Challenger's Failed Balloon Experiment
Plot & Structure
Events
- •Challenger constructs a gas-bag from the dried stomach of a fish-lizard and clay funnels.
- •He fills the bag with free hydrogen from a boiling mud geyser in a palm grove.
- •Challenger attempts to demonstrate the balloon's carrying power using a lump of basalt and a rope.
- •The balloon's velocity is so great that it yanks Challenger, Malone, and Roxton off the ground.
- •The rope snaps, sending the balloon and the basalt into the sky and leaving the explorers in a heap.
Origin
manuscript
Tension
- •The loss of the rope leaves the party with even fewer tools for a conventional descent.
External
- •The 'infernal machine' of the balloon, which nearly causes the 'complete annihilation' of the party.
- •The physical injuries sustained by Challenger and the others during the failed launch.
Internal
- •Summerlee's absolute refusal to trust his life to Challenger's 'folly.'
- •Challenger's undaunted pride, as he claims the disaster was a 'satisfactory demonstration.'
Sequence
42
Worldbuilding
- •The plateau contains natural volcanic vents that evolve free hydrogen gas.
- •The internal organs of the plateau's reptiles are large and durable enough to serve as aeronautical envelopes.
Status Changes
- •Challenger's reputation for 'midsummer madness' is reinforced in Summerlee's eyes.
- •The party loses their primary climbing rope, further complicating escape efforts.
Narrative Summary
Professor Challenger attempts to create a hydrogen balloon using a gas geyser and the stomach of a prehistoric fish-lizard. The experiment ends in a near-disaster when the balloon's lifting power proves too great, nearly carrying the entire party into the sky before the rope snaps.
Timeline Event Ids
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- •1adb811a-855e-5beb-83bc-66d3ec23c545
- •1d5a6afc-8dbf-5ee6-a5a6-06c098e51afd
- •5321aab6-36bd-5c38-84ee-08cf492d3d0b
Affected Entity Ids
- •a7fb934b-65c5-4370-8d42-82dcc420da44
- •eb9259f3-6124-4661-b161-48c056ed60f0
- •9f88bd7c-b086-4f57-a2e7-6e37ad038b08
- •d5c9fba4-7d71-4143-b1d3-5c97498e9cea
