Rocket Season - Chapter 10

 

Copyright © 2024 D.W. Patterson

All rights reserved.

Second Printing – February 2025

Future Chron Publishing

Cover – Copyright © 2024 D.W. Patterson

Cover Image – Photo 115346712 / Rocket Launch © Nexusplexus | Dreamstime.com

Previously published as:

Rocket Summer

Rocket Fall

Rocket Winter

Rocket Spring

Contains additional material.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events and people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Hard Science Fiction – Old School

Human Generated Content

CHAPTER 10

Star Creek Observatory

Star Creek, Georgia

USA

The camera had not been damaged physically but it had been fried electrically. That meant that some sort of electromagnetic pulse had occurred. Jack, with Janie's help, had worked on cleaning up his experiment room until she had to leave. He had driven her to the airport in Atlanta, a somewhat awkward hug had ensued when they parted.

Before he headed back to Star Creek Jack stopped in to see his adviser, Dr. Tucker.

“Jack, that sounds almost like what happened with the stack you tested at your parent's house.”

“Yes Professor, except that one seemed to take off vertically and this one horizontally before it transitioned to the vertical.”

“That is interesting Jack. Does this confirm anything in your theory.”

“Well, if we can continue to extend the analogy with electromagnetism, then maybe something like a right-hand rule would explain the trajectory.”

“You mean,” said Professor Tucker, “you mean that the resultant force on the stack was perpendicular to the plane of the gravitomagnetic field and the mass-energy current?”

“Yes, roughly in the direction of the gravitational field Professor, except I'll have to work on the theory a bit more to make sure the analogy holds up.”

“Of course, Jack. So, what's your next step?”

“Well Professor, my preliminary impression is that I need to have more fine control over my power supply. But I'm afraid that will be a lot more expensive. How is the departmental budget for supplies?”

“You get me the list Jack and I'll see, it would help if you could write up this latest result, I can then show the department head that we're making progress.”

“Yes sir, I will.”

They talked a bit more before Jack headed back to Star Creek. Since he hadn't eaten, he decided to stop at the pizza place that Janie had taken him to. Sitting there eating his pizza Jack noticed the same smells and same noises as before, but something was missing. Eventually, he realized it was Janie.

Arriving back at the blockhouse Jack checked his messages, there was one from his mom and one from Janie. He opened Janie's.

“Hi Jack, the supersonic got me here okay. I wanted to thank you for taking me to the airport. I just wanted to tell you I missed you at my lunch pizza – Yours, Janie.”

He read the last line again and wondered, he was still thinking about it when he lay down to sleep.

Rocket Season - Chapter 9

Copyright © 2024 D.W. Patterson

All rights reserved.

Second Printing – February 2025

Future Chron Publishing

Cover – Copyright © 2024 D.W. Patterson

Cover Image – Photo 115346712 / Rocket Launch © Nexusplexus | Dreamstime.com

Previously published as:

Rocket Summer

Rocket Fall

Rocket Winter

Rocket Spring

Contains additional material.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events and people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Hard Science Fiction – Old School

Human Generated Content

 CHAPTER 9

Star Creek Observatory

Star Creek, Georgia

USA

It had taken Jack longer than he had expected to get his experiment in shape for another run. Procurement of materials wasn't as easy from Star Creek as it would have been back in Atlanta. He was usually limited to receiving one shipment a day.

At least Janie had offered to help, no one else had even invited Jack to lunch. She seemed to have more free time available than Jack; he thought it because she was so well organized, but she only had a couple of weeks before she would fly out to Hawaii to do her field work.

“Jack,” she said. “Do you think you will be ready to make a run before I have to leave?”

“I think so, Janie. I have all the equipment set up.”

“Did you receive the new stack?”

“No,” he said, “not yet. But the company assembling it has received the rhenium, so it is just a matter of time until I receive the stack. Until then I'll use one of the stacks I have.”

“So, it's almost time,” said Janie.

“Yes,” he said, “I was thinking this weekend, if you aren't doing anything.”

“Sounds good,” she said.

Jack sat on the bed with Janie beside him. Most of the other occupants of the bunkhouse were out on a Saturday night.

“Okay,” he said, “here we go.”

Jack brought the program up on Tabbie. He started the app with a touch. He started the experimental run with another touch.

“Now watch,” he said, “particularly the strain gauge readout. If it moves, mostly in one direction, we may be seeing the effect.”

After a minute there was no change in the readout.

“Okay,” he said, “I'm going to increase the current supply gradually.”

Out in the blockhouse lab the power supply started ramping up. The PZT stack in the vacuum chamber charged to a higher and higher level each cycle. By now there were two glows coming from the chamber, one was a slight reddish glow emanating from the stacks as they heated. The other was a blueish-green, seemingly coming from the space surrounding the stack.

Jack was too busy watching the readouts from the experiment, but Janie glanced across the room to the desk where a monitor showed the vacuum chamber. She saw both the slightly reddish and the much stronger blueish-green glows.

“Jack,” she said, in a low voice, “look at the monitor.”

Rocket Season - Chapter 8

Copyright © 2024 D.W. Patterson

All rights reserved.

Second Printing – February 2025

Future Chron Publishing

Cover – Copyright © 2024 D.W. Patterson

Cover Image – Photo 115346712 / Rocket Launch © Nexusplexus | Dreamstime.com

Previously published as:

Rocket Summer

Rocket Fall

Rocket Winter

Rocket Spring

Contains additional material.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events and people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Hard Science Fiction – Old School

Human Generated Content

CHAPTER 8

Georgia Polytechnic University

Atlanta, Georgia

USA

Jack had returned to school the following semester,

“I'm glad you're back Jack,” said is thesis adviser, Dr. Franklin Tucker. “But there is one thing I need to discuss with you. After what happened last year, the department is very concerned about such future incidents. So, if you decide to continue your research, changes will have to be made.”

“What do you mean professor?”

“Well, the discussion has been to move your experiment off campus to our facility fifty miles east of here.”

“Star Creek?” asked Jack.

“Yeah, we can set you up with everything you need.”

“Okay with me professor, how about accommodations?”

“There is also housing there.”

“Well, that should be enough,” said Jack.

“Now, that we've settled that,” said Professor Tucker. “How are you?”

“I feel good professor, no adverse effects.”

“Your eye operation went well?”

“Yes, after the rehabilitation period,” said Jack.

“It's pretty amazing Jack and I'm so glad it turned out well. I think if you get this experiment working, you'll change the world.”

“Do you think I will professor, I mean get it working?”

“Well Jack, I have no doubt in your abilities, but your work is beyond anything anyone has ever done. Don't forget, this will make even the old fogies like myself stand up and pay attention. You're not just proposing a theory; you're providing undeniable experimental support for that theory. If it works, prepare yourself. People will literally be camping out in your front yard to interview you or get your support for some pet project of their own.”

Rocket Season - Chapter 7

Copyright © 2024 D.W. Patterson

All rights reserved.

Second Printing – February 2025

Future Chron Publishing

Cover – Copyright © 2024 D.W. Patterson

Cover Image – Photo 115346712 / Rocket Launch © Nexusplexus | Dreamstime.com

Previously published as:

Rocket Summer

Rocket Fall

Rocket Winter

Rocket Spring

Contains additional material.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events and people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Hard Science Fiction – Old School

Human Generated Content

CHAPTER 7

Williams' Farm

Hell's Hollow Road

North Georgia, USA

After the eye operation Jack had followed the news more closely than usual using his Tabbie. Today he read about GDP being down more than two percent in Germany as riots continued there, and now the same had spread to Brazil. Japan and South Korea had falling GDP also but were calm as the populations were more stoic. Northeast China had disappeared from the rest of the world behind a new Great Wall of censorship. Australians had voted out their government again, the third time in three months, as their GDP was falling fast. Jack shut down Tabbie and stared out his bedroom window.

The world is worse off than me.

Right after the operation, Dr. Limbaugh had told Jack how pleased he was with how the operation had gone. He remarked about the quality of Jack's nerve endings which were attached to the prosthesis, they were perhaps the best he had ever seen.

After a week of nothing but a confused blur, Jack had begun to be able to distinguish forms. By the following week when he went back to Atlanta to see Dr. Limbaugh he was seeing rather well. The following week he began trying the magnifying effect and was getting quite good at invoking the function and setting the magnification.

But now in the fourth week something else had appeared. Whenever he was talking to another person, Jack began having trouble with the prosthesis, he finally figured out what was happening. It was the voice of the person. The voice was causing a reaction that colored (literally) the interaction. Deep voices, high voices, men's voices, women's voices, all had their own slight colorful sheen. It was also related to the speaker's frame of mind.

At first, he was alarmed that the prosthesis was failing and a call to Dr. Limbaugh had him returning to Atlanta for a checkup.