The Quiz Whiz

663_LBP_Technos Bk4_Final.
2 15/11/06 10:12 AM Page 1
S
T EC H N O
The Quiz Whiz
By Julie and Michael Ramsden
Illustrated by Chantal Stewart

663_LBP_Technos Bk4_Final.2 15/11/06 10:12 AM Page 2
First published in 2007 by

MACMILLAN EDUCATION AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
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Copyright © 2007 Laguna Bay Publishing Pty Ltd

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Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent
amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
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National Library of Australia

Cataloguing-in-Publication data
Ramsden, Julie.
The Technos : the quiz whiz.
For primary school students.

ISBN 9781420209716 (pbk).
ISBN 1 42020971 X (pbk).
I. Ramsden, Michael. II. Stewart, Chantal. III. Title.

(Series : Kids Inc).
A823.4
In accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 a copy of each book published must be lodged with
the National Library. Under relevant State or Territory Legislation a copy must also be lodged
with the appropriate library or libraries in the state of publication. For information about Legal
Deposit, see the website at: http://www.nla.gov.au/services/ldeposit.html or contact the Legal
Deposit Unit, National Library of Australia on 02 6262 1312.
Text: Julie and Michael Ramsden

Illustrations: Chantal Stewart
Managing Editor: Nicola Robinson
Series design: saso content & design pty ltd
Design and layout: saso content & design pty ltd
Printed in China
Contents
1: A Big Win? 5
2: On the Set 13
3: It’s a Laugh 21
4: Double Trouble 29
5: The Red Glasses 36
6: Snapped in the Act! 45
7: A Wheel Deal 53
In memory of Vic Ramsden. His passion for learning, intellect and

mischievous good humour continues to inspire us. JR & MR
T
For all kids with a special talent for detective work. CS
T
Thanks to Ben and Nicci Parker, Pola Cohen, and the kids of
Annandale North Public School for all their insights and ideas.
Chapter 1:
A Big Win?
Monday evening,
Technos HQ (my room)
Carl sat forward in her wheelchair.
‘There he is! Top left corner of the screen!’ she
said. GiG darted off the screen. A minute later he
re-appeared holding a pet carrier. He looked
exhausted.
‘Don’t worry, GiG, I’m sure you’ll be able to train him,’

I said sympathetically. ‘After all, it only took you a few
minutes to catch him this time!’
Chuckle the virtual dog sat inside the pet carrier,
crunching a doggie treat. He was small and scruffy-
looking, with a black patch on one eye.
‘This bitza is going to push my hard drive to the limit,’
complained GiG. ‘I hope I have enough memory to help
you with your homework, Blayney,’ he added mischievously.
As computers go, GiG’s pretty amazing, and that’s not
just because he looks like a teddy on the screen. He’s
also the world’s most powerful computer. Sounds cool? It
is, except for GiG’s odd habits and jokes—like
programming irritating ring tones into my videophone.
‘Don’t stress, Blayney. Live Supaquiz is about to start!’
said Carl. Live Supaquiz appeared on the local cable
channel each weekday night. Contestants could win up
to $50,000. It was our favourite TV show.
By the way, Carl is short for Carlene and she’s my best
friend and next-door neighbour, and the only other
person to know about GiG. A while back Carl, GiG and I
formed The Technos, a super mystery-solving team.
We’ve solved some awesome crimes. It’s also a great way
to keep GiG busy. He loves being a cyber-spy.
‘Coming right up,’ said GiG, cheerful again. He opened
a new window on screen and settled back into a comfy
6
lounge chair. Giggle (that’s GiG’s virtual Persian cat)

appeared and snuggled into his lap. Chuckle was asleep
in the carrier.
Until recently, GiG had only one pet. Then he decided
to adopt an abandoned virtual bitza dog. Bitzas are a bit
crazy and have a habit of getting into computer
programs. GiG thought it would be a piece of cake to
break Chuckle’s bad habits, but he seemed to have bitten
off more cake than even he could chew.
‘Remember, GiG, you can only watch if you promise
not to butt in with the answers,’ I said sternly.
GiG looked at me innocently. ‘And have I ever actually
butted in? Well, have I?’
‘Shhhh,’ said Carl. ‘It’s starting.’
The host of the show, Brody Dyke, came bouncing
onto the screen. He
had a really fake smile
with lots of false-
looking teeth.
‘Say goodbye to the
tie!’ GiG exclaimed in
horror. GiG thought
he was tip-top in the
fashion stakes. I had
to agree with him this time. The purple swirls were not a
good look.
8
‘And now everyone, the moment you’ve been waiting

for,’ announced Brody Dyke in a dramatic voice. ‘Our
contestant for today is Jayne Sanchez! Please make her
welcome.’
‘What?’ Carl and I exclaimed. Jayne was my
stepmother!
‘You didn’t tell me Jayne was on the show!’ said Carl.
‘That’s because I didn’t know myself!’ I couldn’t
believe it. As far as I knew Jayne hadn’t even watched
Live Supaquiz!
We sat riveted to the screen as Jayne calmly answered
the first few questions.
‘You are doing very well, Jayne,’ said Brody Dyke. ‘Here
is the next question. Ken Warby drove which boat in a
successful attempt to set the world water-speed record?’
‘Spirit of
Australia,’ replied
Jayne without
hesitation.
‘Correct again!’
said Brody Dyke
happily.
‘Wow, she seems
pretty confident,’
commented Carl in
admiration.
9
‘Yeah,’ I replied, doing my best to stay calm. I had no

idea Jayne knew anything about boats! ‘But round one is
always easy. Let’s see how she goes in round two.’
The counter in the corner of the screen steadily ticked
over. It was up to $8,000 now.
‘Incredible!’ said Carl. ‘She’s really good!’
I didn’t say anything. I could feel my heart thumping.
This was just awesome!
The questions were getting harder but Jayne didn’t
look worried.
‘Jayne, what is the capital of Bhutan?’ asked Brody Dyke.
‘Thimphu,’ replied Jayne without even stopping to
think.
‘Correct again!’ exclaimed Dyke.
She sounded kind of different on TV, but I didn’t care.
Jayne had reached the end of the second round! Everyone
applauded as the ads came on.
I hardly heard a thing. My mind was spinning, thinking
what we might do with the money.
‘It’s time for round three,’ said Carl, snapping me out
of my daydream.
‘Come on, Jayne!’ I found myself shouting. I glanced at
GiG. He was holding a Go Jayne! sign and looked like he
was dressed for a football match.
‘Final round, question one,’ said Brody Dyke. I crossed
my fingers and held my breath.
10
Woof! Woof! Woof!

‘Chuckle, sssshhhhhh!’ we all hissed.
‘Sit, Chuckle, sit!’ said GiG firmly. He tossed Chuckle

another dog biscuit. ‘I will never forgive those previous
owners. Chuckle has no understanding of how to watch
TV quietly!’
The counter ticked over again and again. $30,000 ...
$40,000 ... in a flash we were up to the final question.
Carl and I couldn’t speak.
‘Jayne, this is your final question,’ said Brody Dyke. He
paused to hold us in suspense for a moment, then
continued, ‘Now, for $50,000, Jayne Sanchez, can you tell
me who won the Football World Cup in 1982?’
‘Italy!’ screamed Carl.
11
My heart sank. Carl was really into sport but Jayne didn’t
know anything about football. Jayne frowned and looked
down for a moment. ‘Italy, please say Italy,’ I pleaded.
Jayne didn’t let me down. ‘Italy,’ she said calmly.
‘YES!’ I screamed. ‘We won, we won! Fifty thousand
dollars! A new car, and a new games box and phone and ...’
Just then we heard
the front door open.
‘That must be
Dad!’ I said. ‘I can’t
wait to tell him
what’s happened!’
I ran towards the
front door then
stopped in surprise.
It was Jayne!
‘Jayne?’ I said. ‘How did you get home so fast? Did they
tape the show earlier? When do we get the money?’
‘What are you talking about, Blayney?’ asked Jayne.
‘I’ve been in a meeting at work.’
Something very strange was happening.
12
Chapter 2:
On the Set
Monday evening, my place

‘We’ve just seen you win $50,000 on Live
Supaquiz,’ I said to Jayne, trying to talk calmly.
‘$50,000!’ laughed Jayne. ‘I think you’re letting
your imagination run wild again, Blayney.’
‘It’s true,’ I said, looking at Carl for support.

She nodded in agreement. ‘Blayney’s right,’ said Carl.
‘We have just seen you on TV.’
‘Well, it wasn’t me,’ said Jayne. ‘But just to convince
you I’ll call the TV station.’
Jayne rang the station
straightaway. ‘But that’s just
not possible,’ she said angrily.
‘I’m Jayne Sanchez! Who is this
impostor?’
‘What did they say?’ I asked after
Jayne hung up.
‘You were right,’ said Jayne. ‘I’m
calling the police straightaway.’
Tuesday morning, school playground

‘If it wasn’t Jayne, then who was it?’ wondered Carl.
‘The police promised to investigate—but there must
be something we can do,’ I said.
Woof, woof ...
‘That sounds like Chuckle,’ commented Carl,
crunching into an apple. ‘GiG didn’t try very hard to
catch you out this time.’
She was right. Chuckle’s
face was staring at me
from the phone.
14
Suddenly it changed to GiG’s face.

‘Sorry about that ...’ said GiG, looking frazzled. ‘I
turned my back for one minute and wham! He’s taken
control of the phone file! Won’t be long. Just ignore the
woofing.’
‘Hmmm, he better not get into my games files,’ I said,
starting to worry.
Woof, woof ...
‘So, getting back to Jayne,’ began Carl, trying to ignore
the phone. ‘Are you suggesting The Technos take this
case on?’
Woof, woof ...
‘Why not?’ I replied, burying the phone deep in my
pocket. ‘We haven’t had anything to work on since we
caught the pickpocketing shop dummy.’
‘Okay, let’s do it!’ said Carl enthusiastically.
Woof, woof ...
Tuesday afternoon, Technos HQ

‘Let’s start by checking out the tape from last night’s
show,’ I said to Carl. ‘We need to look for clues. GiG, can
you access the TV station archives for us ... GiG?’
GiG was pacing backwards and forwards across the
screen, reading a book called Virtual Pet Handling.
‘Huh? Okay, no prob, Bob,’ said GiG distractedly.
‘Hmmm, it says here that you should treat your virtual
15
dog like a real dog. That gives me an idea ...’ He

disappeared off the screen.
‘GiG! We need you to check ...’ I began, but a moment
later we heard the Live Supaquiz theme.
GiG came strolling out wearing a T-shirt that said
Every dog has its day. Chuckle was holding a remote
control in his mouth.
16
‘Well done, Chuckle!’ cheered Carl. He started wagging

his tail wildly, almost knocking Giggle off her favourite
chair. She gave an annoyed meow.
‘This dog trouble is no match for me,’ said GiG in his
most pompous voice. ‘Chuckle just needs jobs to make
him feel important!’
‘I’m so pleased,’ I said with a sigh. ‘Okay Chuckle, can
you fast forward to the point where Jayne or whoever-
she-is comes on?’
Chuckle pressed a button with his paw.
‘Wow! She looks so much like Jayne it’s creepy,’ said Carl.
‘Yeah, she must be a real master of disguise,’ I agreed.
‘But listen closely. Her voice is deeper than Jayne’s. I
remember having a weird feeling about it the first time. I
guess I just thought the TV made you sound different.’
‘So how do we find out who she really is?’ asked Carl.
‘The quiz show is really our only lead, so why don’t we
check out the TV station?’ I suggested. ‘GiG, can you get
tickets for us?’
‘Coming right up!’ said GiG in his best salesperson
voice. ‘Hmm, they’re all sold out until next Wednesday.
It’s a very popular show. The ratings have gone through
the roof. There seems to be a big winner every few days.’
Just then I noticed something strange on the screen.
‘GiG, how come your trash file just turned yellow?’ I said
with a wry grin.
17
‘What?’ GiG glanced at the trash file and then started

chasing after Chuckle. ‘Come here! Bad dog!’
‘It looks like you’d better do some toilet training, GiG!’

I said, winking at Carl.
Next Wednesday evening, TV station

Carl and I stood in the queue at the TV station.
‘Blayney, look at that list,’ said Carl, pointing to a list of
names posted outside the Live Supaquiz studio.
‘It’s all the big winners so far this year,’ I replied. I took
a close look.
The heading said: ‘Could this be you?’ None of the
names meant anything to me, but I noticed that eight of
18
the past ten winners were female. I was about to point

this out to Carl when a cheerful-looking man in a red
jacket leapt out from behind the door.
‘Welcome to Live Supaquiz everyone! Come on
inside!’ he cried.
I forgot all about the list as we entered the vast studio.
I was too busy staring at all the lights, cameras and
cables. Then the lights went down.
Brody Dyke bounced onto the stage, just as he always
did. Then he announced the name of that night’s
contestant. Angela Barista. Another woman, I thought,
remembering the list outside.
‘Her voice sounds familiar,’ I whispered to Carl after
Barista had answered the first few questions.
19
‘Maybe,’ replied Carl. ‘And she keeps tapping her

fingers, just like the Jayne impostor.’
I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on her voice.
Could it be the same person? It was difficult to be sure.
Barista went on to win the major prize, looking just as
calm and relaxed as ‘Jayne’ had the week before.
‘Let’s follow her,’ I said.
As the audience streamed out of the studio, we slipped
down a corridor, passing several dressing rooms.
‘There she is!’ I said quietly. Barista walked down the
corridor and pushed open a door on her right.
‘It’s the women’s toilets,’
said Carl. ‘I’m going
inside.’
I waited casually as
several people came
out of the toilets. No
sign of Barista. A
minute later Carl
hurried out,
looking confused.
‘Blayney, there’s
nobody else in there. She’s disappeared!’
20
Chapter 3:
It’s a Laugh
Thursday afternoon, Technos HQ

We tossed our school bags on the
floor. Meggs (my tomcat) scampered
out of the room.
‘Don’t ask me how, but I reckon “Barista” and
“Jayne” could be the same person,’ I said.
‘You could be right,’ replied Carl thoughtfully. ‘But that

still doesn’t explain how she disappeared so quickly. By
the way, where’s GiG?’
Things were pretty quiet. Giggle was asleep in her
favourite chair. No sign of either Chuckle or GiG.
‘Search me,’ I said. I was enjoying the peace.
‘How about we concentrate on the ID first?’ said Carl,
being practical as usual. ‘We need to confirm if the real
Angela Barista appeared on the show last night ...’
Suddenly GiG rushed onto the screen with Chuckle on
a leash. GiG was wearing running shoes and his fur was a
mess.
22
‘GiG, whatever have you been doing?’ asked Carl.

‘The book says real dogs need lots of exercise ... Bitzas
are no different,’ GiG panted. ‘I’ve just taken Chuckle for
a run.’
In my opinion Chuckle was far too high maintenance.
But that was GiG’s problem.
‘Whatever ... let’s get back to Angela Barista,’ I said,
trying to keep things on track. ‘Let’s call her up. GiG, can
you find the phone number?’
‘Interesting,’ said GiG, catching his breath. ‘There’s no
Angela Barista listed in the local phone book.’
‘She might be from another town,’ I said. ‘Can you
check on that?’
‘I do have one in Macdonald Park, a couple of hours
away,’ replied GiG.
‘Okay, dial the number,’ I said, picking up the handset.
GiG can tap into the phone line and make calls to
anywhere.
Carl listened in via GiG’s speakers as the phone started
ringing.
‘Hello,’ said a firm voice.
‘Is that Angela Barista?’ I asked politely.
‘Yes, who’s calling?’ replied the woman at the other end.
‘Ah, my name is Peter Taplin,’ I said, thinking fast. ‘I’m
working on a school project about quiz show winners.
Congratulations on winning last night.’
23
‘What are you talking about, young man?’ said the

woman indignantly. ‘I’ve never been on a quiz show in
my life!’
I winked at Carl. Now
we knew ‘Barista’ was
definitely an impostor as
well!
The real Angela Barista
told us she had been for
a holiday to our city but
had definitely never
heard of Live Supaquiz.
‘It has to be some kind of identity-theft scam!’ I said.
‘I wonder how many other contestants have been
impostors?’ Then I remembered the list at the TV studio.
‘What is it, Blayney?’ said Carl, noticing the look on my
face.
‘The list of winners,’ I replied. ‘Eight of the past ten
were female. They could all be part of this scam!’
‘Okay, but how do we prove that?’ asked Carl. ‘And don’t
forget we’re still no closer to finding out her real identity.’
‘I know, but we need to check this out first,’ I said.
‘GiG, can you check out the past winners and see if they
are all the same person? There must be a way to match
their voices.’
‘Consider it done,’ said GiG.
24
Friday morning, school playground

Chomp, slurp, chomp ...
‘What is that?’ Carl asked, bewildered.
‘Sounds like someone eating something disgusting ...
in my pocket!’ I dug my phone out.
On screen, GiG was holding Giggle. Chuckle was
sitting beside them wagging his tail and eating a doggie
treat ... very loudly. Chuckle wore a cap with the words:
Technos Laugh Analyst.
Carl and I were speechless.
25
‘This time I have really cracked it!’ GiG was beaming.

‘The book says that you can train a dog to do anything if
you reward it with treats.’
‘Yeah, so?’ I was losing patience with this dog-training
stuff.
‘The contestants’ voices were hard to pick, but there
was lots of laughing,’ GiG began. ‘So I trained Chuckle to
recognise laughter. He’s just finished listening to the
tapes and it is the same person each time. It turns out
that you can disguise your voice but not your laugh!’
‘Cool! I knew this was big,’ I said happily. ‘Anything else
you can tell us?’
‘I checked out the addresses. Just like the real Angela
Barista, all the contestants live outside our city,’ replied
GiG.
‘Except Jayne,’ said Carl, who was listening in beside
me.
‘Yes, except Jayne,’ said GiG.
‘Looks like our impersonator slipped up using Jayne,’ I
said. ‘But I wonder why?’
Friday afternoon, Technos HQ

‘I think I’ve got it,’ I said, snapping my fingers. ‘Before
she married Dad, Jayne lived in another state. Maybe
that’s why she was chosen. The impostor thought she
still lived at her old address.’
26
‘That’s it!’ said Carl excitedly. ‘All these people live out
of the local area so they’re not going to see themselves
on our local TV channel!’
‘You’re right,’ I said. ‘That’s how the impostor gets
away with the scam. Excellent deduction, Carl!’
‘Thanks, but something else is bugging me,’ replied
Carl.
‘Like what?’ I asked.
‘Well, how come this crook knows all the answers
every time she appears on the show?’ said Carl in a
puzzled voice.
‘Hmmm ... good point,’ I said. ‘I wonder how good the
security is around the questions?’
27
‘Can you find that out for us, GiG?’ asked Carl.
‘Just a sec and I’ll locate the section where the
questions are stored. It’s all done electronically,’ replied
GiG. ‘Here we go. Well that’s intriguing!’
‘What?’ I asked.
‘The TV station has installed a facial recognition
security system to protect the quiz questions,’ said GiG
admiringly. ‘It’s not
military standard,
but it would
stop anyone
whose face isn’t
on file from
gaining access.’
‘Sounds
impressive,’ I
said. ‘Who has
access to the
questions?’
‘Just the chief researcher and the Quiz Master,’ replied
GiG.
‘So one of them must be in on this,’ I said, making a
quick decision. ‘Okay, let’s check it out!’
This scam was getting bigger and bigger.
28
Chapter 4:
Double Trouble
Friday afternoon, Technos HQ

‘What else did you find, GiG?’ asked Carl.
‘Every access to the system is logged and
recorded,’ said GiG. ‘I’ll check the log-in
patterns.’ He disappeared then came back
dressed as a coal miner, complete with spade
and miner’s lamp.
‘That took some digging,’ he said. ‘But there is a

pattern you guys might like to investigate.’
‘Great!’ I said. ‘What did you find?’
‘Brody Dyke accessed the quiz question database the
day before each of the female winners appeared on the
show,’ said GiG in his spymaster voice. ‘Normally he does
this on the day of the show.’
‘So Dyke must be the insider!’ exclaimed Carl.
Saturday morning, the TV station

I took a closer look at the map GiG had printed for us.
‘The mainframe computer is in the IT section,’ I said to
Carl. ‘It’s not far from the studio.’
‘Careful,’ replied Carl in a hushed voice. ‘We don’t
want the security
guards to notice us.’
I nodded and quickly
put the map away. Carl
was right. We had to
make sure nobody
suspected the real
reason we were at the
TV station.
Clap clap clap ...
‘What is it, GiG?’ I opened my phone impatiently. GiG
was sitting in a director’s chair, clapping.
30
‘Just making sure you made it to the auditions,’ said

GiG. In order to get Carl and I inside the TV station, GiG
had added our names to the extras’ audition list for
Royal Street, a popular soap opera.
‘Everything’s fine, GiG,’ I replied hurriedly. ‘We’re just
waiting to get into the studio.’
I put the phone away as we were called to go inside.
‘Okay,’ I said to Carl in a low voice. ‘When I give the
signal we need to slip away.’
We followed the other extras into a large room. Then
we were told to wait. I guess they still had stuff to organise.
‘Time to make our move,’ I said to Carl. The IT section
was on the way to the cafeteria, so I told the guy at the
door we wanted to get something to eat. He just nodded.
‘It’s just down here,’ I said as we headed down one of
the corridors. After a
couple more twists and
turns we found the door
to the IT section.
‘Lucky we’ve got GiG’s
map,’ commented Carl. ‘Even if there are colourful paw
prints all over it! I think GiG printed this map while
Chuckle was playing with his new dog-art set.’
‘Yes, very creative,’ I replied as I checked out the
keypad on the wall. ‘You keep a lookout. I’m going to
enter the code GiG gave us.’ I quickly tapped the
31
numbers in and waited. Apart from a beeping sound as I

pushed the buttons, nothing happened. Then finally we
heard a soft click. ‘Must have a time delay on the lock,’ I
noted, pushing the door open.
We could see five computers locked away in a see-
through vault. The face recognition sensor was on the
vault door! I was about to point it out to Carl when we
heard the familiar beeping sound of the keypad.
‘Someone’s coming!’ I hissed. ‘Quick, hide!’

Carl didn’t need to be told. She had already wheeled
around behind a large filing cabinet. I crouched down
next to her just as the lock on the door opened. Thank
goodness for the time delay, I thought.
32
‘It’s Brody Dyke, the

Quiz Master!’ whispered
Carl. We watched as
Dyke headed for the
vault. He stopped and
looked into the face
sensor. The vault door
opened. Dyke sat down
in front of one of the
terminals and started tapping. Then he sat back and
smiled. A printer whirred.
Dyke grabbed the print-out, switched off the terminal
and headed for the door.
‘Quick, let’s follow him!’ I said.
Carl and I slipped out from our hiding place. I glanced
out the door. We could see Dyke at the end of the
corridor.
‘There he is!’ said Carl. She started off after him. I took
a moment to check nobody had seen us, and followed
her.
‘Hurry, he’s gone out that side door.’
Carl sped up. I had to run to keep up with her. We
reached the door and looked at it in surprise. It said
Emergency Exit in large red letters.
‘Why is he going out the emergency exit?’ I said in
dismay. It didn’t make much sense.
33
‘Stay right where you are,’ growled a voice behind us.

Carl and I whirled around. Then we both stared in
amazement. Standing in front of us was a security
guard—and next to him was Brody Dyke!
‘That’s them,’
said Dyke
accusingly. ‘I saw
them running
away from the IT
section.’
‘Um, we were
looking for the
Royal Street
auditions,’ I said
innocently. I could tell from the guard’s frown that he
didn’t believe me.
‘I see. Well, I think you kids had better come with me
so we can sort this out,’ he replied in a firm voice.
Dyke headed off. How did he get back inside so
quickly? We definitely saw him leave through the
emergency door. In any case, we didn’t have time to be
questioned by a security guard—and I didn’t want my
parents finding out. It was time to call GiG. I slipped my
hand around the phone and felt for the right button. We
had a pre-arranged signal in case anything went wrong.
Don’t let me down, GiG, I said to myself.
34
I gave Carl a wink as I pressed the buttons.

‘Get ready to move fast,’ I whispered. Suddenly all the
lights went out and the fire alarms started ringing. ‘Let’s
go!’ I cried.
Carl didn’t need to be told twice. There was total

confusion, with people shouting and bumping into each
other all over the place. We raced for the nearest
emergency exit and kept on going.
35
Chapter 5:
The Red Glasses
Saturday afternoon, Technos HQ

‘That was close. Great work, GiG,’ I said when
we arrived back home.
GiG looked very pleased with himself. ‘Setting
off alarms has to be one of my favourite parts
of this job!’
Giggle was playing with GiG’s last season’s shoes in the

corner of the screen. There was no sign of Chuckle.
‘Where’s Chuckle?’ I asked nervously.
‘Oh, he’s doing doggie things ...’ began GiG. ‘I’ve
locked him in his new playroom so he doesn’t get into
any of my programs.’
We looked closely at the screen. There was a new icon.
It had Chuckle’s face on it.
‘You’ve locked him in?’ said Carl. She sounded
worried.
‘He’s having a ball, don’t worry,’ said GiG. ‘Here, take a
look.’
The screen split in two. One window showed Chuckle
running around a virtual backyard, chasing a ball and
sniffing at trees and chewing bones. Real dog heaven.
37
‘Wow, that looks like great fun!’ exclaimed Carl.

‘As long as it keeps him out of trouble,’ I said, although
I was actually quite impressed. But we needed to get
back on the job. ‘Right. We need to work out what
happened to Dyke.’
‘Yeah, it’s like he must have an identical twin,’ said
Carl, shaking her head.
‘Hang on,’ I said. ‘I think you might be right!’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Carl.
‘Well, we know the TV station computer uses facial
recognition software,’ I said with a grin. ‘What if our
impostor has a male accomplice and that’s who we saw
accessing the computer?’
‘Wow,’ said Carl. ‘That would make sense. But don’t
forget it could even be the same person. Our female
impostor could also be disguised as a man!’
‘That’s true,’ I said. ‘It might still be one person
we’re after. But does all this get us any closer to
finding them?’
Saturday evening, my place

It was dinnertime and Carl had gone home. We had
agreed to review the case again in the morning.
I couldn’t help wondering about the connection
between the victims. What did they have in common?
That seemed to be the only lead left to follow.
38
‘Have you thought any more about that TV impostor?’ I

said casually to Jayne as we ate our dinner.
‘I’ve tried not to,’ replied Jayne. ‘But the police asked
me to watch a tape of the show to see if I could help with
the investigation.’
‘Did you tell them anything?’ I asked between
mouthfuls. We were having lasagne for dinner, one of my
favourites.
‘Not really,’ said Jayne. ‘Whoever she is did a pretty
good job being me—that is, except for the glasses.’
‘Glasses?’ I repeated, puzzled. Then I realised what
Jayne meant and I kicked myself for not noticing earlier.
‘I never wear red frames on Mondays!’ said Jayne
emphatically.
39
Saturday night, my place

While Jayne was doing some reading I crept into the
study and opened her diary. I was still annoyed with
myself. Of course Jayne only wore her red frames on the
weekend! On weekdays she stuck to sensible brown. All
the same, this told me something. The impostor must
have met Jayne on a weekend, when she was wearing red
frames. If I checked where she had been over the last few
weekends, I might find a clue.
Sunday morning, Technos HQ

‘A.L., A.L.,’ I said in frustration. ‘That was the only entry in
Jayne’s diary that didn’t make any sense. It has to mean
something.’
40
‘Calm down,’ said Carl reassuringly. ‘We just have to

think about it. Was there any other info that might help us?’
I had told Carl about the red glasses. She agreed it
could be the break we needed.
‘According to her diary, last month Jayne went to “A.L.”
with the students from her photography class,’ I said.
Woof woof! Meowwww!
GiG was entertaining Chuckle and Giggle with a
juggling act.
‘Love the red nose, GiG!’ said Carl affectionately. ‘You
are such a clown!’ Then her expression changed.
‘Blayney, that’s it!’
41
‘You’ve cracked it?’ I said in amazement. Had GiG’s

craziness actually helped us?
‘Where do you find clowns and other fun things to do?’
said Carl.
‘Fun things to do ... Adventure Land! Of course!’ I
replied. Adventure Land was an amusement park in our
city. ‘That figures. And that must be how the impostor
found victims from out of town. Tourists always visit the
park while they’re here.’
‘That must be the connection,’ agreed Carl. ‘But where
do we look? The park is huge.’
‘Yeah, we need to narrow it down somehow,’ I said,
scratching my head. ‘It seems like whenever we solve
one problem, another one comes up.’
‘And another thing. How come this impostor has such
incredible, convincing make-up?’ added Carl.
‘Let’s check out the footage again. We must be able to
find another clue,’ I said. ‘GiG, can you organise
that?’
Meeeeooowwwooooofff!
Now GiG, Giggle and
Chuckle were riding a roller
coaster. They had their paws
in the air as they raced
down the track, the wind
in their fur.
42
‘GiG!’ I was getting frustrated but we had to wait for

them to finish the ride.
‘That was awesome!’ said GiG. ‘Okay Chuckle, grab the
remote control again. We need to find the Jayne impostor
on the tape.’
Chuckle grabbed the remote and found the spot
where Jayne came in. You could tell Chuckle really
enjoyed these jobs. Suddenly he dropped the remote
and started chewing it.
‘Chuckle! Bad dog!’ said GiG firmly.
‘GiG, what’s he done now?’ I moaned.
Chuckle had zoomed the picture in, so that the face of
‘Jayne’ filled the whole screen in a blurry close-up.
43
‘Well, well, well,’ said GiG mysteriously.

‘What is it?’ asked Carl and I together.
‘That’s no ordinary face. That’s not human skin,’ said
GiG.
44
Chapter 6:
Snapped in the Act!
Sunday morning, Technos HQ

‘Not human? So what is it? An alien, a robot?’ I
said in amazement. My mind was racing. How
huge would this be?
‘An alien? Take it easy, Blayney. Let GiG explain,’
said Carl.
‘It’s very technical,’ said GiG in his superior voice. ‘But

that’s not human skin on her face. The pixels have the
same structure as a photograph.’
‘So this is actually a photo of Jayne?’ I said, trying to
understand.
‘There’s more to it than that,’ said GiG. ‘It could be
some kind of mask.’
‘A mask that looks like a photograph?’ Carl sounded
confused.
‘It’s possible,’ said GiG. ‘I’ve just been checking
Special EFX magazine. There’s an article on a new
“Pixelastic” material.’
‘Pixel-what?’ asked Carl with a frown.
46
‘Pixelastic,’ said GiG. ‘It’s very advanced. You can download

pictures into the fabric. They’re using it in the movies.’
‘Okay, I think I get it,’ I said, concentrating hard. ‘So
our impostor has been making masks from this pixelastic
stuff.’ I had a sudden thought. ‘Of course! This is how
they got through the facial recognition security to get the
quiz questions!’
‘You’re right, Blayney!’ Carl was getting excited now. ‘It
wasn’t Brody Dyke we saw accessing the questions, it was
the impostor! And no wonder Angela Barista disappeared
in the toilets. All she had to do was take off the mask and
walk out right under our noses!’
‘So now we need to know who is doing this,’ I said.
‘What else can you tell us, GiG?’
‘In order to make the mask, you need a good full-face
picture of the person,’ replied GiG.
‘That might narrow it down,’ said Carl. ‘Is there a
photo kiosk at Adventure Land?’
‘There is,’ said GiG after a moment. ‘It’s run by a
woman called Judy Riggs. And guess what? A “Judy Riggs”
subscribes to Special EFX. So she would know about
pixelastic. Looks like you’re off to Adventure Land, guys!’
Sunday lunchtime, Adventure Land

We were sitting a safe distance from the photo kiosk,
watching Riggs at work. Her job was to create posters of
47
her customers, as jet pilots, astronauts or racing car

drivers. I guessed Jayne had been showing her
photography students how the place worked when her
picture was taken.
48
It was interesting to see what Riggs really looked like.

She had long blonde hair and fair skin, and a very
expensive-looking diamond necklace around her neck.
No doubt she’d been spending some of her prize money!
‘We need to get closer,’ I said to Carl. ‘If Riggs is
behind this we need proof.’
Click, click …
That was my phone, clicking like an old-fashioned
camera shutter.
‘How did you go, GiG?’ I asked. ‘Any info on Riggs?’
‘Get this,’ said GiG. ‘Riggs used to work in the theatre.
No wonder she got away with her scam for so long. She
can act and disguise herself with the mask.’
‘Excellent!’ I replied. ‘Now we just need to get some
evidence against her.’
‘Pass me the binoculars,
Blayney,’ said Carl. A
woman with a group
of children had
approached the
kiosk. Riggs started
talking to the woman,
and pointed to something
on the stand behind her. The
woman turned in the direction of Riggs’s finger.
‘Did you see that? A flash went off!’ said Carl.
49
‘It could be a hidden camera,’ I replied. ‘Riggs needs a

full-face picture to make her masks. She just points to the
camera and click, the perfect opportunity!’
Carl nodded, then said, ‘Let’s go around the other side.
We need to see what she does next.’
There were people everywhere. It was a great day to
be at Adventure Land. It was also a great day for
snooping. Nobody looked twice as Carl and I went
around the back of the photo kiosk. We found a grassy
area near the fairy floss stand. We could see Riggs
through a window. She was sitting at a desk, working on
a computer. By using the binoculars, I could see the
picture on the screen. It was the woman who had been
standing out the front just a minute or two before!
50
‘We need to get access to that computer.’ I pulled out

my phone and called GiG. ‘GiG, can you tap into the
hard drive of Riggs’s computer and connect it to my
phone?’ I asked.
‘One moment, sir,’ said GiG. He sounded like a super-
efficient receptionist. ‘Putting you through now,’ he
added.
My phone screen went blank, then filled with a series
of unusual icons. It was Riggs’s computer screen, right
there on my phone!
‘Cool!’ said Carl in awe. ‘GiG can be pretty amazing
sometimes.’
‘Yeah,’ I agreed, ‘but don’t tell him that!’
I used the phone’s arrow keys to dig into the hard
drive without Riggs suspecting anything. It didn’t take
long to find the evidence.
‘Check this out, Carl,’ I said, showing her the screen.
Staring back at us was Jayne’s photo. It had been saved in
the same folder as
photos of Angela
Barista and half a
dozen other women.
There was also a photo
of Brody Dyke. Gotcha!
‘Cool! I think we might have our proof!’ said Carl
cheerfully.
51
‘Definitely,’ I agreed. ‘There’s also heaps of stuff on

pixelastic. I think it’s time we called in the police. GiG
can send the chief all this as evidence.’
We decided to keep an eye on Riggs until the police
arrived. We found a new position with a view of the stand
and I peered through the binoculars again.
Riggs was talking to another customer. But this
customer was behaving like he knew her very well.
‘Check this out, Carl. That man is making Riggs really
edgy,’ I said, starting to get nervous myself.
‘Yeah, he’s trying to hold her hand!’ said Carl. ‘Eww!’
Riggs pulled
herself away and
hurried behind the
kiosk curtain.
A tense couple of
minutes went by.
The man waited, starting to look annoyed.
‘What’s she doing?’ Carl asked nervously.
I was getting a bad feeling about this. ‘Something’s not
right. Let’s go around the back again and see what she’s
up to.’
‘Blayney ... she’s gone!’ Carl exclaimed when we
reached the fairy floss stand.
52
Chapter 7:
A Wheel Deal
Sunday afternoon, Adventure Land

‘We’ll lose her in this crowd! Come on, this
way!’ I shouted.
‘Look out for her blonde hair, Blayney,’ Carl
said as she raced alongside me. We pushed
through the crowd as quickly as we could.
‘There she is!’ I caught a glimpse of her hair as she

hurried up a ramp, into the ghost train.
We joined the queue for the ride. This was no good!
We needed to get in there fast. Suddenly the ride
operator noticed Carl’s wheelchair and directed us into a
different entrance.
‘Wow, that was a lucky break,’ I said happily. I hopped
in one of the carriages and Carl was lifted in next to me
by another ride attendant. She had to leave her
wheelchair at the entrance.
There was a bump and a rattle. We started moving
slowly and the spooky noises began. Our eyes quickly
adjusted to the dark.
‘Aahhh!’ cried
Carl. A fake skeleton
had jumped out at
us. I smiled to
myself.
‘Yikes!’ A very
realistic hand had
brushed the side of
my face. Get a grip,
Blayney!
We heard some
more screaming. Ha!
The people in the
54
carriage behind us had fallen for the skeleton too. That’s

when I noticed the wig hanging on a witch’s broomstick.
‘Look, Carl! That’s Riggs’s hair—or should I say her
wig?’ I said. What was going on?
‘And there is her ... face?’ Carl pointed to what used to
be Riggs’s face. It was lying on the floor, next to one of the
ghouls. I quickly jumped out of the carriage and grabbed it
... trying not to get caught up in any of the fake spider
webs along the way. This case was getting a little spooky!
‘Wow, this pixelastic is amazing,’ said Carl when we’d
finished the ride. She was holding the mask. ‘It almost feels
like real skin. It even has wrinkles!’ There were tiny holes
for the eyes and nose. The lips had small, soft hooks to
attach to a mouth. The whole thing was incredibly lifelike.
55
‘So now we don’t even know what Riggs really looks

like,’ I said in frustration. ‘She’s probably long gone. That
guy at the kiosk must have recognised this person,
whoever she is,’ I added, looking at the mask. ‘So Riggs
got nervous and ran.’
I sent GiG a message, asking him to find a photo of the
real Riggs.
HA HA HA HA HAAAAAA!
We both jumped.
‘That’s not funny, GiG,’ I said, annoyed.
‘Don’t be so sensitive ... where’s your sense of
humour?’ replied GiG. He was dressed as Dracula, fangs
and all.
I was too focused to bother answering.
‘Just tell us what Riggs looks like,’ I said matter-of-
factly.
GiG’s face faded away and a female face stared at us
from the videophone screen. She had an
ordinary face with short brown hair.
‘Great. But how are the police
going to know what she looks like?
When they go to the photo kiosk it will be empty,’ said
Carl anxiously. We could hear the sirens in the distance.
‘Good point,’ I said, trying to think fast. ‘GiG, can you
send this to the photo kiosk computer with a message
for the police? We’ll let you know if we find her.’
56
‘Over and out,’ said GiG in military style.

Carl looked at me. I could see she was thinking hard.
‘Riggs has left her kiosk unattended. Maybe she might go
back when that man gives up and goes away? She doesn’t
know we’re onto her.’
I started to nod. ‘Yeah, so where would she go to
watch and wait?’
‘It would have to be up high to see over this crowd,’
said Carl.
I thought about it. ‘Wait a minute ... where are the
binoculars?’
Carl handed them over. I scanned above the heads of
the crowd. There was the monster slide ... the roller
coaster ... the Ferris wheel. I watched carefully as the
wheel did a complete circuit.
‘Bingo!’ I said.
57
‘You’ve found her!’ said Carl. I grinned at her. We could

hear the sirens getting louder. I gave GiG some more
instructions.
Carl and I watched as the police rushed towards the
photo kiosk. The man was still waiting! At first the police
looked confused because Riggs wasn’t there. Then I
guess they saw the message and photo on the computer,
because they started towards the Ferris wheel.
‘Now, GiG!’ I called into my phone.
Suddenly the Ferris wheel stopped. There were
screams as the carriages started to swing. We rushed
closer so we could see what happened next.
A blue carriage was swinging right at the top of the
wheel. Riggs hung on with all her might. ‘Help! Help!’
she screamed.
58
When the Ferris wheel finally began moving again, the

police cuffed Riggs and took her away. They walked
right past us! ‘That’s the last time you’ll be hanging
around this place,’ said one of the police officers, with
a smile.
Monday afternoon, Technos HQ

‘Lucky you saw that diamond necklace sparkling in the
sun when Riggs was on the Ferris wheel,’ said Carl as she
tossed her bag on the floor.
Woof meeow woof meeow ...
Chuckle and Giggle were chasing each other in
Chuckle’s playroom. GiG had locked them both in there.
GiG was relaxing in a bubble bath. ‘This is the life ...’ he
sighed contentedly.
The newspapers said that Riggs was bitter about not
being successful as an actor. When Dyke came to the
photo kiosk she thought up a scam to cheat his quiz
show and also show her great acting skills to the world.
‘Now Riggs is staring at the four walls of a gaol cell,’
said Carl with a grin.
‘Yeah, a bit like Chuckle and Giggle locked up in that
playroom,’ I said mischievously. I winked at Carl and
grabbed the mouse. The door to the playroom clicked
open and the animals ran out and jumped in the bath.
Bubbles flew everywhere!
59
‘Help!’ spluttered GiG. ‘How did you two get out? My

bath is ruined!’
‘Looks like we have “cleaned up” another case!’ giggled
Carl.
60
61
Authors:
Julie and Michael
Ramsden
Julie and Michael Ramsden live at Mollymook, on the

south coast of NSW, Australia. Michael teaches English
at the local high school. Julie, a former primary school
teacher, is very busy with their three young boys, Dale
(four) and twins Jay and Drew (eighteen months). As
parents and teachers Julie and Michael understand
how hard it can be to encourage kids, especially boys,
to read. As authors, they have written several non-
fiction titles in the popular X-Zone series. The Technos
is their first fiction series.
62
Illustrator:
Chantal Stewart
Born in Paris, Chantal studied at the Paris Ecole des

Arts Appliqués and commenced her career as a
graphic designer and illustrator in the advertising and
publishing milieu of Paris. She arrived in Melbourne
fifteen years ago with a wonderful folio of work, and
progressively moved towards her true calling—that of
a book illustrator. Since then Chantal has illustrated
many children's books for major Australian publishers.
One of the best loved of these was Smelly Chantelly,
which was shortlisted for the YABBA awards for three
consecutive years. In collaboration with the famous
cook Gabriel Gaté and writer Joan van Loon, Chantal
also produced the award-winning Anyone Can Cook
and The Chocolate Lovers.
63
The four Technos books …

The Quiz Whiz

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663_LBP_Technos Bk4_Final.

2 15/11/06 10:12 AM Page 1

The Quiz Whiz

By Julie and Michael Ramsden

Illustrated by Chantal Stewart

First published in 2007 by

Visit our website at www.macmillan.com.au or go directly to www.macmillanlibrary.com.au

Associated companies and representatives throughout the world.

Copyright © 2007 Laguna Bay Publishing Pty Ltd

All rights reserved.

National Library of Australia

For primary school students.

ISBN 1 42020971 X (pbk).

I. Ramsden, Michael. II. Stewart, Chantal. III. Title.

Text: Julie and Michael Ramsden

5: The Red Glasses 36

6: Snapped in the Act! 45

In memory of Vic Ramsden. His passion for learning, intellect and

‘Don’t worry, GiG, I’m sure you’ll be able to train him,’

lounge chair. Giggle (that’s GiG’s virtual Persian cat)

‘And now everyone, the moment you’ve been waiting

‘Yeah,’ I replied, doing my best to stay calm. I had no

Woof! Woof! Woof!

‘Sit, Chuckle, sit!’ said GiG firmly. He tossed Chuckle

Monday evening, my place

‘It’s true,’ I said, looking at Carl for support.

Tuesday morning, school playground

Suddenly it changed to GiG’s face.

Tuesday afternoon, Technos HQ

dog like a real dog. That gives me an idea ...’ He

‘Well done, Chuckle!’ cheered Carl. He started wagging

‘What?’ GiG glanced at the trash file and then started

‘It looks like you’d better do some toilet training, GiG!’

Next Wednesday evening, TV station

the past ten winners were female. I was about to point

‘Maybe,’ replied Carl. ‘And she keeps tapping her

Thursday afternoon, Technos HQ

‘You could be right,’ replied Carl thoughtfully. ‘But that

‘GiG, whatever have you been doing?’ asked Carl.

‘What are you talking about, young man?’ said the

Friday morning, school playground

‘This time I have really cracked it!’ GiG was beaming.

Friday afternoon, Technos HQ

Friday afternoon, Technos HQ

‘That took some digging,’ he said. ‘But there is a

Saturday morning, the TV station

‘Just making sure you made it to the auditions,’ said

numbers in and waited. Apart from a beeping sound as I

‘Someone’s coming!’ I hissed. ‘Quick, hide!’

‘It’s Brody Dyke, the

‘Stay right where you are,’ growled a voice behind us.

I gave Carl a wink as I pressed the buttons.

Carl didn’t need to be told twice. There was total

The Red Glasses

Saturday afternoon, Technos HQ

Giggle was playing with GiG’s last season’s shoes in the

‘Wow, that looks like great fun!’ exclaimed Carl.

Saturday evening, my place

‘Have you thought any more about that TV impostor?’ I

Saturday night, my place

Sunday morning, Technos HQ

‘Calm down,’ said Carl reassuringly. ‘We just have to

‘You’ve cracked it?’ I said in amazement. Had GiG’s

‘GiG!’ I was getting frustrated but we had to wait for