Lying abed the morning after the creation of our first flying craft I took stock of our current situation. Will did not know the drain on my finances our creation had caused nor would I dream of burdening him with the knowledge though the simple truth was we were nearing poverty. As was often my habit in circumstances such as these where I needed some inspiration to solve a problem I began to flick through one of fathers reference books, in this case a miscellany. I was reading with some interest a section on underworld slang when I came across a term for a fast ship used in smuggling. Here was our way out.

Walking briskly into the dining area I found William going over his test flight plans for our plane. I wished him a brief good morning and could see by the wry smile on his face he recognized the beginning of an idea brewing within my mind. I entered the library and hurriedly browsed the book titles pulling volumes off the shelves and depositing them on my desk. Anything I could find on smuggling was fair game. I knew some of the materials in great need by the scientists in our country were freely available in other countries and vice versa. Reading through a lengthy treatise on the history of the subject I became aware that what I chiefly needed was a contact in this country who had contacts in other countries a web of illicit commerce if you will. Casting my mind back I lit my pipe and considered the sojourns made by my father to a public house on the coast owned by a friend of his, looking to the name of an inn quoted in the text I made sure they were the same place at which point I smiled to myself. So father's sojourns to the coast had been for rather more interesting reasons than his claimed love of sea air. I chuckled and walked out to see William.

I sat down with William and begged his attention while I explained to him the grave news of our current finances, which I must say as testament to his excellent character he took remarkably well, as indeed did he receive the news that my methodology for recovering our financial stability involved no little amount of breaking the law. He soon grasped the fact that had lead me to this idea. We were currently the only men who had the ability of flight; port authorities, customs and the like would have no chance of catching an airborne craft nor could any enforcement agency, pirate or other ne'er do well catch up with us as we attained speeds beyond the imagination of any other vehicle biological or mechanical. It was thus decided that our first flight would be to the coast at midnight the following Sunday to meet my father's contact and from there onwards to adventure in the wider shadowy world of professional smuggling.

Since Williams arrival the underground construction which had once seemed just a space for my experimentations had become more homely. I suppose that after my flight to this subterranean chamber it had become my lair rather than my home, but with the addition of a convivial companion things had changed. Morning breakfast was time for conversation on any number of points and my evenings were no longer accompanied only by Shakespeare and Tacitus but also with diverting games, pipes of tobacco and scientific discussion. All in all I found young William curiously pleasant company. Our discussions on the possibility of a full sized craft after the success of our model had created a flurry of activity with William working with his curious calculating devices (of his own devising) in his room at all hours, I spent my time in the forge section of my lab playing with the modified brass solution I had spoke to William about, I found intriguingly that playing with the ratios of component metals could drastically alter the metals properties. I spent some time browsing my fathers experiment logs, fascinated by the strange additions he had made to his alloys to produce some fantastic results.

I exited the forge tired and hungry one lunchtime, barely managing to remove the apron and goggles before collapsing into my armchair. Working metals with one hand was destroying my efficiency and tiring me far more than I would have thought possible. I packed and lit my pipe just managing the first pull as Will bounded excitedly into the room. To be absolutely honest his tireless energy was as welcome at that moment as finding a spider in your boots but nevertheless he passed a piece of paper to me with such a look on his face that I decided to take a quick look. As my eyes took in the details I quite forgot my pipe was in my mouth where it remained extinguished. I looked up only after etching the details of his design into my mind. Only then did I see Williams hopeful look and I could not surpress the grin that changed my look in a complete circle. This was the plan, we were going to fly. My pipe relighted, we engaged in a talk in which I must admit I think I got a little carried away not allowing the poor boy to retire until I heard six of the clock chime at the local church. Seeing no point in retiring myself as the sun would now be rising. I stalked off toward the village arriving at my familys builders house a little before seven and joining him for a rough breakfast. I discussed my need for a camoflaged building in my grounds to house the vehicle and also for labourers to move the component parts of the craft from the lab to the vehicle bay. My friend came up with a fascinating suggestion, blind labourers. Borrowing a trick from the stage magicians of London; able to carry out their work professionally, unable to see and tell. We struck an accord and I returned to my own home arriving around eleven just in time for luncheon and to find William hard at work in the lab whistling a tune as his hands nimbly worked away at the wood before him, seeing no reason to disturb his work I donned my apron and joined in.

As time progressed the craft grew from a few pieces of metal to a behemoth of modern mechanical wonder. Will seemed quite perturbed by some of the rather rough and ready army chaps I occasionaly pulled in to help us out with our construction. Especially as they were generally accompanied by old Tom, the friend from the army who had first taken me to watch William's show in the park. Quite often Tom and I would retire to my study where I would show him some notes or models I had been working on, Tom for his part would give me the latest intelligence on me and the money he had received for passing on my creations. It was lucky I had such a friend as we needed every penny of it to finance our latest gargantuan task. One glorious summers day the final bolt was fastened and Tom, William and I christened the craft with chilled champagne and strawberrys on the deck. Manned flight was within our grasp.

I must admit now that as I awoke upon the morning of my first joint foray into the lab with William, I was of some unsoundness as to how smoothly things would go. I had worked alongside other scientists before and it had usually produced a certain clash of personality. I had the feeling that as analytical as a man's mind could be, wherever strong opinions met, as would always be the case in research, tempers run high. It was with these doubts in my mind I readied myself for the day ahead and was not disturbed from my papers until the clock had struck the tenth hour of morning.

I introduced William to my rooms and laboratory, glad to see that yesterdays easy attitude between us had not disbursed like Autumn fog. We talked for sometime about the best way forward as we sat in my study. The table was littered with any book I could find on flight from my shelves and also with Williams own papers. I was impressed by the young mans thoroughness and attention to detail as he produced sketches, equations and supporting documents for my perusal. He had obviously gone beyond the knowledge of the aeronauts of our day into a realm of science I heard him call aerospace engineering... I will admit that I sat dumbfounded as William explained the theories of aerodynamics to me. It was apparent he was no hobbyist but a true master of his field. A suspicion that was confirmed as with a glint in his eye he unveiled a detailed technical drawing that at once astounded me and filled me with a need to go through with this project. Without a word we both hurried to the lab to construct a model of the craft William had designed.

The work progressed easily with our bantering allowing us to work for a solid few hours which seemed to pass in minutes before a model stood before us ready for testing. We both changed into walking clothes and took a jaunt to a nearby steep hill with the craft carried under a blanket between us. We stood upon the peak and unveiled our craft, the carved wood that formed the body provided a sleek background to the early evening sun glinting off the polished brass of the exposed clockwork which would power the vehicles propulsion system. Taking a thin rope attached to the craft we then drove a tent peg deep into the ground, thus tethering the device. William assured me that if the craft flew it would continue in a circular pattern above us until the engines stopped. We wound the main spring and looked at each other - this would be the turning point. The clockwork whirred into action and with a tiny roar the craft rose into the air to the sound of Williams unbridled joy. We had discovered flight.

This newest invention raised a new problem. My links with the authorities had been severed and yet I felt sure my inventions needed to reach them, so that my good work thus far should continue. To this end I managed to contact an old army friend via mail. I arrived at his London townhouse in the early hours of Sunday morning. Over a light meal we discussed much of what had been happening.

He agreed wholeheartedly that my creations needed to reach military intelligence and he would make sure they got there safely. He assured me that while doing so, he would cover any tracks that might lead these back to me. The military would know who they had come from but would not have the slightest idea how the inventions had reached them. Through our conversation we both agreed that the only way we could fight back against the continuing air attacks was by meeting them on their own battlefield - vis a vis bringing the fight to the air. Though there had been work done in attempting manned flight, results thus far had been disappointing. Thus far we had been unable to solve how the enemy flew, even though a few crashed craft had been recovered. The sustained artillery fire that had brought them down had all but destroyed them, leaving our scientists with little clue as to their workings. My friend gave me a grin that made it apparent he had been thinking on this problem for some time and had arrived at a way to move forward. He bade me to wait until tomorrow for what he was to show me and we both retired to our beds.

Waking and breakfasting as usual we walked to one of the more well known London parks to be met by a strange spectacle. There was quite a crowd watching a young gentleman flying a kite. I was about to ask why he had brought me to watch something so common place, when I witnessed the most extraordinary thing; this kite was not simply tossing and turning to the whim of the wind. The young man who was holding it was manipulating two strings in order to make the kite perform the most amazing swoops, turns and rolls in the air much to the amusement of the crowd. After an hour of the most amazing stunts, he landed his kite and the crowd dispersed. We met with him, offered him lunch and soon were all sat comfortably back at my accomplices' townhouse.

There he explained to me his lust for science and especially that of flying engineering. We discussed our favourite scientists and soon the discussion turned to how this young mans research could be turned to the application of flying machines. We found him pleasant and knowledgeable company, our conversation lasting well into the small hours, where finally struck an accord to work together on mans first flying craft.

First of all apologies firstly for my long absence due to illness and secondly for the lack of pictures of this new invention, though it sits here before me my image capturing device seems unable to capture its image! Pictures will follow ASAP. Now to the journal.


Chapter 6


I became aware of a problem faced by some of our troops, quite often the enemy ships dived out of the sun towards our ground installations dazzling the men below as the bright light glinted off their polished metal crafts. Reading medical reports on eye problems I found not only references to damage caused by the suns rays but also by debris from the battlefield thus I set about work on my first pair of "safety glasses".


It occurred to me that something I had read in a book about a gentleman's journey in the far off land of China might be of some help. Apparently for hundreds of years judges in Chinese court cases had worn tinted glasses to obscure the expression in their eyes while listening to both sides of a case. I thought maybe this same technology could be put to use here and so in this way I started my next creation.


I read accounts by various sources who were experimenting with glass tinting techniques working on the basis formed by a London scientist called James Ayscough who has in the past recommended the use of his blue or green tinted lenses for the correction of problems with peoples vision. I decided that I would attempt to follow his example when disaster struck I had just melted my first batch of glass when clumsily I knocked a case of metal filings into the mix cursing my luck I retired for the night leaving the glass to cool in a shallow pan for easy later disposal.


The next morning I arrived in my laboratories to the most amazing sight the metal had in some way fused with the glass creating a much darkened glass plate. I swiftly repeated what had previously been a mistake and by the end of the day had crafted a series of lenses of variable tints. I worked into the early hours of the next morning crafting the frames for these glasses making sure they could withstand various impacts and before I knew it exhausted I sat with my first pair of Solar-obscura Glasses.

The war continued, the sound of the raiding sirens becoming another background noise of the city causing people to move hastily toward whatever shelter they could reach before the fire rained once more from the sky. Several more attacks on the enemy planet were planned but none were deemed viable. I worked away reading reports and considering possible solutions to outstanding problems experienced in the field of battle. I was contacted occasionally by HQ so they could ask me questions about my work or if I needed any assistance from them. Then one day the telegraphy stopped. After about a week of silence, I received a telegraph from an old friend.

It transpired that my communications with other scientists had been construed by several government ministers as an act of espionage, my every missive was being monitored and he felt that soon I would be arrested and made a public example of to deter anyone else who was considering defecting. I sat in silence for a while after this smoking a pipe while I considered my next move. The gramophone played lazily as I contemplated my new predicament. I packed a suitcase with the essentials such as clothes, toiletries and my designs in case anything were to happen. I was soon proud of my foresight as I heard a heavy bang to the front door my heart pounded in my chest and I looked from a side window just in time to see a man in military uniform wielding a sledgehammer, setting to my front door. The oak was taking quite a beating and so I ran to my basement laboratory, lifted a drain cover and dropped into the darkness just as the shouting of men and the barking of dogs filled my house. I ran through the darkness, my escape plan seemed to have worked. Now I was a fugitive. I ran for as long as I could before finding a doss house where I spent an uncomfortable few hours.

Awoken at the crack of dawn, I walked through the early morning London streets considering my next move. I still had a little money from my military grant but I needed somewhere quiet and out of the way where I would not be disturbed. I sat in a pub listening to the buzz of conversation around me. It suddenly occurred to me that my families house had been destroyed in the first waves of attacks but the ground was still ours and currently not being used.

Renting rooms at the tavern I made a plan. I decided the only way for now was to move my base of operations. To this end I quickly hired a reputable builder who had been used for my family for many years. With several hired labourers he worked long hours following plans laid out by myself in the dark rooms above the noisy bar. Eventually he had installed a bunker to my specifications in the gardens of what was my families house. I spent many an evening there protected from the conflict above me.

I recall those first days of experimentation in my new stronghold quite fondly as war raged around me. I ventured occasionally to the friend who had given me the warning. We chatted in the dark times before dawn and he furnished me with supplies, materials and the reports that allowed me to continue what we both agreed was paramount, my work in improving the chances of mankinds survival against the menace from the stars.

My injuries healed as the days, hours, minutes ticked by. Surgery, bandages and always the ungodly smells that permeated from the apothecaries lab. Finally there were improvements, scars crisscrossed my skin and most maddening of all my left hand refused any attempts to revive its scorched tendons. I was discharged on the first day of Summer in the year of our lord 1868. Oh and how the world had changed. The wonders of our technological advancements were alive on every street in every city. The age of steam had flourished.

My first duty was debriefing at Military Intelligence headquarters. A day of questioning and requests for sketches which finally ended with me being discharged as wounded in action. I returned to my lodgings on the outskirts of London and sat for a week recuperating and catching up on the latest developments. The attacks by the aliens had increased in frequency, so many had died in these early raids. We were like ants burnt away by an errant child with his fathers magnifying glass. However humans adapt, we evolve and many of my brother scientists had developed new methods of attack and defense (I will chronicle these in more detail when time allows). That had allowed us some breathing space from these sky terrors.

After my convalescence I began to devote myself to considering what I could do to assist my old brothers in arms. Studying field reports given to me by military friends, I soon created my first invention. It was brought to my attention that sustained volleys of projectiles seemed to break down the enemies personal armour plating that all their soldiers possessed. Cavalry pistols had for sometime now been dispatched to our fighting units but the fire rate and reloading system seemed archaic in comparison to the enemy arsenal, the only other option was the revolver system of handgun, still in its infancy and still with a slow reload rate that could be fiddly in the heat of battle.

I crafted through the long hours frustrated and held back by my damaged hand until my invention was complete. The result of my labours was the Nexeversor handgun. Based on a basic flintlock pistol; I crafted a projectile hopper which feeds the gun with fresh rounds. These hoppers are carried by the soldier, meaning that each reload provides ten fresh rounds. On the other side is a fire rate selector. This allows the selection of single, three shot burst or automatic fire rates at the flick of a switch. Finally, for use in accurate long range shots there is a brass firing scope.The device was accepted with great excitement by military intelligence and before I knew it was in the hands of their gunsmiths for study in order to commence production. I was sent on my way with her majesties blessing and a small sum of money with which to continue my research. I was unaware at this time that my circumstances were about to change and I would soon be a fugitive from the law...

A week after this first assault the scientists at military intelligence had made three breakthroughs that finally gave us some hope. First they had prepared a new craft so we could take the fight to the enemy, second they had modified our rifles to allow them to be fired in the thin atmosphere of the moon (we wouldn't realise how thin until our arrival) and third they had modified the respirators given to the first travellers to make them portable enough to be used by men in a combat situation. In high spirits we left that very night.

The trip was uneventful though many of the men in that cramped chamber experienced the most awful effects from the journey. Their bodies unable to take the strange forces placed upon them. One minute it felt as though you would be imbedded within the craft by the crushing force on your body, the next you would float off the seat watching as loose equipment drifted past as though suspended in water. It wasn't long before many complained of motion sickness, headaches and blurred vision. I don't believe we could have been any better prepared but I wish that we could have predicted the slaughter we faced. Upon landing the surface of the moon seemed so tranquil as we watched it through the thick portholes. We left the craft and were immediately glad that our respirators kicked in perfectly as we soon had realised that the atmosphere contained little to no oxygen. We looked down upon our little planet from our lofty pedestal and gazed in wonder at the dancing of the celestial spheres. Little did we know they were watching and waiting. Our scouts ran ahead checking the layout of the land while we busied ourselves testing our new equipment and taking samples from this new land.

I remember clearly sealing a rock sample as the first energy blasts fired into the scouts just ahead of us. Their bodies shaking before falling into the dust as charred shells.The battle was more of a massacre as their finely honed troops came running into battle. The light glinting from their silvered armour and weapons beyond our wildest dreams spat lightning and death like the anger of angels. Mighty sparks filled the sky as their armoured vehicles skidded into view hovering and blasting their eldritch weaponry. It was over all too soon.

Our excursion to the moon lasted an hour during which 47 of the original fifty man crack squad were killed, the last three of us escaped though injured so badly that I truly believe without the skills of the remarkable surgeons and their new medical abilities we would not have survived. A wise man once said warfare not necessity was the mother of invention. It would appear he was right, Disenchanted with our government I may be, but for our boys in the front line and her majesty I now labour day and night to find ways to improve our chances of final victory. Soon I shall write more about those first years of warfare but now my experimentations must continue.

It was announced to us a week after the first launch that although our mission to reach the moon had been a complete success. That tiny rock thought of merely as another place was in fact another world. Barely an hour after landing, Military Intelligence in London had picked up a coded transmission from the lunar surface stating categorically that the moon was inhabited and the creatures that lived there had taken our visit as an act of war. Mans first tentative steps towards the stars had provoked a battle that would change all our lives.

The following month was a blur. A seemingly endless run of meetings, negotiations and preparations. Many panicked and lives were lost in riots which tore through major towns across Europe. Though all this seemed to pale into insignificance when the first of the alien craft arrived. It is hard now to imagine a man woman or child anywhere in the world who cannot draw one of the myriad of enemy vehicles that have filled our skies. But I shall speak now of my first sighting.

How well I remember that morning, the air crisp and sweet. There had been reports coming in of objects moving at impossible speeds and so engineers ran to and fro trying to fix what was believed to be our instruments malfunctioning. I stood watching the dawn sky with pipe in hand when from out of the blue there came a sound that seemed to shake the earth. Birds stopped singing and grown men dropped their tools as they came into view. The vessels were like nothing I'd seen before fifty feet long, coloured like newly polished brass and glowing as if from extreme heat. Shaped like fish from the river Styx itself. They seemed to hover as if awaiting orders then the first shots ran out like fire from the belly of a medieval dragon, it spat into a guard tower, the men on it screamed once and were gone vaporised like dew in a flame. Our sentries fired back yet our rifles seemed to make little impact upon the invaders. The battle raged for no more than half an hour during which time I saw death and destruction that chill me to this day. Finally massed volleys from our troops and solid cannon fire from our artillery boys drove them back into the skies with the same fearsome screeching noise. We had won for now.