There was one projectile big enough to
make a dent in the planet's path
— the Moon — and they could spare it.
make a dent in the planet's path
— the Moon — and they could spare it.
A Science Fiction Short Story written by John D Clark. Published in Astounding Stories, April 1937 issue (volume 19 number 02). The heroes of this story, Dr. James "Jimmy" Carter and Dr. Michael "Mike" Poggenpohl, later return in Space Blister.
This story deals with the observation of the entry of a foreign body into the solar system that seems to be on a collision course with Earth. Close analysis of it, confirms one of the observing scientists suspicions, that it is composed out of Anti Matter, and dubbed the Minus Planet. A quick plan gets underway to place thrusting rockets on Earth's Moon and drive it into the Minus Planet to destroy it. However, a cult leader, convinced the planet has been sent by God to punish the wayward and wicked humanity, intervenes to prevent any plans.
The work shows the first mention in literary history of the concept of Anti Matter — here described as being the counterpart to an atom — the antron.
Tropes:
- Aerith and Bob: Poggenpohl and Carter.
- Anti Matter: The Minus Planet is composed of this. It is observed to be emitting strange radiation that is compromising Dr. Carter's attempts to analyze it. Once he and his colleagues get close enough to the planet to study it, they confirm that not only it is made out of Anti Matter, but that it is about the size of our Moon and the mass of Jupiter.
- Anti-Radiation Drug: After successfully destroying the Minus Planet, the scientists burned by radiation exposure, simply butter themselves with a cream that cures them of their problems.
- Artistic License – Geology: The effects of detaching the Moon from Earth's orbit are only described as affecting the tides on Earth, and causing some earthquakes... and that's about it. Artificial satellites have observed that an earthquake can cause a shift in the Earth's axis — moving the Moon by a few meters and too suddenly might be catastrophic for everything on Earth.
- Artistic License – Medicine: The effects of radiation on the characters is described to be only skin deep, like a bad sunburn. Something that the application of some cream can fix. It is only a few years later, after World War II, that the effects of radiation on a living body were widely understood.
- Artistic License – Nuclear Physics: The scientist's ship is supposedly designed to have radiation shielding — something that Real Life research of the early 21st century has placed as being between prohibitively expensive to integrate into a spaceship and impossible, particularly for a craft that is supposed to take off from the surface of the Earth.
- Cannon Fodder: The work on installing the rockets on the Moon, has a great deal of people involved that are treated as expendable. If someone dies, their replacements are instructed to just move the bodies away and continue the work.
- Deadpan Snarker: When presenting their findings about the planet to the scientific community, just as Dr. Carter is about to say it's name, Dr. Poggenpohl whispers "Gus" as the name for it.
- Drinking on Duty: Dr. Carter and Dr. Poggenpohl indulge in a few bottles of beer after the latter has answered the former's questions about what are the physical properties of matter.
- Foregone Conclusion: Partially. When the story was first published it was introduced with a two page spread illustration showing the Moon propelled by multiple thrusters and aimed at a white celestial object. It even had a rocket-ship leaving the Moon and the page quote up above.
- The Future: The story takes place in 2156. Humanity has observatories on Mars and Venus. They have interplanetary space travel available, powered by nuclear energy. The characters even travel in a spaceship that was near their research facility.
- Informed Location: The story starts at the fictional astronomic observatory on the real Mount McKinley, Alaska.
- Made of Explodium: The eponymous planet is made of Anti Matter. It constantly flashes when space dust touches its surface. The scientist shoot a steel projectile at it to discover how dangerous such contact can be — with shocking results.
- Mr. Exposition: Dr. James Carter — the scientist that makes the first observations about the foreign object. He has the most to say about anything throughout the story so naturally his remarks explain a few things.
- The Plan: Once Dr. Carter and his colleagues get back from studying the Planet, they start a conference of scientists to discuss what is there to be done about it since there is no armament humanity possesses that could even make a small difference. Dr. Carter proposes to equip the Moon with rockets, detach it from Earth's orbit and move it on an intercept course with the Minus Planet — surprisingly, while it does cause an uproar, it quickly becomes the only plan that they can follow and justifiably agree upon.
- Pom-Pom Girl: At the end of the story, the scientists walking out of their spacecraft, are greeted by a group of "gold braid and blazing stuffed shirts"note of a combined effort to give them a heroes' welcome.
- Rogue Planet: The eponymous planet that is heading towards Earth — Dr. Carter, after studying it, theorizes that it must of been created in some distant and strange nebula and got ejected from it. Given its composition, the scientists further theorize that it must have started out as a planet half the size of Jupiter but with the mass of our Moon, and as time passed, these properties reversed and accentuated.
- Science Hero: Dr. Carter and his assistant Dr. Poggenpohl are astrophysicists.
- Shout-Out:
- From In-Universe Dr. Carter to the Real Life research on Anti Matter — done in 1934, 3 years before the publication of this story.
- In Real Life, the outer planet of Pluto was discovered just 7 years prior, in 1930, and in fact was studied for its potential to be traveling towards the inner planets of the solar system. Not to mention that it took 20 years to make certain of its orbit and 50 years to ascertain its mass and also that it had a moon orbiting it.
- There Are Two Kinds of People in the World: According to Dr. Carter, those few with education and a reasonably understanding of science and its necessity in society. And those without — the foolish masses, prone to aimless stupidity and drinking, squandering their lives away.
- Understatement: While studying the Minus Planet, they shoot a steel projectile at its surface, which explodes on contact in a very big and bright flash that nearly blinds the scientists. After observing this, they set out to enter orbit around the object, and take measurements, discounting the possibility of landing on it.Considering the fate of that piece of steel you sent out of the gun. I don’t think we'll land this time. It might be unhealthy.
- Zeerust: Dr. Carter observes the Anti Matter planet, compares his sightings with those of observatories on Mars and Venus, and works out that it's heading for Earth — with a slide rule.
