TOM SWIFT And His Martian TerraVironment BY Victor Appleton II Made in The United States of America ©opyright 2013 by the author of this book (Victor Appleton II - pseud. of Thomas Hudson). The book author retains sole copyright to his or her contributions to this book. Several characters, primarily Damon Swift, Anne Swift and Bashalli Prandit (nowToms wife) are the copyright of Scott Dickerson who is gentleman enough to allow me use of them. This book is a work of fan fiction. It is not claimed to be part of any previously published adventures of the main characters. It has been self-published and is not intended to supplant any authored works attributed to the pseudononomous author or to claim the rights of any legitimate publishing entity. 2 THE NEW TOM SWIFT INVENTION SERIES Tom Swift And His Martian TerraVironment By Victor Appleton II After Swift Enterprises loses out on a contract to build a settlement on the Moon—under suspicious circumstances—Tom decides to shrug off disappointment and turn his energies to a farther target: a self-sustaining colony on Mars. Certainly there have been visits by mankind to the Red Planet before, but never in an Earth-like environment as Tom envisions. Enlisting the help of every Enterprises employee he can find, Tom hand-builds an incredible 1 million square foot structure that will house a colony of intrepid adventurers. But, Mars is a devious planet, looking so similar to our own that people forget how treacherous it can be. And how inhospitable the outside world really is. Is this a project that is one giant leap too far, or can Tom pull off a hat trick of scientific miracles? ___________________________________________________ This book is dedicated to people who will agree to be contained in a most probably too small spacecraft for more than an entire year so that they might be the first to set foot on Mars. What will they find that all the little rovers haven’t? Who knows, but they will probably be the last great pioneers I will see in my lifetime. As I witnessed the first U.S. astronaut to be arced over the Atlantic Ocean, the first U.S. - USSR space handshake, and the first man on the Moon, I will watch each and every available moment of this forthcoming exciting advancement for mankind. 3 The incredible tri-winged jet streaked across the sky at Mach 2 without so much as a roar let alone a sonic boom… PAGE 145 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1 Every Good Boy Deserves Favors 7 2 Recovery 19 3 The Blow-up 27 4 What? Another New Aircraft? 37 5 A Hint of Troubles to Come 45 6 Is The Flea Circus in Town? 55 7 Mole, Rat, and Unhappy Circumstances 65 8 What Sort o’ Marsh-meller is That? 75 9 On-Air Shock (the) Jock 85 10 A New Decision 93 11 Incoming 101 12 Delivery and Disappointment 111 13 Slowly It Rose, Inch By Inch… 121 14 Things Go a Bit Smooth For a Change 129 15 Roll It Up, and Move It Out 137 16 To Mars! 147 17 Riding Out the Storm 157 18 Impromptu Spelunking 165 19 The Unseen Enemy Returns 175 20 High-Rise Fields of Waiving Grain 185 5 AUTHOR’S NOTE: Before writing this ninth novel in my series, I decided that there was a lot of background in the earlypart of the story that would only bog down this book, but needed to be told. And so I wrote a novella titled The Air That I Breath (part of my Newer Pocketbook of Swift Inventions available at the URL below) that details the heartbreak of the Moon colony accidents. Yes. Accidents as in plural! On surpassing 75,000 words in this book I looked the earlier story over and thought I ought to include more, but there was just no room or way to do it without slowing everything down. I invite you to read the other story and many of the other novellas I have created over the past couple years. They tell the stories behind the characters and inventions that only get mentioned in passing in the old series and these books. Plus, if you are an adventurous cook Chow Winkler has written a pair of cookbooks with such things as Rattlesnake Stew and Armadillo Fritters. Anyway, like our Tom I sometimes feel the frustrations of things not under my control. Things where I know that I have a better idea of how to handle things, or can see the bleeding obvious when those around me are blind to just about everything. I hope that very little of my frustrations show in this book, but that Tom’s do. ____________________________________________ This and other books by this author may be found at Amazon.com in paper and Kindle editions, and at BarnesAndNoble.com as NOOK ebooks. Quality hardbound copies of all of this author’s works may be found at the following web address: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/tedwardfoxatyahoodotcom 6 Tom Swift and His Martian TerraVironment FOREWORD With the exceptions of extreme times and people who allow themselves to be bullied into inaction and a lack of spirit, most of mankind has been on the move for as long as we can find evidence of our existence. Some have been merely curious as to what lies just over yonder hill, while others have the thirst to conquer anything they don’t already know about. And, now that we—wrongly—believe that we know everything there is to understand about our own planet, we boldly strike out into the vastness of space. First in nearby orbit, then to our major satellite, the Moon, and soon to explore a comet or other close-passing planetary body and even on to Mars. What, you might ask, is the point? What is so darned interesting about a reddish planet that we can barely see even on the clearest of nights? Why go there? Why not spend that money helping people right here? That’s an easy one. Just look around you. Amazing medical advancements have been made because we went into space. That iPod or smart phone or iPad you are holding—or at least coveting and hope to get at the earliest opportunity—comes courtesy of man in space. We had to come up with small, powerful computers to help us get to the Moon and to survive. And, all that’s within a few hundred or a quarter of a million miles. Just think what possible goodies are coming soon from even greater distances. Victor Apleton II 7 8 CHAPTER 1 / EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVORS “ANOTHER NEW MINI-PLANE, Tom?” Bud Barclay asked his best friend, the young inventor Tom Swift, as they looked at the strange and fragile-appearing aircraft in front of them. “Yes. And, this one has something special about it,” Tom said giving his friend a sly grin. “Can you spot it?” The dark-haired flyer took a closer look, walking all around the oddly small but recognizable craft. It had a normal pair of wings that ran though the middle of the one-foot wide boxy fuselage. There was a moderately low profile yet long vertical stabilizer and the typical elevators to either side at the back. “Uh, it’s got two funny little engines and those strange propellers. Is that it?” he asked, pointing. Indeed, it did feature two small 3-cylinder engines, mounted about two feet out on each wing, from which sprouted a rear-facing propeller that looked more like a multi-blade desk fan than a typical aircraft prop. “Nope. Well spotted, but not the important fact here,” Tom told him. “And, it actually flies?” “Carrying one person weighing up to two hundred thirty pounds. Yes.” Bud scowled and walked around it again. Sitting on tripod landing gear with three 5-inch balloon tires, at its highest point it came just to his waist. “Can I say that I give up and still keep my Junior Birdman status and special decoder badge?” Tomlaughed. Even his own father had required a full ten minutes before the slight tell-tales caught his attention. “Sure. And, I won’t even tell Sandy that you failed aircraft recognition 101. Deal?” Bud nodded. As one of the top Swift Enterprises test pilots, he was familiar with just about every aircraft in existence, even those believed to be secret or one-offs by their developers. “I give. Illuminate me, please, professor.” Tom walked forward to stand next to the small indented “saddle” area on the fuselage. “I want you to do me a favor. Close your eyes and stick your fingers in your ears for about a minute. And, turn 9 around. No peeking!” As the flyer closed his eyes and plugged his ears, even dutifully turning away so he couldn’t cheat, Tom reached down and pressed an almost invisible button on the plane’s body. With a click, something released inside and Tom was able to grasp the nearest wing and fold it up, give it a twist and then fold it back and down. He repeated this with the other wing. A second button activated an internal motor and the entire 12-foot length of fuselage, and each of the wings, began to draw in on themselves, previously unseen sections telescoping into a now 3-foot bundle. The engines had turned and now sat partly recessed between the folded wings. Tom reached down and picked up a nylon bag, slipped the compacted aircraft into it and hoisted it onto his shoulders, like a backpack.