MONUMENT
By R. W. MAJOR
You've heard of it—now
here it is at last. It's the
Tale that wagged the Dog Star!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, March 1960.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
With his explanations to the reporters completed, Dr. King felt thatwhen he pulled the switch he would automatically restore his good nameand bring to a close a career of solid scientific achievement. Most ofall, he would bring to an end the practice of referring to him as "SideEffect Charlie."
Dr. Charles King was willing to admit that there were excellent reasonsfor his acquiring this hated nickname. The facts were that the bulk ofhis scientific achievements were made inadvertently—that is to say,his discoveries were all made through investigation of unexpectedside effects of his experiments. In a career conspicuous for unusual,unanticipated side effects, two in particular stand out.
The first discovery resulted in rendering the entire heat-orientedmetallurgical industry obsolete, and founding upon its corpse a newindustry. This was based on the extracting of metal from ore andits subsequent shaping by first eliminating the bonds that hold themolecules of metal together, and then reversing the process when thedesired shape was attained. Dr. King did not discover this processdirectly. He thought he had discovered a method of making metalsurfaces self-lubricating and 100% friction free. It was not untilseveral installations utilizing his lubrication method became poolsof liquid metal that Dr. King bothered to discover how his methodworked, and of course the means to reverse his process. The resultingrevolution in metal-processing methods endeared him to everyone—excepta few vested interests like the shareholders in existing metalcompanies, who were uniformly glum.
The second discovery, although monumental in itself, is importantbecause it indirectly led to the special project which Dr. King wasjust completing. Dr. King succeeded in growing some crystals in anutrient solution. What actually happened was that while eating lunchat a lab table he managed to knock something into something else and acrystal developed. Dr. King became fascinated with the odd structureof these crystals as revealed to him under an electron microscope. (Hehad incidentally placed the crystal under the microscope in error.)As a result, he took to investigating the properties of the crystalswhenever he could find time. Despite his well earned reputation as anaccidental discoverer, it should be pointed out that Dr. King is avery methodical man. This means he is capable of repeating the samemistake twice, or for that matter any number of times. Therefore, Dr.King produced all the crystals he needed.
It was during a vacation in the Adirondacks that Dr. King discoveredthe propulsive qualities of the crystals.
This discovery, of course, is what led to the perfection of the "KingPropulsor Unit," the heart of our starship drive systems. Dr. Kingwas investigating the piezo-electric properties of the crystals in amakeshift device of his own design when he was disturbed by a suddendraft in the room. He looked up to discover that one wall of hisworkshop and the top one thousand feet of a mile-thick mountain (thesame mountain that his cabin was located upon) were no longer in theimmediate vicinity.
As it turned out, his crude device did not impart to the mountainall of the