Suddenly, a tremendous booming voice came out of a loudspeaker hidden somewhere in the room. "ATTENTION!" "ATTENTION!" boomed the voice and Charlie jumped. So did Grandpa Joe. Everybody jumped, even Mr Wonka. "ATTENTION THE EIGHT FOREIGN ASTRONAUTS! THIS IS s.p.a.cE CONTROL IN HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A.! YOU ARE TRESPa.s.sING ON AMERICAN PROPERTY! YOU ARE ORDERED TO IDENTIFY YOURSELVES IMMEDIATELY! SPEAK NOW!" boomed the voice and Charlie jumped. So did Grandpa Joe. Everybody jumped, even Mr Wonka. "ATTENTION THE EIGHT FOREIGN ASTRONAUTS! THIS IS s.p.a.cE CONTROL IN HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S.A.! YOU ARE TRESPa.s.sING ON AMERICAN PROPERTY! YOU ARE ORDERED TO IDENTIFY YOURSELVES IMMEDIATELY! SPEAK NOW!"
"Ssshhh!" whispered Mr Wonka, finger to lips.
There followed a few seconds of awful silence. n.o.body moved except Mr Wonka who kept saying "Ssshhh! Ssshhh!"
"WHO... ARE... YOU?" boomed the voice from Houston, and the whole world heard it. T REPEAT... WHO... ARE... YOU?" shouted the urgent angry voice, and five hundred million people crouched in front of their television sets waiting for an answer to come from the mysterious strangers inside the s.p.a.ce Hotel. The television was not able to show a picture of these mysterious strangers. There was no camera in there to record the scene. Only the words came through. The TV watchers saw nothing but the outside of the giant hotel in orbit, photographed of course by Shuck-worth, Shanks and Showier who were following behind. For half a minute the world waited for a reply.
But no reply came.
"SPEAK!" boomed the voice, getting louder and louder and ending in a fearful frightening shout that rattled Charlie"s eardrums. "SPEAK! SPEAK! SPEAK!" "SPEAK! SPEAK! SPEAK!" Grandma Georgina shot under the sheet. Grandma Josephine stuck her fingers in her ears. Grandpa George buried his head in the pillow. Mr and Mrs Bucket, both petrified, were once again in each other"s arms. Charlie was clutching Grandpa Joe"s hand, and the two of them were staring at Mr Wonka and begging him with their eyes to do something. Mr Wonka stood very still, and although his face looked calm, you can be quite sure his clever inventive brain was spinning like a dynamo. Grandma Georgina shot under the sheet. Grandma Josephine stuck her fingers in her ears. Grandpa George buried his head in the pillow. Mr and Mrs Bucket, both petrified, were once again in each other"s arms. Charlie was clutching Grandpa Joe"s hand, and the two of them were staring at Mr Wonka and begging him with their eyes to do something. Mr Wonka stood very still, and although his face looked calm, you can be quite sure his clever inventive brain was spinning like a dynamo.
"THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!" boomed the voice. "WE ARE ASKING YOU ONCE MORE...WHO... ARE... YOU? REPLY IMMEDIATELY! IF YOU DO NOT REPLY WE SHALL BE FORCED TO REGARD YOU AS DANGEROUS ENEMIES. WE SHALL THEN PRESS THE EMERGENCY FREEZER SWITCH AND THE TEMPERATURE IN THE s.p.a.cE HOTEL WILL DROP TO MINUS ONE HUNDRED DEGREES CENTIGRADE. ALL OF YOU WILL BE INSTANTLY DEEP FROZEN. YOU HAVE FIFTEEN SECONDS TO SPEAK. AFTER THAT YOU WILL TURN INTO ICICLES... ONE... TWO... THREE..." REPLY IMMEDIATELY! IF YOU DO NOT REPLY WE SHALL BE FORCED TO REGARD YOU AS DANGEROUS ENEMIES. WE SHALL THEN PRESS THE EMERGENCY FREEZER SWITCH AND THE TEMPERATURE IN THE s.p.a.cE HOTEL WILL DROP TO MINUS ONE HUNDRED DEGREES CENTIGRADE. ALL OF YOU WILL BE INSTANTLY DEEP FROZEN. YOU HAVE FIFTEEN SECONDS TO SPEAK. AFTER THAT YOU WILL TURN INTO ICICLES... ONE... TWO... THREE..."
"Grandpa!" whispered Charlie as the counting continued, "we must do must do something! We something! We must! must! Quick!" Quick!"
"SIX!" said the voice. "SEVEN!... EIGHT!... NINE!..."
Mr Wonka had not moved. He was still gazing straight ahead, still quite cool, perfectly expressionless. Charlie and Grandpa Joe were staring at him in horror. Then, all at once, they saw the tiny twinkling wrinkles of a smile appear around the corners of his eyes. He sprang to life. He spun round on his toes, skipped a few paces across the floor and then, in a frenzied unearthly sort of scream he cried, "FIMBO FEEZ!"
The loudspeaker stopped counting. There was silence. All over the world there was silence.
[image]
Charlie"s eyes were riveted on Mr Wonka. He was going to speak again. He was taking a deep breath. "BUNGO BUNH" "BUNGO BUNH" he screamed. He put so much force into his voice that the effort lifted him right up on to the tips of his toes. he screamed. He put so much force into his voice that the effort lifted him right up on to the tips of his toes.
"BUNGO b.u.mI DAFU DUNI.
YUBEE LUNI!"
Again the silence.
The next time Mr Wonka spoke, the words came out so fast and sharp and loud they were like bullets from a machine-gun. "ZOONK-ZOONK-ZOONK-ZOONK-ZOONK!" he barked. The noise echoed around and around the lobby of the s.p.a.ce Hotel. It echoed around the world.
Mr Wonka now turned and faced the far end of the lobby where the loudspeaker voice had come from. He walked a few paces forward as a man would, perhaps, who wanted a more intimate conversation with his audience. And this time, the tone was much quieter, the words came more slowly, but there was a touch of steel in every syllable: "KIRASUKU MALIBUKU, WEEBEE WIZE UN YUBEE KUKU!.
ALIPENDA KAKAMENDA,.
PANTZ FORLDUN IFNO SUSPENDA!.
FUIKIKA KANDERIKA,.
WEEBE STRONGA YUBEE WEEKA!.
POPOKOTA BORUMOKA.
VERI RISKI YU PROVOKA!.
KATIKATI MOONS UN STARS.
FANFANISHA VENUS MARS!"
Mr Wonka paused dramatically for a few seconds. Then he took an enormous deep breath and in a wild and fearsome voice, he yelled out: "KITIMBIBI ZOONK ZOONK!
FUMBOLEEZI ZOOJVK ZOOJVK!.
GUGUMIZA ZOOJVK ZOOJVK!.
FUMIKAKA ZOONK ZOONK!.
ANAPOLALA ZOONKZOONK ZOONK ZOONKZOONK ZOONK!"
The effect of all this on the world below was electric. In the Control Room in Houston, in the White House in Washington, in palaces and city buildings and mountain shacks from America to China to Peru, the five hundred million people who heard that wild and fearsome voice yelling out these strange and mystic words all shivered with fear before their television sets. Everybody began turning to everybody else and saying, "Who are they? What language was that? Where do they come from?"
In the President"s study in the White House, Vice-President Tibbs, the members of the Cabinet, the Chiefs of the Army and the Navy and the Air Force, the sword-swallower from Afghanistan, the Chief Financial Adviser and Mrs Taubsypuss the cat, all stood tense and rigid. They were very much afraid. But the President himself kept a cool head and a clear brain. "Nanny!" he cried. "Oh, Nanny, what on earth do we do now?"
"I"ll get you a nice warm gla.s.s of milk," said Miss Tibbs.
"I hate the stuff," said the President. "Please don"t make me drink it!"
"Summon the Chief Interpreter," said Miss Tibbs.
"Summon the Chief Interpreter!" said the President. "Where is he?"
[image]
"Right here, Mr President," said the Chief Interpreter.
"What language was that creature spouting up there in the s.p.a.ce Hotel? Be quick! Was it Eskimo?"
"Not Eskimo, Mr President."
"Ha! Then it was Tagalog! Either Tagalog or Ugro!"
"Not Tagalog, Mr President. Not Ugro, either."
"Was it Tulu, then? Or Tungus or Tupi?"
"Definitely not Tulu, Mr President. And I"m quite sure it wasn"t Tungus or Tupi."
"Don"t stand there telling him what it wasn"t, wasn"t, you idiot!" said Miss Tibbs. "Tell him what it you idiot!" said Miss Tibbs. "Tell him what it wasV wasV "Yes, ma"am, Miss Vice-President, ma"am," said the Chief Interpreter, beginning to shake. "Believe me, Mr President," he went on, "it was not a language I have ever heard before."
"But I thought you knew every language in the world?"
T do, Mr President."
"Don"t lie to me, Chief Interpreter. How can you possibly know every language in the world when you don"t know this one?"
"It is not a language of this world, Mr President."
"Nonsense, man!" barked Miss Tibbs. "I understood some of it myself!"
"These people, Miss Vice-President, ma"am, have obviously tried to learn just a few of our easier words, but the rest of it is a language that has never been heard before on this Earth!"
"Screaming scorpions!" cried the President. "You mean to tell me they could be coming from... from... from somewhere else?" somewhere else?"
"Precisely, Mr President."
"Like where?" said the President.
"Who knows?" said the Chief Interpreter. "But did you not notice, Mr President, how they used the words Venus and Mars?"
"Of course I noticed it," said the President. "But what"s that got to do with it?... Ah-ha! I see what you"re driving at! Good gracious me! Men from Mars!"
"And Venus," said the Chief Interpreter.
"That," said the President, "could make for trouble."
"I"ll say it could!" said the Chief Interpreter.
"He wasn"t talking to you," said Miss Tibbs.
"What do we do now, General?" said the President.
"Blow "em up!" cried the General.
"You"re always wanting to blow things up," said the President crossly. "Can"t you think of something else?" else?"
"I like blowing things up," said the General. "It makes such a lovely noise. Woomph-woomph Woomph-woomph!"
"Don"t be a fool!" said Miss Tibbs. "If you blow these people up, Mars will declare war on us! So will Venus!"
"Quite right, Nanny," said the President. "We"d be troculated like turkeys, every one of us! We"d be mashed like potatoes!"
"I"ll take "em on!" shouted the Chief of the Army.
"Shut up!" snapped Miss Tibbs. "You"re fired!"
"Hooray!" said all the other generals. "Well done, Miss Vice-President, ma"am!"
Miss Tibbs said, "We"ve got got to treat these fellows gently. The one who spoke just now sounded extremely cross. We"ve got to be polite to them, b.u.t.ter them up, make them happy. The last thing we want is to be invaded by men from Mars! You"ve got to talk to them, Mr President. Tell Houston we want another direct radio link with the s.p.a.ce Hotel. And hurry!" to treat these fellows gently. The one who spoke just now sounded extremely cross. We"ve got to be polite to them, b.u.t.ter them up, make them happy. The last thing we want is to be invaded by men from Mars! You"ve got to talk to them, Mr President. Tell Houston we want another direct radio link with the s.p.a.ce Hotel. And hurry!"
6.
Invitation to the White House "The President of the United States will now address you!" announced the loudspeaker voice in the lobby of the s.p.a.ce Hotel.
Grandma Georgina"s head peeped cautiously out from under the sheets. Grandma Josephine took her fingers out of her ears and Grandpa George lifted his face out of the pillow.
"You mean he"s actually going to speak to us?" whispered Charlie.
"Ssshhh!" said Mr Wonka. "Listen!"
"Dear friends!" said the well-known Presidential voice over the loudspeaker. "Dear, dear dear friends! Welcome to s.p.a.ce Hotel "U.S.A." Greetings to the brave astronauts from Mars and Venus..." friends! Welcome to s.p.a.ce Hotel "U.S.A." Greetings to the brave astronauts from Mars and Venus..."
"Mars and Venus!" whispered Charlie. "You mean he thinks we"re from..."
"Ssshh-ssshh-ssshh!" said Mr Wonka. He was doubled up with silent laughter, shaking all over and hopping from one foot to the other.
"You have come a long way," the President continued, "so why don"t you come just a tiny bit farther and pay us us a visit down here on our humble little Earth? I invite all eight of you to stay with me here in Washington as my honoured guests. You could land that wonderful gla.s.s air-machine of yours on the lawn in back of the White House. We shall have the red carpet out and ready. I do hope you know enough of our language to understand me. I shall wait most anxiously for your reply..." a visit down here on our humble little Earth? I invite all eight of you to stay with me here in Washington as my honoured guests. You could land that wonderful gla.s.s air-machine of yours on the lawn in back of the White House. We shall have the red carpet out and ready. I do hope you know enough of our language to understand me. I shall wait most anxiously for your reply..."
There was a click and the President went off the air.
"What a fantastic thing!" whispered Grandpa Joe. "The White House, Charlie! We"re invited to the White House as honoured guests!"
[image]
Charlie caught hold of Grandpa Joe"s hands and the two of them started dancing round and round the lobby of the hotel. Mr Wonka, still shaking with laughter, went and sat down on the bed and signalled everyone to gather round close so they could whisper without being heard by the hidden microphones.
"They"re scared to death," he whispered. "They won"t bother us any more now. So let"s have that feast we were talking about and afterwards we can explore the hotel."
"Aren"t we going to the White House?" whispered Grandma Josephine. "I want to go to the White House and stay with the President."
"My dear old dotty dumpling," said Mr Wonka. "You look as much like a man from Mars as a bedbug! They"d know at once they"d been fooled. We"d be arrested before we could say how d"you do."
Mr Wonka was right. There could be no question of accepting the President"s invitation and they all knew it.
"But we"ve got to say something something to him," Charlie whispered. "He must be sitting down there in the White House this very minute waiting for an answer." to him," Charlie whispered. "He must be sitting down there in the White House this very minute waiting for an answer."
"Make an excuse," said Mr Bucket.
"Tell him we"re otherwise engaged," said Mrs Bucket.
"You are right," whispered Mr Wonka. "It is rude to ignore an invitation." He stood up and walked a few paces from the group. For a moment or two he remained quite still, gathering his thoughts. Then once again Charlie saw those tiny twinkling smiling wrinkles around the corners of the eyes, and when he began to speak, his voice this time was like the voice of a giant, deep and devilish, very loud and very slow: [image]
"In the quelchy quaggy sogmire, In the mashy mideous harshland, At the witchy hour of gloomness, All the grobes come oozing home.
You can hear them softly slimeing, Glissing hissing o"er the slubber, All those oily boily bodies Oozing onward in the gloam.
So start to run! Oh, skid and daddle Through the slubber slush and sossel!
Skip jump hop and try to skaddle!
All the grobes are on the roam!"