Chapter 2

Chapter 2 IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE STEALS YOUR SUPER-SECRET VR PORTAL TECHNOLOGY. Morgan grinned as he and his friends entered the computer lab. This place, he thought, is where the magic happens. Maybe literally. He still wasn't clear on the magic-or-super-science thing. All he knew was that Doc had built several pairs of virtual reality goggles. The goggles were decorated with strange, glowing symbols that almost looked like words in an unfamiliar alphabet. He and his friends had discovered that the goggles allowed them to actually enter the game Minecraft. It wasn't like real. It was real. And it was so cool! But his smile fell away when he saw where Doc Culpepper was leading them—straight to the VR goggles hanging from pegs on the wall.

在有人偷走你的超级机密VR传送门技术之前，一切都很有趣。 当摩根和他的朋友们走进计算机实验室时，他咧嘴一笑。 他想，这个地方就是奇迹发生的地方。 也许是真的。他还是搞不清楚是魔法还是超科学。 他只知道博士做了几副虚拟现实眼镜。 护目镜上装饰着奇怪的、发光的符号，看起来几乎像是用一种不熟悉的字母写的单词。 他和他的朋友们发现，护目镜可以让他们真正进入游戏《我的世界》。 这不是真的。这是真的。 太酷了！但当他看到卡尔佩珀博士带他们去的地方时，他的笑容消失了——直接去了挂在墙上的虚拟现实眼镜。

There were five headsets. There were supposed to be six. "Wasn't there another one of these?" she asked, seemingly talking to herself. "I could have sworn…Anyway, there's plenty of room for your hamster here." Morgan and the others traded a look. After their first few adventures in the game, they had realized that someone had taken that sixth pair. But they didn't know who! He and Ash slid the hamster cage onto the table. "Thanks for giving Baron Sweetcheeks a home, Doc," said Harper. Morgan knew that she admired Doc a great deal. "It's a temporary solution," said Doc. "We'll have to address this bat problem. The vents give them access to every room in the school." Jodi covered her neck. "They're not going to bite us and drink our blood, are they?" "That's a common misconception," said Doc. "Believe me, those bats are more afraid of us than we are of them. They certainly won't attack you." She tapped her chin. "But still, they're wild animals. They don't belong in a school." "Aw, they just want an education," joked Po. "The adults will handle the bats," Doc said.

一共有五种耳机。本来应该有六个。 “不是还有一个吗？”她问，似乎在自言自语。 “我发誓……不管怎样，这里有足够的地方放你的仓鼠。” 摩根和其他人交换了一下眼神。 在游戏中经历了最初的几次冒险之后，他们意识到有人拿走了第六对。 但他们不知道是谁！他和阿什把仓鼠笼放到桌子上。 “谢谢你给甜颊男爵一个家，医生。”哈珀说。 摩根知道她非常钦佩医生。 “这是一个临时的解决方案，”医生说。 “我们必须解决这个蝙蝠问题。 通风口可以让他们进入学校的每个房间。” 乔迪捂着脖子。“它们不会咬我们，喝我们的血吧？”“这是一种常见的误解，”医生说。 “相信我，那些蝙蝠更害怕我们，而不是我们害怕它们。 他们肯定不会攻击你。” 她轻拍下巴。“但它们仍然是野生动物。 他们不属于学校。” 阿宝开玩笑说：“啊，他们只是想接受教育。” “大人会对付蝙蝠的，”医生说。

She leaned against a table and crossed her arms, finally standing still. "I asked you here to learn how your after-school project is going. Tell me: Have you noticed anything strange as you've been playing Minecraft? Any sign that the goggles aren't working correctly?"

她靠在桌子上，双臂交叉，终于站住了。 “我叫你来是想知道你的课外项目进行得怎么样了。 告诉我：你在玩《我的世界》的时候有没有注意到什么奇怪的事情？ 护目镜有什么不能正常工作的迹象吗？”

Morgan bit his lip. Where to begin? Whether Doc knew it or not, the goggles went far beyond any sort of virtual reality tech they'd ever seen. It was amazing—but it could be scary, too. So far, they'd managed to steer clear of any hostile mobs, but Morgan knew that their luck wouldn't last. And then there was the mysterious message they'd found. "Beware the Evoker King" had been written out in huge letters like the famous Hollywood sign. The letters were built out of obsidian stolen from one of their own chests during their first big adventure in Minecraft. Someone else was in the game. And they had no idea who it was. But it had to be the culprit who was behind the theft of the sixth headset. So obviously someone else in their school knew about the goggles' power.

摩根咬着嘴唇。从哪里开始呢？ 不管博士是否知道，这款护目镜远远超过了他们所见过的任何一种虚拟现实技术。 这是惊人的，但也可能是可怕的。 到目前为止，他们成功避开了任何敌对的暴徒，但摩根知道他们的好运不会持续太久。 然后是他们发现的神秘信息。 像好莱坞著名的招牌一样，用大字写着“当心闪影之王”。 这些信件是他们在《我的世界》的第一次大冒险中从自己的一个箱子里偷来的黑曜石做成的。 游戏里还有其他人。 他们不知道是谁。 但肯定是偷了第六个耳机的罪魁祸首。 所以很明显，他们学校里有人知道护目镜的力量。

Morgan simply shrugged. "We have noticed some…weird stuff," he said. "But we want to put a full list together for you. We've barely done anything with them yet. You know, we've just been playing Minecraft." Doc smiled. "Very good. I will look forward to your report. And in the meantime, I'll see what I can do about clearing those bats from your homeroom." "Thanks, Dr. Culpepper," said Ash. "Let us know if we can help in some way." "Of course," said the teacher. "Oh, and Ash? Call me Doc, would you? 'Dr. Culpepper' was my father. And my mother. Also one of my grandmothers." Doc began rummaging through her boxes of electronic equipment. The kids waved farewell, but their teacher's mind was already somewhere else entirely. Doc was funny like that. She was somehow super attentive one minute and easily distracted the next. But Morgan had faith that the bat problem was as good as solved, now that Doc was on the case. On their way to the bleachers, he said, "So we're going back to the computer lab after school today, right?"

摩根只是耸耸肩。“我们注意到一些……奇怪的事情，”他说。 “但我们想为你列出一份完整的清单。 我们还没怎么处理它们呢。 你知道，我们只是在玩《我的世界》。” 医生笑了笑。“很好。我期待你的报告。 与此同时，我会想办法把那些蝙蝠从你的教室里清除出去。” “谢谢你，卡尔佩珀医生。”阿什说。 “如果我们能帮上什么忙，请告诉我们。” “当然，”老师说。 “哦，阿什呢？”叫我医生好吗？ 卡尔佩珀医生是我父亲。 还有我妈妈。还有我的一个祖母。” 博士开始在她的电子设备盒子里翻找。 孩子们挥手告别，但老师的心思已经完全在别的地方了。 医生就是那样有趣。她前一分钟还特别专心，下一分钟就很容易分心。 但摩根相信蝙蝠的问题已经解决了，既然博士在调查这个案子。 在他们去露天看台的路上，他说：“所以我们今天放学后要回电脑室，对吗？”