Albert and the Deep Blue Sea

ALBERT AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
A children's book by R. Brooks:

Albert was an adventurous little monkey. One day, he decided to go exploring. He asked the Research Director to send him somewhere cool with the experimental long-range teleporter.

The Research Director explained that while lots of places out in space were cool, they were also very dangerous. But Albert was not fazed, as he was not only adventurous, but also very brave. So, the Research Director packed Albert a backpack of adventuring gear, and wished him luck.

The Research Director asked Albert to stand still on the teleporter. She said that this technology, while fantastic, was still prone to occasional malfunctions. This didn't make too much sense to Albert, but he agreed, and stood very still, and shut his eyes very tight.

The sea is a mysterious and wonderful place. Albert had read about it in books, but had never actually been. Now that he was actually leagues under, he felt very strange. Not scared, for he was very safe in his space suit. But simply strange. He drifted around curiously, trying to make sense of all the swirling forms around him. He wondered if this was where the Research Director had intended to send him. He must be on a planet, and a planet warm enough to contain liquid water. This much he knew.

After some indeterminate amount of time, Albert grew hungry and tired. He had seen lots of very cool things, and been chased by some less cool and more chilling things. He looked in his backpack and found a brown paper bag. It contained a cheese sandwich and a bottle of milk. Unfortunately, the sea water had seeped in and ruined the sandwich. And, thinking about it very hard, Albert realized that he would have to take off his space helmet and breath mask, if he wanted to eat or drink. Which, of course, didn't seem realistic, as then he wouldn't be able to breathe.

Albert wandered around, looking for a place to take shelter for the night. He was becoming quite tired, and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to get back to the space station. He felt a little bit scared. This was a very serious development, since Albert was a very brave monkey. Albert wondered when his oxygen tank would run out, and if he would suffocate. The pretty fish and coral reefs no longer delighted him. Rather, they reminded him that he did not belong, and that he was a stranger in this deep blue sea. Suddenly, Albert tripped and fell face first onto the seabed! He did not scream, but it did hurt. He lay there, thinking.

After a very long time, Albert got up. He was not going to give up just because he tripped. Instead, he would continue searching. For what? He wasn't too sure. But he would! THE END

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