George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt by Lucy & Stephen Hawking
George: won a computer - 1st prize in school science competition. Helped parents with virtual ad with photo of VENUS. Favorite cookies – sandwich cookies. Eric's "mini-me", "boy wonder", "another disciple" Reeper calls him. George went as "the Man from Mars" to Eric's party.
George's parents: eco-warriors, banned electrical gadgets, don't approve of airplanes (in theory). Fly to the South Pacific for and "eco-mission – join a ship helping islanders whose lives were threatened by rising seawater(d/t global warming). Arrived in Tuvalu… get on a ship and sail to the atolls.
Daisy: George's mom - called Florida to ask for help locating Terence. Mable found Eric who instructed satellite dept. to look closely at Pacific Ocean to locate Terence so rescue boats can be sent out.
Terence: George's dad - navigating by stars, got lost in South Pacific – problem amount of fresh water to drink in boat.
Gran: George's grandma (dad's mom, MABLE) - Claims to be deaf. Reads lips. Has pots of $ hidden under the floor boards. Pays for George's parent's trip to South Pacific. Pays for and flies with George to Florida to stay with "A bunch of old rogues and rebels from my past"
Freddy – George's pet pig, given by Gran (Mable). Whose escape led to meeting the neighbours. Annie asked to say goodbye to him. Spent the summer at a local children's farm.
-Eric Bellis: Annie's dad. scientist live next door to George. New job – work for the Global Space Agency looking for signs of life in the Solar system beginning with Mars. Move to Florida in America. Moved many times to keep Cosmos out of danger. Gave George a bronze telescope and a good-bye present – "The User's guide to the Universe" made by science friends.
-Susan Bellis: Annie's mom.
-Annie Bellis: wanted to be a ballerina, now a soccer player. best friend is George. Went as a black hole to her dad's party. She emailed George to come to Florida.
Cosmos: Eric's computer. Draw's doorways to enter Universe. Exploded from previous rescue mission. Was hiding in a locked box in Annie's parent's wardrobe on their room. Colour: Silver. Annie had the lock key around her neck. 1st is a baby computer (speaking binary or Base Two). When updated (with Fortran 95) matured to a teenager.
Dr. Graham Reeper: former colleague of Eric's who wanted to use science for own selfish purposes. Built prototype for Cosmos with Eric and tutor. Had once posed as a teacher at George's school; tried to throw Eric into a black whole and steal Cosmos; everyone thought he escaped to start a new life
Former tutor: one of the greatest scientists who ever lived. Disappeared. Owns the house (the Bellis's were living in in England)
Emmett: smaller boy with thick glasses and peculiar hairstyle). Son of Eric's friend. Crybaby". Allergic to peanuts. Has motions sickness. His parents went to the Silicon Valley. Uses his "emergency computer kit" to help fix Cosmos. Found an error on pg 136 of Eric's book "The Large-scale Structure of Space-time". Never climbed a tree. Writes computer programs. Never had a friend before. Becomes the controller of the cosmic journey. Asks Annie "How do you make friends?" Asks the astronaut "How do you so to the toilet?"
Falling out between Annie and Emmett: Annie cut Emmett's hair badly. Emmett caused Annie's "Girl's World action doll" to speak only Klingon. "
Homer: Global Space Agency robot. Took 9 months to travel to Mars and land on it. Mars landing was puzzling 'cause Homer lost the signal a long time then brought it back. He didn't show up on the monitoring satellite – disappearing for a few minutes. After landing wouldn't respond to any signals from earth. Waved at the satellite.
Meteoroids – suspended in the air. VS Meteorites - piece of rock that's landed on the earth.
Redshift – if a distant object is moving away it will appear more red
Goldilocks Zone – where the distance from the home star is in the right range for liquid water to exist on the planet's surface. Where there is water, there could be life. Not too hot / not too cold.
Global Space Agency: In Florida – launch of space shuttles and robotic probes. In Houston, Texas, take over control of manned spaceflights once they've taken off (mission control). In California – another mission control for robotic spaceflights. Eric visited all offices.
ISS – International Space Station. Completes a full orbit of earth every 90 min.
Earth's atmosphere – part where the sky is still blue – plane flies through it.
Annie's mission: fly to Mars, fix the robot and come home again without anyone knowing – with Cosmos's help.
George and Gran arrive in Florida. Annie and George talk in tree. Annie wakes up George, in the night, to talk on the veranda and show him the 1st message. Susan takes everyone to the theme park, the pool, the dolphin sanctuary… Annie and George lock themselves in the bathroom to study the 1st message.
1st message Clue #1 – sent to Cosmos: interpretation – come to mars, Homer will be fine / if you don't come, Homer won't be fine and earth will be destroyed. Sender ID: unknown. Message location: extraterrestrial.
Emmett got Cosmos working (as a teenager) brought up a portal but door slammed when George took a step toward it. "KEEP OUT!"
Operation Alien Life-form: PLAN: Go to the Launchpad at the Global Space Agency to watch the space-shuttle launch and get their space suits. Open Cosmos and go thru door way into space to follow instructions from 1st clue.
Jenna - Global Space Agency astronaut suit – all-n-one blue suit. Mission specialist –goes up into space to perform experiments, do space walks, and help build parts of the International Space Station. (Commander and pilot – fly shuttle and dock the shuttle.) Looks after kids when Eric has an "urgent alert" to get to the control room. Kids get away when the shuttle takes off – so loud and everyone is watching it(not them).
Clean Room – keep equipment that goes into space. Everyone gets decontaminated on a conveyer belt & dropped into all-in-one white plastic suit. 100,000 air particles in the air. Eric previously had their white space suits marked "PROROTYPE – Do NOT USE!" so that they would be able to use them again.
On Mars: North Pole – flat (volcanoes and valleys in middle of planet). Sun doesn't set in summer. To miss Homer's camera, stay to the side of him.
Homer writes Clue #2with tires: person go to Saturn (6th planet) with rings (7 round moons) arrow points to a moon. If person doesn't go, earth will be destroyed.
Severe storm. Annie holds Homer's leg. George holds Annie's arm. Cosmos stalled d/t urgent update: no reverse portal available. Portal opens to a Saturn moon – George throws Annie through , then himself.
Daisy is star gazing: Mercury & Venus. Alpha & Beta Centauri – bright stars pointing to the Southern Cross – constellations visible only in Southern Hemisphere. Libra & Scorpius – heart is star Antares. She is worried about Terrence & others lost in the South Pacific.
Eric, then Mable enter Clean Room & find Emmet and Cosmos. (security camera saw kids). Emmett gives Valcan salute & "Live long and Prosper" to Mable. Cosmos (who's hidden)says "Mission stage 3 is under way". Eric furious. Emmett frightened & can't speak. Mable gives Emmett paper and asks questions. Emmett explains what's happening with Cosmos & kids getting clues. Eric asks to be sent to Alpha Centauri as well.
On Titan – Saturn's largest moon. Not much gravity; thicker atmosphere; Ganesa Macula – cryovolcano erupting cold water mixed with ammonia – dark. Lakes of methane. Raining methane huge drops swirl like snow (may hurt space suit). Strange boat/machine – HUYGENS probe -275 degrees Fahrenheit. Clue #3: go to planet in a binary star system with a planet in orbit around one of the stars or earth will be destroyed.
On Alpha Centauri – planet orbit around star Alpha Centauri B. (one of nearest stars to earth) greater mass than earth (feel too heavy). Too hot & too bright. Sun moves quicker. One sun (Alpha Centauri B. – smaller & closer) goes down and another dimmer one (Alpha Centauri A. larger but farther) rises. George and Annie call but get busy signal or message. They crawl to a crater. Mable sends transmission "George, this is your grandmother speaking. Eric is on the way!" Eric steps through portal at crater bottom and Annie slides down on tummy to hug dad. Gran reprimands George. George joins Eric and Annie while Cosmos looks for another place similar to send them – binary star system with planet in the Goldilocks Zone. Eric tells them this is actually a triple system – the third faint star is Proxima Centauri (closest to earth). Eric says he believes Annie now and apologises. Alpha B was rising as they go through the portal.
On a moon of the 5th planet around 55 Cancri A: There's a yellow dwarf star – like our sun and a red dwarf star in the distance. In the Goldilocks Zone of its star. The planet is a gas giant half the size of Saturn. Annie's oxygen gauge of air tank close to red zone. Forty-one light-years away from earth. ET sighting: shaped like a human dressed in black with scarlet eyes burning out of its stomach - Dr Reeper and his computer pet "Pooky" – hissed, furry, bared teeth, red glowing eyes; sends out a powerful blocking signal; twice as powerful as Cosmos; the nano-Cosmos; disguised as a hamster.
- Dr. Reeper's plan: tampered with Homer. Brought Eric here to prove he was more clever. He found this planet first – where life might begin – has a vial of liquid "the elixir of life". I own this "new earth"
- Eric calls Reeper a "loser". Kids head butt Reeper. George snatches Pooky. Vial of liquid smashes. Eric steps on Reeper. Reeper says that Eric is a "genius" and he's just ordinary and sobs. While George holds Pooky, Annie tricks Pooky and rubs his head (while Pooky looks at Annie's other hand that it had bit). Emmett says he needs another computer to join up with Cosmos to get them back because Cosmos doesn't have enough memory. Reeper says he won't help (he has a larger oxygen tank). Annie asks "Why do you hate everyone?"
- Reeper replies "Since I was thrown out of the Order of Science to Benefit Humanity all those years ago, nothing has gone right…" George recites the oath Reeper had broken yrs ago. Eric explained the story – you were hiding your research and becoming secretive … our tutor asked me to keep an eye on you. (Reeper thought he wanted to publish his work and get the glory.) Reeper broke the rule – no one person could operate Cosmos alone. Reeper was caught trying to use Cosmos to view the Big Bang itself after the tutor said NO. (Sworn to harm no person in our search for enlightenment) risk too great… Eric says "You should have viewed it with a "redshift"." Reeper said he was trying to do that but Eric hadn't asked. Eric had struck Cosmos keyboard by accident and opened the portal changing location – to the sun. Reeper had hands burned badly and ran away… woke up in the hospital. Went back to the university to apologize but had been banished with no chance to explain. Eric says he was trying to protect Reeper from himself….
-Apology by Eric. Reeper says the only way he found strength to carry on was by hating Eric and seeking revenge… "now you're not my enemy, I have nothing…" The kids get Reeper to apologize too. (for stealing Cosmos, for throwing Eric in a black hole, for making them travel across the Universe because he said he was going to blow up earth). Reeper gets Pooky to hook up with Cosmos to open up a portal to get back to Earth.
Emmett's good bye: "Live long and prosper" - Vulcan salute. Gets into dad's car. "Dad, I made some friends and now I'm going to lose them" – Annie and George promise to email. Eric said "You saved the day". Emmett told his dad "No one really won or lost, we just progressed to another level"
- Homer started working and found visual evidence of water on Mars.
- Eric found Reeper a place at the institute where he could start studying again. On condition that Pooky is left with Eric.
- George's mom tells George they are coming through to Florida in 2 days and she's pregnant.
- Eric tells Annie they could go back to the house in England and he could take part in another great experiment in Switzerland (Europe).