"The Adventures of Professor Proton, Jr: The Proton Express…"
Summary: In my first longer Proton Jr tale, can Prof Proton Jr. aka mild-mannered Sheldon Cooper and Dr. Amy aka Amy F. Fowler save the world at Christmas…And can Proton Jr. keep that blond sob of an engineering genius Tom Swift, Jr. away from his girl?
Equally important…Should Cameragirl Penny allow this thing to appear on her acting credits or just accept that all hope of a professional career is gone and just enjoy while peddling her drugs?
[For those curious about the Tom Swift adventures, of course much of this is taken from "Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter", one of the best books in the series which got me into science long, long, long ago.]
Disclaimer: All is Chuck's…
[Special note. Sorry for the delays on this and several others in progress but too many ideas at once and too much going on in real life these days. But, will see if we can move her along…]
Part XXII…
"So…That's our…Your…Space friends' vessel…" Munson stared at the three-dimensional image on screen, the ship turning slightly as it moved.
"Packed with samples from over twenty worlds they've explored, including some of ole Mars' flora and fauna." Swift nodded.
Bernadette eagerly eyeing the image…Whoa…
Nobel for me, just cataloguing this stuff.
World's best brother, that's you, Tommy…She beamed at Swift.
"Mind-boggling…" Bwarry eyed the image. "The design isn't too odd. We could've built a ship like that, minus the technology…" he turned to Swift. "Unless of couwrse, it's a hoax."
"You think I did this…?" Swift eyed him.
"No, not a stand-wup, all-Amewrican fellow like you, Swift. But lets say the Wrussians wanted to have a little fun discwrediting Amewrican science at youwr expense."
"Rather elaborate hoax, Wyckcliffe." Dr. Amy noted coolly. "The Wrus…Russians sent Swift those messages for years and then this ship."
"Of course it is the plot of 'Red Planet Mars'." Proton noted. "The Cold War 1950s film about Russia using a new form of transmitter invented by a collaborator to send phony messages from Mars to disrupt the capitalist world, only it gets all religious when God starts using the same frequency."
"Wreally? Well, maybe God was the one who sent the divewrter messages." Bwarry smiled. "But I'm just pulling wlegs hewre, I believe this is an alien ship. Now how do we deal with it?" he eyed Swift.
"If we'd stuck to plan, I'd've encountered it in deep space with the Challenger…" Swift frowned, peering at the image. "Containment would've been relatively easy and safe and we'd've brought the cargo to Earth only after checking it thoroughly, the ship as well."
"Wrapped up nice and tight in Swift Enterprises' concealing bosom, no doubt." Munson frowned.
"Every scientist on Earth would have been allowed full privileges to examine cargo and ship…" Swift insisted. "They still will be, after…
"After you're done with it." Munson glared.
"Sis." Bwarry put up a hand. "We're hewre and we should be gwrateful to be allowed to be hewre. Of couwrse we'll be kept fwrom telling the wowrld till the UN, etc decides they feel like it but…"
"The knowledge will be properly shared, Bwarry." Swift frowned. "Sadly, thanks to you, Dr. Hofstadter won't be one of those doing so."
"The bitwch twries to kill me and I save youwr ship and bacon and this is the thanks I get." Sigh.
"Bwarry." Munson, shaking head. "Swift?" she turned to Tom at the front of the room by screen. "So, what next? You must have some plan…Or maybe even…Instructions?"
"Some of both, yes." He nodded.
"I thought so…You've been concealing things from us." She frowned.
"I held back some privileged information…With good reason, considering the situation." He noted.
"Well?" Bwarry eyed him. "What do we have? Do you have contwrol instructions? Can you land this suckewr safely?"
"No, afraid not." Tom sighed. "We do have some information about the ship we've held back but very little and no direct control."
"What information?" Proton asked.
"We can't land the ship or control its primary systems…" Swift noted. "But…" he clicked screen. "We do have the key to get inside…" smile to the group. "And a view of the interior schematics…"
…
Gasps…Whoa, Dr. Amy caught her breath… Bernadette peering eagerly.
"It's laid out to allow access to every one of these sections…" Swift pointed to the screen. "We assume each square is a separate chamber containing the biological specimens. Once we're inside, it should be possible to access each one, one at a time. It's a rather elegant design and suited for us to maintain maximum safety conditions for each chamber."
"If the ship isn't ruptured or destroyed on impact in the water…" Proton noted. "And without control…"
"We have to hope the automated or whatever flight plan will prevent that." Swift noted.
"But did the aliens even know where it would land?" Dr. Amy asked. "They simply followed what they thought was your request for a course diversion. Maybe they assumed you were setting coordinates for landing it in a secure ground location, not an ocean running down two and a half miles."
"Three with the trench below…" Swift told her.
"It could be crushed at that depth even if it survives impact…" Proton noted.
"Which is why we have to try and stop it from going down…" Swift agreed.
"And you have a plan for that…" Bwarry smiled.
"I do…"
"Oooh, oooh…I know!" Proton raised hand. "A repelatron net to catch it…Nice."
"No, though it's a nice idea. We can't as yet decipher the spectral composition…And not knowing what it's made of, a general repelatron field could do more damage than good."
"It's totally baffled your spectrometers?" Munson asked.
"Yeah…Which ought to be impossible." Swift shrugged. "Whatever alloys or elements it's formed from, they're utterly unique."
"Stands to reason if the ship is using dark matter as a drive source…" Proton noted. "The field should block out any spectral patterns. Unless you compensated…And since you claim you didn't know the drive system…"
"Another lie." Munson frowned. "But it explains why Proton had to be here, with his dark matter detector. The one invention he stumbled into that Swift didn't make first."
Hey?! Proton, Amy.
Tom or Dad would've, sooner or later…They're busy guys, Bernadette shrugged.
"Not a lie. We guessed but we didn't know." Swift shrugged. "Some early readings of what we thought were the ship's energy patterns suggested it but we couldn't be sure. But we tried compensating, no dice as to the spectrometer. The material is unquestionably not of this earth or anything we're familiar with."
"Great…Lets hope it doesn't react violently with our atmosphere, water, anything…" Munson smiled coldly.
"I don't believe the aliens would endanger Earth that way." Swift noted, quietly. "Unfortunately someone else did."
"But you said you had the key…That?" Bwarry pointed to an insert near the image of the schematic map of the ship's interior. A picture of a black surface on which mathematical symbols glowed.
"A repeating pattern of symbols." Swift nodded. "Dad and I believe, from the messages we received and other data, that this pattern is a key to gaining access."
"But do you stick a black sheet with the symbols into something or over something?" Proton asked.
"What 'other data'?" Munson asked.
"Oh, right…Yes…What 'other data', Swift?" Proton asked, hastily.
"You've used this 'key' befowre." Bwarry noted.
"Yes…Once before…" Swift sighed, clicking. "This was found in the Yucatan about four years ago." He indicated a black disk on screen. "The same symbols were on it…In several locations. After studying the thing for some time…"
"Without informing the scientific community…" Munson noted.
"We'd no proof it was of alien origin then…" he noted. "Though our friends had directed us to the site, one of their early attempts at landing, thousands of years ago."
"Nice of them not to colonize or conquer…" Munson, coolly.
"They had no desire to do anything but study us. We've landed probes on Mars, probably with less care." Swift noted.
"It was a pwrobe…?" Bwarry, genuine awe.
"We're pretty sure it was. The aliens themselves had few records on it, just an idea of its location."
"And was it active?" Amy asked. "You said you used the key…"
"We finally determined that the symbols, flashed on it as light of the right spectrum, could activate the access. It opened…But…" he clicked slide forward.
"The components had utterly disintegrated but for the sphere's metal hull itself. Except for one piece of metal within…" he clicked. "Made of the same material, with symbols likewise implanted."
"A marker…A record…Like the one on the Voyagers and Pioneers." Munson stared.
"Exactly. A key to their whole linguistic alphabet. Before we'd barely been able to communicate in stunted symbolic phrases. Now, after we deciphered it, into my codes book, we could actually talk to each other…" Swift smiled.
"And you concealed this. From the world." Munson glared.
"No. We handed it over to the UN. They ruled it should be held as top secret, restricted access." Swift eyed the image of the plate on screen.
"You had no right. They had no right." Munson fumed.
"Why they wewre pwrotecting the wowrld, sis. Fwrom people like you and me who might want evewryone to know about this." Bwarry, sarcastically.
"It's not the UN that caused the current situation." Swift, firmly. "And your sister has a copy of the alphabet, the one she stole from my office. There's no point in denying it, Dr. Wyckcliffe." He eyed her angry face. "I had you on camera. You didn't actually disable all of them, though kudos for managing to take out most of them."
"If you had 'proof' I took the codes…" Munson, grimly…
"I didn't think it was necessarily the worst thing…" Swift eyed her. "I'm not troubled by having the UN handle it, but it was time other scientists were informed."
"You leaked it, deliberately." Amy stared.
"To someone I thought deserved to know." He nodded. Munson staring at him.
"And as with the UN, I still believe it wasn't the wrong decision." He stated firmly.
"She diverted the cargo…" Proton frowned at Wyckcliffe. "Hardly a trustworthy act…"
"No, she didn't…" Swift sighed. "But she knew who did."
Munson, anxious…
"Good enough…" Bwarry clapped, chuckling. "You took youwr time but you finally nailed me. Yes, it was me…"
"Bwarry…" Munson, shaking head.
"My sis' activism tends toward the theowretical…" he noted. "Mine is a bit mowre pwractical…" he pulled a phone.
"Your Russian friends?" Swift eyed him.
"Tom!" Bud's voice on intercom on conference room desk. "We've got three jets, ided as Russian, closing fast and demanding we heel over! Our signal to the UN is jammed."
"Wright on time…" Bwarry beamed. "This is Wyckcliffe…Hold your position…I'm disembarking. Guys?" he looked about. "I shouldn't have to note that my pals will shoot you down if you twry to stop me. Swift, have youwr buddy bring the ship to a halt and descend to 5000 feet…I'll take my lweave of you via the upper access hatch. Come on, sis. Time to go."
"I won't leave. You'll shoot them down if I go." Munson glared.
"Sis. I love you. But I'll shoot them down along with you if you don't go. This is playing for the gweatest stakes in human history and I'd twrust Swift has sufficient life-saving geawr, thwrough sadly no weapons, to save you. But if you stay and you don't make it…I'll always wremembewr you." He beamed.
(Whoa…Penny blinked at Leonard.
"Cynical enough?" he grinned.)
"Go on, Munson." Swift nodded. "He means what he says. Bud?" he pressed the intercom on table. "Take her down to 5000 feet and hold her steady." He eyed Bwarry. "That do?"
"Jest fine, pawrtnewr." Bwarry nodded, with smile.
"If you shoot us down, Wyckcliffe. The cargo is lost, you know." Tom, calmly.
"Hey, I may kill once in a while…Cwruel necessity…Alas, poowr Hofstadtewr." Bwarry, mockingly. "But it would be a waste to kill you all."
"And we're still your chance to get the ship safely. Tell me." Swift eyed him. "Why the South Atlantic? Why not Siberia where you'd have full control?"
"Couldn't be sure those friends of youwrs would believe you want them landing in Wrussia. Owr that they could control a gwround landing. But while I am cuwrious to see what you plan to use to stop the ship, I've my own methods." Bwarry smiled. "Time to go Muns…"
"I'm sorry, Tom. I didn't mean for it to go so far." She sighed.
"It's not your fault." He shook head. "But don't let him hurt anyone else, if you can."
"What you just plan to hop off this ship's roof at 5000 feet?" Proton stared.
"I plan to do just that, Pwroton." Bwarry nodded. "It was nice getting to know you bettewr, gwreat job with the detectowr. Oh…Twry, fowr youwr giwrly's sake not to get in my way in the neawr futuwre? I will kill you. Would you all do me the couwrtesy of staying in hewre fowr a bit? I know Muns would pwrefewr you go on bwreathing whatevewr hewr political diffewrences with you. Bye, guys!" beam, wave…Leading Munson out.
"Dang him!" Proton rose.
"No, Arthur!" Amy cried. "Don't, Proton!" Swift agreed, waving. "He's probably armed."
"I wish to Jesus…Dang…You were." Proton fumed but stopped as Amy held him back from the door.
"I'm not armed…" Swift agreed, with smile. "But I'm not defenseless. Bud?" he snapped on the intercom. "Use the forward and stern repelatrons as soon as the Wyckcliffs leave the ship."
"Roger that, Tom!"
Proton eyeing Swift…Amy eyeing him…
"You have repelatron drive in the ship and never told us?" Proton stared.
"Nope, I didn't. It's an alternative system to the jets. I prefer not to use it in normal air flight but it allows for deeper dives and orbital flight."
"This thing is space-capable?" Amy stared.
"Orbital…I've never tried taking her to the Moon."
"A diving seacopter spaceship…" Proton shook head.
"You wanted to try my repelatron drive…" Swift grinned.
"Wait." Bernadette anxiously. "We can't let that maniac escape. And if he's jumping with Munson, they might be killed, he's crazy."
"He's not that crazy, sis." Swift indicated the projection screen, clicking a button. "There's the forward camera view…He and Munson are on the roof now."
"He is crazy…" Amy gasped, eyeing the pair. Munson struggling suddenly with Bwarry who held her down on the upper surface with him. Wind and the wind of the main rotors blowing them back…
("She's supposed to be struggling with him, with the wind nearly blowing them off…" Leonard fumed to Howard.
"Honey…" Penny sighed, smiling at the two on the mock-up of the seacopter's roof. "Let em be." As Lesley tearfully hugged Kripke.
Oh…She, gasping…
"You love me." Kripke, joy on his face. "You love me, Lesley. You love me…You know you do."
"Oh, God…What am I doin'?" she shook head but embraced him. "Oh, Barry, don't let me hurt you."
"Nevewr…Oh, uh, you best drop down a bit, 'sis'. I'm supposed to be forcin' you."
"What? Oh, screw that…For a minute." She breathed. "Oh, this is crazy, Barry. Don't let me do this to you."
"I'll beawr up. Lesley…I don't cawre. We can make this wowrk…Heck we can double date." He grinned at her.
"The hell we will." She fumed. "Spectrum or whatever…This is your fault, you take the consequences…" attempt at stern look.
"Fine by me." He noted.
"I'll try not to…I'll try Barry…But I can't pwromise."
"At least now you're talkin' wright." He beamed. "And I don't want a pwromise. I want you. You're the best friend and lovewr I've evewr had owr could hope fowr. The wrest? Evewryone muddles thwrough that stuff…Bet we do bettewr than most."
"Cut!" Howard cried. "LUNCH!" Bernadette fumed…Wiping tears.
"We'll get it wright next shot." Lesley beamed. "I pwromise.")
"There…" Swift pointed. "His friends came prepared." All watching as a jet swooped by at relatively low speed. Dropping a rubberized crate on balloon which Bwarry grabbed.
"Bud! Hold her steady!" Bernadette anxiously. As Bwarry opened the crate and pulled out…
"Are those parachutes?" Dr. Amy stared.
"They'll never clear the ship…" Bernadette shook head.
"More than chutes…" Swift noted. "Look…" As Bwarry strapped on his chute and forced Munson into hers. Then fired a small gun-like device which grappled onto the balloon and holding Munson with an arm…Kicking the crate from the upper hull and letting the balloon pull them free…
(Weeeeee….Lesley cried, beaming at the camera, hugging Barry as they zipped down, "balloon" attached. "Sowrry, next shot will be pewrfect!" "She'll bweat the cwrap out of me stwruggling to escape, don't wowrry!" Barry called.)
"There they go…" Swift nodded. "Bud, they'll at least try to disable us…Focus the repelatrons on all three jets, full power, narrow beams, full spectral range…"
"Did this once accidentally with the Challenger on a test run…Nearly destroyed the launch pad and control center on Fearing…" he noted with grin to the others.
The Russian jets circling in…Suddenly hurled back, tumbling with incredible force at front and rear…One exploding…
"Whoa…" Amy stared.
"I'm sorry for that…But I didn't attack them." Swift noted. The other two jets thrown back, out of control…Both pilots ejecting.
"What about the Wyckcliffes?" Bernadette anxiously. Swift clicking at the table controls, an image of the ocean below them…Two parachutes visible.
"They'll drown…" Amy stared.
"Bwarry…I hope just Bwarry…" Swift paused. "Wasn't planning to be picked up by a jet. Bud? Anything?" he addressed the intercom.
"My radar's picked up a possible periscope. We'd best make tracks, they may have missiles, and I can't use the repelatrons on them at this height as well as under water."
"Right…Lets get moving…Use the repelatrons and get us supersonic. We'll be there first, if early."
"A submarine?" Proton stared at Swift.
"Only natural for a cargo he plans to land in the Atlantic…And his friends are gambling a lot on this. When the UN finds out Putinsky is trying to seize the ship, he's going to find his opposition in the streets, very well-funded suddenly, and a bunch of ultimatums on his desk."
"War?" Amy stared.
"No, not yet. But if he gets that ship…?" Swift sighed. "I'd say, it's likely."
