Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen: Roble the Conqueror

Roble the Conqueror!It does seem to exist in my memory.Some years ago I recall that all the newspapers in America carried his picture on the thirteenth of June, and on the twelfth of June this man made a big splash at a meeting of the Wilton Institute in Philadelphia. At that time, I noticed that his photo was very impressive, with broad shoulders; the back was like a regular trapezoid, and the shoulders formed the long side of the trapezoid; the neck was thick; Doubt popular concepts such as nature, history, life, and mythology. , but piercing, the two thick eyebrows on the eyes are always locked, revealing extraordinary energy; short curly hair, shining with metallic luster.The broad chest rose and shrunk like a blacksmith's forge; the hips, arms, and hands were extremely strong, and the stubby beard gave the same impression.The cheeks are shaved clean, and the muscles of the jaw are more defined.

It was Rob the Conqueror who stood before me now.This is the man who speaks to me in his inaccessible domain his frightening name! I will briefly describe some of the facts that made Zhengyan Roble a well-known figure in those days.The Wilton Society was an organization dedicated to aviation technology, and its president was well-known in Philadelphia as Uncle Plutton.The Secretary General of the Society is Mr. Philip Evans.Members of the society devoted themselves to the creation of a "lighter-than-air" machine; the two leaders of the society were making a giant steerable balloon called "Going Forward".

At a meeting discussing the details of making the giant balloon, the then-unknown Roble popped up and scoffed at any idea of ​​making such a balloon; claiming that the only feasible thing was to create a "heavier-than-air" balloon. aircraft, and he himself has built one, confirming this theory. The rest of the Society responded unanimously to his arrogance, calling him Roble the Conqueror with mocking scorn.There was a commotion, the sound of pistols, and Roble fled. On the same night, Roble hijacked the president and secretary-general of the society by force, forcing them to fly into the sky on the "Albatross" spacecraft he built.His intention was to prove to them the irrefutable correctness of his theory.The craft was a hundred feet long and was balanced in the air by many parallel propellers, with vertical propellers propelling the bow and stern.Manipulated by at least 6 people, all absolutely loyal to their leader Roble.

After the ship had nearly completed its round-the-world voyage, Mr. Prutterton and Mr. Evans managed, with great difficulty, to escape the Albatross.They even managed, against all odds, to create an explosion on board the ship that destroyed the ship, sending the inventor himself, Roble, and all his assistants out of the sky into the Pacific Ocean. Mr. Prudent and Mr. Evans returned to Philadelphia.They were told that the Albatross had been built on some island X in the Pacific; but since the location of this secret place was unknown, it was almost impossible to discover the small island.Moreover, the search seemed entirely unnecessary, as the two Avengers who had been held captive by Roble were convinced they had killed everyone on board.

So, the two millionaires returned home with peace of mind.Continuing with the construction of the "Go Forward" spaceship.They hoped to take the ship again, fly to the region where Roble hijacked them, and show that their lighter-than-air balloon was at least as good as the lumbering Albatross.If they can't prove it, they don't deserve to be real Americans at all. On April 12 of the following year, the "Go Forward" was finally completed and took off from Fairmont Park in Philadelphia.I myself witnessed this scene along with thousands of spectators that day.We saw the gigantic balloon rise smoothly into the sky, and, thanks to its powerful propellers, it flew with astonishing ease in every direction.Suddenly, I heard a burst of cheers, and almost at the same time, there was a louder cheer from the audience: another spaceship appeared in the distant sky, coming at an alarming speed.This is another "Albatros" spacecraft, perhaps better than the first "Albatros" spacecraft.Roble and his assistants survived in the Pacific Ocean, and with a desire for revenge, they built a second spaceship on the mysterious X Island.

Like a huge flying bird, "Albatross" flitted over "Go Forward".Undoubtedly, Roble also counted on the superiority of his heavier-than-air craft to be unmatched in the world when he challenged his opponents for vengeance. Mr. Prudent and Mr. Evans did their best to embolden themselves.Knowing that their balloon couldn't outrun the Albatross in speed, they tried to take advantage of its apparent light weight and fly higher than the Albatross. Dauntless dropped all its ballast and climbed more than 2,000 feet, yet even at that altitude the Albatross still outflanked it and circled around it with ease and freedom.

Suddenly, there was an explosion. At its elevated altitude, the giant air pockets of "Brave" expand and burst as their contents expand. Having lost almost half its weight, the balloon plummeted rapidly. However, to everyone's surprise, the "Albatross" followed its opponent and fell rapidly, but it did not explode, but was safe and sound, without any damage at all.What is even more unbelievable but indeed unquestionable is that at this time, Roble, not wanting to put his opponent to death, actually met the falling "Go Forward".His assistants lifted Mr. Prudent and Mr. Evans from the balloon and the other pilots who accompanied them to the albatross' cockpit safely.The balloon, which was empty, also fell quickly and crashed in the trees at Fairmont Park.

The public was astonished and terrified!Now that Roble has once again captured his rivals, how will he avenge them?Could it be that they were hijacked again, is there any hope for them to survive this time? The Albatross continued to descend, appearing to land in an open field at Fairmont Park.However, if it landed safely, wouldn't Roble be afraid that an erupting, angry audience would throw them aboard the ship, tearing its maker and ship to pieces? The Albatross landed at a height of 6 feet above the ground.I vividly remember the crowd rushing forward in unison, trying to surround it and attack it.At this moment, Roble's sonorous voice came, and I still remember every word and every sentence in it.

"Citizens of the United States, the President and Secretary of the Wilton Institute are once again in my hands. They are my captives, and I have no choice but to exercise my right to just retaliation for the slander they have inflicted on me. However, as the anger and resentment aroused in them and in you by the successful flight of the 'Albatros' spaceship show, humanity is not yet inspired enough to acknowledge the infinite power that the conquest of space will bring to them. Prudence Uncle, Philip Evans, you are set free." The three people who were released descended from the balloon to the ground. As the Albatross rose to thirty feet, Roble said again: "Citizens of the United States, the conquest of space is a fact, but it will not be exploited by you until the time is right. I go, With my secret, humanity will not lose it, but when humanity understands that it should not be cursed, it will be returned to humanity, goodbye, citizens of the United States!"

The "Albatross" rose into the sky driven by its powerful propeller, and flew into the distance amidst the cheers of the crowd. I have taken pains to relate to my readers the last scenes of what happened then, because they seem to reveal the psychological workings of the complicated Roble who is now standing before me.Apparently, he has not lost his mind because of his hostility to human beings.He is willing to wait for the future; although his attitude reveals irrefutably his belief in his own genius, and his immense pride in his superhuman strength. Moreover, it should come as no surprise that this self-importance grew to such an alarming degree that he now intended to enslave the world, as the eloquent threats in his later open letter made clear.His violent emotions will increase with the passage of time, so that he is very prone to tantrums.

I can tell you only partially to the best of my knowledge as to what happened in the years after the final disappearance of the Albatross, and there is no evidence that this ambitious inventor has created a A very ideal aircraft!He did intend to create a machine capable of outperforming all existing forms of transportation at once.Perhaps in the workshops on Island X, where, piece by piece, a carefully selected group of men loyal to him churn out this extraordinary machine part of varying forms and functions.Moreover, the second Albatross must have taken these parts to Mount Airi; there they reassembled them, for this was more accessible than the remote islands. The Albatross itself was apparently destroyed at Mount Airi, either by accident or as planned. The Terror then appeared on American roads and in the waters adjacent to them.I had already seen how this singular masterpiece carried my captive into the air after the destroyer's failed interception of it on Lake Erie.