TOM SWIFT And The HoverCity BY Victor Appleton II Made in The United States of America ©opyright 2018 by the author of this book (Victor Appleton II - pseud. of T. Edward Fox). The book author retains sole copyright to his or her contributions to this book. 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. The cover’s main image is a composite, with enhancements, of several Internet-gleaned images plus work by the author. If anything is under copyright, it was not so indicated on the original pieces that were located. No attempt to subvert anybody’s legitimate copyright was intended. 2 THE NEW TOM SWIFT INVENTION SERIES Tom Swift and the HoverCity By Victor Appleton II Tom Swift is gaining a reputation for unique solutions to the problems of our world. First he tackled feeding millions by creating his incredible sunken growing domes and now he is being asked for an encore. It is not just another spot to grow food on, it is something huge cities need desperately… room. Room to spread out. Room to grow. Room to give city-bound people a sense of outdoors around them and not just in narrow parks. Why not just cut down on moving into places like New York City or Chicago? Because politicians love two things: getting re- elected and bringing in tax dollars. While Tom—and many others—wish they would spend less time on the first and figure ways to spend less, the truth is this is a proof-of-concept project that is fully-funded (by a man who wishes to remain in the background) only to prove viability and not to get him or Swift Enterprises involved in building a bunch of full-size cities in the clouds. Troubles begin when an old enemy, long thought to have died, reappears to torment the inventor and seemingly trying to destroy anything he may come up with. __________________________________________ This book is dedicated to countless science fiction stories, even a Star Trek® episode (the original series) all pointing to cities being built and magically floated into the skies where the rich, fat, dumb and happy people in their lofty abodes while those below them toil and die keeping them up there. Sometimes those slave workers rebel and their masters perish. Personally, I liked Douglas Adams’ solution: Put all those useless people on spaceships and send them on a one-way journey that will end in them crashing into an unpopulated planet. 3 Mankind had, at more than one time, come up with fanciful solutions to overpopulation on the ground, and the flying city idea was born. CHAPTER 7 The above image is attributed to many sources on the Internet, but is believed to be the work of the late Robert McCall and used in Argosy (1981). No copyright infringement intended. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1 Helping Dad With Some Chores 9 2 A Small Matter 19 3 “Thar’s Oil in Them Thar Rocks!” 29 4 Rocket Packs, Personal Robots, Etc. 39 5 Under Attack 49 6 The Really Bad Pilot 59 7 A Very Rich Man, Indeed 69 8 It’s All Good 77 9 A Radical Approach 85 10 Math Don’t Lie! 95 11 The Exterminator Cometh 103 12 A Quarter Ring is Created 113 13 Making Dirt 123 14 Up For a Day Test 133 15 A Little Badness Goes a Long Way The Wrong Way 143 16 Touchdown and The Final Score 153 17 “Why Won’t You Die?” 163 18 Flyover 173 19 Prepping for Delivery 183 20 Certified: Off The HoverCity Goes 193 5 AUTHOR’S NOTE We did it! We reached for the stars and made it—several times—and into the depths of the oceans of the world—more than twice—throughout our solar system and even beyond and still Tom Swift keeps going and going like some sort of battery-propelled rabbit. His last few adventures have put him in harm’s way quite a bit. This time around he has a simple little project to build a scale model of something that may be impossible. What could go wrong? As if someone would conceive of attacking our hero while he works on it! Well this is the twenty-fifth book in the series and, the mythical sky beings willing and if the ever-damaging global warming don’t cause the creeks to rise more than 540 feet thus inundating my home’s ground floor, there will be a few more! Yes, I’m now going for thirty! Why? Oooooooooh, you’d have to ask that question! I suppose the answer is simple to say and difficult to understand. I’ll give it a try. Some people want others to notice them and they become actors or dye their hair orange, or if they are inherently evil, the become politicians. And they bang on about whatever they think will keep them visible and in power and in money. Some people love to just speak and they become storytellers, after dinner speakers, actors, politicians, or one of “those people” you try to avoid at parties. Then there are those of us who just want to experience the pure joy of putting words out there for others to enjoy at their leisure. Perhaps they enjoy them enough they introduce others to them. Perhaps not, but that is the roll of the dice we authors take every day. Some worry, sweat, experience heart palpitations, or other infirmities over what they are (supposed to be) writing, and some—like me—just love the act of seeing thoughts come together as a story that can be told in the mind and heart of anyone picking up the book. Also, I am not a politician! _________________________________ Copies of all of this author’s works may be found at Amazon.com in paper and Kindle editions, and at: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/tedwardfoxatyahoodotcom BarnesAndNoble.com sells Nook ebook editions of many of these same works. 6 Tom Swift and the HoverCity FOREWORD I Many, many, many (did I mention it is many?) people of the authoring sort, and the scientific sort and even the futurist sort, have stated in many—there’s that word again—ways that at some time mankind will use up all the land we’ve been allotted on this planet and will either have to scoot out to nearby Mars or Venus (Burroughs and Heinlein, you got that one really wrong!) or into the deep space unknown and form new population groups and then we’ll probably start ruining that land as well. Some point to Mars as our salvation, but I believe the many things to overcome will mean that isn’t going to happen. For one, we can’t plan on having the necessaryfuel around to put thousands or even a million of us heading out that way. So, likely is not going to happen unless someone invents the repelatron! Some say the answer is in the skies over our veryheads. I look up and see many things, but just like the jet backpacks we were promised would be commonplace bythe 1980s, I see no cities in the sky. I do see us ruining the land down here and hope that Tom Swift’s concepts might someday come to our rescue. In preparing to write this book, your humble author attempted to provide some things that are feasible and to avoid some of the more fanciful ideas floating (really sorry about that pun) out there regarding such endeavors. There is a bit of the dreamer in me that made it into this story so if I missed the mark, I can only apologize and suggest that everyone rush out and take full advantage of the floating cities up there today that managed to “get it right!” And, for those who were hoping for a longer Foreword, just turn the page and get on with the second one and then reading the story. Or, read all of these written-just-to-fill-space words. Twice, even. Victor Apleton II 7 FOREWORD II Nobody like a smart-as—aleck. And, I have been one of those. When this new series began about nine plus years ago I thought, “Well, interesting double story lines but I can’t see how this one author will manage to get more than maybe three or four novels written before taking off for other subjects more interesting, and more rewarding (financially?) than writing books about Tom Swift. I even told a few people I know, “I’ll get tired of it all, just you wait and see.” Famous last words and all that, I now eat them, gladly, and self- congratulate this wordsmith on hitting the quarter century mark. And, this time it is something I could never have conceived earlier on. Wow! And, that doesn’t even count the nearly 50 other books written in that space of time, which hardly seems possible unless I can travel in time………? There have been imaginative versions of floating cities or cities in the skyfor a couple centuries. Famous science fiction stories and television programs have given us numerous variations. The original Star Trek series had one, The Cloud Minders, and even old Flash Gordon had the Hawkmen’s Sky City.