Structure Of The Projectile

: Secrets of Space
: Pharaoh's Broker

A few weeks later I received a letter from Dr. Anderwelt asking me to

call at his rooms on the West Side that afternoon, as soon as the market

had closed. He desired to exhibit and explain the drawings of the new

projectile and talk over the preparations for the trip. I had been so

engrossed with every sort of worry that I had thought but little of the

doctor and his grand schemes of late. But now I was anxious to know what
< r /> progress he was making. Sometimes I felt that I had been foolish to put

any money into the thing; but the doctor's idea of reversing gravity was

so simple and so elemental, that I marvelled it had never occurred to

scientists before.



After the market I hunted up the street and number the doctor had given

me, and found a little, dingy boarding-house, lost among machine shops

and implement factories, near the west side of the river. In a

third-floor back room, with one small window looking out on dark, sooty

buildings and belching chimneys, Dr. Anderwelt was thinking out all the

incidental problems, and preparing for all the emergencies that might

arise on a trip of some forty million miles, through unknown space, to a

strange planet whose composition was unguessed.



The walls of the room were soiled and bare, except for blue-prints of

drawings from which the projectile was being built in neighbouring

foundries. There were but two plain, hard chairs in the room. The doctor

sat on one with a pillow doubled up under him for a cushion. He was

bending over a draughting board, which was propped up on the bed during

the day and went under it at night.



Three flights of steep stairs had taken my breath, and I dropped into

the other hard chair and exclaimed,--



"I say, Doctor, why didn't you take an office in the twelfth heaven of a

modern office building over in town, where they have elevators? I have

really forgotten how to climb stairs. Didn't I furnish you money enough

to do this thing right?"



"Don't you think this is a good place?" he inquired in some surprise.

"The rent is cheap, and it is convenient to the work. But speaking of

elevators, we are going to revolutionize all that. No more hoisting or

hydraulic lifts after we apply our ideas to the lifting of these

elevator cages!"



"I am afraid this idea of negative gravity is apt to revolutionize

everything, and generally upset the entire universe," I replied. "I

have been wondering what would happen if you were to apply a negative

current to this Earth of ours and send it whirling out of its orbit, an

ostracised Pariah, repelled by all the celestial bodies!"



"Not the slightest danger of any such calamity," he answered. "The

reversal of polarity can only be accomplished with comparatively small

and insignificant masses. It would be impossible to impart a negative

condition even to the smallest satellite. Our projectile will weigh but

a few thousand pounds, compared to the millions of tons of the smallest

celestial bodies. The Creator has looked out for the stability of the

universe, never fear for that! And He has also given us a few hints of

negative currents and repellant gravities in the form of meteorites and

falling stars, which cannot be so well explained by any other theory.

But what I want to talk to you about is the vital importance of

providing against every possible emergency before starting on this trip

through space. A trifling oversight in the preparations may mean death

in the end, and things we put no value on here we might be willing to

give a fortune for on Mars!"



"Well, let's hear how this thing is built," I said, rising and facing

the larger blue-print. "So that's the shape of it, is it? Looks like a

cigar!"



"Yes, the design resembles that of a torpedo considerably," replied the

doctor, and referring to the sectional blue-print he began explaining

the construction.



"This outer covering is a crust of graphite or black lead, inside which

is a two-inch layer of asbestos. Both of these resist enormous heats,

and they will prevent our burning by friction with atmospheres, and

protect us against extremes of cold. Also, when we are ready, they will

enable us to visit planets about whose cooled condition we are not

certain. We might touch safely for a short time on a molten planet with

this covering.



"Next comes the general outer framework of steel, just within which, and

completely surrounding the living compartments, are the chambers for the

storage of condensed air for use on the trip. These chambers are lined

inside with another layer of asbestos. Now, air being a comparatively

poor conductor of heat, and asbestos one of the best non-conductors we

know of, this insures a stable temperature of the living compartments,

regardless of the condition without, whether of extreme heat or extreme

cold. Afterward comes the inner framework of steel, and lastly a

wainscotting of hard wood to give the compartments a finish."



"How large are these living rooms?" I inquired.



"The rear one is four feet high and eight feet long. The forward one,

designed for my own use, is longer, and must contain a good-size

telescope and all my scientific instruments. The apparatus with which I

produce the currents is built into the left wall, and it acts on the

steel work of the projectile only. The rear compartment has a sideboard

for preparing meals, which will have to be wholly of bread, biscuits,

and various tinned vegetables and meats. We shall not attempt any

cooking."



"But are there no windows for looking out?" I queried.



"Certainly, there are two of them, made of thick mica. One is directly

in the front end, through which my telescope will look. The other is in

the port-hole in the rear end. Each window is provided with an outer

shutter of asbestos, which can be closed in case of great heat or cold.

You will notice the two compartments can be separated by an air-tight

plunger, fitting into the aperture between them. It will be necessary

for both of us to occupy the same compartment while the air is being

changed in the other. The foul air will be forced outside by a powerful

pump until a partial vacuum is created. Then a certain measure of

condensed air is emptied in, and expands until the barometer in that

compartment indicates a proper pressure."



"The air will be made to order while you wait, then?" I put in.



"That is exactly what will be done in a more literal manner than you may

suppose!" exclaimed the doctor. "This air problem is a most interesting

one, for we must educate ourselves on the trip to use the sort of

atmosphere we expect to find when we land. For instance, going to Mars

we must use an atmosphere more and more rarefied each day, until

gradually we become used to the thin air we expect to find there. Of

course, there is an especially designed barometer and thermometer,

capable of being read in the rear compartment, but exposed outside near

the rudder. The barometer will give us the pressure of the earthly

atmosphere as it becomes more and more rare with our ascent. It will

show us what pressure there is of the ether, which may vary

considerably, depending on our nearness to heavenly bodies. It will also

immediately indicate to us when we are entering any new atmosphere. When

we have arrived at Mars, we shall observe the exact pressure of the

Martian air, and then manufacture one of the same pressure inside, and

try breathing it before we venture out. The thermometer will give us the

temperature of the ether, will indicate the loss of heat as we leave the

sun, and will show us the Martian temperature before we venture into

it."



"But you have said the condensed air will be used to resist the outer

heat. This will certainly make it so hot it will be unfit to breathe," I

interposed.



"Ah, but you forget that the quick expansion of a gaslike air produces

cold. We shall regulate our temperature in that way. If it is becoming

too warm inside, the new measure of condensed air will be quickly

introduced into the partial vacuum, and its sudden expansion will

produce great cold, and freeze ice for us if we wish it. On the other

hand, if the compartments are already cold, we shall allow the condensed

air to enter very gradually, and its slow expansion will produce but

little cold. The question of heating the projectile is the most

difficult one I have found. We cannot have any fires, for there is no

way for the smoke to escape, and we cannot carry oxygen enough to keep

them burning. I have decided that we must depend on the heat arising

from outer friction and from absorption of the Sun's rays by our black

surface. When we are in ether where friction is very little, the

velocity will be all the greater, and I believe we shall always be warm

enough. You must remember, we shall not have the slightest suspicion of

a draught, and we must necessarily take along the warmest clothing for

use on Mars. Even then we probably cannot safely visit any but his

equatorial districts."



"This is the rudder, I suppose; but haven't you put it in wrong end

first?" I asked. "It is just the opposite of a fish's tail. You have the

widened end near the projectile and the narrow end extending."



"Yes, and with good reason. You will note that the rudder slides into

the rear end of the projectile so that none of it extends out. This is a

variable steering apparatus, adapted to every sort of atmosphere.

Naturally, a rudder that would steer in the water, might not steer the

same craft in the air. There is probably a vaster difference between air

and ether than between water and air. It is necessary, therefore, to

have a small rudder with but little extending surface in thick

atmosphere; but when it becomes thinner the rudder must be pushed out,

so that a greater surface will offer resistance. When we start, the

smallest portion of this rudder moved but the sixteenth of an inch, up,

down, or to either side, will quickly change our course correspondingly.

When we have reached the ether, the full surface of the rudder pushed

out and exposed broadside may not have much effect in changing our

course. This is one of the things that we cannot possibly know till we

try. However, if ether is anything at all but a name, if it is the

thinnest, lightest conceivable gas, and we are rushing through it at a

speed of a thousand miles a minute, our rudder certainly should have

some effect."



"But suppose you cannot steer at all in the ether, what then?" I

interposed, hunting all the trouble possible.



"Even that will not be so very dreadful, provided we have taken a true

course for Mars while coming through the Earth's atmosphere. There is no

other planet or star nearer to us than Mars when in opposition.

Therefore there will be nothing to attract us out of our correct course;

and if we can manage to come anywhere near the true course, the

gravitational attraction of Mars will draw us to him in a straight line.

The Moon might give us some trouble, and we shall be obliged, either to

avoid her entirely by starting so as to cross her orbit when she is on

the opposite side of the Earth, or else go directly to the Moon, land

there, and make a new start. But if the ether which surrounds the Moon

(for she has no atmosphere so far as we know) has no resisting power

whatever, we might have rather a difficult time there. The only thing we

could do would be to land on the side toward the Earth, then disembark

and carry the projectile on our shoulders around the Moon to the

opposite side, making a new start from there!"



"What on earth do you mean?" I exclaimed, interrupting. "Land on a

satellite which has no atmosphere, and carry this projectile, weighing

over a ton, half-way around the globe?"



"But the point is, it isn't on the Earth, but on the Moon! Think it over

a little, and see how easily we could do it now. In the first place, we

shall always carry divers' suits and helmets, to use in going ashore on

planets having no atmosphere. Air will be furnished through tubes from

inside the compartments. In the second place, the projectile in its

natural state will hardly weigh two hundred pounds on the Moon, since

the mass of that satellite is so much less than the Earth's, and weight

therefore proportionately less. But you must remember I can make the

projectile weigh nothing at all, so one of us could run ahead and tow

it, as a child would play with its toy balloon."



"I perceive you have already made this trip several times, and are quite

familiar with everything. But in case the Moon's surface is not suitable

for foot passengers, what then? I understand it to be rough, jagged,

mountainous, and even crossed by immense, yawning, unbridged fissures."



"That is most likely true, and for that reason we must carry a jointed

punt-pole, and take turns standing on the back, landing and punting

along through space just above the surface. Do you remember how far you

can send a slightly shrunk toy balloon with one light blow? And how it

finally stops with the resistance of the air? Without any resisting

atmosphere, how far and how easily could it be sent along?"



"I can quite imagine you, astride the rudder of this thing, with a

punt-pole as long as a ship's mast and as light as a broom-straw,

bumping and skipping along in the utter darkness on the other side of

the Moon; scaling mountains, bridging yawning chasms, and skimming over

sombre sea-beds!" I laughed, for it aroused my active sense of the

ridiculous.



"And the Moon may be well worth the exploration," exclaimed the always

serious doctor. "Who knows what treasure of gold and silver, or other

metals, rare and precious here, may not be found there? Why was the Moon

ever created without an atmosphere, and therefore probably without the

possibility of ever being inhabited? Is it put there only to illume our

nights? Remember, we do the same service for her fourteen times as well;

and if she has inhabitants they may think the Earth exists only for that

purpose. Is it not more reasonable to suppose that some vast treasures

are there, which the Earth will some day be in pressing need of? That it

is a great warehouse of earthly necessities, which will be discovered

just as they are being exhausted here? And who knows but we may be the

discoverers ourselves? If the satellite is uninhabited, it will belong

to the first explorers. Its treasures may be ours! We shall at least

have a monopoly on the only known method of getting there and bringing

them away."



"Ah! now you tempt me to go with you," I said, in a mild excitement.

"Now I see myself, erect on the rudder, a new Count of Monte Cristo,

waving the long punt-pole majestically, and exclaiming, 'The Moon is

mine!'"