Science fiction; Scientists -- Fiction; Short stories
The second discovery, although monumental in itself, is important
because it indirectly led to the special project which Dr. King was
just completing. Dr. King succeeded in growing some crystals in a
nutrient solution. What actually happened was that while eating lunch
at a lab table he managed to knock something into something else and a
crystal developed. Dr. King became fascinated with the odd structure
of these crystals as revealed to him under an electron microscope. (He
had incidentally placed the crystal under the microscope in error.)
As a result, he took to investigating the properties of the crystals
whenever he could find time. Despite his well earned reputation as an
accidental discoverer, it should be pointed out that Dr. King is a
very methodical man. This means he is capable of repeating the same
mistake twice, or for that matter any number of times. Therefore, Dr.
King produced all the crystals he needed.
* * * * *
It was during a vacation in the Adirondacks that Dr. King discovered
the propulsive qualities of the crystals.
This discovery, of course, is what led to the perfection of the "King
Propulsor Unit," the heart of our starship drive systems. Dr. King
was investigating the piezo-electric properties of the crystals in a
makeshift device of his own design when he was disturbed by a sudden
draft in the room. He looked up to discover that one wall of his
workshop and the top one thousand feet of a mile-thick mountain (the
same mountain that his cabin was located upon) were no longer in the
immediate vicinity.
As it turned out, his crude device did not impart to the mountain
all of the thrust inherent in the crystal. The mountain top reached
only to the orbit of Jupiter, where it settled down to become its
newest satellite. Coincidental with Dr. King's experiment, intensive
astronomical work was going on with Jupiter as its prime object. The
capturing of the satellite was observed and recorded independently by
at least six observatories, including the one on Tycho.
Subsequent investigation of the time involved to project this mass
disclosed that Dr. King had invented a faster than light drive. (It
should be pointed out that, while the discovery of the faster than
light drive made the name of Dr. King world renowned, it did not in any
way endear him to the relatives of those thousand-odd persons who lived
in the hamlet located on the mountain top that ended up a satellite of
Jupiter. They also were quite glum.)
Further work, all of a mathematical nature, disclosed to Dr. King the
proper method of enclosing these crystals in a unit to drive space
ships to the stars. Coincidental with his work on the propulsor units
he made a startling discovery which led to his special project.
Dr. King invented perpetual motion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account