind of . .

'Good grief!'

'Listen! Listen!' It was important to-'He didn't feel well at all.

'Yes?'

'We dream our way in,' he said.

'What are you talking about? You're swaying!'

'We go on to their ship!'

'But we agreed we don't know what it looks likeinside!'

'OK! Good! So we decide what it does look likeinside, right?'

She tapped her pad irritably.

'So what does it look like?'

'I don't know! The inside of a spaceship! Corridorsand cabins and stuff like that. Nuts and bolts and panelsand sliding doors. Scotsmen saying the engines cannatak' it anymoore. Bright blue lights!'

'Hmm. That's what you think is inside spaceships,is it?'