Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Return to the Moon ❯ Where I found myself searching for clues on an old American club. ( Chapter 1 )

RETURN TO THE MOON

 

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Iridia Sunheart.

 

Notes: This chapter is heavily influenced by the works of Jules Verne: “From Earth to the Moon & Around the Moon”.

 

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Where I found myself searching for clues on an old American club.

 

 

`What the hell?!'

 

It was one of the phrases that I used the most… Especially when I was in difficulty.

 

And generally, I was in difficulty because of my curiosity. I know, I know… “Curiosity kills the Cat”.

 

It began with a simple note among the papers of the late Captain Nemo. As the current keeper of his prodigious “Nautilus”, I took upon myself to restore the mighty submarine in operational status and dust the numerous papers, books and pamphlets of the illustrious man.

 

The note was very succinct and seemed to be a copy of a telegram. It was from a certain Michel Ardan and was about the fact that the revised “Columbiad” was ready.

 

The name “Michel Ardan” wasn't unknown to me. He was one of the three main characters of the novel “From Earth to the Moon & Around the Moon” from Jules Verne. I already knew the famous author wrote about real facts disguised as science-fiction in his novels. After all, I was inside the Nautilus.

 

I decided to learn more about it. Travelling to the moon was an old dream of mine especially after the two comic books from Hergé: “Destination: Moon” and “Explorers on the Moon”.

 

I used the nature of Lincoln Island combined with my own power to teleport myself directly where I should find some answers.

 

What an idiot…

 

I should have remembered that my wish could have influenced the transdimensional feature of the island and affected my teleportation. Unknown to me, I found myself in a parallel dimension.

 

I materialized at Baltimore in the USA, directly in front of an old building that still was the headquarters of the “Gun-Club”, the organization which took the bet in the past to build a canon capable to send a projectile on the moon.

 

I used my sixth sense during the visit to search for clues about a link between the club and the novel of Jules Verne. I found it hidden in an old hat of the era that interested me.

 

It was some letters from Barbicane, the president of the Gun-club in the past, and the answers from both the captain Nicholl and Michel Ardan. And so, all the so-called imaginary main characters from the novels were found and all of their letters pointed to something built in Florida and still an open secret after all this time.

 

I smiled when I found those clues, because, it was true: Who would believe that almost everything in a science-fiction novel to be true, especially from an author from the XIX° century?

 

The only points that were strange were: The confirmed deaths of Barbicane and Nicholl. The first from a bullet in the heart during a non-confirmed duel and the second from suicide by poison. And also the fact that the canon was written “Columbiad” and not “revised Columbiad” like in the note of Michel Ardan to the Captain Nemo.

 

Using again my link to the Lost Island, I teleported directly in Florida and began to search for the hidden Columbiad using my sensitive mind and a little help from my power as a Guardian of Dimensions. I even cheated a little by summoning to me my precious companion and friend: the monkey I named “Goku” and that has been instrumental in my ordeal on Lincoln Island.

 

The dear animal was a little altered by both the energies lingering on the Lost Island and by its association to me. It manifested by an elevation of its intellect and its sensitivity, precious advantages in any situation.

 

With both our sensitivity, we didn't take long to finally find what I supposed at that moment, the end of my investigation: the famous Columbiad at Stone's Hill.

 

It was a gigantic construction: Picture a vertical cylinder of 270 meters by 18 meters with a galvanized iron sheath. And that was only the main structure of a complex built into the underground of Stone' Hill.

 

Under a heavy camouflage, I found an entire structure built only for one purpose: To send a projectile on the moon. An underground river has been deviated to give hydraulic power to the structure.

 

Awed, I found an actual mechanical computer programmed by metallic punch-cards and powered by…water. There was even a gas reserve to aliment the gas lamps of the mighty complex. And everything seemed to just waiting for someone to activate the mechanism.

 

Since the structure wasn't built to hurt visitors, my sixth sense didn't perceive any danger as a few hydraulic sensors reacted to my weight and reactivate the prodigious machine.

 

Dormant for more than a century, the machine awakened and followed the will of builders long dead since and a countdown was initialized as mathematic operations were made.

 

Completely unconscious that I have activated the mechanism, I continued my exploration of the underground complex. Everything was still functioning after I gave a little boost and greased most of the obvious mechanisms using my power.

 

Curiously, I found almost no trace of people living in the structure for a sufficient time to put a mark. There was no papers, no written instructions, nothing at all about the purpose of the building.

 

It was Goku who found a concrete trace of presence: The columbiad was ready with an aluminium conical projectile at the bottom of the fire chamber.

 

With emotion, I entered the first lunar vehicle of History.

 

The projectile was remarkably well-conceived for its era: It was well padded with leather, cotton and steel spring and an ingenious mechanism based on water assured that the shock of departure didn't killed or wound the passengers.

 

The dimensions were 12 feet by 6 feet and the base of the projectile was reinforced to support the effect of the propulsive system: An impressive amount of Pyroxyl or Nitro-Cotton, many hundred of tons. There were four circular portholes: Two on the walls, one on the base and one of the nose of the conical cylinder. They were protected by plates that could be ejected by unscrewing bolts from the inside.

 

Light and heat were assured by a gas reservoir under pressure and were sufficient for a long period of time, more than necessary for travelling to the moon going back. The aluminium composition of the projectile transformed it into a gigantic heat-sink to protect the passengers from their own heat and the water helped to absorb the dangerous radiations in the cosmic void.

 

Oxygen production and the elimination of the carbon dioxide were assured by chemical means with heating potassium chlorate in a Reiset & Regnaut machine and using the absorbing quality of caustic potash. Gravity was artificially maintained by very slow-burning rockets at the base of the projectile and insured a constant acceleration and thus gravity.

 

Changing angles was ensured by short-burst rockets activated electrically from the inside. There was even a crude ablative heat-shield based on ceramics and asbestos fibres to protect the projectile from the atmospheric friction at the re-entry.

 

Emergency systems were assured by Ruhmkorff machines that could produce mechanically electricity and thus light and heat and eliminated the era-batteries which could have too easily leaked acid in the confined interior of the projectile.

 

But there were also papers. Many and many papers and I smiled as I knew that all the answers were written there and were only waiting for someone to read them.

 

It was very interesting: I learnt about the truth about the first tentative of sending people outside the atmosphere.

 

Baltimore, October the five in 1865. Barbicane, president of the Gun-Club proposed an incredible feat worthy of the 19° century: Build a gigantic canon to shot a projectile at an incredibly distant objective.

 

Michel Ardan, a French adventurer, volunteered to travel in the aluminium projectile conceived by Barbicane.

 

The Captain Nicholl, a specialist of Armour, was known for his rivalry with the Gunner Barbicane. Nicholl pretended that the project was impossible. Furious, Barbicane challenged him to a duel.

 

Michel Ardan managed to reconcile the two men. “Since you are ready to risk your lives, come with me. That way, you'll know first hand who was right.” It was finally with three passengers that the projectile was loaded into the gigantic canon.

 

1865, the first December, at 10.46 pm & 40 seconds, the canon was fired and sent the projectile outside the gravity well of the Earth. Destination: Moon! Inside, everybody was out because of the shock of departure.

 

The president Barbicane and the Captain Nicholl were the first to awaken. With Ardan still unconscious, the two men found that due to damaged mechanisms, there was not enough oxygen for three men. Only one could survive.

 

At the perilous hour, all the differences of the world couldn't stop two elite men to do their duty. Without hesitation, Barbicane and Nicholl decided to sacrifice themselves so that Michel Ardan could reach the Moon.

 

Barbicane chose to die by rifle, Nicholl by poison. They wrote letters for their close ones and their friends and drank a last glass of wine. In his one, Nicholl poured cyanide, a fast acting toxic substance. It was acknowledged that Nicholl would shot Barbicane before lying down to wait for the poison's effects.

 

When he awoke, Ardan thought Barbicane and Nicholl were still unconscious. He quickly found his two friends dead and found their letters explaining their gestures.

 

And the ordeal of the French adventurer began: He was forced to travel with the two wrapped cadavers, because he couldn't open the portholes without losing all his precious air, a simple tentative proved it. He was also forced to wrap one of the two dogs they brought in the expedition after it died from a nasty wound occasioned by the departure's shock.

 

Michel was submitted to the twin perils of too much heat from his own heaters and/or from the sun rays and of loosing the heat of the projectile and almost froze to death. Only an almost constant juggling with the heating gaslight enabled him to win with his life.

 

He also was the first man to experiment with the absence of gravity and was forced to jury-rigged most of the life-support systems to continue to function.

 

After some time, Ardan saw with horror that an error in the preparations has sent the projectile on a course that would condemned it to turn around the moon for eternity. Using a series of rockets specially made to alter the speed of the projectile, Ardan managed to alter the trajectory: The projectile turned around the moon and went back in the gravity well of the Earth.

 

Each trajectory took a little more than 97 hours. Eight days and two hours after his departure, the projectile crashed near a certain mysterious island in the South Pacific where he met a certain famous captain.

 

Finally, I found the answer. I let down a tear in honour to the brave men who managed to accomplish this exploit. But unknown to me, the complex mechanism of the Columbiad continued its countdown.

 

Suddenly, obeying its program, the main door of the projectile close down and locked itself. I watched, incredulous, and my voice expressed my thoughts.

 

“What the hell?!”

 

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Notes: I tried to be as accurate as possible and to use both the works of Jules Verne and the realities of Space Exploration.

 

Of course, this is a fanfiction and I could have written about rabbits on the moon if I wanted.

 

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