Spots

Unseen forces can siphon a sun's warmth undetected.

Global temperatures drop as an unknown mechanism siphons the sun's energy away from Earth. Deep in the Andes mountains, high schooler Burl Denning and his archaeologist father receive a missile payload guided directly from Moon Base. The dispatch pinpointed an energy disturbance just seven miles from their camp. The pair leaves their guides behind to scale the steep, thin-aired mountain passes to locate the hidden source.

Chapter 1. Special Delivery—by Guided Missile → Chapter 4.

Anti-gravity drive turns planetary fall into space navigation.

Reversing gravitational attraction allows the experimental teardrop ship Magellan to lift off without traditional rocket fuel constraints. By locking onto the sun's gravitational field, Colonel Lockhart and his team accelerate sunward to intercept Venus and Mercury. Analysis of the Andes installation reveals that the alien invaders are a small advance scout team operating on decades-old plans with finite resources. This structural vulnerability gives Earth's crew a fighting chance to dismantle the siphons across the solar system.

Chapter 5. Up the Rope of Space → Chapter 9. The Ocean Primeval

Instinctive civilizations cannot defend themselves against existential theft.

Mars freezes under dual polar ice caps as its solar tap drains the planet of vital heat. When Burl Denning and captain Boulton enter a Martian dome city, they encounter insect-like inhabitants driven entirely by collective instinct rather than individual intelligence. The Martians repair buildings and run steam machinery mechanically, indifferent to both human visitors and their own world's slow demise. The expedition crew infiltrates the subterranean station beneath the city streets, plants an atomic bomb, and severs the energy beam.

Chapter 10. The Dying Planet → Chapter 14. Rockets Away!

Extreme cold nurtures exotic chemical life beyond classic biology.

Exploration of Uranus's frozen moon Oberon reveals glass-like plant stalks and serpentine creatures thriving in subzero liquid gases, proving that life adapts beyond standard carbon chemistry. After destroying the local solar tap with an atomic warhead, the Magellan pushes onward toward Pluto at unprecedented speeds. An electronic beam strike from a crippled alien warship temporarily disables the crew's anti-gravity drive, but Haines destroys the enemy vessel with a targeted rocket. Arriving at Pluto, the ship enters a low equatorial orbit to plan its final assault.

Chapter 15. Ice Cold on Oberon → Chapter 19.

Liberating alien captives turns solar defense into galactic alliance.

Infiltrating the master installation on Pluto's satellite, Burl Denning and Russell Clyde deactivate the core solar siphon before total destruction occurs. Inside the stronghold, they uncover a repository of living extraterrestrial beings collected from distant star systems across the galaxy. Disarming the facility frees these paralyzed captives, who join in gratitude alongside the human explorers. This victory transforms a military raid into a historic diplomatic breakthrough, paving the way for starship travel and galactic cooperation.

About the Author → Other Winston Science Fiction Novels

Book

The Secret of the Ninth Planet

A journey across the solar system shows how ingenuity and courage can overcome existential interstellar threats.

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@spot #spaceflight #antigravity #aliens #solarsystem
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