Into Space By Sterner St Read online

  discovery which I have made: that magnetism

  earth is so great compared to the gravity of a and gravity are one and the same, or, rather, man that when he stands on his head, his

  Astounding Stories of Super Science 6

  polarity is instantly reversed.”

  earth. Of course, I do not mean that such a

  I nodded. His explanation was too craft would take off from the earth and land on logical for me to pick a flaw in it.

  the moon three hours later. There are two

  “If that same bar magnet were held in

  things which would interfere with that. One is the field of the electromagnet with its north the fact that the propelling force, the gravity pole pointed toward the magnet and then, by

  of the earth, would diminish as the square of the action of some outside force of sufficient the distance from the center of the earth, and power, its polarity were reversed, the bar the other is that when the band of neutral would be repelled. If the magnetism were attraction, or rather repulsion, between the neutralized and held exactly neutral, it would earth and the moon had been reached, it would be neither repelled nor attracted, but would act be necessary to decelerate so as to avoid a

  only as the force of gravity impelled it. Is that smash on landing. I have been over the whole

  clear?”

  thing and I find that it would take twenty-nine

  “Perfectly,” I assented.

  hours and fifty-two minutes to make the whole

  “That, then, paves the way for what I

  trip. The entire thing is perfectly possible. In have to tell you. I have developed an electrical fact, I have asked you here to witness and

  method of neutralizing the gravity of a body

  report the first interplanetary trip to be made.”

  while it is within the field of the earth, and

  “Have you constructed such a device?”

  also, by a slight extension, a method of I cried.

  entirely reversing its polarity.”

  “My space ship is finished and ready

  for your inspection,” he replied. “If you will I nodded calmly.

  come with me, I will show it to you.”

  “Do you realize what this means?” he

  Hardly knowing what to believe, I

  cried.

  followed him from the house and to a huge

  “No,” I replied, puzzled by his great

  barnlike structure, over a hundred feet high, excitement.

  which stood nearby. He opened the door and

  “Man alive,” he cried, “it means that

  switched on a light, and there before me stood the problem of aerial flight is entirely what looked at first glance to be a huge revolutionized, and that the era of artillery shell, but of a size larger than any interplanetary travel is at hand! Suppose that I ever made. It was constructed of sheet steel, construct an airship and then render it neutral and while the lower part was solid, the upper to gravity. It would weigh nothing, absolutely sections had huge glass windows set in them.

  nothing! The tiniest propeller would drive it at On the point was a mushroom shaped

  almost incalculable speed with a minimum

  protuberance. It measured perhaps fifty feet in consumption of power, for the only resistance diameter and was one hundred and forty feet

  to its motion would be the resistance of the

  high, the Doctor informed me. A ladder led

  air. If I were to reverse the polarity, it would from the floor to a door about fifty feet from be repelled from the earth with the same force the ground.

  with which it is now attracted, and it would

  I followed the Doctor up the ladder

  rise with the same acceleration as a body falls and into the space flier. The door led us into a toward the earth. It would travel to the moon comfortable living room through a double

  in two hours and forty minutes.”

  door arrangement.

  “Air resistance would—”

  “The whole hull beneath us,”

  “There is no air a few miles from the

  explained the Doctor, “is filled with batteries

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  and machinery except for a space in the rate at which a body increases speed when it center, where a shaft leads to a glass window falls. This is the acceleration which I will use.

  in the bottom so that I can see behind me, so

  “Remember that the space traveled by

  to speak. The space above is filled with a falling body in a vacuum is equal to one half storerooms and the air purifying apparatus. On the acceleration multiplied by the square of

  this level is my bedroom, kitchen, and other

  the elapsed time. The moon, to which I intend living rooms, together with a laboratory and

  to make my first trip, is only 280,000 miles, or an observatory. There is a central control 1,478,400,000 feet, from us. With an room located on an upper level, but it need

  acceleration of thirty-two feet per second, I seldom be entered, for the craft can be would pass the moon two hours and forty controlled by a system of relays from this

  minutes after leaving the earth. If I later take room or from any other room in the ship. I

  another trip, say to Mars, I will have to find a suppose that you are more or less familiar

  means of increasing my acceleration, possibly with imaginative stories of interplanetary by the use of the rocket principle. Then will be travel?”

  time enough to worry about what my body

  will stand.”

  I nodded an assent.

  A short calculation verified the figures

  “In that case there is no use in going

  the Doctor had given me, and I stood

  over the details of the air purifying and such convinced.

  matters,” he said. “The story writers have

  “Are you really going?” I asked.

  worked out all that sort of thing in great detail,

  “Most decidedly. To repeat, I would

  and there is nothing novel in my have started yesterday, had you arrived. As it arrangements. I carry food and water for six

  is, I am ready to start at once. We will go back months and air enough for two months by

  to the house for a few minutes while I show

  constant renovating. Have you any question

  you the location of an excellent telescope

  you wish to ask?”

  through which you may watch my progress,

  “One objection I have seen frequently

  and instruct you in the use of an ultra-short-raised to the idea of interplanetary travel is wave receiver which I am confident will

  that the human body could not stand the rapid pierce the heaviest layer. With this I will keep acceleration which would be necessary to in communication with you, although I have attain speed enough to ever get anywhere.

  made no arrangements for you to send

  How do you overcome this?”

  messages to me on this trip. I intend to go to

  “My dear boy, who knows what the

  the moon and land. I will take atmosphere

  human body can stand? When the locomotive

  samples through an air port and, if there is an was first invented learned scientists predicted atmosphere which will support life, I will step that the limit of speed was thirty miles an

  out on the surface. If there is not, I will return hour, as the human body could not stand a

  to the earth.”

  higher speed. To-day the human body stands a

  speed of three hundred and sixty miles an hour A few minutes was enough for me to grasp the

  without ill effects. At any rate, on my first trip simple manipulations which I would have to

  I intend to take no chances. We know that the perform, and I followed him again to the space body can stand an a
cceleration of thirty-two

  flier.

  feet per second without trouble. That is the

  “How are you going to get it out?” I

  rate of acceleration due to gravity and is the asked.

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  “Watch,” he said.

  his voice said faintly. “I have no idea of

  He worked some levers and the roof of

  whether you can hear me or not, but I will

  the barn folded back, leaving the way clear for keep on repeating this message every hour

  the departure of the huge projectile. I followed while my battery holds out. It is now thirty

  him inside and he climbed the ladder.

  hours since I left the earth and I should be on

  “When I shut the door, go back to the

  the moon, according to my calculations. But I house and test the radio,” he directed.

  am not, and never will be. I am caught at the The door clanged shut and I hastened

  neutral point where the gravity of the earth

  into the house. His voice came plainly and the moon are exactly equal.

  enough. I went back to the flier and waved

  “I had relied on my momentum to

  him a final farewell, which he acknowledged

  carry me over this point. Once over it, I

  through a window; then I returned to the expected to reverse my polarity and fall on the receiver. A loud hum filled the air, and moon. My momentum did not do so. If I keep suddenly the projectile rose and flew out my polarity as it was when left the earth, both through the open roof, gaining speed rapidly

  the earth and the moon repel me. If I reverse until it was a mere speck in the sky. It it, they both attract me, and again I cannot vanished. I had no trouble in picking him up

  move. If I had equipped my space flier with a with the telescope. In fact, I could see the

  rocket so that I could move a few miles, or

  Doctor through one of the windows.

  even a few feet, from the dead line, I could

  “I have passed beyond the range of the

  proceed, but I did not do so, and I cannot

  atmosphere, Tom,” came his voice over the

  move forward or back. Apparently I am

  receiver, “and I find that everything is going doomed to stay here until my air gives out.

  exactly as it should. I feel no discomfort, and Then my body, entombed in my space ship,

  my only regret is that I did not install a

  will endlessly circle the earth as a satellite transmitter in the house so that you could talk until the end of time. There is no hope for me, to me; but there is no real necessity for it. I am for long before a duplicate of my device

  going to make some observations now, but I

  equipped with rockets could be constructed

  will call you again with a report of progress in and come to my rescue, my air would be

  half-an-hour.”

  exhausted. Good-by, Tom. You may write

  your story as soon as you wish. I will repeat For the rest of the afternoon and all of that my message in one hour. Good-by!”

  night I received his messages regularly, but

  At nine and at ten o’clock the message

  with the coming of daylight they began to

  was repeated. At eleven it started again but

  fade. By nine o’clock I could get only a word after a few sentences the sound suddenly

  here and there. By noon I could hear nothing.

  ceased and the receiver went dead. I thought

  I went to sleep hoping that the night would

  that the fault was with the receiver and I toiled bring better reception, nor was I disappointed.

  feverishly the rest of the night, but without About eight o’clock I received a message,

  result. I learned later that the messages heard rather faintly, but none the less distinctly.

  all over the world ceased at the same hour.

  “I regret more than ever that I did not

  The next morning Professor

  install a transmitter so that I could learn from Montescue announced his discovery of the

  you whether you are receiving my messages,”

  world’s new satellite.