Dauntless - A Space Odyssey

By Mark Heymach

Introduction:

 

Dauntless: A Space Odyssey takes you on a journey from early 1930's USA and Nazi Germany to a near future alternative Earth - via other planets and dimensions.

 

This story is written in the spirit of 1930's and 1940's Science Fiction updated with 21st Century influences. It combines the imaginative stories of those early years of the 20th Century with the realities we now see around us. 'Dauntless' takes us to a near future 'alternative' Earth - a future that could be possible, if we make the wrong decisions. Add to this the new concepts, pure science and factual accuracy and have a novel of "fun and escapism"

 

Follow our intrepid heroes as they explore the near stars and read about their battles to save civilization from extinction, battling strange life forms from distant galaxies.

 

Read about the dramatic hammer that blows down on the invaders, the destruction of planets, the aftermath.

 

Read of our heroes' travels to an Earth in the not to distant future, while going back into their own past. Follow the battle to save it from the tidal waves of division and mistrust, on an alternative Earth that is easily imaginable....

 

With the help of other planets and alien technologies our heroes forge an alliance to fend off and protect the diverse collection of species from impending annihilation, then turning to help a planet save itself from itself.

 

Mark Heymach, New York City, © 2024

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Heymach
• Release date: Jun 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227433169

Mark Heymach

Mark Heymach is a young new American writer, a native New Yorker. Like any native of the city, he is passionate about what he does – and that is conveyed in his work. Mark is a prolific writer and ranges over a number of genres – from Fantasy and Science fiction to Love and Romance, often blending them into one fascinating story. One critic recently said "Painfully real! He aims to please when he fills his characters with life and the reader is sucked into a fantasy that might well be someone's reality". 'Dauntless: A Space Odyssey' is Mark's first in an on-going series of books blending fantasy with science-fiction, one of three new books that will be published soon. Supernatural and Fantasy, Science-Fiction and Romance all meet in these fantastical novels! The author currently lives in his home town of New York City where he works and shares his life with his family and close companion, Benny, his faithful dog. Mark always likes to hear comments and suggestions from his readers, so feel free to contact him: amarkshark@ yahoo.com

Book preview

Chapter 1 – The Meteor

When the media started talking about the meteor, and the public started to get alarmed, scientists were already aware of it, following it's course for years.

When the journalists were starting to fill the tabloids with stories about potential floodings, disastrous earthquakes and even the attacks of Martians, scientists knew nothing major would occur.

The meteor fell in small chunks, bursting into fragments as soon as it touched Earth's atmosphere, and not even a house was hit or a car damaged.

It was 1935. The technology was advanced enough to follow the course of the meteor swarm, and when the time came, thousands of rocks and boulders, all parts of the exploded asteroid that hit Earth, were discovered fairly quickly.

The interest in the news was over pretty quickly, and even most of the scientists stopped analyzing the samples as they found out the pieces they worked on were mainly made out of the usual,  nickel-iron with small traces of other materials. Even the gold diggers quickly decided it wasn't worth the effort.

Only a few men still worked on the samples they had acquired.

Doctor Jameson 'Jim' Tucker worked in his laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT, his Alma Mater, had given him the laboratory after his very promising PhD thesis on ' Various evaluations on certain trans-uranium metals', and Dr. Jim worked tirelessly on finding new stable or semi-stable elements, rare-earth metals and materials of a high atomic number in general.

It was common for MIT to be home to advanced research and a place to teach as well. Despite the fact Dr. Jim was still young, he also turned out to be a good teacher, not as bone-dry and dusty as most of his colleagues.

His lecture theater was always full.

MIT was proud to have students from all over the world, so many countries tried to send promising candidates.

No one cared that Dr. Jim had a few encouraging young students from Britain's colony Hong Kong, and also from Japan, Germany and Italy.

No one cared that they wrote letters to their loved ones at home.

No one knew that those young students often only 'looked' young. Their fake ID's had been good enough to deceive customs and immigration offices, cheat on their hosts and guest families, and they worked as spies for their countries in all the fields the enemy wanted.

Oblivious of all politics and the potential risk to the world's freedom and safety, Dr. Jim and his assistant Billy Brown worked late, as they did almost every day.

They had worked on nearly a ton of samples they had gathered in the desert in Utah, a place where a huge piece of the meteor had impacted. It had taken them three weeks to comb through the sand and climb the rocks to find as much material as possible, and now they had worked tirelessly for almost 6 months to find anything special in the samples.

The administration had given Dr. Jim a last deadline already.

Find a sensation, or the whole research project will be ended was what he had been told.

This was announced sooner than anticipated, and Dr. Jim was called to the Dean. The message was clear and given like an ultimatum: Find something, reach a huge breakthrough, or the project is canceled and your laboratory will be closed!

All Dr. Jim could do to buy some time was by using the meteor metal to extract the valuables, in this case some gold and some platinum, so he told his assistant to use the laboratory's methods to do just that.

Dr. Jim even borrowed a small melting furnace from the metallurgy faculty, and soon they had several glinting, shiny, perfectly cast little cubes of Gold, weighing nearly 45 pounds. The Platinum cubes were even heavier and had a weight of almost 50 pounds, a really surprising amount of metal that the men could extract out of the tons of meteor they had found.

The Dean's eyes widened as he saw the shiny bounty, and he realized the two scientists had dug up a fortune for the funds of the institute. For the next few months the future of the laboratory was ensured.

Only the Doctor and his assistant knew that they had also found something else.  A new material, never before found on earth, with features and attributes seen never before, with physical properties that hadn't sufficiently been studied yet.

Dr. Jim worked for weeks to analyze the new metal from the stars, and all he found out was that he could melt and form it, that he could use acid to break it down, and that he could reverse the process and change the salt of the metal back to it's original form.

One evening,  late at night after a series of tests, the scientist tried to use electricity to plate a copper wire with the strange metal. Two round electrodes made of copper, both only as thick as a fraction of an inch, were an anode and a cathode in a beaker with the strange solution. 

Dr. Jim was alone in his laboratory. In the next door lab another scientist worked on his experimental Cyclotron. This fairly new technology had been developed and patented only a few years ago by scientists of the Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, and MIT was proud to have its own, with Professor Steven Wanderbeek and his assistants working on it.

Dr. Jim saw the strange green sheen his electrodes had as he dipped them into the experimental jar. As he switched on the electricity, he heard a clicking sound, followed by a cracking of the beaker. Luckily the whole experiment had taken place on a desk covered in tiles and formed to keep fluids at bay, so the solution did not spill on the ground, but the scientist could not believe his eyes as he realized the round, slim electrodes were gone, or rather, had moved, ramming their way through the tiled table and the solid concrete foundation of the building.

Jameson Tucker, Doctor of Physics, could not believe his senses.

It took minutes before he was able to concentrate again, check his instruments, write down measurements, take samples of the solution, and even tried to determine how deep the two parallel 'drill holes' were.

After a while he decided to conduct another experiment, this time using only one electrode made of solid copper, one inch in diameter. This time he did not plan any electrolysis, he just dipped the copper into the solution and watched the green sheen again. He attached the copper cylinder to a clamp, this time next to the open window, pointing slightly up, and touched the copper with an open wire, loaded with only 1,5 Volts of electrical energy.

The low energy of the small battery was sufficient to make the copper cylinder fly right through the window. Dr. Jim was able to fellow the projectiles course with his eyes, flying in a straight line, not descending to the ground, but seemingly with enough power to follow the angle he had given it into the open sky. He was flabbergasted. The small copper probe had driven itself, it was not flying like a projectile fired out of a cannon, loosing momentum, but like a self-propelled object, a rocket.

After this object had vanished as well, Dr. Jim used a third copper electrode, this time a little thinner, and repeated the process,  aiming at the solid structure of an abandoned building a mile away.

He was out of the door as soon as the projectile had left it's simple holding contraption, and rode his motorbike to the building. He used his flashlight to search for the hole the copper must have made when hitting the wall of the old solid brick house, and it took some time until he found a hole in a wall, seemingly drilled right through. The energy of the copper must have been even higher than anticipated.

Deep in thought he decided to go home to eat, shower and sleep after this long day, but he was unable to find any peace of mind.

It took him hours to work on a theory, and in the dawn of the new day he again arrived back at the building.

After an hour of careful searching, digging and exploring, he knew how powerful the projectile had been. He had calculated models during the night, and with his newly gathered data he could determine that the energy he had been able to unleash was almost insurmountable.

His sensors detected no atomic radiation, no poisonous gas, no pollution of any kind, and only a shell of the projectile was to be found, still with a thin coat of the newly discovered material X. The copper core of the probe was gone, it had evidently burned away from the inside, leaving only the thinnest, almost paper-like remains that had been stopped by the surface of solid concrete.

Dr. Jim had brought several fine stainless steel probes with him, and by sticking them through the holes in the walls he could easily measure how powerful the projectile had been. It had gone through several walls pounding it's way through almost eight feet of solid concrete and heavy stone before the energy had almost dissipated, and even then it was pushing ahead, still wanting to fly away, driven by the energy of the splitting atomic bonds of copper, unleashed by Dr. Jim Tucker.

Jim carefully used a wire he had brought with him to unload the last of the current he previously had loaded into the small bullet. Now it was safe to pick up the crumpled remains of the powerful metal and take it with him to examine it in his laboratory.

As Dr. Jim walked into the building, the lab next to his was abandoned, the user evidently still at home, the Cyclotron powered down. As the scientist walked into his rooms, his assistant Billy Brown was already at work, cleaning up the workspace, looking up with wide eyes as he heard his boss. Billy had discovered the hole in the tiled surface of the table.

Doctor Tucker, what has happened?

Jim Tucker was about to demonstrate what he had done, when he realized the copper, again dipped into the solution of the mysterious metal X, had not changed color. It stayed the usual reddish brown, showing no sign of the shimmering green.

The experimental apparatus had been set up, waiting for a small bullet of pure copper Billy Brown had formed following the Doctor's advice, basically ready for the next test. It was in plain sight of everyone passing by, and in fact a nosy neighbor, the scientist Emmett Charles, called Charlie by everyone, walked in.

What are you guys doing again? Done with your stinkin' refining of Gold? he chuckled, teasing his fellow scientists. The bounty, the little fortune Dr. Jim had given to the Institute's funds had been the talk of the day, and the shiny cubes of pure gold and platinum had been in the news.

Charlie immediately saw the hole in the tabletop, cracks running all over the tiles. He grinned:

Did you guys try to drill holes to mount a new toy? He referred to the contraption standing on the table. His interest was evident, but as usual quickly quenched by a simple Yes, I guess we need a sharper drill-bit of Dr. Jim.

Just as Emmett Charles had walked out, the low hum of the Cyclotron next door started, and the copper shimmered green.

Doctor Jameson Tucker knew what influence had triggered the reaction, the still uncharted territory of the effects of the Cyclotron and it's radiation.

He decided to stop the new experiment and send Billy Brown home for the day. He needed time to think, and he needed to talk to a friend.

His departure was not undetected by the man who did his research next door, the man who had built the Cyclotron.

Dr. Alexander Müller was a German scientist. His family had ties in Europe and the USA, and they had decided to move to Boston after Hitler and the Nazi-movement gained momentum. Following the example of Einstein and other leading scientists they had left Germany for good.

Dr. Müller, now using the variant 'Miller' as his name, was still young, good-looking, bright and quickly able to understand theories outside of his realm of studies.

He had heard the commotion in Dr. Jim's lab, as nosy neighbor Emmett Charles had told him the red hot news straight off the presses, he had known about the experiments with the meteor, he had even helped in some of the refining processes, and as the man in the lab next door sent his assistant home for the day, he walked over to question his colleague.

The answers were vague, and the German got more and more intrigued. He decided to pay the laboratory next to his own a secret night time visit.

Dr. Jim did not stay long. He had called a good friend and left the building soon after he had talked to Dr. Miller, closing his door and locking it, after he had carefully erased all notes on the blackboard and put the bottle with the enigmatic solution into his safe.

He had no idea that Dr. Miller had seen the bottle before, had seen the copper bullets Billy Brown had formed, had seen the contraption on the desk. All that was left was the cracks and the hole in the desk's surface, and Dr. Miller soon realized the bullet channel that had formed the cracks ran down through the solid concrete foundation of the building.

Miller knew he needed to find out what had happened. Find out and report the newest findings.

Chapter 2 – Partnership

Dr. Jim rode his motorbike to his friends house on Moon Island. The 12 Mile ride gave him time to clear his head, and concentrating on the traffic helped him to sort out the wild ideas that crossed his mind.

He wanted to present them to his friend Zachary Montgomery the third, heir of Montgomery Industries, engineer and inventor, living in a fairly unusual compound right by the training facilities of the Boston Fire Department. His fortune came from one of the biggest companies in America, dealing with everything from transportation by ships, trucks and the railroad to manufacturing everything the average American citizen might need.

Zachary 'Zach' Montgomery was an orphan just like Dr. Jim, and both men had hit it off right after they had first met during a fundraiser for the Institute.

Leaving the boring speeches behind, they had talked for hours, spending the night in Dr. Jim's laboratory before saying a goodbye that was more a sincere promise to see each other again soon.

The mutual understanding of the two young men had developed into a deep relationship of two fellow geniuses, each in his own realm, complimenting each other, working together with the natural bond of brothers.

As Dr. Jim stopped his engine after passing through three huge gates in several rows of fences and high walls, he was right in the middle of the sanctum of the shy rich young man, his friends fortress against the prying eyes of the other rich and famous high profile citizens of Boston.

Dr. Jim often joked he wouldn't want to be the cities most wanted bachelor, and Zach Montgomery usually sighed that he would pay good money to be invisible to the mothers and the daughters on the hunt for an eligible match to marry.

His compound on Moon Island was all but a fancy estate. The house was spacious and airy,  simple and not overly decorated. It's owner spent most of the time in another building on the grounds, his own laboratory, a huge factory floor full of heavy equipment, testing facilities and manufacturing tools.

The newest project of Montgomery Enterprises was still highly confidential, but the young owner saw the writing on the wall, knew of Hitler's ambitions, and prepared for a war that was about to break out.

His company had ties to Germany, worked with several leading companies, sold Mercedes cars and trucks in the USA and ordered steel manufactured by Krupp, probably the best in the world.

As Doctor Jim Tucker told his friend about his experiments with X and copper, the engineer grew pale and almost chided his friend. The powers Dr. Jim had unleashed, experimenting like a child, was potentially harmful or even deadly, that much was clear, and Zach told his friend in no uncertain terms to stop doing those experiments in the institute's buildings and move into the much safer facilities on Moon Island.

Jim, still unbiased, reached into his pocket and pulled one of the X-platted bullets out.

After again explaining how harmless the materials were, he handed the small piece of copper to his friend to look at. Zach had listened closely and now walked over to a control panel. He had worked on a mechanical calculator for quite some time, and just like the engineer Konrad Zuse, who was working in the same field, he had already achieved several groundbreaking results, still highly confidential.

The simple calculator was able to do basic calculations in mere minutes instead of the boring hours using a sliding ruler and books full of mathematical tabulations, and soon the results were clear.

The power hidden in the atomic bonds of the little bullet made of pure copper would, unleashed, be able to eradicate the greater Boston area from the countenance of Earth.

Now it was Dr. Jim's turn to pale.

They decided to get to work on a more secure basis. The means to test the powers where right here, on Moon island, perfectly hidden. Under the eyes of the public, since the citizens of Boston knew how eccentric the Montgomery family was, and how powerful their sheer wealth made them, anything could happen without stirring up any interest.

If Zach Montgomery unloaded a ship right here, on his own dock by his sprawling estate, nobody asked questions, not even the administrative authorities, such as border patrol, customs or the immigration office.

As a savvy businessman he soon realized one flaw in the equation.

X and the solution of it had been acquired using funds of the Institute, and therefore every right on the metal belonged to MIT.

Zach suggested a simple way to get the solution and the rights to it. He owned a company that dealt with the toxic waste of several facilities, like hospitals, chemical labs, and MIT.

Dr. Jim simply had to declare his work to be over and deliver the waste and the empty nickel-iron of the meteor to the house-keeping department of the institute. The branch of Montgomery Industries handling the waste management for the City of Boston would do the rest, and signed contracts stated the rights and the risks were changed over to ' Montgomery Waste' as soon as the sealed containers left the buildings of MIT.

While they waited for the materials, Zach and Jim worked hard on setting up the testing facilities. Zach had insisted on establishing a new company, investing one million Dollars as 50 percent, while Jim's know how and materials made the other half of the companies estate.

Jim Tucker was no businessman, and to see the power of his friend almost overwhelmed him. Some phone-calls later several lawyers, accountants, and even a notary were gathered around a huge conference table in the main villa on Moon Island, and the 'Tucker-Montgomery Developing Company', in short 'TuMoCo' was established.

The sole purpose of TuMoCo was research and development. New power-plants would be developed, delivering clean