Who knows what people are working on in their basements-story

[radag...@gmail.com]

Radio Rocket


The man would not quit. Even though he was in debt, and his
relationships were suffering, and his house was filthy. By god he had
an idea and he felt it was urgent, desperately so, to get this thing
built and tested. He could not explain why. It was just this
overwhelming feeling, this need. His friend even began to question
his sanity.

"Mark, what do you hope to accomplish with this? Surely you
aren't planning on riding it into orbit?" asked his friend, Dave.
"No, of course not. I just want to test it, and prove it works.
And then maybe get a patent."
'Maybe get a patent? Then why are you doing this?" said Dave.
"I want to see us get off of this rock and move out into space.
Our government isn't doing it. They are too broke. The Russians anre
stuck with the ISS. So we are going to leave the Solar System open to
the Indians and Chinese? No. Not if I can help it." said Mark.

"If you can help it? How much money have you sunk into this? Is
it even working?" said Dave.

"Too much. And I am trying to get the right frequencies to make
it go. Come on, I'll show you." And with that, Mark motioned Dave to
follow him, down into the basement. As they moved down, Dave was
amazed. There were wires and tools strewn about. An oscilliscope.
Computers. And at the center of it all, a long, cylindrical steel
contraption, about five feet long. Towards one end, the steel opened
into a framework. The framework was lined with cards.

"Those are the frequency generators," explained Mark. They feed
the radio waves into the amplifier section. Then to the antenna
structure built into the end here. Theory being, that the
supercharged radio waves form an EMP, or electromagnetic pulse,
powerful enough to heat the air underneath the assembly, thus pushing
the entire thing upwards. The EMP itself should also, in theory,
provide a counterreactive thrust. But that would work best in deep
space itself."

"Wow, you really have been building down here. I'm impressed.
So, when are you planning to test this thing for real, above ground?"
said Dave.

"Well that is what I called you about. What are you doing this
weekend?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday morning. It was foggy and cool in the vacant field that Dave
and Mark were assembling their gear. First, they had to stand the
brace, and erect it in sections, up to twenty feet in height. Then,
they hauled out the test engine, attached to a test frame that was
covered in mylar and fabric, narrowed down to a pointed nosecone, and
containing a small video camera. They got that attached to the
bracing derrick. They got out the two car batteries, and attached
them in series. Then, they cabled them to a jack, and plugged it into
the side of the 'rocket'. This was just to be a simple test, to see
if the thing would rise up or not.

"Okay, My board looks green. All ten transmitters are working.
You can hear just by turning on this transistor radio." Mark handed
Dave a small pocket radio. He turned it on, and heard loud static.
"Yep, I would say so. We had better be quick, this will affect nearby
homes, you know."

"Okay. Stand back now. Everything is ready? The rocket slides
freely in the bracket along the derrick? Power is in the jack?
Batteries hooked up, charged? Check" They went through their simple
checklist. And then, the moment arrived. A small countdown.
"5.....4....3....2....1" And Mark cranked a large vernier on his
makeshift panel. The static on the radio Dave was holding shrieked in
volume. And the rocket ......dissapeared. They stood and stared at
the empty stand, where the unit had stood mere seconds ago.

Suddenly, Mark and Dave heard a loud boom, far above them. And then
another. And finally, a strange sound, like metal shredding all at
once.
They looked at the derrick. It was vibrating, and hot. The plate
that the rocket rested on was reddish. And the cable that had been
attached to the batteries was laying on its side, as though it had
been ripped out by a great force.

The two men heard some whooshing sounds, and ducked. All around
them, superheated chunks of metal and debris began raining down.
Their cars took a couple of good hits, and Dave was whacked in the
foot by something. But, luckily, they were all right otherwise.

"Whooaa. What in the hell? It must have flew up, and then
disintegrated!"
"Yep, that is what it looks like to me. Looks like your bird
flew, Mark. Higher than you would have imagined." said Dave.

"Wow. That is amazing. it was only powered for a second or two
at the most. The thing just vanished, it looked like." Mark said
dazedly.

It was then that the two guys noticed some flashing lights in the
distance, coming towards them. "Uh oh!" said Mark.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seated in the police station in the midwestern town, the two guys were
not real comfortable. Especially Dave. "This was all your idea,
Einstein." he grumbled.
"How was I to know it would do that?"
"You should have known, you built the damned thing." said Dave.
And so on, back and forth.

"OK, guys. So you two were the only ones involved in this little
experiment?" said the police officer questioning them. No one else?"

"No, sir. No one else." answered Mark. "I had been working on
this thing for a year or so, in my basement. I guess I just wanted to
test it so bad, I rushed it."

"Hmmm. Rushed it is an understatement. Well, we can let you go
for now. But don't go anywhere. Do not leave town, understand?"

"Yes, sir. But why? Are we going to be charged? We didn't mean
any harm, and we will be happy to clean up any mess, pay the fine."

"No, nothing like that. But the FAA will be interviewing you.
And after that, you might get a visit from the military, even Nasa."

"Whoa, for real? Why the FAA?" asked Mark, a little numb.

"They want to know just exactly what it was that appeared on ATC
radar at 35,000 feet, right in the middle of an air traffic corridor,
and exploded. And, do you blame them?"

"35,000 feet? Wow. Uh, no, no I don't blame them at all."
Then Mark turned to Dave, gave a thumbs-up, and grinned. It worked!
Dave grinned back, and shrugged his shoulders at the officer.
The officer snorted in disgust, and motioned with his thumb to the
door.
"You two geeks get the hell outta here. And please don't blow
anything else up!"

Dave and Mark hurried out, chuckling and laughing.

THE END

(c) 2009 Michael S. Wilson