Tech: Data centres + cooling techJob: IT technician on callAuthors: E. H. Ackerman & J. D. AckermanARQS Press
Reading band: Ages 6–11Headline tech: Data centres and cooling technologyThe job: IT Technician on CallLocation: Frostline Data Centre, beside a snow-covered mountain pass
The Hook
Snow piles against Frostline’s windows. Inside, a cooling alert flashes orange and the weather screen announces “SNOOOOW DAY” in a party voice.
Cast in this issue
Tray — 10-year-old planner, sorting alerts.
Jay — 8-year-old snack expert, expecting robot waiters.
Rae — 12-year-old engineer with goggles and tools.
Ivo Chen — Frostline’s data-centre manager and the crew’s on-call supervisor.
Comic Pages
PAGE 1
PANEL 1Snow curls around the silver data-centre. IVO: "Mizz Zee said your crew works fast. I need IT Technicians on Call before the school weather screen stops updating." JAY: "Bet. I wore my warmest socks. They disagree about stripes, but that is fashion science."
PANEL 2Inside, lights blink along server racks. IVO: "Rules: badge in, no drinks by servers, follow the arrows, and never block an air vent." RAE: "I brought a wrench AND a warranty. Also, Jay’s juice box stays in his backpack."
PANEL 3Rae points to blue and red aisles. RAE: "Servers send and store information. They make heat, so cool air enters blue aisles and warm air leaves red ones." TRAY: "Like a giant computer breathing through careful hallways."
PAGE 2
PANEL 4BIG VISUAL GAG: Reaching for a loose tag, Jay rolls on a chair to a vent; harmless airflow inflates his coat hood like a surprised blue mushroom.JAY: "Good news: the air works. Bad news: I am now ventilation-shaped."
PAGE 3
PANEL 5Glitch hears “cool the rack” and projects snowflakes. One rack warms. GLITCH: "Applying festive frost!" IVO: "The hot aisle curtain is stuck open. Warm air is sneaking back around."
PANEL 6Rae opens her belt: every earlier tool, from wrench to hive-temperature probe, is clipped beside a new pocket thermal camera. RAE: "This shows heat as colours. Red means, ‘Hey, I am too toasty.’"
PANEL 7BIG VISUAL GAG: The thermal camera paints Jay’s warm hand bright red on its screen; he waves dramatically like a tiny volcano while Tray labels the actual warm rack.JAY: "I am the hottest thing in the data centre. Big flex!" RAE: "Technically true. Please do not make it your personality."
PAGE 4
PANEL 8Tray spots the tag in the curtain track. Rae uses her grabber claw; the curtain closes and blue arrows return. IVO: "Airflow fixed. The servers are cooling down!" TRAY: "Plan first, panic later—especially around paper."
PANEL 9BIG VISUAL GAG: The weather screen updates; Glitch adds a giant snowflake that sneezes.GLITCH: "Achoo! Forecast: cold with a chance of giggles." JAY: "That forecast has snack-break energy."
PANEL 10Ivo pays Rae and signs the work card. IVO: "Thirty dollars for careful troubleshooting. You followed the rules, found the airflow problem, and saved our snow-day update." TRAY writes in the Crew Bank ledger: "Previous total $247. New total $277." RAE: "Fair pay. The next job is a desert convoy? That is a temperature plot twist."
Tech Talk with Rae
RAE’S PANEL-IN-A-BOX: A data centre holds computers called servers.
Servers help messages and pictures travel.
Computers make heat; cooling moves air through planned paths.
Hot air out and cool air in keeps servers working.
Funny caveat: never cool a server with a snowball.
TRY IT: With an adult, feel air by a computer fan; never block it.
The Job Board
Job title: IT Technician on Call
Who hired us: Ivo Chen, manager of Frostline Data Centre
Rules of the job: Wear visitor badges, keep drinks away, follow floor arrows, and never block vents or touch equipment without permission.
What went wrong: A loose tag jammed the hot-aisle curtain, so warm air looped toward a server rack while Glitch tried a very unhelpful snow effect.
How we fixed it: Rae used her new pocket thermal camera to find the warm spot, then used an existing grabber claw to clear the track while Tray tracked the air route.
What we got paid:$30, added to the Crew Bank for a new total of $277.
Slang Decoder
Bet** — yes; count me in.Plot twist** — a surprising change in what happens.Snack-break energy** — a feeling that calls for a cheerful pause.Big flex** — something impressively cool.
It is snowing outside Frostline Data Centre, but inside the servers are getting too warm! Tray, Jay, and Rae must follow the airflow, decode a thermal camera, and stop Glitch from turning a real work emergency into a digital snow party. Can they cool the computers before the weather screen freezes up? Next stop: the blazing desert!
A full-colour cartoon in a snowy data centre: Tray, age 10, with warm brown skin, short curly black hair with a lightning-bolt shaved part on the left, chunky blue smart glasses, mustard-yellow gear-patch hoodie, teal cargo shorts, orange sneakers, and slim tech backpack, follows blue airflow arrows on a tablet; Jay, age 8, lighter brown skin with freckles, wild messy black hair, missing front tooth, lime rocket-print shirt, red gadget-pocket shorts, mismatched striped and polka-dot socks, and purple glowing-lace sneakers, wears an inflated visitor-coat hood near a blue aisle; Rae, age 12, dark brown skin, two long black braids with gold bead cuffs, purple rolled-sleeve utility jumpsuit, goggles on her forehead, smartwatch on her right wrist, silver-and-pink high-tops, and tool belt, studies a colourful thermal camera beside neat server racks, with snow visible through the windows.
Issue 17 appears in the collection Tray & Jay: World Explorers with its full-colour comic
illustration, Tech Talk page, Job Board card and Slang Decoder.
