Jag läste den här romanen i början av 1970-talet, men den kan ha skrivits så tidigt som 50-talet.
Det är Den nionde planens hemlighet av Donald A. Wollheim , först publicerad 1959. Det finns en Project Gutenberg etext . Här hittar du baksidan av sidan från 1965 Paperback-biblioteket :
SOMEONE—OR SOMETHING—WAS STEALING THE SUN!
At first the theft was imperceptible—soon daylight seemed strangely dim. It was unseasonably cold Then the growing darkness and increasing frost posed a real threat to the survival of Earth! The world was alarmed and the hunt was on.
The solar system had to be searched. And because Burl Denning was close to the scene of the first disturbance, he was picked to go on the Magellan, the most incredible spaceship in the world. On planet after planet, Burl discovered Sun-Tap stations, strange machines that were draining the sun's energies away from Earth. The monstrous mechanisms had to be stopped before the world froze to death!
Det var nog en hårdvetenskaplig,
För något värde av "hård vetenskap" som inkluderar anti-gravitationen rymdskepp.
ungvuxen roman;
Yep, som ursprungligen publicerades i Winston Science Fiction serien.
huvudpersonen var en pojke
Burl Denning, senior i gymnasiet.
och det visade upp vad vi visste om solsystemet vid den tiden.
Turen till det solsystem som ingår ingår stannar vid tidelockad kvicksilver, vattnig Venus, Mars med kanaler och städer som upprätthålls av en insektsbeskaffenhet, Callisto, Iapetus, Oberon, Pluto och Triton.
När jag minns tomten började den med pojken (och kanske hans pappa) hitta någon övergiven alienteknik, antingen på jorden eller månen.
Burl och hans pappa, på semester i Peru, går till utländska maskinens webbplats på begäran av USAF. efter det hade blivit utsatt från rymden. Utlänningar har inte precis övergivit det, men Det är obevakat men i fientlig operation tills Burl slår av det.
Ingenting fungerar förrän pojken berör en enhet, vilket ger honom en chock.
As his hands touched the metallic ball, there was a sudden terrible flash of power. He felt himself grasped by forces beyond his control, paralyzed momentarily like one who has laid hold of an electrically charged wire. He opened his mouth to scream in agony, but he could say nothing. A great force surged through his body, radiating, charging every cell and atom of his being. He felt as if he were being lifted from the floor. Then the globe seemed to dissolve in his hands. It became a glare of light, grew misty, and then vanished.
Därefter finner pojken att han kan driva allt.
After resting a moment, he decided to try the useless controls again. Going over to one small board, he idly shoved a lever. This time he felt resistance. The lever was activated. There was a slight change in the radiance of one globe.
"Dad!" Burl shouted. "It works! It works for me now!"
Mark Denning watched as Burl turned dials and levers and got responses. "You must have been charged in a special way," he said excitedly. "That's how they lock their devices. They will only respond to a person carrying that special energy charge, whatever it was. Come on, let's get to the main control, before the effect goes away—if it does."
Det finns ett möte med några dåliga killar som jag tror är onda utlänningar, som slås av.
Nej, det första direkta mötet med dåliga killar finns i det yttre solsystemet.
Myndigheterna tas med - pojkens far är en slags vetenskapsman eller regeringschefer - och de bestämmer att de dåliga killarna försöker göra solen mörkare, eller spränga världen eller något lika illa.
"It is apparent that some race of beings, some species from outer space, unknown to us, has begun a process of tapping the power and light of the Sun for transmission elsewhere. The station on Earth, which you shut down, was an important one. But . . . it was not the only one. There are others, operating in this solar system." He nodded to Merckmann.
[. . .]
"Measurements of the amount of Sun power being piped away, and of the effect of the magnetic disturbances used to create and maintain these stations, have shown that they will have a definite effect on the structure of the Sun itself. We have not yet completed all our calculations, but preliminary studies indicate that if this type of solar interference is not stopped, it may cause our Sun to nova in somewhere between two and three years time."
De goda killarna går ut i ett rymdskepp med pojken och hans pappa.
Nej, pojken går på uppdraget, men fadern är kvar.
Den stora finalen äger rum på Pluto, den nionde planeten. De dåliga killarna sätter upp en sista diken kamp för att stoppa de goda killarna. Pojkens energifält har bleknat, och han måste ta av sina rymdsäckshandskar för att kunna använda maskinen.
Egentligen sker den scenen på Triton:
In a covered panel right next to the door, Burl found the typical Sun-tap controls. He tried to work them, but they would not function through his gloves.
He hesitated, knowing that removing his glove this time might prove very risky. Then he hastily drew off his left gauntlet and the thin nylon glove that was the inner protection of his suit. He placed his hand on the control. The icy cold bit into it. He twisted, the control worked, and he tore his hand away, replacing the gloves.